Aucklanders banned from Rotorua Marathon

Olympic marathon runner and chief executive of Athletics New Zealand Pete Pfitzinger, says he's gutted to have to exclude Aucklanders from running in the Rotorua Marathon. The race is scheduled to go ahead on September 26, after being delayed since May - and organisers say they're relieved that Monday's announcement cleared the way to Level 1 for people south of Auckland. But with 2,000 runners involved, Pete Pfitzinger says he has no choice but to turn Aucklanders away, as it's highly unlikely Auckland will be at Level 1 by Saturday week. And he told Alex Perrottet it was a simple decision, as he's just following the health guidelines that say Aucklands should bring their Alert Level rules with them when they travel.