Allan Hartley – The Man Behind the NZHL Deal

If it weren’t for Allan Hartley’s running mate getting injured, we might never have got so many other parkruns in New Zealand.

Back in 2012 Allan was the New Zealand Home Loans Lower Hutt franchise owner.

“I’d started running a bit of fitness about a year before the first parkrun. I did have a running buddy who had a sore ankle so I was trying to run by myself and there was no real motivation behind it.”

Then in April 2012 he saw an article in the Hutt News, there was to be a free 5km launching in Lower Hutt the following week.

“I thought it was bloody awesome and that NZHL needed to be involved. I ended up putting Richard (Lower Hutt event director at the time) in touch with our marketing manager and CEO at the time.

“Then one thing led to another when [founder] Paul Sinton-Hewitt came out. I met with him and made sure the other two met with him when he went to Auckland. Then I got out of the way.”

As a result NZHL formed a partnership that spanned seven years.

The initial deal involved covering the costs of up to four new parkruns a year. In the early days they also provided the 50 and 100 miestone shirts.

Three parkruns were started as a result of the NZHL sponsorship with Hamilton, Millwater and Blenheim all having a franchise owner involved from the get-go.

“I wasn’t surprised that the sponsorship happened. It was just a good grassroots thing to be involved with. NZHL were looking to sponsor something across New Zealand, they like to sponsor things that its people were involved in.”

Allan has ticked off 13 of New Zealand’s events, he had plans to visit several this year until the pause derailed that.

He’s run at 264 parkruns, with 235 at Lower Hutt.

So what was it about that first event that’s kept him coming back?

“I liked the fact there was a whole bunch of other people; that I wasn’t doing it alone.

“When it came along I thought it was motivating. Looking back it changed my whole weekend.

“I’d beaver away all week with work, then get to Saturday and blob out and do not a lot. But when you had to get up and go for a run at 8, it turned into ‘what can I do next’.

“My wife noticed a change to our whole weekend, I’d get more done. I loved it for them.”

Allan is now a sales manager with Quinovic, he sold his NZHL franchise at the end of 2018.

He’s now working on getting funding for a new Upper Hutt parkrun, so keep an eye out for news of that launch.