More than 13,000 registered participants in the 2025 Queenstown Marathon, representing 88 countries, had to battle every element on Saturday, waking up to snow-capped mountains courtesy of another cold front, some stiff breezes, more rain, and a short hailstorm before the sun finally appeared.
But none seemed bothered — although definitely relieved — when they crossed the finish line.
Course records even fell as two first-time champions were crowned.
More than 91% of this year’s participants came from outside the Queenstown Lakes district, expected to bring an injection of more than $25million into the area’s economy, organisers said.
Slightly delayed starts — the Otago Daily Times understands the starts for both the full and half marathon were delayed due to athletes having difficulty getting to the start-lines, because of traffic congestion — also failed to faze runners, who were aged from 4 to 87.
One participant clocked up his 152nd marathon while others completed their first.
Some actively chose to make it a bit harder on themselves.
They included Queenstown volunteer firefighter Jamie Harris, who ran the half-marathon in full firefighting kit, including a 20kg breathing apparatus tank, fundraising for Leukemia & Blood Cancer NZ, finishing in 3hr 7min 28sec, and retired tennis pro Marcus Daniell and canoe sprint athlete Max Brown, who ran with weighted vests to raise money for children born with clubfoot through the charity Miracle Feet — they finished in 5:01:58 and 5:49:18, respectively.
One athlete chose to run in a blow-up dinosaur costume, another opted for a V-string, while Scotsman Dominic Snellgrove, 22, ran the full marathon dressed as a road cone, borrowing one from near the end of the course route to cross the finish line with.
In Queenstown on a working holiday visa, Mr Snellgrove told the Otago Daily Times he also completed the event in 2023, that time dressed as Mario.
Perhaps ironically, this time he managed to beat his previous time, finishing in 3:13:36, giving him an extra 30 minutes to prepare for his eight-hour shift at Botswana Butchery on Saturday night.
Auckland-based professional triathlete Jack Moody’s time of 2:25:02 over the full distance broke the previous record by more than a minute. Timothy Jorgensen, of Christchurch, came second, more than four minutes behind, while Blair McWhirter, also of Christchurch, was third in 2:32:10.
Moody said he had not run a "pure marathon" since he was 21, but had twice before won the Queenstown half-marathon.
"It’s one I keep coming back for.
"This one is meaningful."
He was in the lead group of athletes for most of the way, before pulling ahead after about 35km.
In the women’s marathon, Czech runner Bara Styblova, who only entered on Thursday, dethroned six-time winner Hannah Oldroyd, of Christchurch, on her debut over the distance.
She finished in 2:48:31, a new women’s course record and less than a minute in front of Oldroyd. Mindy Kaufman, of the United States, was third (2:54:24).
In the half-marathon, Christchurch’s Tom Moulai won in 1:10:04. Australians Jye Spriggs and Nick Roberts were second and third in 1:14:11 and 1:15:22, respectively, while in the women’s half, Dunedin’s Becky Aitkenhead took the title in 1:17:14, more than three minutes clear of Maia Flint, of Christchurch, in second, and Saskia Cosgrove-Drayton, of Wellington, in third (1:22:43).
Switzerland’s Ers Schoneberger, who arrived in Queenstown from Thailand on Friday night and signed up when he landed, won the 10km in 33:37, while Sascha Mitchell, of Christchurch, won the women’s 10km in 38:27.
