Queen Charlotte Relay
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Queen Charlotte Relay
The Queen Charlotte Relay is a five-person road relay along Queen Charlotte Road between Picton and Havelock. The event routes past Sounds, beaches, native bush and rolling farmland. It is one of the oldest road relays in New Zealand, first held on 17 September 1982 and run annually except for cancellations in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The course has had only minor changes, mainly in Havelock for safety reasons.
Teams come from across New Zealand. A walkers grade was added in 2002; walkers are not refereed and are intended as social walking. A Business House Challenge runs as a race within a race for workplace teams; entrants for this must be aged 14 or over. All competitors must be aged 14 or above on race day.
Entry is by five-person team. Team entry fee is $200 online only and entries are not open yet. The field is limited to 80 teams including walkers. If the race is cancelled at the request of Marlborough Roads because of unsafe road conditions, entry fees will be refunded less a $40 administration charge to the card used to pay.
Changeover points have cut off running times; teams not at a changeover before the specified running time will have their next leg started in a mass start. Prizes go to first placing in each grade and for fastest lap times for men and women.
Distances and leg notes:
- 5,100 metres: undulating then steady climb
- 8,600 metres: downhill then undulating
- 8,100 metres: flat and fast
- 6,200 metres: undulating then steady climb
- 6,650 metres: steady rise, sharp downhill then undulating
Registration, toilets and race briefings are at Bluebridge Ferry Terminal Yard, Picton. Buses for leg 2 runners and support vehicle departures are organised from that location. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
