round the bays fun run – this annual event is the result of the international running boom of the 1970s and 1980s, during which millions of people took up running. the auckland round the bays fun run is one of the largest in the world, and was initiated by the auckland joggers club in the early 1970s. the run is 8.4 km long over tamaki drive, the flat road following the contours of the waitematā harbour, passing hobson bay, okahu bay, mission bay, kohimarama beach, and finishing in st. heliers bay reserve. nowadays it is estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 runners participate each year.