Today was the first race in a planned 5 event series to be held each 2nd Tuesday until 28 March.
The distances offered are 2.5km and 5km and are open to runners and walkers.
The race series started in 2018 but I understand the course for the 2023 series has changed slightly for safety reasons to exclude the car park area.
The course is inside the park and incorporates sealed paths and some unsealed tracks in Barton’s Bush. It is very safe, even from the Australian magpie that has nothing against people from Upper Hutt.
The video of the course can be seen here
The event seemed to have more of a family atmosphere and perhaps the only thing missing was the barbecue and the bar.
The first runner home was Thomas Strawbridge, who chose the 2.5k option. This was probably a blowout race for him ahead of the 3000m he is entered for on Friday at the Capital Classic.
In the 5k race, Daniel Du Toit held off a determined challenge from Max Poland to finish with plenty of puff left.
All the fastest times across all the grades will be course records based on the new course.
Roll on the next event.
The link for the full results is at the top of the page.
