Record Racing in Wellington

Record Racing in Wellington

With record entries, a record breaking winner and near perfect weather the Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon confirmed its place among New Zealand’s favourite marathon events.

A record 5020 runners and walkers from 13 countries enjoyed good weather and fast running for the annual marathon, half marathon, 10k and Kids’ Magic Mile.

Racing was dominated by a battle for the New Zealand marathon title, with Wellington’s own Dougal Thorburn finally winning a national championship after several near misses.

Thorburn didn’t have it easy. A five strong bunch formed during the opening 10k around the scenic coastal course with Auckland’s Stephen Lett and Palmerston North’s Chris Sanson looking the most likely to challenge the Wellington doctor.

Lett came into the race with the fastest best time of 2hrs 26min and finished ahead of Thorburn in the Christchurch Half Marathon three weeks prior. So Thorburn had to put up one of the best races of his life to win  the Armstrong Motor Group Marathon, setting a new course record by six minutes with 2hrs 25min 33secs.

“Wow, I felt really good out there the whole way really, said “Thorburn after crossing the line 87secs ahead of Lett.

“The first 30k felt so easy. We had a group early on, then I pushed it a bit and got away. About 30k I expected things to start getting tough. But in the last 10k we got a breeze behind us and I felt good all the way to the finish.”

Behind Thoburn’s national title, course record and personal best time, Stephen Lett clocked his second fastest marathon while Chris Sanson also slipped under 2hrs 30min for third in 2hrs 29min 38secs.

The southerly storms that lashed the country during race week also posed something of a challenge for full marathoners. Some of the flat, scenic coastal route was closed following the storm, which forced organisers, the Wellington Marathon Clinic, to add a 10k section in the middle of the roads they could run on.

Much like the men’s, the woman’s full marathon also saw the favourite take a tumble when Wellington’s Katie Kemp outran three-time national marathon champion Shireen Crumpton by 86secs in 2hrs 53min 38secs. But in one for the books, Crumpton took home the national title because Kemp is not currently registered with a club.

This made Crumpton the first person to win four New Zealand marathon titles, but the champion was gracious in saying, “Katie was definite the strongest runner out there.”

Kemp was, of course, the event’s overall winner ahead of Crumpton and Auckland’s Katrin Gottschalk. Her time was the second fastest ever seen in the Armstrong Motor Group Wellington Marathon behind only 2012 record breaker Sara Burgess, who ran 2hrs 48min 40secs.

In other racing the Wellington Scottish Athletics Club dominated proceedings with Tim Hodge shaking of two previous second placings in this race to out-class club mates James Richardson and Matt Dravitski by almost two minutes with a time of 1hr 09min 42secs.

The women’s half marathon was a closer affair, but New Zealand-born Texan Liza Hunter-Galvan held off Auckland’s Katie Wright and Wellington’s Angela Leck to win by 45secs in 1hr 20min 26secs. The 43 year old Hunter-Galvan also claimed the veteran honours in record time.

The 10k event also saw a record win with 1500m specialist Matt Harris blazing the last kilometre for a 25sec win over fellow Wellingtonian Jesse Patel in 31min 21secs. Among women, the ever-green Gabrielle O’Rourke was 70sec clear of Wellington’s Jean Kozyniak and Charlotte Haina in 36min 37secs.

Hidden in the mid-pack were several standout performers. Auckland’s Kelvin Fitness set a new record in the 70-plus age group, but second and third place Stan Gawler from Christchurch and Barry Boston from Taumarunui became the first ever 80 year olds to finish the Armstrong Motor Group Marathon.

