ashley bloomfield

Tomorrow marks the 46th year of Round the Bays Wellington, an iconic community event bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate physical activity. 

Over 10,000 people are expected to take part in one of three distances, Sir Ashley Bloomfield among them. 

He’s taking part as a Pause Breathe Smile ambassador, which is a free mental health program for primary and intermediate schools. 

Bloomfield is doing the 5.5km event, telling Newstalk ZB’s Jack Tame that he’s been taking it easy with his training this week, to ensure that he’ll be able to finish the run. 

He said he’s been running in some capacity for his entire life, having run a few marathons and as well as having a group of friends he goes on Saturday morning runs with whenever possible. 

“That fellowship kind of aspect of it, spending time with friends and in terms of both physical and mental wellbeing, to me you couldn’t tick many more boxes than that.” 

One of the reason’s Bloomfield enjoys running is its accessibility. 

“All you really need is a pair of shoes.”  

Regular exercise is also known to be a benefit for those in high stakes environments and high stress jobs, both of which Bloomfield was facing in the last few years. 

“Being able to kind of decompress, as well as get out and keep active and fit was a lifesaver for me.” 

“Literally a lifesaver.” 

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In the wake of the Rob Campbell saga, Sir Ashley Bloomfield talks to The Detail about why political neutrality in the public service is so important.

Ashley Bloomfield is swapping news conferences for lectures in 2023.

The former Director-General of Health has accepted a professorship at Auckland University in the School of Population Health.

He will be the first chair of the university's Public Policy Impact Institute, using his expertise in hopes to improve equity across the country.

Bloomfield says it's an honour to return to the university.

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Ashley Bloomfield's been a regular in our living rooms over the past two years. But how did a public servant become one of the most recognised faces of our Covid-19 response?

Journalists are facing a backlash for asking tough questions of Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Are they being too harsh, or is the director general of health’s popularity prompting efforts to shield him from accountability?

The government has taken urgent steps to overhaul the systems in place at the country's managed isolation facilities. Journalists' persistent, tough reporting on failures at those facilities helped bring about the reforms.

With Monday's decision on Level 2 looming, some in the media are pushing hard to loosen the lockdown, claiming it is killing jobs now and will kill more New Zealanders in future.

A song has been written about him. People have penned paeans to his extreme competence. But the media is starting to resist the deification of Dr Ashley Bloomfield.