Tomorrow morning a seething mass of brightly coloured T-shirts, Lycra and sweaty bodies will inch its way around Lake Rotorua in the 50th running of our famous marathon.

The hotels and motels are full, the roads are getting more congested and the streets are filling up. It's nearly marathon day.

Sometimes you just want to crawl into a hole with embarrassment ...

Love him or hate him, Shane Jones' departure from Labour is going to hurt the party.

So there we were. Me, Mrs P, a couple of little kids on bikes and a smattering of our neighbours, some with dogs, trying hard not to stare at the scene unfolding before us.

Looking at the list of marathons worldwide, Rotorua's circumnavigation of the lake ranks among the 50 longest running marathon races.

Like most leaders of the household I'm sure, I am definitely the boss when it comes to the family car.

As the official welcomes began at Wednesday night's Supper Club, a buzz of chatter continued around the room.