News

Sunday morning saw a brilliant return to form for Auckland’s iconic Round the Bays, and an especially exciting start to Southern Cross’ multi-year naming rights partnership with New Zealand’s longest-standing fun run.

After two years of cancellations, a glorious Auckland day greeted more than 20,000 participants at the start line. Prior to the start, Chris White, CEO of Southern Cross Healthcare, congratulated all participants on behalf of Southern Cross, saying, “just by taking part in this legendary event you are making a difference to your own and your community’s health. Ka pai!”. 

Those who trod the Tamaki Drive course were joined online by participants from around New Zealand and the world who ran their own, virtual Round the Bays via the Round the Bays app, from locations as far away as Germany, France and the USA.

Once participants reached the finish line, they were greeted by Southern Cross’ Recovery Zone, where our Southern Cross team handed out over 3,000 pieces of fruit, 150kg of trail mix, 1,500 smoothies, and led countless stretching sessions, while six Active+ physios spent over four hours helping thousands of sore legs warm down. 

Chris White said: “We are enormously proud to support Southern Cross Round the Bays, a great event that encourages thousands of people to get together, be active, and have fun. The Southern Cross group has a vision of healthier years for more New Zealanders, and this high-energy, rewarding event that attracts such a wide range of participants is a great example of how we can achieve that.”

We’re already planning for next year’s event, so why not have a think about joining in the fun yourself in 2024!