New marathon event to highlight the best of Taranaki

With New Zealand set to host hundreds of running events around the country this year, a new event - the Coastal Five - will launch in Taranaki in November.

Set against the backdrop of the Mount Taranaki maunga and spectacular New Plymouth coastline, the five-event, two-day running adventure enables participants to choose their events or race all five to conquer the marathon distance.

Created by husband and wife team, Mark Turner and Suzanne McCarthy of World Multisport - international multisport coaches who have recently relocated to New Plymouth - the event has been established as an innovative running challenge that will appeal to locals and visitors alike.

Explaining its creation, Coastal Five Race Director, Mark Turner states “after living overseas and coming back to Taranaki, you can appreciate that it’s a hidden gem with so much to offer adventurous Kiwis who are keen to get out there and explore their own backyard.

“We want to showcase this natural playground to the rest of New Zealand while creating a running event that the Taranaki community can really own. We’ve had great support from the local councils and businesses who are working with us to ensure the event offers an awesome experience for the runners, spectators and local community.”

With the event to showcase local highlights including the Coastal Walkway, Pukekura Park, Pukeiti Gardens and Lake Mangamahoe, Venture Taranaki General Manager People and Place, Vicki Fairley notes “we’re looking forward to seeing the hard work and passion of the Coastal Five team come to life as part of the inaugural Coastal Five event happening in Taranaki this November. This innovative event is for not only the local Taranaki community but also others right around Aotearoa, encouraging them into our region to experience our manaakitangi alongside our stunning natural landscapes and competitive streak.”

By fusing the spectacular scenery on offer in Taranaki with an innovative new running challenge, the event hopes to attract 1,000 participants in the first year and is already drawing entries from all over New Zealand. While the early bird entries have predominantly been for all five events, this is an event that caters to everyone.

Significant elements of Coastal Five include:

Waste-free
All Coastal Five participants will be emailed a virtual race pack and have the option to opt-out of receiving a medal. 

Open to runners and walkers
All the events are open to walkers, as well as runners. Due to the logistics of the five events, participants need to meet the cut-off times to guarantee a finishing time and road closures.

Cut-off times are 4 hours for the half marathon, 2 hours for the 10 km and 1.5 hours for the other events.

Open to teams
Teams of up to five members can enter so the event offers a unique opportunity to get together with a group of friends, family or colleagues of all ages and abilities.

Fundraising for local schools, childcare centres and community groups
Local community groups have the opportunity to earn 5% of revenue from any tickets they sell to be invested directly back into their own fundraising initiatives.