Hawke’s Bay Foundation was delighted to be named the official charity partner for this year’s Air New Zealand Hawke’s Bay International Marathon, held on the 18th of May.

With more than 6000 participants attending the event, it gave staff and volunteers the opportunity to talk to a wide range of people, many of whom hadn’t engaged with the Foundation previously.

The two-day event kicked off with a Sports Expo at Napier Conference Centre, where we hosted a ‘Shot in the Pot’ game, which saw participants taking a shot at a goal with hacky sacks. Thanks to the incredible generosity of a local donor, every successful goal earned a $2 donation for the Foundation. Although our focus was on raising awareness (rather than raising money), we still earned an impressive $2,500 for The Foundation across the two days of the event.

Race day on Saturday dawned a chilly one degrees with a frost on the ground, but the promise of beautifully blue clear skies on a picture perfect Autumn Hawke’s Bay day. The finish line was hosted at Elephant Hill, one of Hawke’s Bay’s most beautiful wineries overlooking Cape Kidnappers and the Hawke’s Bay coastline.

The combination of stunning weather, a festival atmosphere and 6000 happy, endorphin-fuelled marathon participants resulted in a fabulous weekend and a fantastic profile-raising opportunity for Hawke’s Bay Foundation.