The Harbour Bridge from below at dusk. The half climbs onto it at about 15.0 km, the highest point of the course. Photograph: Daniel Wang, Unsplash.Devonport from Mt Victoria, with the city and the bridge beyond. The half starts down there on King Edward Parade. Photograph: Josh Tere, Unsplash.The Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Crossing at first light. The half reaches the Wynyard Quarter at about 20.0 km, then turns for the finish. Photograph: Dan Freeman, Unsplash.

Auckland Half Marathon

From Devonport up the North Shore and over the Harbour Bridge, the marathon's first half with a finish of its own in Victoria Park.

Overview

The half starts at 6:50am on King Edward Parade in Devonport, fifty minutes after the marathon, and runs the marathon's course for its first 20.5 km. That takes it up the North Shore through Takapuna, down the Northern Busway and over the Harbour Bridge at about 15.0 km, then round Westhaven to the Wynyard Quarter. There the marathon carries on along the waterfront, and the half turns south to finish in Victoria Park.

The bridge is the hill. The course climbs 39 m in a kilometre onto the deck and drops straight back down, and it finishes almost exactly as high as it started.

6,620 finished in 2025, and 2026 entries are still open.
When
The 2026 Auckland Half Marathon is on Sunday, 1 November 2026, starting at 6:50am local time on King Edward Parade, Devonport.
Course
The Auckland half's course climbs 181 m in all, with its lowest point at 0 m and its highest at 43 m.
Entry
Entry to the Auckland half is open, with no ballot, and costs NZ$219 for 2026.
Field
The 2025 Auckland Half Marathon had a half-marathon field of 6,620.
Weather
Across 31 years, the Auckland half's race-day temperature has a median of 14.8 °C.
Records
The Auckland Half Marathon course records are 1:04:37 (Tim Vincent, 2023) and 1:13:08 (Danielle Trevis, 2010).
Time limit
The Auckland half's time limit is 4 hours.

Course map and elevation

5 km splits marked · the dashed line is the marathon, which the half follows until it turns for the finish at 20.5 km · hover or drag the profile below to move along the course
5101520 Start Finish

Elevation · built from the organiser's 2026 marathon map, which the half follows · LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024) · smoothed 100 m 0–43 m

+27−12+1−17+1 +33+66−95 43 m 0 m

—

0.04.28.512.716.921.2

kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile

Reading the profile

The highest point is on the Harbour Bridge, 43 m above the sea at about 15.7 km, and the lowest is the motorway along the water just before it. Climbing onto the bridge is the steepest climbing kilometre, 39 m, and coming off it into St Marys Bay is the steepest descending one, 37 m. The North Shore before the bridge rolls through Takapuna, and the course finishes within a metre of its starting height. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and, for a 90-minute runner, the course comes out about 42 seconds slower than a flat 21.1 km (0.78 %).

Take it with you

Course GPX Organiser's course map

The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024) elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.

The arch of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in silhouette over still water at sunset, pier posts in the foreground.
The Harbour Bridge from Westhaven at sunset. The half comes off it and drops into Westhaven at about 18.0 km. Raquel Moss, Unsplash
Auckland's city skyline across the harbour from the North Shore.
The city across the Waitematā from the North Shore. The half spends its first 14.0 km on this side of the water. Sulthan Auliya, Unsplash

How to enter: dates and fees

The half is open for 2026 at NZ$219, including fees and GST, and the price rises as each allocation sells. Online entry closes at 2:00pm on 31 October, the day before the race. You need to be 16 on race day.

Refunds have closed: the last, at 22 %, ended on 20 September. You can still pass your place to a friend running the half for NZ$27, or move to another distance, paying the difference to go up and getting nothing back to come down. Both close at 5:00pm on 30 October. Entry works the same way for every distance, and the marathon page has the rest.

Enter at aucklandmarathon.co.nz

History

The half arrived in 1994, when the event was two laps of Tamaki Drive. The Harbour Bridge came back into the course in 2000, and entries jumped from 2,200 to about 7,500. The finish moved into the middle of Victoria Park in 2017.

