Close to three-quarters of more than 120 entrants for the Alps to Ocean Ultra in 2018 are from overseas, which the event’s race director hopes will help boost Waitaki’s profile as a must-visit destination.
It is the first time an ultra run has been staged in New Zealand.
Entries have been coming in thick and fast for the event, in which competitors will run 300km from Aoraki Mt Cook to Oamaru between February 25 and March 3.
Alps 2 Ocean Ultra race director Mike Sandri said preparations for the event had gone well and he was delighted the field was full.
"It’s been pretty crazy. We’ve got to 122 runners, so we’ve pretty much filled up our second quota. We were only going to have 100, so we’re pretty excited about that.
"At the moment, probably 70% of the runners are from overseas which is pretty good, really, especially for our first time."
Now the field was at capacity, Mr Sandri’s attention had turned to the job of making sure competitors were given the toughest challenge possible as they tackled Waitaki’s terrain.
Most of the run will be along the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail. The section between the Ahuriri bridge and Kurow will be "pretty much" all on private land.
"Tourism Waitaki have been very good as far as letting us use the trail as such ... we have been really fortunate to secure some bits of land that are exclusive to us, so it helps us set the race off the trail and it takes them to an area where there is magnificent views, and it makes it a bit harder, with more climbs and so on."
Mr Sandri was keen to get the community behind the race as much as possible and this week confirmed an initiative he believed would do just that.
Organisers are offering two local people free entry to the race — one to a member of a local gym, and another to a nominated person.
Mr Sandri said each of Oamaru’s three major gyms would pick three members to compete in a mini adventure race and the winner from each gym would go into a draw for a spot on the starting line. The second entry would be based on a "nominate your mate type thing".
"We’re not looking for the best athlete. We’re looking for a Joe Bloggs person who can stand up on the start line. We’re going to do a 12-month blog where people can follow the journey."
- Oamaru Mail
