New Zealand's Foremost Marathon Running Club

The YMCA Marathon Club is New Zealand's foremost marathon running & walking club. Our purpose is to help our members achieve their distance running & walking goals. We have never once failed to get a new member across the finish line of their first marathon or half-marathon. And we've been going since 1977 so that's quite an achievement!

Our secret weapon in achieving this remarkable feat is our pack running system which follows Arthur Lydiard's formula "that long, even-pace running at a strong speed produces increased strength and endurance... and is beneficial to regular competition."

Each pack runs at a set pace and you choose the pack best suited to your ability and fitness level.

• Rat pack (keep up if you can!)
• 5's (5:00/km pace)
• 5¼'s (5:15/km pace)
• 5½'s (5:30/km pace)
• 5¾'s (5:45/km)
• 6's (6:00/km)
• 6¼'s (6:15/km)
• 6½'s (6:30/km)
• 7's (7:00/km)
• Walkers

Sunday running & walking times
We run & walk every Sunday morning at the times below. It pays to arrive 15 minutes early to get a park and get changed before the run. We have great showers so bring a towel too.

In between build-ups the packs generally run for 1½ hours and have a drink stop every half hour. During build-ups we run set distances which start at 21km and build up to 32km for marathon training, and shorter distances for half-marathon training.

• From January to April...
  • Runners - 7:00 am
  • Walkers - 7:00 am
• From May to December...
  • Runners - 8:00 am
  • Walkers - 7:00 am

First timers
On your first visit to the club, please ask at the desk for the Club Captain who will place you in an appropriate pack. We're a friendly bunch and will make sure you feel welcome.

You may run with us twice as a guest. After that we ask that you join the club in order to continue receiving the benefits of our training and support system.

For more information call Relleke on our help-desk on 303-2069 on Sunday morning only, or email run@ymcaMarathon.com

How to find us
We run from the gym at the YMCA on the corner of Pitt St and Greys Ave in Auckland City. You'll find the gym entrance off the Y's carpark in Greys Ave.

Marathon build-ups
We have two build-ups each year, one for the Rotorua marathon at the end of April and one for the Auckland marathon at the end of October. Each build-up is 14 weeks and includes a seminar for first-timers towards the end. After that, you're ready to go!

Many of our members also train for other marathons, notably New Plymouth in Feb/Mar and a number of other national and international marathons.

Half marathons
Club championship events include the Pukekohe Half Marathon in February, Huntly Half Marathon in May, Auckland Half Marathon in October, and Kerikeri Half Marathon in November.