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About the event and its history
The Nelson Marathon was born from The Monaco Mid-Winter Marathon, a fun and challenging event that participants could undertake as competitively as they chose. With a mantra of being informal, low cost and fun, with a bunch of like-minded people on a winters day, it became a firm favourite in the local calendar. This was a marathon distance across all event categories (i.e. 42.2 km), either run solo, as a pair or a team of four.
The basic philosophy was that lack of means shouldn’t be a barrier to entry and anyone who was willing to try and prepare themselves for the event. It’s not the Olympics, so the emphasis was always about rewarding participation rather than winners.
The Monaco-Mid Winter Marathon was founded by Stu Cottam in 2014 (see more about him and the origins below) and following his departure for Thailand after the 2020 edition, Dan Bullock and the team took over from 2021 and came under the Active4Good umbrella in 2023 and 2024. Active4Good was formed with the same ethos as Stu had when founding the Monaco Mid-Winter Marathon and we aim to continue with his legacy.
Going forward
As with all events, they evolve over time. With not many other events around the area in the winter, the Active4Good team decided to rebrand for 2025, bringing in a Half Marathon and a 10km for Solo entrants, and a Four-Person 25km Relay aimed to encourage younger participation in a safe environment with those who like to partake in spirited competition with mates! We hope that the marathon will be the main event over time, with a course that couldn't get much flatter if you tried, awesome scenery and available to all.
It’s with thanks to and assistance from Athletics Nelson, Waimea Harriers and Nelson Events, in terms of organisational expertise, volunteer marshals and equipment use, that we can put these events on. Thanks also go to the Nelson City Council/Nelson Regional Development Agency for their unwavering support, together with our title sponsor NBS and the local businesses and schools for allowing use of their facilities for the event. Additionally, thanks to PF Olsen for their support in allowing access to the Forestry section on Rabbit Island in the lead up to and on race day.
Stu Cottam and the Monaco Mid Winter Marathon
It was on a cool crisp winter’s day, during a Sunday morning long run, that a bunch of like-minded runners sowed the seed for what eventually came to be the popular and charitable Monaco Mid-Winter Marathon.
Ideas were exchanged and tossed around. The group even tried running from Tahunanui beach to Rabbit Island, which was a near perfect 42km.
Stu Cottam, as the de facto ‘shepherd of the flock’, was the fella who took on promotion and creation of the event. It went from a “just turn up on the day and take your own time” to an organised event almost overwhelmingly quickly. Fortunately for Stu, with a lot of hard work and the assistance of many great helpers, along with a bit of improvisation, the Inaugural Monaco Mid-Winter Marathon was held in June 2014.
Choosing the course
When looking for a suitable location Stu decided upon starting the race at The Monaco Peninsula for its picturesque and central location, with the iconic seaside, old English tavern of the Honest Lawyer as the race host.
From there, the course meanders around the Waimea inlet which showcases some stunning seaside views, bordered with snow covered mountain vistas, crossing rivers (via bridge), running through farmland, all the way out to the family hotspot of Rabbit Island, a stunning beach and recreational reserve.
About Stu
Stu says he’s a broken down old 50’s something runner who much prefers the off-road variety and will have a go at most runs (the tougher the better generally). Given the distance he continues to cover on his travels, we’d argue he’s certainly not broken down.
Stu only really began running in his 30s. In his ‘prime’ he could run a sub 3-hour Marathon and won a few things here and there. Age, and wear and tear, have taken their toll though.
With a love for running in the hills, mountains and trails around Nelson, his belief has always been that Nelsonians have a great spot for getting away from it all. Some days you just need to go for a bloomin’ good, long run!
Organising this Marathon was just one of many hats he wore and things he enjoyed doing. Stu is an early childhood teacher by profession and with that enjoys the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism of young kids. We can learn a lot from them and them a lot from us, so much so that many young local runners got into the sport having seen him running locally or sharing his experiences in the classroom.
Without people having a crack at something on event day the effort put into it would all be a little fruitless so, many thanks to all those who get motivated, get out there, and go and do it! Thanks!
My sincere hopes for the future of this event are:
Stu Cottam
✓ This will be a ‘not for profit’ event.
✓ The main event will be the marathon!
✓ It will be low key and relatively hassle free to enter, and to have a go at.
✓ It will be an event that encourages and rewards first time marathoners (and indeed beginning runners of all kinds).
For Good Causes
The proceeds from this event go to supporting active recreation in Nelson Tasman. Learn more about Active4Good HERE.
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