NZ ROAD MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS

U20 | SENIOR | MASTERS

Athletics New Zealand brings two National Championships together on the same day at the same event, and it’s going down at The Spectacle Trail & Road Running Festival in Whakatū, Nelson, on Saturday 6 December.

2024 saw a high-quality international elite road mile field assemble in Nelson for a road mile showcase, harkening back to the iconic 1983 Queen Street mile, which saw Mike Boit run 3:28.36 down Queen Street.

In 2025, the Mile returns with even more energy. Hosting the New Zealand road mile championships will see top Kiwi athletes line up in the elite fields to go head-to-head with some of the best in the world. All chasing finish-line glory and, for our Kiwi competitors, national titles. 

The course in Nelson is electric, with crowds packing the entire circuit. Racers complete 2.15 laps of the circuit around central Nelson. 

THE FORMAT

The format for the Senior and Under 20 One Mile Road Championships within The Spectacle will embrace an inspiring, action-packed racing opportunity that incentivizes laying it all on the line.

The 2025 One Mile NZ Road Running Championships will utilise a World Athletics approved format combining male and female athletes with the female athletes setting out to a predetermined time gap with the male athletes in pursuit.

The authorised Spectacle road mile events in consideration for the One Mile NZ Road Running Championships for Under 20 and Senior athletes are as follows:

Elite Invitational Mile

Will offer a minimum of twenty four places in the field (maximum twenty six places) for male and female athletes made up of eight invited (by The Spectacle organisers) international elite athletes, six NZ elite invited athletes (by The Spectacle organisers) with a minimum of ten remaining places for domestic athletes (selected based on the NZ T&F rankings for 1500m or Mile (fastest times) for the past 12 months (5 Dec 2024 to 5 Dec 2025) and to be solely adjudicated on by the Chief Athletics NZ statistician.

A Mile etc

The balance of athletes wanting to contest the NZ Championships in the Senior Men’s, Senior Women’s, Under 20 Men’s and Under 20 Women’s grades who don’t make the Elite Invitational Mile field would be assigned to the A or B etc race(s) as required and race using the same format as the Elite Invitational Mile.

Championship medals will be awarded, based on net time, to the fastest Athletics NZ–eligible athletes in the Senior and Under 20 grades, across the Elite International Mile and the various NZ Championship mile races.

The authorised Spectacle road mile events in consideration for the One Mile NZ Road Running Championships for Masters athletes are as follows:

Masters Mile Age Grade Championship medals will be awarded to Athletics NZ–eligible athletes in the masters grades and will also be raced in a combined male and female race(s) but with placings determined by the first three over the line male and female in five-year age grades.

World Athletics

The Spectacle Road Miles incorporating the NZ One Mile Road Championships will be operated in accordance with World Athletics rules with performances of Senior and Under 20 athletes valid for entry standards, records, and rankings.

THE COURSE

CALL AREA
Please note the pre-race assembly area located in the Nelson Club carpark on Selwyn Place.

All participants must meet here 15 mins before your event for the pre-race briefing, shoe check, and to be escorted by some of our wonderful volunteers onto the course.

FINISHING
When turning on to Selwyn Place from Hope Street for the final time move left to enter the finishing shoot.

LAPS
Mile: 2.1 laps

PRIZEGIVINGS

The top three male and female finishers in the U20, Senior & Masters categories will be presented with their medal on stage

8:20pm – Prizegiving
NZ Champs & Elite Mile Events

NZ ROAD MILE SCHEDULE

  • Combined men and women

  • Senior men, senior women, men U20, women U20

    A & B Mile seeded based on time

  • Senior men, senior women, men U20, women U20

    A & B Mile seeded based on time

  • Watch the Central Stag, Marko the Mako, Gi-Ant, Santa and Kori the penguin go head to head in a 100m relay