Gold Coast Airport Marathon/Australia – Marathon breaks team entry records

The 2011 Gold Coast Airport Marathon will be held on the weekend of 2-3 July, ideally placed for a running holiday during the winter school holidays. It will also be hosting the Australian Open Running Club Championships. 

This year's Gold Coast Airport Marathon to be held on 2-3 July has attracted a record 120 teams representing workplaces, gyms, personal trainers, running clubs and community groups.

Setting another event record, more than 6,000 runners are part of these 120 teams.

Teams will come from the Gold Coast, throughout Queensland, interstate and even as far away as Taiwan and Singapore to race at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon.

Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Premier on the Gold Coast and the Commonwealth Games Ms Peta-Kaye Croft MP said the record team entries continued to highlight the popularity of this major annual event in Queensland.

"We are investing more in events like this because they attract visitors and play a vital role in supporting the Gold Coast tourism industry," said Ms Croft.

"The growth in teams showcases the level of support from all over Australia and overseas for events on the Gold Coast, and provides further evidence on how well the Gold Coast can host the Commonwealth Games in 2018."

Gold Coast Airport Marathon General Manager Cameron Hart said team entries promoted corporate health and teamwork.

"The Gold Coast Airport Marathon provides an opportunity for businesses and organisations to participate," he said.

"It is a great way to promote a healthy work and life balance, provide a challenge for staff and their families, and have a fun social day."

Corporate team 'Team Health' has broken its own record with more members from Queensland Health's staff taking part in this year's Gold Coast Airport Marathon than ever before.

Gold Coast Health Service District CEO Dr Adrian Nowitzke said the record membership was one of three Team Health aims.

"Team Health has set itself a number of goals this year and so far we are on track to challenge what we like to call the Triple Crown," he said.

"Our next goal is to try and take out the biggest corporate team and most kilometres travelled awards."

The 'Coffs Combination' fitness team, which is made up of team manager Andrew Rowlings' swimming, triathlon and running group members, will travel more than 250km to participate in Gold Coast Airport Marathon events.

Andrew said the team's experience in the 2010 event had proved there were several benefits to running as part of a team.

"The main comment I got last year was that when it started to hurt, the support of the team was vital," he said.

"Even if people don't know each other personally before race weekend, it's great for our runners to know that there's a whole team looking out for them."

Teams at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon enjoy entry into the Fitness First TeamZone, a dedicated area for teams to meet and celebrate post-race. Fitness First will award prizes in the corporate and fitness team categories to the largest team, most kilometres travelled, and best team spirit.

Staged annually on the first weekend in July, the 33rd Gold Coast Airport Marathon is set to motivate and challenge more than 25,000 runners from all over Australia and the world.

It will feature an event for all ages and abilities, including the 42.195km Gold Coast Airport Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, Wheelchair Half Marathon, Southern Cross University 10km Run, Queensland Health 5km Challenge and Junior Dash 4km and 2km races.

The Gold Coast Airport Marathon, organised by Events Queensland Gold Coast, has won the Best Major Event/Festival at the Queensland Tourism Awards for the past two years.

 

Visit www.goldcoastmarathon.com.au for more information.