LocaL ProfiLe
25
Where it
all began
When chris Shaw and anna Polson volunteered to help out some friends with their half marathon nearly a decade ago,
they didn’t imagine it would be the beginning of a ‘wonderful ride’.
The husband and wife duo purchased the
Saint Clair Vineyard Half Marathon in 2011,
after a day spent helping its founders as
race marshals.
“We helped out at the race one year and
I remember being out on the course and
thinking ‘this is really beautiful’,” Chris says.
Despite little experience owning and
operating an event, it wasn’t long before the
couple were the owners of the race, then
a small event attracting around 1900 entrants.
“We didn’t know what we were doing,”
Chris says.
“We were looking for an opportunity and this
came up and it’s just been fantastic, it’s been
a wonderful ride.”
The couple have since worked tirelessly
to turn the race into a showcase of
Marlborough’s beauty, talent, and world-class
produce.
“It’s easy to not recognise the good bits of
this place, but in actual fact Marlborough is
stunning; from the Awatere Valley out to the
Marlborough Sounds, the wine, the landscape
is quite beautiful,” Chris says.
The pair added to the pipe band already
stationed on the course as entertainment,
and it now includes seven entertainment
stations and five tasting stations, not to
mention the post-race hub which features
wine, beer, food, yoga and massage.
“We had never run an event before and that
race day [in 2011] we thought ‘can we do
this?’ … we learnt on the job and it has been
a great thing for our development as well,”
Anna says.
Around 4000 entrants now take to the start
line each year, requiring a lot of organisation
and allowing Anna and Chris to give
something back to their community.
Race Angels, parking wardens, race-pack
packers and registration teams turn up every
year, raising thousands of dollars to donate
to a range of Marlborough organisations
through their efforts.
Over the past six years, Anna and Chris have
also helped to raise $290,000 for Bowel
Cancer New Zealand with charity race entries.
“One of the things we love about the event is
that it gives money back to the community,
we really love that about it. It’s like foreign
investment in our own community,” Chris
says.
With minds constantly ticking, the showcase
of Marlborough that is the race recently
spilled over into a second event, Feast
Marlborough.
Established by Anna and Chris in 2017,
the four-day event aims to display the best
of what the region has to offer in terms of
produce and gourmet cuisine.
“The thing about Marlborough is the diversity
of its land and the product, so it’s about
putting that on show and celebrating that
with people who come into town,” Chris says.
Like the race, the couple kicked off
Feast Marlborough in 2017 with a little
apprehension.
“Feast was kind of an idea on the back of
an envelope and going ‘I hope this works’,”
Chris says.
“By 4 o’clock it was all on....we were surprised
by how busy it was! It shows that Marlburians
want to celebrate Marlborough at home.”
The pair have plans to grow Feast
Marlborough and are looking to form
a trust of like-minded people to help it
reach its full potential.
“We’ve proved the brand and we’ve proved
the demand; the challenge is to turn it
into one of the big annual festivals of
Marlborough,” Chris says.
Both events are taking place during the
weekend of May 11, 2019. Head to vineyardhalf.
com or feastmarlborough.nz for details.
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