Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Rotorua Marathon postponed

The 2022 Rotorua Marathon has been postponed.

The organising team confirmed the event will move to Saturday, September 17 from its original May 7 date.

In a statement on the Athletics NZ website, organisers said: "With Covid-19 case numbers beyond those previously seen in New Zealand and no indication of when the country will move out of the red light setting, the decision was made to give participants and everyone involved behind-the-scenes certainty and time to adjust to the new event date."

The historic Rotorua Marathon has been a regular fixture on the annual running calendar for 58 years and this is only the second time the event has been postponed.

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In 2020 the event was postponed because of the global pandemic with the rescheduled race run later in the year. The event was cancelled in 1999 when flooding washed out part of the course.

Athletics NZ chief executive Peter Pfitzinger said it was not a decision they wanted to make and it had not been an easy one.

"An event the size of the Rotorua Marathon can only operate under orange or green traffic light settings. We looked at all options for continuing with the May date as planned, but with the ongoing uncertainty and rising Covid-19 case numbers we felt it was better to make the call early.

"We are grateful to our host city partner Rotorua Lakes Council for their flexibility and support of this decision, as well as our other event partners and suppliers."

Pfitzinger said they hoped that by September participants would be able to have the full Rotorua Marathon experience without many of the current restrictions.

Anyone who has already registered for the 2022 Rotorua Marathon will be emailed by the event organisers, with further updates shared on the Rotorua Marathon Facebook, Instagram and website.