Hayden Wilde To Compete In Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon On 17 January

New Zealand’s leading triathlete Hayden Wilde has confirmed his presence at the Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon (part of the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival of multisport) at Mount Maunganui tomorrow (Saturday, 17 January).

The half marathon has assembled its best ever field with Hayden Wilde, fellow triathlete Kyle Smith, top distance runner Julia Oakley and leading trail runner – Sam Harvey amongst the field who will line up on Pilot Bay for the 7am start.

Hayden Wilde had an incredible 2025 winning the T100 Triathlon World Championship after series wins in Singapore, London, French Rivera, Oropesa, Wollongong and Qatar. His only blemish was an 8th in Dubai after a mix-up saw him ride an extra lap on the cycle course.

Most of these wins came after sustaining severe injuries in a bike crash in May where he broke several ribs and his scapula, and punctured his lung after crashing into the back of a truck while on a training ride in Tokyo. He was cleared for an emergency medical flight to Belgium to get shoulder surgery before starting an extensive rehabilitation programme. Just three months later it was remarkable enough that Wilde made it on the start line for the T100 series race in London in August, let alone win it.

Tauranga distance runner Julian Oakley has had a storied running career which includes a sub-4 minute mile and a personal best half marathon of 1:04:10 set in Christchurch in April 2025. He is also the race record holder at the Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon, set when winning the 2023 event in a time of 1:07:27.

Kyle Smith is a professional triathlete from Taupo who is one of the world’s leading exponents over long distance courses. Kyle has found success at every level from World Triathlon short course racing to off-road XTERRA triathlon to middle distance non-drafting events and Ironman. He is a former winner of the Loan Market Tauranga Half setting then race records in 2020 & 2021.

Festival Director Lauren Watson said – “we are delighted that Hayden Wilde will be part of our Fulton Hogan Mount Festival tomorrow. He is the world’s leading triathlete, so it is special to have him at this festival of multisport. It is going to be an amazing foot face in the Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon with Kyle Smith, Julian Oakley & Sam Harvey joining Hayden Wilde on the start line. We look forward to the crowds coming out in Mount Maunganui tomorrow to see these incredible athletes in action.”

Also on the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival programme for Saturday is the Loan Market Tauranga Half, the iline Construction Aquabike event, and the Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon which has 5km, 10km and half marathon options.

The Loan Market Tauranga Half elite men’s field sees Jack Moody chasing a hatrick of wins after winning the 2024 & 2025 events in race record time. His main competition in the men’s elite field is expected to come from Mike Phillips, the reigning New Zealand IRONMAN champion.

Local legend Hannah Berry is also chasing a threepeat in the women’s elite field. Her main rivals are past winners Rebecca Clarke & Kate Bevilaqua, and Olympian – Nicole van der Kaay.

© Scoop Media