The Race
The Christchurch Marathon moves from four laps to two for 2027, starting on Park Terrace and finishing in North Hagley Park, past the Town Hall, Canterbury Museum and the Avon River. The full course guide will be added when the organiser publishes the map.
| Next Race Date | Sunday 18 April 2027 |
|---|---|
| Course type | Loop: two laps, from 2027 |
| Registration | Open entry, staged prices |
| Ballot opens | No ballot |
| Start | Park Terrace, Armagh Street end, 07:30 |
| Finish | Special Events Area, North Hagley Park |
| Total finishers | To be Confirmed |
| Avg race-day temp | 6 to 18°C (April) |
| Cutoff time | To be Confirmed |
| Free race-day transport | No |
| Course certification | AIMS and World Athletics measurement standard |
History
Christchurch's marathon history starts with a Commonwealth Games. In 1974 the Games marathon was run on the city's roads, and Ian Thompson won it in 2:09:12, then one of the fastest marathons ever run, with New Zealand's Jack Foster second in a national record of 2:11:18.
Four years later the local organiser Don Cameron and the Long Distance Running Club of New Zealand created the Sedley Wells Midwinter Marathon, which drew 525 runners in 1978. By 1981 it had grown enough for the city council to approve a revival of the Commonwealth Games route, and the event became the City of Christchurch International Marathon. Tom Birnie's 2:15:12 in 1985 stood for decades as the men's race record.
The following years were uneven. Participation fell in the 1990s, the full marathon was cancelled in 1996 and a change of management in 1997 moved the race to a central-city venue. The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 destroyed much of the centre and forced repeated course changes, and for several years the marathon ran as four laps of a compact inner-city circuit, a format many runners found repetitive.
For 2027 the race, now the ASICS Christchurch Marathon, moves to two laps, starting on Park Terrace and finishing in North Hagley Park. The 2026 race, the last on the four-lap course, was won by Taishiro Kawano in 2:24:19 and Becky Aitkenhead in 2:38:14.
The course
From 2027 the Christchurch Marathon is two laps of a flat central-city course. It starts on Park Terrace at the Armagh Street end, beside Hagley Park, and finishes at the Special Events Area in North Hagley Park, reached from the Armagh Street entrance.
The route takes in Hagley Park, the Christchurch Town Hall, Canterbury Museum and the Avon River, known in Māori as Ōtākaro, on roads through the rebuilt city centre. It replaces the four-lap course used in recent years and halves the number of repeated circuits.
The course is certified to international measurement standards. A full route map, aid-station positions and a kilometre-by-kilometre guide will be added once the organiser publishes them.
Course Map
Until the 2027 route is published the map shows only the fixed points: the start on Park Terrace, the finish in North Hagley Park and the central-city Bus Interchange. Tap a marker for details.
Christchurch hosted the 1974 Commonwealth Games, and its marathon, won by Ian Thompson in 2:09:12 with Jack Foster second in a New Zealand record, led to the city's own race four years later.
Mid-April is autumn in Canterbury. Mornings are cool, often in single figures at the 07:30 start, and the day usually warms into the mid to high teens. Christchurch weather changes fast: a warm north-westerly can arrive overnight, and a southerly change brings cold wind and rain within an hour.
Check the forecast the night before and pack for both. A throwaway layer or bin bag is useful for the wait on Park Terrace, and arm warmers and light gloves are easy to discard. On the course, most runners race in shorts and a singlet or T-shirt. The broad roads around Hagley Park are exposed to wind, with little shelter from a southerly.
New Zealand's UV is strong even in autumn, so runners out beyond four hours should wear sunscreen and a cap.
Entry
Entry is open, with no ballot and no qualifying time. Prices rise in stages. The super-early marathon price was NZ$139, about £59, on sale from 16 July to 5 November 2026, and later tiers cost more.
The festival also includes a half marathon, a 10 km, a youth 3 km and a kids' mile, so family members can race too. The official charity partner is the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust, Rānui. There is no good-for-age route and no separate charity entry allocation.
Refund and transfer terms are set in the entry FAQs on the official site, so read them before entering if flights are booked around the race. The course is certified to AIMS and World Athletics measurement standards, so times can be used as qualifying times for other races where they are accepted.
Fast runner standards
There is no good-for-age route and no qualifying standard.
ASICS Christchurch Marathon on Race Roster →Race Weekend
Expo and race-pack collection
The race expo is on the Saturday before the race. The venue and opening hours for the next edition have not been published. Earlier editions held race-pack collection in the central city, but wait for the athlete guide instead of assuming the same venue.
