Burnard grabs first senior win
Few young runners are as well suited to the Vosseler Shield as Harry Burnard.
The 20-year-old Wellington Scottish runner won his first toplevel Wellington race in the senior division on Saturday at what many consider the toughest cross-country race in New Zealand.
He took the lead heading up the first hill on Mt Victoria and never relinquished it to win in a time of 41mins 1sec over the 10km course, 45 seconds clear of club-mate Kristian Day. In third was former New Zealand Mountain Running champion Dougal Thorburn, while fourth went to 2016 Rotorua Marathon winner Nick Horspool.
Burnard even took a fair old tumble coming down the hill near the finish line, but had more than enough of a lead to pick himself up and win in relative comfort.
‘‘I was running in road flats, so it was a bit slippery going through some of the mud,’’ he said. ’’I had a good feeling about the race going into it, but there were a few good runners in there so I was pretty happy to get the win.’’
Burnard’s ability to deal with the rigours of the Vosseler comes from his enjoyment of long-distance running.
He has already completed three marathons (42.2km), running his first as a 17-year-old St Patrick’s College, Wellington student, and has his sights set on the Auckland Marathon in October.
‘‘I want to have a crack at that and see how far I can go. I’m aiming for about 2.30.
‘‘The longer races are just a bit easier, running at a slower pace. A lot of the shorter stuff is a bit quick for me.’’
Running quicker than 2.30 would have been good enough for at least sixth in last year’s race, so it is quite the goal to set at a distance dominated by older athletes.
Further down the track he hopes to pull on the black singlet.
‘‘I’m seeing how this year goes, I’ve got long-term goals, the main one to represent New Zealand and run at one of the track meets in a New Zealand singlet.’’ One step at a time though. First, his focus is on completing his education at Victoria University, where he studies both physics and music.
‘‘I like the diversity of studying both. It’s good to switch from one to the other. I do jazz music and play in a band, but not so much anymore. It’s more about physics this year.’’
The senior women’s championship 5km race at the Vosseler was won by Sarah Drought (Wellington Harriers) in 23.14, while Ruby Muir (Scottish) competed over the 10km course to finish the senior men’s race in 10th in a stunning time of 45.07, just ahead of last year’s winner Tim Hodge.