Athletics: Drysdale to run Queen St mile

Mahe Drysdale will continue to broaden his sporting horizons by running the Queen St Mile in April - and he might not be the only Olympic gold medallist to take part.

Drysdale is keeping busy during his six-month sabbatical from rowing, completing the Coast-to-Coast multisport race earlier this month and making a tee time to be among the celebrities at the New Zealand PGA golf tournament later this week.

And the four-time sportsman of the year today confirmed he would be a starter for the golden mile on Auckland's main street on Easter Monday.

"I'll be very much out of my comfort zone" he said. "But it's for a great cause and to support one of New Zealand's true Olympic greats."

That is Sir John Walker, whose foundation had reprised the Queen St mile after a 30-year absence. Alongside the elite men's and women's races, the are a number of other events for athletes across a range of demographics, including the 'clash of the codes' race in which Drysdale will participate.

Drysdale and partner Juliette Haigh, who won a bronze medal in the women's pair at London before retiring from the sport, will make up the rowing team, while Drysdale has challenged several other prominent athletes to meet him on the start line.

In a tweet addressed to gold medal-winning canoeist Lisa Carrington, GP2 driver Mitch Evans and All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith, Drysdale wrote: "I'm calling you out! I want to take on! A mile down Queen St 1st April. How about it?"

A mile-long run should seem simple for Drysdale after his recent exploits. He called the gruelling 240km Coast-to-Coast race "the toughest thing I've ever done" and he'll be back into the heavy mileage in May when he races the Port Macquarie Ironman in New South Wales.