Drizzle ideal for marathon run
Saturday started off like one out of the box, but the manner in which conditions steadily deteriorated — beginning with descending cloud cover followed by light then persistent drizzle — seemed like a continuation of what has become widely been regarded as the Far North’s summer of discontent.
However, those pitting themselves against Ninety Mile Beach over various long distance events on the Te Houtaewa Challenge card on Saturday morning couldn’t have wished for better weather, event organiser and founder, Peter Kitchen said.
“The brilliant thing is the rain arrived at a time when the runners were just getting their sweat up. It turned out a brilliant day at the end too,” he said, referring to the way the rain stopped shortly before prizegiving. “It was lovely.”
The winner of the marquee distance, the ultra marathon, was Scott Hotham from Auckland who took five hours 24 minutes and 18 seconds to cart the obligatory kumara — to honour the legend of Te Houtaewa — 62km run from the Bluff to Ahipara. His last time running the Te Houtaewa was 12 years ago, and he was using this year’s challenge to build up for a 160km run later this year in the annual Great Naseby Water Race in Central Otago in August.
“Conditions were great,” the drenched and weary Aucklander said. “Last time it was very hot.” The west coast in gloomy and grey conditions presented its own set of challenges.
“You are running point to point, you are running on packed sand, still not like running on a road. You can get tunnel vision.”
He was pushed for most of the run by runner up Dean Horrell who arrived three minutes later.
Two Kaitaia runners featured in the top placings in the 42.2km marathon distance which began near Hukatere. Keith Jackson and Sean Verzammen claimed second and third in 5:33:22 and 5:51:43 respectively behind male winner Benjamin Limmer from Mount Maunganui who took 4:52:36.
First runner home in the half marathon was Barbara Steiner from Switzerland in 1:42:10. It was the first time she had done the Te Houtaewa, and the first half marathon she’d run on