News & Updates

Night Cross 2.0 it set to return on Saturday 3 June with the promise of being bigger, bolder and even better than the inaugural event which took place 14 months ago.

Combining floodlit cross country to the backdrop of pumping DJ tunes, the innovative Night Cross event proved a huge hit last year as more than 60 runners embraced the unique event.

Now Night Cross returns to Northern Rovers Football Club at McFetridge Park in Hillcrest on Auckland’s North Shore will the ambition of providing an even more memorable experience for all competing runners.

Created by the Whippets Running Project this year’s event has proven even more popular amongst the running community, with entries selling out more than two weeks before the event. Over 130 athletes are entered and the 2023 iteration is a set to be a huge success.

“We were really pleased with the response from the athletics community to last year’s event, but we realised we could have done certain things differently,” explains Whippets Running Project club president Dan Donegan. “This year we’ve invested a lot more into course infrastructure with better lighting and some other surprises for competitors. The DJ will play some tunes before he heads inside until late.”

Open to both registered and non-registered runners the competitors will race in either a men’s and women’s open or a men’s and women’s elite race over a 5km course. The fastest three men and three women will chase a prize pool of $1600 – however, for Donegan the race is much less about the elite performers but providing an opportunity for everyone to have a positive running experience.

“The Whippets main objective is to get more people into club running and competing in more Athletics NZ, Athletics Auckland and Athletics Canterbury events,” added Donegan. “We hope that by providing an opportunity for people to leave their bags in the changing rooms, have a shower and maybe a beer and some hot chips afterwards they’ll have a great experience, get the cross country bug and show up at other events.”

At the pointy end of the race, the elite women’s race features national mile and 3000m bronze medallist Tillie Hollyer and recently-minted New Zealand road mile champion Brigid Dennehy while the elite men’s race sees the return of defending champion David Lee, who will take on a strong field including 2022 New Zealand Cross Country silver medallist Cameron Avery who finished 47^th in the senior men’s race at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in February.

For Donegan the event will provide a unique experience and it not one to be missed.

“For some it might seem hard to imagine running around a suburban football field on a winter’s night, but with the atmosphere on and around the course and drinks specials and a DJ playing until 1am we are very confident the event will provide a memorable environment for all participants.”

Entries are sold out, to join the waitlist and find out more go here   

The 2023 edition of the event will also be livestreamed on the Athletics NZ YouTube page