News & Updates

The state-of-the art New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) in Upper Hutt is the attractive setting for the 2022 New Zealand Road Championships on Sunday 4 September. Here are seven good reasons to compete in this year’s event.

Access top-class facilities

The New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport offers the very best in high-tech facilities and entrants for the 2022 New Zealand Road Championships will be some of the very first sports people in the country to sample the state-of-the-art recovery area – including plunge pools and indoor warm up facility.

Target a PB time

Athletes will get the opportunity to run on compact, flat and fast course in Upper Hutt. With ‘80 to 90 per cent of the 1.165km looped circuit’ on resealed roads there should be every opportunity for the runners and walkers to chase personal best times. Following the cancellation of the planned 2021 New Zealand Road Championships in Mystery Creek, the day represents another welcome opportunity for the endurance community to come together once again.

Ideal prep

Positioned in the calendar a little under one month from the 2022 New Zealand Road Relay Championships, which take place on the historic Takahe to Akaroa course on 1 October, the New Zealand Road Championships represents an ideal springboard ahead of the iconic team event. With the busy spring marathon season kicking-off with the Rotorua Marathon on 17 September the 10km challenge may also act as a perfect warm-up for longer distance challenges on the horizon.

Stay at the venue

Not many race venues offer the bonus of accommodation, but the NZCIS still has modern king rooms available at the refurbished campus from $90 a night. These include a cooked breakfast – ideal for competing centre teams or individual athletes. To find out more go here

Follow in the footsteps of legends

While the New Zealand Road Championships does not quite have the heritage and prestige of the New Zealand Cross Country Championships the annual event still boasts a rich history spanning almost 60 years. Former winners of the men’s race read like a who’s who of New Zealand distance running with former champions including Bill Baillie, Jeff Julian, Dick Taylor, Dick Quax, Paul Ballinger, Peter Renner, Alan Bunce and Jonathan Wyatt. Former women’s champions are no less impressive with former gold medallists including Anne Audain, Lorraine Moller, ten-time former champion Mary O’Connor, Nyla Carroll and Tokyo Olympian Camille Buscomb.

Enjoy some time in the Hutt Valley

Upper Hutt offers a number of very good reasons to enjoy your stay the region. The nearby Brewtown boasts a wide range of entertainment for the family from ten pin bowling, paintball, ice skating and a trampoline park. Brewtown also offers a broad range of food options as well as five craft breweries and a boutique distillery!

Attend our Connections Conference

The day before the New Zealand Road Championships on Saturday 3 September we stage our annual Athletics NZ Connections Conference at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) – which will provide a prime opportunity for the athletics community to “Connect, Learn and Enable.”

The day will focus on a range of critical topics within the sport focused on the overarching theme “to activate the power of the communities to provide great athletics experiences.”

To attend the event which takes place from 10am-4.10pm go here

***Online entries for the 2022 New Zealand Road Championships close on Sunday 28 August at 11.59pm (no late entries). To enter go here