10k Run – Women Overall
1, Gabrielle, O'Rourke, F40-49, Wellington, 0:36:37
2, jean, kozyniak, F00-19, wellington, 0:37:48
3, Charlotte, Haina, F20-39, Wellington, 0:38:18
4, Olivia, Ritchie, F00-19, Hamilton, 0:38:37
5, Hinano, Sefesi, F20-39, Wellington, 0:38:45
6, Michelle, Van Looy, F40-49, Wellington, 0:40:35
7, Susannah, Lynch, F00-19, Porirua, 0:40:40
8, Ayesha, Shafi, F20-39, Wellington, 0:41:08
9, Tineke, Hooft, F50-59, Porirua, 0:42:39
10, Karin, Muir, F20-39, Wellington, 0:42:43
10k Run – Men Overall
1, Matt, Harris, M20-39, Te Aro, 0:31:21
2, Jesse, Patel, M20-39, Lower Hutt, 0:31:46
3, Chris, McIlroy, M20-39, Lower Hutt, 0:33:34
4, Luke, O'Donnell, M20-39, Lower Hutt, 0:33:53
5, Julian, Baker, M20-39, Wellington, 0:34:19
6, Hassan, Roble, M20-39, Wellington, 0:34:19
7, Edwin, Crossling, M20-39, Wellington, 0:35:27
8, peter, stevens, M40-49, upper hutt, 0:35:54
9, Alasdair, Saunders, M20-39, Wellington, 0:36:15
10, Anthony, Wicks, M20-39, Wellington, 0:36:28
10k Walk – Women Overall
1, Courtney, Ruske, F00-19, Christchurch, 0:52:38
2, Sharon, Crooks, F40-49, Pahiatua, 1:02:53
3, Bridget, Wade, F40-49, Palmerston North, 1:03:10
4, Katie, Tahere, F40-49, New Plymouth, 1:10:05
5, Christine, Binns, F50-59, Wellington, 1:12:09
6, Caroline, Speirs, F50-59, New Plymouth, 1:14:05
7, Melanie, Barr, F40-49, Nelson, 1:14:13
8, Ginny, Whatarau, F40-49, Wellington, 1:14:52
9, Geraldine, Woods, F40-49, Wellington, 1:15:39
10, Daphne, Jones, F70-99, Wellington, 1:16:37
10k Walk – Men Overall
1, David, Wackrow, M50-59, New Plymouth, 0:59:45
2, David, Cushing, M50-59, Palmerston North, 1:02:25
3, Jon, Roskvist, M50-59, Upper Hutt, 1:04:28
4, Rob, Weir, M40-49, Palmerston North, 1:06:35
5, Nick, Holcroft, M20-39, Upper Hutt, 1:10:01
6, Mark, Crooks, M40-49, Pahiatua, 1:12:02
7, Jeff, Leckey, M40-49, NELSON, 1:12:47
8, John, Whibley, M60-69, Paraparaumu, 1:14:03
9, David, Humfrey, M70-99, Kapiti Coast, 1:15:59
10, John, Hines, M70-99, Wellington, 1:16:25
Half Marathon Run – Women Overall
1, Liza, Hunter-Galvan, F40-49, Auckland, 1:20:26
2, Katie, Wright, F20-39, Auckland, 1:21:11
3, Angela, Leck, F20-39, wellington, 1:22:50
4, Sarah, Christie, F40-49, Wellington, 1:24:21
5, Tineke, Stewart, F20-39, Lower Hutt, 1:25:38
6, Nikki, Edwards, F20-39, Hamilton, 1:26:12
7, Angela, Morris, F20-39, Wellington, 1:27:18
8, Rebecca, Keat, F20-39, Wellington, 1:28:56
9, Maree, Ruddell, F20-39, Auckland, 1:29:45
10, Ingrid, Cree, F20-39, Wellington, 1:30:20
Half Marathon Run – Men Overall
1, Tim, Hodge, M20-39, Wellingotn, 1:09:42
2, James, Richardson, M20-39, Wellington, 1:11:11
3, Matt, Dravitzki, M20-39, Wellington, 1:11:39
4, Stephen, Day, M20-39, Wellington, 1:11:41
5, Sam, McCutcheon, M20-39, Wellington, 1:14:55
6, Mitch, Neilson, M20-39, Lower Hutt, 1:16:32
7, Chris, DUNELL, M20-39, Christchurch, 1:17:32
8, Sam, Wilson, M20-39, Wellington, 1:17:37
9, Andrew, Wharton, M20-39, Wellington, 1:17:41
10, Anthony, Duncraft, M40-49, Christchurch, 1:17:57
Half Marathon Walk – Women Overall
1, Terri, Grimmett, F50-59, Wellington, 2:18:08
