28 December 2010 – 11 January 2011
The January 2011 tour is a 13-day experience of New Zealand’s North Island. This tour has been scheduled to coincide with the Christmas break for college students and is also ideal for post-collegiate and recreational runners. Four different training base locations have been specifically chosen to provide you with the best mix of training, scenery, recreational activities and local running community. When you arrive, you will be picked up from Auckland Airport, and driven to your Auckland accommodation where everything will be set up for you to train, recover, relax and enjoy yourself before moving on to explore different training camp locations in Rotorua, National Park, and Wellington.
Training Base 1: Auckland
The “City of Sails” hosts some of the country’s richest running tradition. This is where Arthur Lydiard himself trained and then coached the likes of Peter Snell, Murray Hallberg, John Davies, Barry Magee and Bill Baillie to their Olympic successes. You will experience first hand the well-known running loops where these Kiwi running legends learned their trade: Auckland Domain, the Waterfront, Cornwall Park, and the Waiatarua Curcuit over the Auckland Waitakere ranges - Lydiard’s infamous Sunday run! Leisure activity options include surf beaches, deep-sea fishing, sightseeing and a Kiwi New Year’s Eve celebration on the Auckland waterfront.
Training Base 2: Rotorua
Rotorua, arguably New Zealand’s best training location, contains endless miles of undulating pine forest trails and is only a 2 ½ hour drive from Auckland. Traditionaly, Athletics New Zealand has traditionally hosted distance-running camps in Rotorua to make use of Redwood forest and the Whakarewarewa trail network. Other well known running locations – such as Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Taupo, and the Tongariro crossing – are all within easy driving distance of the Rotorua base. Rotorua also offers visitors a chance to experience a Kapa Haka (Maori cultural experience), geothermal activity, trout-fishing, golf, a luge-ride, hot pools, surf beaches, jetboating, bungee, Waitomo Caves, and white-water rafting (That’s just to name a few!).
Racing Options!
The Rotorua portion of the tour also provides an opportunity to lace up the spikes or flats for a pre season race. The following racing options are available:
Jan 1 Tauranga Twilight. http://www.athletics.org.nz/article.aspx?ID=6087&Mode=1
Jan 4 Dash for Cash – 5k road race in Tauranga - information to come
Jan 5 NZ 10,000 m Championships http://www.athletics.org.nz/article.aspx?ID=6088&Mode=1
Jan 9 Newtown Park http://www.athletics.org.nz/article.aspx?ID=6073&Mode=1
Your racing entry fees are included in the tour fees.
Races and race dates are subject to change.
Training base 3: Hutt Valley (Wellington)
Wellington is the capital city of NZ and offers a mix of bush-covered hills, river valleys, and flat coastlines – ideal for distance-running training. Wellington’s Hutt Valley is also the home of Nick Willis. Nick will be joining us for the Wellington portion of the tour, where he will personally introduce you to some of his favorite running routes such as the Korokoro Stream, Pencarrow Lighthouse, Hutt River Trail, Rimutaka Incline and the Wellington Waterfront.
This section of the tour also includes a not-to-be-missed day at Tunapo Sheep Farm – a true kiwi experience hosted by farmer “Squish” (aka Hamish Smith) , former NCAA DII steeplechase and 5000 m champion.
