Entrants competing in the Sotheby’s Realty Marathon, La Roche Posay Half Marathon, Havana Coffee 10km and Queenstown Airport Kids Run, were led out by a Subaru, with another Subaru serving as the tail car.
Subaru of New Zealand’s National Marketing Manager Daile Stephens was stationed at the Subaru display tent at the finish line and experienced first-hand the synergy between the event and the adventure-loving marque.
“The picturesque course not only has a dramatic backdrop of the globally renowned Crown and Remarkable mountain ranges but it also represents where our Subarus are most at home. Off-road, on steep alpine passes and up ski fields, where Kiwis can enjoy the safety and advantages of our All-Wheel Drive vehicles,” Mrs Stephens says.
Along with the Queenstown Marathon, Subaru supports active and healthy lifestyles, as well as the benefits of the outdoors and adventure, and there’s no better place than Queenstown to get amongst those interests.
Mrs Stephens adds: “It was such an incredible experience seeing all the competitors coming in over the finish line and we enjoyed meeting many of them, when they wandered over to our tent to see our cars on display.”
Subaru’s first all-electric, All-Wheel Drive SUV was there, making its much-anticipated public debut in New Zealand. The striking, long-awaited Solterra certainly attracted plenty of attention and the positive feedback reflected how well it was received.
“Wow, it looks fantastic.”
“Good height to load a bike on the roof.”
“So smart and futuristic inside.”
“It’s much bigger than I thought.”
The Subaru Solterra is named by combining the Latin words for ‘sun’ and ‘earth’ and it is built on the new, all-electric vehicle architecture e-Subaru Global Platform. The Solterra is designed to provide an electric offering without compromising on the brand’s distinctive features and abilities.
The Solterra heralds a new era of electrification for the brand while still delivering everything Subaru drivers love about Subaru – All-Wheel Drive, active safety technology, adventure capabilities and durable, reliable engineering – in an all-electric vehicle.
Subaru’s brand ambassador couple were on hand at the event, with prominent New Zealand social media personality Matilda Green running the Havana Coffee 10km course and her husband Art Green - one of NZ's leading fitness and wellness figures – acting as chief support crew. The active pair had their two young children in tow, and they all hung out at the Subaru tent throughout the day, where they enjoyed interacting with the crowds.
"It’s such a cool atmosphere - so many people are out there challenging themselves and supporting each other. We’re pretty lucky to have such an incredibly beautiful course in our country," Art says.
"There is a cool buzz around the town as everyone cheers on the runners along the lake and through the streets to the finish line," Matilida adds.
Subaru’s professional triathlete ambassador Hannah Wells also made an appearance at the Subaru tent. She answered plenty of questions from runners keen to pick her brains about many aspects of her demanding sport.
“It’s mind blowing how many people turn up for this event. There’s thousands of people and everyone is incredibly enthusiastic and gets involved. There’s all sorts of abilities from elites to first-timers. It really is an event for everyone from the marathoners, to the half-marathoners, to 10km, to the kids run. It’s a spectacular event in an spectacular location," she says.
Mrs Stephens says seeing a lot of Subaru customers amongst the competitors reinforced the relevance of the Queenstown Marathon to the car brand.
“We know that many of our Subaru drivers love getting out running, jogging or hiking and this event had something for all of them, with its four different lengths incorporating 42.2km, 21.1km, 10km and 2.2km kids run options.”
“Our team enjoyed seeing our Subarus leading them out and bringing them home and we look forward to doing it all again next year,” she concludes.
Catherine Pattison
Public Relations
E catherine.pattison@subaru.co.nz
M +64 (0)27 4455389