Nelson’s amazing trail network highlighted in running festival
Running festival The Spectacle co-founder Julian Matthews has travelled and run all over the globe, but there’s no place like home, and he’s keen for others to experience our magnificent outdoors on foot.
Matthews, a 1500m Rio Olympian, said the city was all he knew as a kid, and it took travelling the world for him to understand just how good it was for runners.
“The climate is amazing, our trail network is amazing, our city is cute, and really well situated to access that trail network,” he said.
“We’ve just got this outdoor playground that I think should be highlighted. There’s no reason in my mind why Nelson can’t be the running capital of New Zealand.”
Thousands of runners will be enjoying the region’s outdoor offerings this Friday and Saturday during The Spectacle, which Matthews described as New Zealand’s most accessible running event.
Organisers have focused on making sure that anyone of any age or ability can pick an event that they can do.
“Our cut off times are very generous,“ Matthews said, “you can almost walk out all of our events and make it”.
This year, they’d seen a four fold increase in children’s participation in the event, and around 250 children under 10 were expected to participate in the Kid’s Mile through the city’s streets.
Those kids would then get to see elite runners take to the asphalt in the New Zealand Championship Road Mile, as the festival had partnered with Athletics New Zealand.
That they had chosen the event to be the national championships for the road mile and the New Zealand 50km Trail Championships was “a big, big thing”, Matthews said.
“It’s very innovative and the first of its kind in a partnership between Athletics NZ and an independent event,” he said.
Races range from the mile to the 100 mile, from the trails to the road, and participants range from beginners to Olympians, while the less than fleet of foot can participate in a 5km walk.
Also forming part of the festival’s offerings are a free concert by the Black Seeds on Saturday, and a concert with a local band the night before, both on the Church Steps.
Matthews believes The Spectacle and Nelson Parkrun have both boosted participation in running, which had been “awesome” to watch.
Last year 90% of races started and finished from the CBD. This year, all of them will.
Matthews said that made it easy logistically for participants, and really brought the festival into the central city.
Last year’s event passed the muster as a proof of concept, and feedback from both spectators and participants was “very very positive”.
Putting on the festival wasn’t without its challenges. Its timing was moved back after concerns from some retailers that the original plans to close roads earlier in the day could impact retail spend two weeks before Christmas.
Matthews said it was a “big call” to have the roads closed that took a lot of convincing.
“We needed to deliver something that justified that decision by the council,” he said.
“Obviously, we had the pressure on ourselves anyway, but that was an added incentive to to deliver something that the city enjoyed, and it seemed to do that.”
The 2024 festival injected an estimated $3 million to $3.5 million into the local economy. While organisers didn’t have the runway to promote the event overseas, The Spectacle did bring in international tourists who were already in New Zealand.
Around 30% of those who attended came from over 200km away.
The Spectacle runs from December 5 to 6. More information can be found at thespectacle.co.nz.
By Catherine Hubbard, Nelson Mail
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