Coming up next:
Sunday December 20 The Auckland YMCA Marathon Club famous GibPat Pairs Race is on at the Cornwall Park Sports Association Clubrooms Puriri Drive, Greenlane.
Join fellow Y members and family at our annual Christmas Function. 8am start for the handicapped pairs race fun of around 5km. It is the final Club run for the year. The theme: Covid-19
After finishing, head back to the Clubrooms for our Bubbles & Breakfast and a Shared Celebration, Trophy Presentation and Prize Giving, for the best themes.
The Marathon Club is closed December 20 and reopens on January 10.
The first event for 2021: The 8th Continent Marathon and Half Marathon
Sunday January 17 in the Auckland Domain. The best value marathon in New Zealand. Enter here: 8th Continent Marathon event.lilregie.com/booking/attendees/new
More details are available from the Events tab on our website. Contact us: run@ymcaMarathon.org.nz
Welcome to New Zealand's Foremost Marathon Running Club
The Auckland YMCA Marathon Club is New Zealand's foremost marathon running and walking club - and has been since 1977. We have one purpose... helping runners and walkers just like you achieve your distance running and walking goals.
Every new member that has followed our training programme has successfully made it across the finish line of their first marathon or half-marathon. And we've been going since 1977 so that's quite an achievement.
Our secret weapon in achieving this remarkable feat is our pack running system which follows Arthur Lydiard's formula "that long, even-pace running at a strong speed produces increased strength and endurance... and is beneficial to regular competition."
Each pack runs at a set pace and you choose the pack best suited to your ability and fitness level.
| Rat Pack 5's 5 ¼'s 5 ½'s 5 ¾'s 6's 6 ¼'s 6 ½'s 7's Walkers |
(keep up if you can, sub 4:30/km) |
Sunday running & walking times
We run & walk every Sunday morning at the times below. It pays to arrive 15 minutes early to get a park and get changed. We have great showers so bring a towel for after the run too.
In between build-ups the packs generally run for about 1 ½ hours. Don't worry if that sounds a lot more than you're used to or you're worried about holding the pack up - we stop for water every half hour, and traffic lights are always a great place for stragglers (of which there are many!) to catch up.
First-timers often say they ran further than they expected on their first time with us, but found it much easier than they expected.
You'll find we're very supportive, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you adapt to the longer distances.
During build-ups (see the Programs Page) we run set distances which start at 21km and build up to 33km for marathon training. Most packs also have a sub-group not wanting to do the full marathon build-up and they run a shorter distance each Sunday - so if 33km sounds intimidating, don't worry!
- From January to April...
- Runners - 7:00 am
- Walkers - 6:00 am (from 14 February - 18 April)
- From May to December...
- Runners - 8:00 am
- Walkers - 7:00 am (from 15 August - 17 October)
