The 2026 ASICS Waterfront Half Marathon crowned two new and worthy champions as a new era in the event opened with the first single lap course from St Heliers to Downtown Auckland and back. Rotorua’s Michael Voss and Auckland Westie Amelia Lythe took line honours, beautiful crystal trophies and a cool $1000 each for their respective wins. Wheelchair competitior – and world’s fastest squirrel – Lee Warn was in a class (and a race) of his own, becoming the first participant in Waterfront history to finish the half marathon in a racing chair.
The stunning sunshine at the finish was a marked contrast to overnight weather which was very wet, very windy and very unwelcome. “It was not a pretty sight when we arrived at the venue at 3am this morning. Everything … everything was wet.” Race Director Rob Docherty said. “Who knew that just a few hours later, we’d have dramatic skies for race start and blinding sunshine for the return leg from the city.”
Auckland City really turned on a perfect day for this new era with a race course entirely absent of vehicles. Runners ruled the road on this day and a historic lap of the city centre marked the Waterfront Half Marathon as something special on the race calendar. Heading into the city, runners turned first to the north for a lap around The Cloud on Queens Wharf – including a rock band playing to runners next to The Lighthouse art installation at the far end of the pier. That was followed by a brief out-and-back in front of the Ferry Building.
But perhaps the most memorable section of all was running through the newly renovated Te Komititanga civic square, with the skyscrapers of Downtown up ahead and the venerable Britomart Station – Auckland’s original post office building – looking on. The square was followed by a loop of recently rebuilt Galway and Tyler Strets, lined with upmarket shops and coffees stops.
“It was a great course and atmosphere and I hope to be back next year,” Voss said. Looking relaxed throughout the run, Voss had one eye on the two-week distant Rotorua Marathon with a final hit out good enough for a finish time of 68 minutes. That carried him to the line over two and a half minutes ahead of second placed Jett Curteis. Ryan Surynt rounded out the men’s podium in third place, only 8 seconds behind Curteis. Voss’ time ranked as the 4th fastest in Waterfront history.
Women’s winner, Lythe, enjoyed a similar winning margin, finishing in 1 hour 20 minutes. “The 1:20 pacer saw me through half way and from there, it was just hanging on to the finish,” Amelia later said. “The support out there was awesome.” Ella Berkham came home in second with Anna Wilson another two minutes back in third.
Originally scheduled to be held on April 12th, the 2026 ASICS Waterfront Half Marathon was a 6,000 participant sell out … until Tropical Storm Vaianu put a dampener on things. The race was hastily rearranged for the following week and over 800 runners opted to defer their entry to 2027. Despite that, a late surge of interest saw registrations exceed 5,500, a more than 30% increase on the 2025 event, itself a record breaker.
The 2027 ASICS Waterfront Half Marathon is set down – tropical storms allowing – for April 4th, 2027 with event tickets on sale from early October.