As you rise before the sun, layer up to beat the cold and hit the pavement on your morning run you can take heart in the knowledge that you are not the only one training for the upcoming Auckland Marathon. Many local Britomart folk are pounding the streets too, in preparation for race day.

With entries for the half marathon already sold out and at near capacity for the marathon itself, the Auckland Marathon, which takes place this year on Sunday 28 October, is a favoured event on the New Zealand athletic calendar.

So, as the middle of winter nears, many runners are in full training mode for the various race distances available at the event.

Southern Cross employees hit the streets for better health

Southern Cross Health Society is a Britomart resident that takes pride in encouraging and supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of its employees. Through its in-house programme ‘Switch2Well’, Southern Cross coordinates events, seminars and health-related initiatives for its employees, endorsing wellbeing through healthy lifestyle choices.

This year Southern Cross has 125 employees registered to take part in the Auckland Marathon event, with two tackling the full 42.2km distance. Employees taking up the challenge are encouraged through internal communications to get into the swing of training and help motivate and inspire one another.

Nike+ Run Club

Many of you may have seen the swarm of runners that invades Nike Britomart at Atrium on Takutai at 6pm on a Wednesday night. Decked out in their complimentary Nike+ Run Club T-shirts, the group assembles neatly into pace and distance based teams headed by a designated pacer to set off on their dash around the streets of Auckland.

The Britomart Nike+ Run Club is a complimentary group that caters to all levels of fitness and is one of the biggest Nike+ Run Clubs in the world. A new addition to the Wednesday night Nike+ Run Club is the Nike+ Run Club van, which holds 250 pairs of Nike running shoes, that runners are able to take for a test run.

If you’ve lost your training mojo and need to inject some fun back into your running, or if you’re looking for a group to run with after dark, this is the crew to join. Like the true runners that they are, they hit the streets without fail at 6pm every Wednesday night, rain, hail or shine.

The Auckland Marathon and associated running events take place on Sunday 28 October. To all those lining up in this year’s event, good luck and happy training!

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