Bays run has 72,000 wearing out the shoe rubber

Some participants complained of the heat as the day was a scorcher. Pictures / Greg Bowker

An estimated 72,000 pairs of shoes, some sandals and a few bare feet paced their way through Auckland's annual waterfront fun run yesterday.

Quite a few wheels, mainly on children's pushchairs, rolled the 8.4km of the HSBC Round the Bays event as well.

The footwear ranged from expensive-looking running shoes to well-worn urban street wear and Army issue boots (on the soldiers towing a field gun).

Likewise, the running kits ranged from Nike caps and flapping runners' shorts to knee-length pants.

Dressed in the latter was Charlie Babatski, 39, of Bucklands Beach. He had matched his tramping shorts with tramping shoes.

"I don't run at all. It really took it out of me. I had to stop and walk for half a kilometre to cool down.

"It was a nice run. Once you get under the trees it's beautiful. It just needs more shade."

Jahmane Paikea, 6, of Henderson ran and walked barefoot. His feet looked fine, but how did they feel? "Good," he shrugged.

"He thinks he's still on the farm," said his mother, 29-year-old Joanne Paikea, who completed the event with three children.

Many dived into the sea at St Heliers Bay to cool off at the end, but some bemoaned the crowds and the timing.

While it was a nice temperature for a morning stroll, it was "a scorcher" for many entrants.

"Daylight saving was a killer," said one panting runner, who wished the event had been scheduled an hour earlier to make up for the overnight change to winter time.

An organiser, Elizabeth Leitch, said: "We try to keep most things consistent; we've started at 9.30 for the last 16 years."

The heat did not bother a group of Auckland University medical students, named the Road Warriors after Mel Gibson's Mad Max II movie.

Flouting health advice, they drank cans of beer en route through a makeshift sipper funnel they shared.

"We were tested for meningococcal disease and TB last week," said third-year medical student Daniel Pirini, 21.