Christchurch Airport Marathon   20 May 2015

Christchurch Airport Marathon

Liza Hunter-Galvan returns home to New Zealand next weekend, chasing a record fifth consecutive win at the Christchurch Airport Marathon.

Organisers are expected around 5000 runners from a dozen countries and the length of New Zealand for next week’s 35thChristchurch Airport Marathon.

One of the visitors is Kiwi born but American based, Liza Hunter-Galvan, who returns for the fifth year in a row, for what she hopes will be a sixth win in the South Island’s premier marathon event. As a mother of five, she juggles life between home in Texas and frequent visits to her elderly parents near Auckland and has also won the Auckland and Rotorua Marathons on previous visits.

In 2011, the former Olympian controversially chose the Christchurch Marathon as her first major race following a two year drug suspension. She shrugged off the initial media attention to win the next four years in a row, with 2014 being the fastest of them all at 2hrs 43min 40secs. In April, Hunter-Galvan illustrated her form for Christchurch at the prestigious Boston Marathon where she won her 45-49 year age group in 2hrs 46min 44secs.

In Christchurch, however, she’ll be focusing on overall honours and becoming the first person to win on five consecutive occasions. But actually, it would be Hunter-Galvan’s sixth win because Christchurch’s marathon was also the site of her first victory way back in 1999.

The Auckland-born marathon specialist has lived in San Antonio, Texas for more than 20 years. Coached by the late Arthur Lydiard as a schoolgirl, she left New Zealand for an American university track and field scholarship. She has lived there ever since, married a Mexican-American and despite a near fatal car accident that almost killed one of her five children, she went on to wear the silver fern at both the Athens and Beijing Olympics and clock a best time of 2hrs 29min, to be among New Zealand’s 10 fastest female marathoners. But in 2009 a positive test for the blood boosting drug EPO cast doubt over everything she had done.

Despite the controversy, Hunter-Galvan’s wins in Christchurch have re-affirmed her love for running and re-connected her with New Zealand. Rather than chasing major championships, she prefers to enjoy her running and fit one or two goals a year around her family. Making Christchurch one of those goals also aligns nicely with the opportunity to visit her parents, but the defending champion won’t have it easy in the Garden City.

Auckland’s Alice Mason is making her full marathon debut in Christchurch. The former national medalist on the track has faster best times up the half marathon, but the full 42.2k will be something of an unknown. Also in the hunt will be last year’s third placing, Dunedin’s Mel Aitken, Stewart Island’s Klaartje Van Schie and national ultra-marathon champion Shannon Litt from Christchurch.

This year’s 35th anniversary event will be something of an unknown for everyone on the start line, as it returns to the central city for the first time since the February 2011 earthquake.

Established in 1981, the Christchurch Marathon was inspired by the 1974 Commonwealth Games Marathon. Won by Englishman Ian Thompson in 2hrs 09min 12secs, this is still the fastest marathon ever run on New Zealand soil and the annual Christchurch Marathon ran over much of the same route until the February 2011 quake wrecked the traditional Town Hall venue and historic course. In 2011 the race was cobbled together in just a few months and held in Lincoln. Then new sponsorship from Christchurch Airport saw it host on the Airport campus for three years.

Race Director Chris Cox is ecstatic that the event is returning to the central city.

“It’s been four years of hard work to find a course that is sustainable during the ongoing rebuild,” says Cox. “In many ways Christchurch Airport saved the event by allowing it a temporary home at the airport, but the plan has always been for the event to return to the central city where it belongs.”

“Look around the world: every famous marathon is a tour of their city’s iconic areas. That’s what the Christchurch Marathon has always been and this new course is even more so.”

For the first time ever the event will be based in Cathedral Square, with the event village, start and finish line all based in the iconic central city hub.

“It’s a great course,” says Cox. “It will be safe, scenic, flat and fast; all the hallmarks of the Christchurch Marathon. But most importantly it’s iconically Christchurch, showcasing landmarks like Cathedral Square, Canterbury Museum, Hagley Park, Oxford Terrace and the Avon River.”

The format for race day remains exactly the same, featuring the classic 42.2k marathon distance, the 21.1k half marathon, as well as the 10k and the Kids’ Mara’Fun. Racing gets underway at 8:30am on Sunday 31st May.

Cox and his crew have been organising the Christchurch Airport Marathon since 1995. “It grew every year to 5800 participants,” he says. “Then the earthquakes saw it drop back to around 4000, so we’re rebuilding just like the City.”

This week entries for the 25th anniversary Christchurch Airport Marathon were on track for just under 5000 participants, which would be the biggest field since the earthquakes. Entries are still open and can be made atchristchurchmarathon.co.nz.

ENDS

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