Ultra distance runner, Siegfried Bauer started his 454km 'run for the right to work' this morning. He will run from Wanganui to Auckland.

Siggy, a one time world champion ultra distance runner, is running to highlight the 200,000 people who are jobless in New Zealand.

If you stood 200,000 jobless people in a line with two metres separating them, the queue would reach from Wanganui to Auckland.

Siggy, who normally lives in Eltham, will arrive in Auckland on October 17th to coincide with the Alliance Campaign launch on that day.

Alliance leader Jim Anderton was in Wanganui to farewell Siggy.

454km is not a long run for Siggy. In the past he has run the length of New Zealand (2,170km) in eighteen days and nine hours. He set a world record when he ran from Pretoria to Capetown in South Africa (1,609km) in twelve days and 21 hours.

58 year old Siggy has come out of retirement to make this run and ensure that job creation becomes an election issue. 'It's not just unemployment I want to highlight. It's the fact that a lot of the jobless figures are hidden and manipulated by the government. People working in very small part time jobs, work schemes and in training don't show up in the unemployment figures,' Siggy said.

Siggy's itinerary: 1st October - Wanganui; 2nd October Raetihi/Ohakune; 3rd October Raurimu; 4th October Taumaranui; 5th October Turangi; 6th October Taupo; 7th October Taupo; 8th October Tokoroa; 9th October Tirau; 10th October Tauranga; 11th October Katikati; 12th October Waiahi, Paeroa; 13th October Te Aroha, Morrinsville; 14th October Hamilton, Ngaruawahia; 15th October Huntly, Pokeno; 16th October Auckland City; 17th October North Shore City, Alliance Campaign launch.

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