From a secret race in Afghanistan, to running through pines in Auckland

Four years ago, a group of Afghans were evacuated from Kabul on a New Zealand Defence Force emergency flight.

From running for their lives, many of those evacuees are now running for fun in a marathon that’s in its second year.

The Aotearoa Afghanistan Marathon is organised by the Timatanga Hou New Beginnings Foundation and is held in Auckland.

Reza Siar is one of the organisers of the November event and was among the 1,700 evacuees whisked out of Kabul in 2021 as the Taliban closed in.

“I think it's important because both Kiwis and Afghanis are coming together to run together in memory of running in Afghanistan. Especially the ladies, they don't have a chance to run in Afghanistan,” he told RNZ’s Here Now.

Here Now presented by Kadambari Gladding is about the journeys people make to New Zealand, their identities and perspectives, all of which shape their life her

The Afghanistan Marathon started in Bamiyan a decade ago, it was called a secret marathon because organisers only shared details of the race at the last minute to protect women who wanted to take part from those who could have abused or even stoned them for running.

Some of the original organisers of that event are participants in the Auckland marathon, held at Riverhead Forest which aims to continue the spirit of the Bamiyan marathon.

“I think for everybody it's very frustrating. Everybody feels that they are in complete isolation. And especially for girls and women, they are not allowed to do anything. They cannot go outside of their houses.

“And that's a complete shutdown of everything for women. And that's why we are trying to tell the world, especially for the Kiwis, that it's not the complete picture of Afghanistan. We are not happy with what the Taliban is doing,” Siar says.

Medals for the winners of the Auckland event are handmade in Afghanistan, from a stone mined in the mountains there and sent across especially for the event. Considering the logistics of that, Afghan pride shines in these details, Sair says.

“We feel that we are in a very isolated part of the world. Because we left all the experiences, emotions, friends, family members, we left there. But we do not forget.

“Even if I want to, I can't forget it. I can't forget the family and all these relatives, friends. But what I do is to, you know, to remember through good works.”