The same club that recognises the Australian marathon sweep also promotes the ANZAC sweep, which is the eight states of Australia, and both islands of New Zealand. This worked in beautifully with my plan to complete the Marathon Maniacs challenge of 13 marathons in 13 different countries and/or states in 365 days, as I’d done three in France, Antarctica and Chile since 30 November 2015, and with the ANZAC sweep would get to the 13 by September 2016.

Finding the marathons to run in NZ was not difficult as their weather is just perfect for marathon running and they have heaps of marathons on offer. Around the time I was planning the year for 2016 Qantas had a great deal for flights to Auckland from Sydney and this helped cement my choices.

The marathons I ran in NZ were:

North Island –  Bayleys Mountain to Surf Marathon

South Island – Christchurch Airport Marathon

In addition to those two marathons of course the first marathon I ever completed was on the North Island – the Rotorua marathon.