Running in New Zealand

Nelson, mild to warm all year round and I think it has the most sunshine hours in New Zealand. Good trail running in the hills around it. Close to Malborough Sounds and the Abel Tasman.

http://www.nelsonnz.com/index.html

Anyway, most places in NZ good for running. Come on down :)

Ive lived here all my life and have travelled pretty extensively around the place so I should be able to help you out. NZ is pretty sparcely populated so you will find many small towns that have plenty of trails and dirt roads etc. Even in NZ's biggest city(auckland) you will find many trails and dirt roads at very close proximity. Im a bit biased in my opinion, but i agree with arthur lydiards idea of being based in a area on Aucklands west coast by the beaches, as there are literally hundreds of trails, Sand and Sand dunes to run up, Pine forest and Native Forest tracks. Also most of the beaches are on avg about 30-45mins from Downtown Auckland, which would allow you to be able to join one of the strong clubs in the Auckland area.

Hope that is of some help

Cheers

Im looking to be in NZ in Nov and Dec. Are there any clubs that meet for workouts?

Id agree with Nic, Nelson is a great place and anywhere in NZ is real good training wise.

There are few track meets in November/ December and would welcome you for a race but the quality wont be that great as it will be real early season and mostly teenagers getting ready for nationals. But youd have to be in one of the major centres- Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin to find many races.

Traveler, if you go to Auckland's Domain (in the heart of the City) at 5-5.30pm during the week you will heaps of people to run with. Most of the runners from the country's top club, Bay Cougars, run their during the week. On Sat mornings domain is good also for 1k reps, tempo's etc. Sun is ethier Cornwall Park which has a 6 mile grass loop or the Waitaks (hills in west Auckland).

Good luck

Must agree with others, just about any location offers a great venue for running.

I ran in Rotorua, Bay of Islands on North Island. In Auckland I ran along the shoreline, nice paved route.

On South Island, just pick a spot and run - heaps of them.

Found NZ folks very helpful, nice and quick with suggestions and directions. Good beer, good fresh food.

Have a great trip!

Good beer and lots of trails to run on? Hmmm, sounds like paradise. Tinman

What about Wellington or Otago, are they good places for runners to live/train? Tinman

I heard the road from Rivendell to Mordor is a great 20 miler that will test your spirits.

Too many night riders.

The further south you go the harsher the winter gets, however nowhere is unreasonably inhospitable. Otago runners will tell you it's the best Wellington runners will it's the best in my biased opinion i'd say they are of equal merits, both great bush, and hill running. Great local running scene's in both areas. Wellington probably has the stronger club scene and numbers but depends what your looking for. Dunedin (Otago) is a smaller town with probably a more 'village' like atmosphere. The good thing about NZ is nowhere is far away from wherever you are so if you don't like where you are move on!

I have lived and run the Auckland scene. Agree with 800 west. West Auckland rules !!

However, now in Rotorua. Heaps of farmland, Forest trails and Green areas to run in.

Even from my home I doubt I would run more than 800m on pavement on my way to one of those areas.

Winters not too harsh, can still run in Shorts and T shirts on many days, Summers less humid than Auckland.

Heaps of events run in this area, including NZ's biggest Marathon.

Spent 2 months last Oct/Nov travelling in NZ and training when I could (about 50-60 miles a week virtually all off road). Obviously I don't know any one area very well, but got an OK overview. I agree almost anywhere will be great - loads of trails etc.

Only got to a (400m) track to coincide with a group on two occasions. There didn't seem to be that many tracks in NZ, at least not compared to UK. I suppose this is due to a relatively small population that is spread out a lot. Of the two, Auckland seemed good but I was there the night the sprint groups went rather than distance runners. Dunedin (in Otago) was good, but apparently the quality drops off when the students aren't around. Also, everything seems to happen a lot earlier than in the UK - sessions starting at 5.30-6 not 6.30-7 - so if you are working over there be aware of this. Also, races seem to start very early - I ran in the Canterbury 10k champs and they started at 8.30am (perhaps as they were held in conjunction with NZ half-marathon champs). All the guys I spoke to that day said that wasn't unusual, and they would do long club Sunday runs starting 8 or 9 am as opposed to my usual 10 or 11 am. Harsh.

The Otago peninsular was the site of possibly my favourite run ever - 20 mins cross country developing into sand-dunes, then running down miles of deserted beach on hard packed sand with huge waves crashing in on the left, sea spray etc. Half way down an 8ft male sea-lion pulls itself out of the sea and sits there looking at me. Absolutely astonishing sight, and all the better for the knowledge that if I wasn't running I would never have seen it. Running really is the best way to see a strange country - I felt I saw so much more than other tourists ever do.

One good plan for training if you are travelling around - in NZ there are the "great walks" - 4 day treks or so all over the island with huts to stay in part way. Some (such as the Milford Track) are so popular that you need a permit to go on them, but on the rest lots of people do day walks and you can just turn up. What I did a few times was to run 5-6 miles of the trail, then turn back to my starting point. The scenery on these tracks is amazing. The Keplar track on the South island was good for that - starting at Te Anau one way was hilly and one way was flat, so you could choose different runs on different days. The Abel Tasman as well, although the bit I did seemed to be all hill! The benefits are that the tracks are clearly marked (both where to find them and the tracks themselves), you can work out distances quite well, and you can pick up maps so you know the terrain to expect. Of course, they are designed for walking, and sometimes can be a bit twisty or root-strewn to move very fast, but are well worth the effort in my view.

In short - just go!

PS didn't spend much time in Wellington - what runs I did do were just windy. Beyond belief. Apparently it is always like that, but someone may have been pulling my leg.

I have spent some time in NZ training as well. Track are not as common as you would think. They are often marked grass on the middle to a football/rugby pitch. Actually these are quite nice for intervals once you get accomsted to the lines in the grass.

Seek out clubs. Keep in mind the whole country is the same population as a large US or UK city, so you option are limited. The people there are great help.

The great walks make for great runs. There are distinctions between walking tracks and rugged mountain tracks. I ran the Able Tasman and part of the Kepler - amazing. A car is really helpful to get around. The hills west of Auckland are very hard to get to on the bus.

Do a little research before you go and sent people in clubs an e-mail, they are amazingly helpful.

There seems to be 2 areas of discussion coming out here. The remote Hiking/Touristy things/ National Parks we have and good areas to Train.

Everything everyone said here is true, BUT if you are coming for the running and Training you need to look at the areas that can give you max benefit for the Dollar. ie you don't have to find public transport or buy a car to get there.

Best areas for running in regards to finding good athletes to run with would be : Parks of Auckland, Rotorua,(Also heaps of Touristy stuff close to good runs), Wellington (Does not always windy but when it is it is awful), Christchurch, Dunedin.

There are plenty of us posting here from around NZ that there is a heap of contact for good running.

If you want to be a Tourist : Go for it !!!!!!!!

Thanks so much for all of the great info being provided. A quick question: I've heard rumors that Nelson is very nice but a little expensive. Is this true, or if it is, is there a cheaper alternative that is very similar? thanks again for everyone posting.

The Nelson property market is rediculously over priced thanks to greedy wealthy immigrants.

Nelson is jammed between the mountains and the sea so there are limited flat areas for those long flat runs.

how is TAURANGA for running?! i just found out a friend of mine is moving there and i will be able to spend my summer there...is it a good place to train?

Tauranga is awesome to train. NZ Olympian Dale Warrender (30th in Athens Marathon?) lives there as do a few other's. NZ's top Summer spot, sweet beaches and chicks too

How far is West Auckland from the University? How cold is Dunedin in the winter?