Air New Zealand will serve as the title sponsor of the inaugural Hawke’s Bay International Marathon.
The event takes place on May 14, 2016 and Air New Zealand’s deal with organisers Lagardère Unlimited Oceania also covers the 2017 edition.
Elsewhere, the airline has also extended its similar arrangement for the Queenstown International Marathon to cover 2016 and 2017.
Air New Zealand chief commercial and sales officer Cam Wallace said: “We have been in discussions with Lagardère for some time about bringing another international marathon to New Zealand to complement the Queenstown event and expect the Air New Zealand Hawke’s Bay International Marathon to attract significant interest from domestic and international runners to the benefit of the local economy. We are also already actively working on further opportunities to extend our partnership elsewhere in the country to help drive local tourism.”
The Hawke’s Bay and Queenstown marathon events will also include 21km and 10km races and a 3km kids run.