Danielle Trevis's 1:13:08 from 2010, on her Auckland debut, is still the women's record. Tim Vincent took nearly a minute off the men's in 2023 with 1:04:37. The race's full history is on the marathon page.
  1. 1994The half is added, on two laps of Tamaki Drive
  2. 2000Back over the Harbour Bridge, and entries jump from 2,200 to about 7,500
  3. 2010Danielle Trevis runs 1:13:08 on her Auckland debut, still the women's record
  4. 2017The finish moves into the middle of Victoria Park
  5. 2023Tim Vincent runs 1:04:37, nearly a minute under the old men's record, for his first win abroad
  6. 2025Lisa Cross wins the half for the fourth time, and 6,620 finish
  7. 20261 November, starting at 6:50am in Devonport

200020102020

Course records

Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.

Men’s course record

1:04:37

Tim Vincent · 2023

Average pace
3:04 / km
Terrain-adjusted
+0.78 %

Women’s course record

1:13:08

Danielle Trevis · 2010

Average pace
3:28 / km
Terrain-adjusted
+0.78 %

Race day: start times and cut-offs

Start
6:50am
Time limit
4h
Aid stations
5
There's no driving to the start. You book a seat in advance on a chartered ferry or bus, one way, and sales close at 5:00pm on 25 October. Ferries leave Downtown, Birkenhead, Bayswater, Hobsonville and Half Moon Bay from 5:00am for NZ$15–17; buses leave Albany, Constellation and Takapuna from 4:40am for NZ$11–13. Early trains on every line reach Britomart in time for the downtown ferry, and they're included in your entry.

Bags go in at the start in the official gear bag and travel to Victoria Park; collect yours by 1:00pm. There are five aid stations, at about 4, 8, 12, 17 and 20 km, each with water, electrolyte drink, toilets and first aid. After the race, trains and buses are free on your bib until 4:00pm.

The morning, hour by hour

4:40am
First buses from Albany
5:00am
First ferries to Devonport
6:50am
Half marathon start, King Edward Parade
8:55am
Cut-off at Smales Farm
9:40am
Cut-off at the Onewa Road on-ramp
10:10am
Anyone still on the Harbour Bridge is taken off
10:15am
Cut-off at Point Erin
10:50am
The half's four hours run out

Cut-offs

Smales Farm · 10.0 km
8:55am
Onewa Road on-ramp, before the bridge · 14.0 km
9:40am
Harbour Bridge: anyone still on it is taken off · 15.5 km
10:10am
Point Erin aid station · 17.0 km
10:15am

You have four hours, so your time runs out at 10:50am. The Onewa Road cut-off is the one that matters: miss it and you don't cross the bridge, and anyone still on the bridge at 10:10am is taken off. The organiser's schedule is still marked as based on 2025.

Race-day weather, 1995–2025

Median
14.8 °C
Warm years
3 of 31
Wet years
2 of 31

Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.

1995 · 14.1 °C
1996 · 11.6 °C
1997 · 15 °C
1998 · 13.7 °C
1999 · 16.4 °C
2000 · 16.6 °C
2001 · 14.2 °C
2002 · 11.2 °C coldest 11.2 °C
2003 · 15.5 °C
2004 · 12.4 °C
2005 · 14.8 °C
2006 · 15.6 °C
2007 · 16.7 °C
2008 · 14 °C
2009 · 12.5 °C
2010 · 11.3 °C
2011 · 15.8 °C
2012 · 12.3 °C
2013 · 14.2 °C
2014 · 15 °C
2015 · 13.6 °C
2016 · 12.6 °C
2017 · 16.3 °C
2018 · 16.3 °C
2019 · 15 °C
2020 · 17.6 °C hottest 17.6 °C
2021 · 17.2 °C
2022 · 17.2 °C wettest
2023 · 13.9 °C
2024 · 13.2 °C
2025 · 15.7 °C

95969798990001020304050607080910111213141516171819202122232425

Frequently asked questions

Is the Auckland half hilly?

