Global field lining up for milestone Rotorua Marathon

FILE

The countdown is on to a truly international 50th Rotorua Marathon.

Yesterday marked 50 days to go and organisers say they are experiencing steady numbers of entrants every day, with first timers, previous winners and record holders among them.

So far 5700 people have entered across the 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon races. There are 3460 entries in the marathon.

It is being organised on behalf of Athletics NZ by Rotorua firm Event Promotions.

"We've had entries from overseas including Malaysia, China and the United States," said marketing manager Charlotte Pearson.

"Not many marathons make it to 50. Some people are coming over as they've raced before and the event means something to them, others have planned a holiday around it. It's a great destination."

Record holders Nyla Carroll, who ran 2:37.37 in 1994 and Paul Ballinger, who won in 1988 in 2:16.05, have entered, along with past winners Phil Costley, Dale Warrender, Craig Kirkwood, Dave Rush, Bernie Portenski, Lara Phillips and Marion Millward.

Entries up to April 13 will have their names on their race bibs as well as their race number.

The race is on Saturday, May 3.

So far, there are 880 entries from the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel and more than 2000 from Auckland. There are 90 Australians, 18 from Japan, 16 from Tahiti and 10 from the United Kingdom. Other countries represented include the United States, Hong Kong, Germany, and India.