Bring the registration confirmation and photo ID, and plan to arrive in Christchurch by Saturday morning.
Getting to the start
The marathon starts at 07:30 on Park Terrace at the Armagh Street end, on the eastern edge of Hagley Park, and finishes in North Hagley Park, a few hundred metres away.
Christchurch has buses but no trains or trams suitable for race morning, and the roads around Hagley Park are closed. The best plan is a hotel in the central city or around Hagley Park, within walking distance of the start.
Details of bag drop, wave or corral starts and finish facilities for the new course will be in the athlete guide. With the start and finish so close together, most runners staying centrally leave belongings at the hotel. April mornings can be cold, so wear a layer to the start that you can discard or leave in the bag drop. After the finish, central-city hotels and Victoria Street are a 10 to 20 minute walk.
Spectating
The start on Park Terrace and the finish in North Hagley Park are a few hundred metres apart, so a supporter can see both without moving far. With two laps, runners pass the central city and Hagley Park twice, which makes repeat sightings easy on foot.
Specific viewing points, kilometre markers and spectator plans will be added once the organiser publishes the new course map.
Post-race food
North Hagley Park is on the edge of the rebuilt central city, and the nearest food is a 10 to 15 minute walk east. Riverside Market, an indoor food market beside the Avon on Oxford Terrace about 1 km from the finish, has stalls and small restaurants under one roof, which suits a group that cannot agree. Victoria Street, north of the centre, has cafés and restaurants closer to the hotels on that side of the park.
Most runners finish before lunch. Book a table for a group, because the central city is busy on race Sunday.
Where to Stay
Stay near Hagley Park or in the central city. The marathon starts on Park Terrace and finishes in North Hagley Park, a few hundred metres apart, so a hotel within walking distance of the park covers both.
Hagley Park edge and the western central city
Hotels along Park Terrace and the streets just east of the park are the closest to the start and finish, 5 to 10 minutes' walk, and some face the park itself. The George is 0.2 km from the finish. This is the race-first choice.
Central city and the Avon
The rebuilt central city, around the Avon River, Cathedral Square and Riverside Market, has most of the city's new hotels and restaurants, 10 to 20 minutes' walk from the start. Crowne Plaza and Novotel Cathedral Square are about 1 km from the finish. It is the best all-round base.
Victoria Street
Victoria Street, north-east of the park, has hotels, motels and a run of restaurants, about 10 minutes' walk from the start. Sudima Christchurch City is 0.5 km from the finish.
Riccarton
Riccarton, west of Hagley Park, has motels along Riccarton Road at lower prices, 20 to 30 minutes' walk across the park.
Addington
Addington, south-west of the centre, has budget hotels near the stadium and a longer walk or a short ride to Park Terrace.
Booking advice is in the timeline below.
Recommended hotels
On Park Terrace facing Hagley Park, a few minutes from the start and the finish. Small, so book early.
A modern hotel within walking distance of the park and Victoria Street's restaurants.
Close to the Avon and the central city, a short walk to Park Terrace.
In the middle of the rebuilt centre, 15 minutes' walk from the start.
Booking timeline
There is no ballot, so book when you enter. The central city's hotel stock is smaller than it was before the earthquakes, and hotels near Hagley Park fill on race weekend.
Christchurch Airport is about 12 km north-west of the centre, 20 to 25 minutes by taxi, with airport buses to the central city. Most international visitors connect through Auckland, Sydney or Melbourne. Arrive by Friday to allow for jet lag and the Saturday expo.
See & Do
All three sit within a kilometre of the finish, on the park and river side of the central city.
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
Inside Hagley Park, with flat paths, glasshouses and autumn colour in April. Free to enter.
Avon River punting
Flat-bottomed punts poled by boatmen in Edwardian dress along the Avon from the Antigua Boat Sheds. Sitting down, for once, is the point.
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
The city's public gallery in the centre, free, indoors and level.
After the Race
Mid-April is autumn on the South Island: clear, crisp days, cold nights and the first snow on the Southern Alps by the end of the month. Hanmer Springs is at its most colourful, and the east coast's marine life is there all year.
A French-settled harbour village in an old volcanic crater on Banks Peninsula, with a flat waterfront and harbour cruises looking for Hector's dolphins.
Hot thermal pools in an alpine village, with the valley's exotic trees at their autumn peak in April.
Sperm whales offshore all year, fur seals on the rocks and crayfish on the menu, where the mountains meet the sea.
Across the Southern Alps by train through Arthur's Pass to a wild west coast of rainforest, pancake rocks and river mouths.