It has one real hill, and it's the Harbour Bridge. The climb onto the deck is 39 m in a kilometre, the descent off it about the same, and the course finishes within a metre of its starting height.

LINZ 1 m lidar, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m.

Is it a fast course?

Tim Vincent ran 1:04:37 here in 2023, but the bridge costs time. Over the whole course it comes out about 0.8 % slower than a flat 21.1 km.

Organiser records; terrain-adjusted from the measured profile.

Can I still enter for 2026?

Yes. General entry is NZ$219 including fees, and online entry closes at 2:00pm on 31 October. The price rises as allocations sell.

Organiser entry information, checked 2026-10-17.

How do I get to the start?

On a pre-booked charter ferry or bus to Devonport; there's no driving or drop-off. Ferries leave from 5:00am and buses from 4:40am, and bookings close at 5:00pm on 25 October.

Organiser transport page, 2026.

What are the cut-offs?

8:55am at Smales Farm, 9:40am at the Onewa Road on-ramp before the bridge, and 10:15am at Point Erin. Anyone still on the bridge at 10:10am is taken off, and the overall limit is four hours.

Organiser event schedule, based on 2025.

Does the half share the marathon's course?

For its first 20.5 km, from Devonport over the bridge to the Wynyard Quarter. There the marathon turns east along the waterfront and the half turns south to finish in Victoria Park.

Both organiser course maps, compared.

Can I transfer or get a refund?

Refunds have closed. You can transfer your place to a friend running the half for NZ$27, or change distance, until 5:00pm on 30 October.

Organiser entry information.

What's the weather like in November?

Mild. Across 31 race mornings the median temperature during the half was 14.8 °C, and only two had a millimetre of rain or more.

ERA5 climatology, 7:00 to 10:00, 1995 to 2025.

Where can I collect my bag?

In Victoria Park, where it's taken from the start in the official gear bag. Collect it by 1:00pm.

Organiser race-day information, 2026.

Is it a good first half?

A memorable one, with the bridge in the middle. The limit is four hours, but the cut-off before the bridge comes at 9:40am, so set off at a pace that gets you there.

Organiser cut-offs; measured profile.

How many people run it?

6,620 finished the half in 2025, up from 6,164 in 2024 and 4,293 in 2023.

Organiser figures for the 2025 edition.

What is the weather like on race day?

About 14.8 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 31 years, which have run from 11.2 °C to 17.6 °C. 2 of the 31 were wet.

ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.

How accurate is the elevation figure?

It comes from LINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024), sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 1.16. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.

68 missing samples · 2 bridge spans corrected.

Sources

Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 10

Fact Source Verified
Course lineThe organiser's 2026 marathon map, which the half follows to the Wynyard Quarter, then the marathon's own run-in to Victoria Park; checked against the organiser's half-marathon map and a third-party 2025 file. It measures 21.28 km, 0.9 % long2026-10-17
ElevationLINZ Auckland 1 m lidar DEM (2024), the model the marathon is measured on; the Harbour Bridge deck modelled to its clearance2026-10-17
Race-day weatherERA5 via Open-Meteo archive, 7:00 to 10:00 on race morning2026-10-17
Course recordsOrganiser results and records page2026-10-17
Field sizeHalf-marathon finishers on SportSplits, 2023 to 20252026-10-17
Start, cut-offs and aid stationsOrganiser half-marathon page and event schedule, 2026 (marked as based on 2025)2026-10-17
Entry, refunds and transfersOrganiser entry information page2026-10-17
TransportOrganiser transport services page, 20262026-10-17
HistoryOrganiser's thirty-years article and race reports2026-10-17
PhotographyUnsplash: Daniel Wang (the bridge from below), Sulthan Auliya (the city from the North Shore), Dan Freeman (the Viaduct), Josh Tere (Devonport), Raquel Moss (the bridge at sunset)2026-10-17

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