Daily-run schedule*
AUCKLAND BASE
| 28 Dec | Cornwall Park offers over 6 miles of undulating off-road trail, with the option of a steady climb up One Tree Hill (the place that U2 named their song “One tree hill” after). | image to come |
| 29 Dec | Auckland’s Waterfront is a paved out-and-back run around the city’s scenic coastline. It is also the home of “Round the Bays”, New Zealand’s biggest running event. | |
| 30 Dec | Auckland Domain is a running hub for Aucklanders. It’s only 10 minutes from the city center and includes over 8 miles of undulating paved and off-road trail. |
|
| 31 Dec | Waitatura Circuit is Arthur Lydiard’s famous Sunday run circuit where the likes of Snell, Halberg, Baillie, and Davies put in their long runs. From Lydiard’s house the circuit was 24 miles, which his athletes did most Sundays during their build up. The options of 12, 16, or 20 mile runs on undulating paved roads also exists. Click here for photos of the course. |
 Snell, Hallberg, Magee, and McNight on the Waitatura Circuit |
ROTORUA BASE
| Jan 1 | Mount Maunganui is one of the North Islands holiday hotspots. The local running loop, Round-the-mount, is a mix of sand-dunes, lime chip, and paved surfaces overlooking the Mount. Maunganui surf beach. |
|
| Tauranga Boardwalk is a 6-miler around the port of Tauranga. This is a flat run with a mix of road, grass, and boardwalk. |
|
|
| Race Option 1: Tauranga Twilight. This is a low-key race designed for New Zealand athletes preparing for their outdoor season. A key feature of the meeting is the Bay of Plenty 3000 m Championships. |
|
|
| Jan 2 | Redwood Forest is only a 5-minute jog from the hotel. Redwood is arguably New Zealand’s most popular training location. It offers endless miles of undulating pine-needle trails, tree-covered logging roads, and measured loops (in places) if you need to do a workout. Redwood Forest is part of the Whakarewarewa trail network which is a world-renowned mountain-biking and hiking area. |
 Redwood Forest |
| Jan 3 | Whakarearewa trail network is just so good that you are bound to want to go back. Just don’t get lost! | |
| Jan 4 | About 40 minutes drive from Rotorua is Taupo’s Spa Park. This is an out-and-back run (up to 20 miles) following the Waikato River, allowing runners to view the spectacular Huka Falls. This is a very nice run on well-maintained trail. |
|
| Jan 5 | NATIONAL PARK The Tongariro Crossing This spectacular mountain trail spans the length of Mount Tongariro (about 14 miles) This is a bucket list run! |
|
Mt Maunganui
Tauranga 
WELLINGTON PORTION (NICK WILLIS JOINS THE TOUR!)
| Jan 6 | Join Nick Willis for a 6-8 miler in Queen Elizabeth Park—a picturesque sand dune trail located on the Kapiti Coast. Overlooking the trail is Tunipo Sheep Farm, which also contains a bed and breakfast owned and operated by “Squish” (Hamish Smith). Squish will host the tour party for the day, which will include a tour of the farm and one of his famous BBQs. This is bound to be a highlight of the tour. | image to come |
| Jan 7 | Run in the morning over the Tunipo Farm hilltops harboring fantastic views of the Kapiti coast and New Zealand’s South Island. In the afternoon, visit the Hutt river Trail—the stomping ground for Hutt Valley’s own Nick Willis. Nick knows every step of these gravel riverside trails and is looking forward to showing you the Hutt Rec—one of the only grass tracks where John Walker has run a sub-4-minute mile. |
|
| Jan 8 | Korokoro Stream is one of Nick’s favorite runs anywhere in the world. It’s about a 9-mile loop including a nice “little” climb, river banks, beach esplanade, and a very nice single track trail. |
|
| Jan 9 | Pencarrow Lighthouse – Watch the Interisland ferries cruise past as you roll around bay after bay of gravel-chipped trail with the pacific ocean only meters away. |
|
| Jan 10 | Mount Victoria and Oriental Bay located only 10 minutes from Wellington’s central business district, this is one of Wellington’s most popular running trails. Mount Victoria was the site for the 2005 World Mountain Running Championships. | image to come |
*please note that this is itinerary is subject to change
TOUR FEES
Tour fees for the January 2011, 13-day tour are US $1690. This fee includes
Deposit
As part of your tour fees, a deposit of US $300 is required to secure your place on the January 2010 tour. Once paid, you will be sent the January 2010 Kiwirun Tour Guide which includes a detailed tour itinerary, links to cheap flights, athlete support information, and a link to the the Kiwirun Response Form.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have put together a number of of FAQ’s which should answer the majority of questions you have. Please click here to read our frequently asked questions.
References
Please click here to read what other runners have said about their New Zealand running expeience.
Apply Now for the January 2011 Tour
Your application process is free and seamless, and once you have applied we will provide you with a choice of tour fee payment options that include a secure online service. By applying, you are signaling your interest in the tour but it does not imply any obligation or commitment to join the tour.
The application process
All applicants will be notified by email when their application is received.
(1) You complete the Kiwirun Application Form.
(2) We contact you. We will email you a letter confirming receipt of your application within 3 working days.
(3) Decision Point: Once you have read through the letter and we have answered any questions or concerns that you might have, it’s time to pay your US $300 deposit to secure your place on the tour.
(4) Confirmation: Once the deposit is paid, we will contact you to ensure everything is organised . We will also send you the Kiwirun Tour Guide which includes a detailed tour itinerary, links to cheap flights, menu details, and the Athlete Response Form to help make your visit to New Zealand as enjoyable as possible.
(5) Pay the balance of your January tour fees: $US 1390 is due by December 1, 2010. Please read our terms of service page for our cancellation policy information.
(6) Communication & Support: In preparation for the tour, we are interested to hear how your training is going and any information we might need to know to best support you while you are in New Zealand.
Please click here to fill out an application form.
