Factor marathon into your weekend travel plans

People planning on visiting the city centre on Sunday are being urged to plan their journey carefully as the ASB Christchurch Marathon could cause traffic disruptions.

"The marathon is going to cause some traffic disruptions so if you are planning on coming into the city centre for brunch or to do some shopping, you should allow yourself some extra time to get there,'' says Ryan Cooney, Manager of the Christchurch Transport Operations Centre.

"Roads along the marathon route will be closed for part of the day so you will need to plan your journey ahead of time. There's information on the Transport for Christchurch website (external link) on the best routes into the city and on where you can park in the city centre,'' Mr Cooney says.

Thousands of people have registered to take part in Sunday’s marathon, which will start in Cathedral Square at 8am.

The marathon route will take runners around Hagley Park and then east along the Avon River before returning them back to the city centre finish line.

Runners in last year's Christchurch Marathon.
Organisers of the ASB Christchurch Marathon are hoping the event will attract 5000 entrants this year.

The fastest competitors are expected to complete the course in just over two hours but there could still be runners on the course into the early hours of the afternoon.

Traffic restrictions will be in place along the marathon route between 5am and 2pm.

During that time it will not be possible to cross the marathon route by car although people will be able to cross the route on foot or by bike.

Buses will be running but there may be some service delays.

The roads affected by the marathon will be re-opened in two stages. The roads around Durham and Montreal streets should re-opened by 10am. All other roads should re-opened by 2pm.

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