A City Shines as Thousands Take to the Streets for the 2025 Auckland Marathon

The sun beamed down on Tāmaki Makaurau this morning as more than 17,000 registered runners and walkers took the streets of New Zealand’s biggest city for the 34th edition of the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon Presented by ASICS.

Supporters and spectators came out in droves to cheer on those taking part, revelling in the sun and cheering on participants in the one of five distances – the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon and Wheelchair Marathon, Garmin Half Marathon and Wheelchair Half Marathon, One New Zealand 11km Traverse, United Airlines 5km, and the Barfoot & Thompson Kids Run.

Marathon entries spiked this year, with the most registered participants in the 42.2km distance since 2014. One of those tackling his first marathon was UFC fighter Kai Kara-France, who completed the run in 3:35:18.

“Nothing but respect to marathon runners, this is no joke,” said Kara-France. “It’s one thing the prep, race day is another beast, so I take my hat off to the athletes who competed today. Every walk of life athletes; mums, office workers, weekend warriors, all just out here challenging themselves – and that’s what I was doing in my own race.

“There were a lot of familiar faces, I liked being able to look up and see my brother, my old man’s out there, my wife and kids. My why is my motivation, thinking of family, thinking of my charity – Walk Without Fear – it’s a tearjerker,” said an emotional Kara-France.

“The support was unreal, Auckland turned up. Tāmaki Makaurau is definitely one of the pinnacles for marathons, so if you’ve ever thought about doing it – definitely tick it off the bucket list!”

Another athlete crossing over from different sport to take part in today’s event was professional BMX rider Ellie Chew. Despite only signing up for the Auckland Half Marathon yesterday, Chew posted a time of 2:05:49 – and loved it.

“It was amazing, such a beautiful day getting to run over the bridge. This is first half marathon I’ve done, and I entered yesterday on an impulse and now I can’t wait to come back and do another one,” she said.

“I do a bit of running just to keep the cardio up, but never long-distance running. The two sports are nothing alike, normally I’m jumping in the air doing flips and tricks, but it’s cool to be part of something where you’re in the crowd rather riding around with people watching you doing flips!”

While many participants were taking part in their first event, 79-year-old Rod Gill today completed his 200th half marathon and 10th consecutive Auckland Half Marathon. The Hamilton Road Runner only took up running 10 years ago but has been running on average a half marathon every two weeks since. Gill crossed the finish line today in 3:08:22.

“I feel a lot of relief. It’s been a long time, 10 years, one every two weeks roughly, but I’ve really enjoyed it. I'm still feeling well – I'll keep running, but now I won’t do so many,” said Gill.

“This was my 10th Auckland Half Marathon in a row, and I’ve done two marathons here too. This event is always good. It felt good to cross the finish line. I’ve enjoyed the day and that’s all you can ask for.”

Internet and television personality William Waiirua clocked an impressive streak of his own recently, completing his 1000th consecutive 10km run. While his usual daily challenge takes place in his own time, today, he took part in the Auckland Marathon for the first time – completing the half marathon in 1:41:25.

“The vibes are so high, sky high, which made it so much easier. I wouldn’t have made it without the drums, people coming out to support, people screaming – giving us the morale we needed!”

It wasn’t just Aucklanders turning out in their thousands to support the event, runners from 113 nations across the world took to the streets this year. Among those was Gold Coast based Aussie Annabelle Ronnfeldt who, despite the undulating course, ran a half marathon PB after a weekend of exploring the city and its surrounds.

“It was actually fun, I don’t mind hills! The bridge was a little bit steeper than expected, but you got to go down – so all good,” she said. “You couldn’t ask for better conditions – clear blue skies, everyone was stopping to take photos. I also wanted a photo but was also running for a time, so was trying to multitask.

“My whole Auckland trip has been awesome, the weather has been turned on for us. We went out to the black sand beaches yesterday, over to Waiheke Island a couple of days before that, it’s been awesome.”

Each athlete out on course today had their own reason for running and a story to tell, but for many running for charity, there was an extra slice of motivation.

Aucklander Lydia MacNeil ran her first marathon in honour of her mum, Gail, who has been battling inoperable throat cancer. Through her marathon efforts, MacNeil smashed her fundraising target, with donations totalling more than $11,000 so far in support of Head and Neck Cancer Support Aotearoa.

Through the 2025 Auckland Marathon, nearly $500,000 has already been raised for charities in need, with the total set to rise over the next few days.