What is the Grand Slam?

In the context of the Auckland Half Marathon Series, the "Grand Slam" means completing all five events in the Auckland Half Marathon Series. It is a milestone of great personal achievement, of perseverance, of the support of family and friends ... and even a measure of good luck to avoid injury, illness or any other pitfall that might preclude your taking part on any given day. The Grand Slam does not depend on how "good" you are at running or walking, how fast you can complete the event. Finishing is all that counts. Over. And over. And over again.

What is the Award?

The Grand Slam Medal is awarded to all those who finish all five events in a single season. 

How do I Qualify For The Grand Slam Medal? *

It's super-simple. To qualify for the Grand Slam medal, you need to:

• Record a finish time at ALL FOUR lead-up events (Devonport, Omaha, Coatesville and Maraetai) at any distance.
  One - and only one - of these finishes can be in the virtual race.
• Complete the Waterfront Half Marathon event in-person, on the day, at any distance.
  This must be at the in-person event. The virtual event does not count.

How do I Collect My Award?

Your Grand Slam medal can be collected from the yellow collection tent located right after you finish at the Waterfront Half Marathon. Ensure you have your race number and our friendly crew will look you up on the VIP list and present your medal to you. Easy as.
Important! Remember to check your name on the qualifier listed (posted prominently on this web site) in the week leading up to the Waterfront Half Marathon. Names can be missed for a number of reasons, particularly if you are not checking your results throughout the season or you register for each event seperately. It is your personal responsiblity to check the list prior to the event and contact us at least 48 hours prior to the event so we can investigate. If your name does not appear on the list, you will not be able to collect your award on race day.

* I can't make it to [x] Event. Are there any exceptions?

We get it. There are many, many reasons why you may be forced to miss one of the events – thus invalidating your Grand Slam quest. Whilst being there on the exact day and doing the exact distance is exactly what the challenge is all about, we nevertheless understand how “normal life” can get in the way sometimes. So we have created a Virtual Substitute Finish variation to the qualification rules to allow as many people as possible to validate their Grand Slam medal. The criteria for the Virtual Substitute Finish is noted below and will be applied to everyone without exception or deviation.

Virtual Substitute rules:

• Each athlete is permitted only one Virtual Substitute Finish in any single AHMS season
• Virtual Substitute Finish is only available at Devonport, Omaha, Coatesville and Maraetai Half Marathons
• No finish at Waterfront Half Marathon = No Grand Slam award.
• To validate your Virtual Substitute Finish, you simply complete the corresponding Virtual Run for that event.
• All existing standard rules and provisions for our Virtual runs apply. Read them here.

Remember … if it was easy, it would not mean so much!

I didn't quite manage it. Can I buy the medal instead?

No. This item cannot be purchased. It must be earned.

What Series Competitions are there?

Both the Half Marathon and Classic (10k) distance events have points series by Gender and by Age Group as well as a seperate competition for walkers.
New from 23/24, there is also a points competition by Gender for the Fun (5k) distance and Kids' Dash.
Check out the Merit Awards detail in the Info section for a full list of all awards.

How are the points calculated? 

Series points are awarded at each event in the series. Provided you record a finish time in the official event results, you will also gain some series points. The points calculation is based on where you finished relative to the winner in your gender & age group for that distance. The first placed athlete in each category receives 100 points. All subsequent finishers are awarded points as a percentage of the winner’s time on a descending logarithmic scale. That means that, no matter how long you take to finish, you will always earn some points in your season-long quest for greatness!

Remember, you may receive series points in both your gender competition and your age group competition if those competitions exist. The points awarded will be different in each one because they will - most likely - be calculated relative to a different winning time.

Important! Double points are awarded at the Series Grand Finale. That means the overall winners at the Waterfront Half Marathon will receive 200 points instead of 100 … and so on down the line. So make sure you save your best til last!

Important! Series points are not awarded for virtual runs.

Important! Although you do not need to complete all five in-person events in the series to achieve an overall placing, it will obviously be difficult to win your category unless you do.