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Twizel’s Meridian Hard Labour Weekend Turns 40 in 2025 The Meridian Twizel Hard Labour Weekend returns over Labour Weekend, 25–26 October 2025, marking four decades of community spirit, outdoor adventure, and athletic challenge in the heart of the Mackenzie Basin. Held annually in Twizel since 1985, the Hard Labour Weekend has grown from a half marathon into a must-do event on the multisport calendar, attracting participants from across the country (especially Canterbury and Otago) with its unique mix of trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, and family-friendly events. What sets this event...

Celebrate Four Decades of Challenge, Community, and Camaraderie! Get ready to be part of something truly special as the Twizel Hard Labour Weekend celebrates its 40th anniversary in October 2025! For four decades, this iconic event has been bringing together athletes, families, and adventurers from all walks of life to experience the heart and soul of the Mackenzie Country—all while raising vital funds to support Twizel sport, community wellbeing, and local projects. ✨ A Community Event Like No Other Run entirely by an incredible team of dedicated volunteers, the Hard Labour Weekend is more...

We are excited to announce the brand new Youth Hard Labourer event for 2025!! This event is designed for youths aged 12 to 17 yrs ( under 18 years) to have a multisport experience and become Youth Hard Labourers. Three disciplines over the 2 days are completed being: indoor rowing, Mountain Bike (16km) and Off Road Run (10km). We initially were planning to do a shorter kayak course for the youth but the health and safety logistics of this event was just too much at this stage and maybe something we can look at for following years depending on demand.

Entries are now open for 2025 Meridian Twizel Hard Labour Weekend. All events as was planned for in 2024, including the new Youth Labourer, are included for 2025. Entry fees remain the same as per 2024. To enter the event in 2025, please copy this link into web browser search:   https://raceroster.com/events/2025/97301/meridian-twizel-hard-labour-weekend-2025

Due to all the different forecasts all showing extreme weather for the weekend, the Meridian Twizel Hard Labour Weekend committee have made the very hard decision to cancel the 2024 event. This is obviously not an easy decision and know all our entrants are hard people who can handle a bit of bad weather but still our number one priority is the safety of our participants and volunteers and we were not prepared to put them in obvious danger. We also wanted to give as much notice as possible so plans may be able to be altered as well as save some of the huge costs associated with running the event. In...