2, Robyn, McArthur, F50-59, Lower Hutt, 2:21:02
3, Jacqueline, Wilson, F60-69, Wellington, 2:27:53
4, Sherryn, Hardy, F40-49, New Plymouth, 2:28:20
5, Aileen, Robinson, F60-69, Paraparaumu, 2:36:11
6, Sue, McIvor, F50-59, Fitzherbert, 2:36:23
7, LIZ, ANSLEY, F50-59, PALMERSTON NORTH, 2:37:29
8, Lyneve, Ryland, F50-59, Wanganui, 2:38:15
9, Joanne, Goodwin, F20-39, Wellington, 2:39:26
10, valerie, Buddle, F70-99, Upper Hutt, 2:40:00
Half Marathon Walk – Men Overall
1, Mike, Morresey, M40-49, New Plymouth, 1:57:07
2, Eric, Kemsley, M60-69, New Plymouth, 2:02:57
3, Jeff, Wells, M60-69, New Plymouth, 2:11:53
4, James, Hurring, M40-49, Wellington, 2:16:12
5, Ross, Allen, M50-59, Stratford, 2:20:52
6, micheal, Edgcombe, M60-69, Inglewood, 2:21:28
7, John, Leonard, M60-69, Wellington, 2:22:05
8, Ron, Soper, M50-59, Lower Hutt, 2:22:58
9, Sean, Lake, M40-49, Wellington, 2:25:30
10, David, Morrell, M60-69, Upper Hutt, 2:32:10
Full Marathon Run – Women Overall
1, Katie, Kemp, F18-39, Wellington, 2:53:38
2, Shireen, Crumpton, F40-49, Dunedin, 2:55:04
3, Katrin, Gottschalk, F18-39, Auckland, 3:07:59
4, Natalie, Gaskin, F18-39, Wellington, 3:13:26
5, Julie, Johnson, F18-39, Wellington, 3:22:18
6, Amy, Campbell, F18-39, Auckland, 3:22:25
7, Julia, Good, F18-39, Palmerston North, 3:25:19
8, Abbey, Macfie, F18-39, Wellington, 3:26:06
9, Melanie, Hansen, F18-39, New Plymouth, 3:27:24
10, Robyn, Perkins, F40-49, Christchurch, 3:27:41
Full Marathon Run – Men Overall
1, Dougal, Thorburn, M18-39, Wellington, 2:25:33
2, stephen, lett, M18-39, Auckland, 2:26:59
3, chris, sanson, M18-39, palmerston north, 2:29:38
4, Daniel, Clendon, M18-39, Wellington, 2:31:42
5, Adrian, Lysaght, M18-39, Tokoroa, 2:36:11
6, David, Lovelock, M18-39, Marton, 2:38:38
7, Julian, Davidson, M18-39, Wellington, 2:41:00
8, Michiel, Kallenberg, M18-39, Wellington, 2:41:22
9, Hamish, Maxwell, M40-49, Okato, 2:41:39
10, Sasha, Daniels, M40-49, Aucland, 2:42:28
Full Marathon Walk – Women Overall
1, Donna, Roderick, F18-39, Taumarunui, 4:55:28
2, Denise, Brunskil, F60-69, Palmerston North, 4:56:10
3, Chris, Maxwell, F50-59, Tauranga, 4:59:48
4, Averil, Sheehan, F50-59, Palmerston North, 5:00:56
5, Vicki, Adlam, F40-49, Taupo, 5:16:18
6, Melissa, Carr, F40-49, Wellington, 5:32:56
7, Linda, Johnson, F50-59, Upper Hutt, 5:39:51
8, Deborah, Nesti, F40-49, Auckland, 5:39:55
9, Avis, Williamson, F50-59, Dunedin, 5:53:11
Full Marathon Walk – Men Overall
1, David, Jones, M40-49, Palmerston North, 4:50:06
2, Malcolm, Gray, M50-59, Manukau Auckland, 4:56:09
3, Michael, Nowitz, M50-59, Lower Hutt, 4:57:38
4, Gerald, Fitzgerald, M50-59, Wellington, 5:05:56
5, Robin, Gray, M60-69, Havelock North, 5:08:27
6, Evan, Davies, M70-99, Palmerston North, 5:08:59
7, Albie, Jane, M60-69, Stratford, 5:18:09
8, Steve, Doughty, M50-59, Auckland, 5:18:40
9, Willem, van de Veen, M50-59, Hastings, 5:19:43
10, Warren, Searle, M50-59, Upper Hutt, 5:39:51

Full results:
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1306/Final_Results_File_1.xlsx

ENDS

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