A Ngati Kahungunu and Hawke's Bay success story is about to go another round with hundreds of visitors arriving in Napier this week for the first of the two big Ironmaori events.
More than 1000 people will take part in the Ironmaori Quarter, first held in 2012 to meet the demand after the success of Ironmaori following its inception in 2009.
Ironmaori Quarter comprises a 1km swim around Pandora Pond, a 45km cycle ride heading north on Meeanee Quay to the Expressway and south through Prebensen Dr and Church Rd to Fernhill and back through the Pandora Industrial area, and a 10.5km run/walk on a course around the Ahuriri Estuary.
Those in the individual event, completing all three stages, start at 7am and have six hours to complete the course before it closes at 1pm. The teams event, with one member for each section, also starts at 7am, on the cycle course.
For many it's a warm-up for the eighth Ironmaori Half Ironman on December 2, the latest celebration of a health and fitness phenomenon started by Hastings woman Heather Skipworth and which spawned a range of other events, such as Ironmaori Quarter, Ironmaori Kaumatua for the Over 55s, which will be held on Friday, the December 1 Ironmaori Tamariki-Rangatahi for those aged 5 to 17, and Ironmaori events in Taupo, Wairarapa and Taranaki, and on Australia's Gold Coast.