Auckland's Queen St mile race is to return after a 30-year absence.
Olympic gold medallist Sir John Walker is behind the organisation of what he hopes will be an annual event, called the Queen Street Golden Mile, starting on Easter Monday, April 1, next year. The event will raise money for his Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation charity.
Unlike the earlier street miles, which focused on elite athletes, next year's event will also be open to the public.
Auckland Council will back the event for three years. Mayor Len Brown, who joined Walker in announcing the event, said it was not intended to rival the popular Round the Bays fun run or Auckland Marathon. Numbers would be capped to 4500 for the first year.
Organisers are in talks with Nick Willis, New Zealand's Olympic medallist, but the new course means the race record of Kenyan Mike Boit won't be broken. The race will start on Mayoral Drive and finish on Queens Wharf. The old start was on Karangahape Rd, with runners taking a sharp right-hand turn on to the steepest section of Queen St.
