Red Stag Marathon

The Red Stag Marathon is a single lap of Lake Rotorua, starting and finishing beside the Novotel Rotorua Lakeside on the lakefront. The course runs anti-clockwise around the lake and is new for 2027. Runners head south out of the city, then north-east through Ōwhata and along the eastern shore through Tikitere to Mourea, before following the northern shore past Hamurana. The route then returns south along the western side of the lake through Ngongotahā and back to the lakefront finish. The surface is mostly paved with some short sections of dirt path. The course is largely flat beside the water, with a handful of short climbs on the eastern and northern sides of the lake, and a flat final stretch into the city. Views of Lake Rotorua and Mokoia Island feature along the way.