Waitikiri Bottle Lake Forest Park in the northeastern part of Christchurch. The nearest suburb is Burwood and access is gained off Waitikiri Drive. Additionally, there is some access via Rothesay Rd and Broadhaven Reserve to the middle and farthest ends of the course respectively through forest paths and gravel roads (no cars allowed)

There is a large mostly grassed parking area near the Bottle Lake Park entrance (off Waitikiri Drive). It’s less than 5 minutes walk from the course and start line. However, with the large number of teams, we anticipate that the car parking area will fill up so would encourage people, especially those living in Christchurch, to carpool or be dropped off by relatives/friends. Our guests from out of town are likely to have vans which will need space to park there.

There will be space along the side of Landfill Road (the main part of the course) for spectators to walk and limited space to set up camp chairs temporarily. There will also be some access to the hill loop at the end of Landfill Road. We are still working out where spectators will be allowed access to and whether they can only stand or set up chairs etc. There will be access on both sides of the road but the usual guidelines apply (don’t impede the runners!!).

There are two lap distances:

5km – this is only for some of the 6 person relay laps (four for each team). This is an out and back run on tar seal flat and fast along with a short loop on gravel road. View map for more info.

8km – this is for both 6 person (two laps total) and 8 person (all 8 laps). This is an out and back run starting on gravel and then into tar seal followed by gravel road and pathway then back on tar seal and finish on gravel. View map for more info.

There are two planned start times:

8:30am for 8 person relay from Start

8:45am for 6 person relay from Start

There are plenty of paths, roads and grassed areas near the event centre/start/finish/baton change area for you to warm up and prepare. The area around the event centre is largely tree covered.

Most of the course for the 5km laps is on tar seal is a good surface with little camber, excellent for fast times in road racing shoes. The Event Centre loop is on hard gravel surface. The 8km laps cover the same tar sealed area but also include an additional sections of gravel road and pathways including a hill ascent and descent on gravel road. The hill elevation is about 20m. Consequently, about half of the lap distance is on tar seal and the other half will be on various gravel paths/road surfaces. Our very experienced and knowledgeable Race Organiser, John, believes that road racing shoes should be fine for this lap as well. For those who don’t take their running too seriously, normal running shoes are perfect.

The 5km laps are easy for any Park runner. The 8km lap is a little more demanding but still much easier than many of the challenging T2A laps. Sorry but that’s all we can offer for this year.

Please contact us at takahetoakaroa@athleticscanterbury.org.nz so we can discuss how we move forward with your concerns.

We really really want everyone who wants to run to be able to run. We don’t want any teams disqualified due to a lack of runners. We will do our best to find runners for you even if we have to announce on the day for an extra runner (so long as that runner isn’t already committed to another team). Contact us at takahetoakaroa@athleticscanterbury.org.nz and we will do our best to help.

We are trying to organise for there to be live updates and a leaderboard that people can easily view. More details to follow.

Community teams have until September 29th to make team changes (either names or the order of runners). Final changes can be made at the Team captains briefing at Nga Puna Wai at 6pm that day.

Club teams have until September 30th to make team changes (either names or the order of runners). Final changes can be made at the Team captains briefing at Nga Puna Wai at 6pm that day.