Up they go

Jonah Smith, of the Caversham club (pictured third right, in white singlet) was first man home in yesterday’s 50th anniversary Kelly’s Canter race up Puketapu, near Palmerston, in a time of 20min 41.52sec.

Yesterday’s race up the 343m Puketapu attracted a field of 73 runners, up from 70 last year.

The race, organised by the Palmerston Lions Club, was run in cool, dry conditions.

Smith’s winning time was five minutes better than last year's.

The first woman home was Bea Tomlinson (right), of Dunback, whose time was 26min 05sec.

Twentyfour descendants of former Palmerston policeman Bert Kelly gathered to support the race, with several taking part.

Constable Kelly had run up and down Puketapu regularly during World War 2 as part of his coastwatching duties. His fastest time was 23 minutes.