Wellington’s Grant McLean held off a record field to win his fifth consecutive Shoe Clinic Harbour Capital Marathon in Wellington today.
Almost 5000 runners and walkers from 11 countries turned out in perfect running conditions, 11 degrees and light winds, for the 24th annual Shoe Clinic Harbour Capital Marathon event. And with entries ranging from five year olds to 83 year olds, there was something for everyone.
Certainly there has always been something in this race for Grant McLean. This year he led from start to finish, doing the hard work in the first half to open up a six minute lead at halfway and then holding on win by an impressive nine minutes ahead of fellow Wellingtonian Rohan Biggs and Palmerston North’s Blair van Stipriaan.
“I’m pretty pleased with that,” said McLean moments after crossing the line in 2hrs 36min 55secs. “I wasn’t sure how I’d go, but it felt ok and I pushed it along. Halfway was about 1:16, so I was really pleased that I was able to hang on for a good result.”
The 41 year old’s overall win also netted him the veteran men’s category ahead of Adrian Cann and David Hartshorn. And while McLean was short of his overall race record from 2004 of 2hrs 31min 38secs, his performance this year did clip 21sec from the veteran’s record he set when winning last year.
Women’s winner Lotty Turnidge was also pleased to defend her full marathon title. The 2008 winner also led from start to finish, winning almost 15minutes ahead of Porirua’s Jean Beaumont and Wellington’s Lucy Cant. In conditions she described as ideal for marathon running, Turnidge lopped almost seven minutes off her own course record to clock 3hrs and 57secs.
Together McLean and Turnidge made it a grand day for their Wellington Scottish Athletic Club, with their win’s also earning them and their club dual Wellington Marathon championships.
Surprises Take Out Half Marathon
While the favourites dominated the Full Marathon distance, the half marathon race went to surprise out-of-town entrants.
Palmerston North’s Maria Bentley was a total surprise even to the women she beat. The Palmerston North runner doesn’t run for a club and doesn’t do many major running events. But it didn’t seem to matter as she ran away from the best runners that Wellington could muster.
Wellington’s Vicki Humphries, Nelson-based German Britta Martin, and Christchurch’s Julia Grant kept close tabs on the unknown entity through the first few kilometres. But once warmed up Bentley cleared out, eventually winning by three minutes in a fast 1hr 18min 11secs.
Behind her Vicki Humphries filled second place and claimed the veterans title in 1hr 21min 18secs. German Britta Martin, a former pro cyclist who recently shifted to New Zealand and has taken up triathlons, claimed third ahead of Grant.
The men’s Shoe Clinic Half Marathon wasn’t quite as surprising. There was word of a sharp Scotsman in town, but when 22 year old Andrew Douglas cleared out with a furious final few kilometres everyone agreed that the New Zealand running scene will soon know all about him.
Duncan has been one of Scotland’s rising young talents and is travelling New Zealand on a working and running holiday. At the Shoe Clinic Harbour Capital Half Marathon he faced New Zealand reps Rees Buck and Matt Dravitzki, who tried valiantly to give Douglas a run for his money. But in the end it was standout Christchurch veteran Kerry Faas who put up the best fight.
More than two decades ago Faas was one of the country’s best up and coming talents, but he drifted away from the sport not to be seen until a year or so ago when he returned to the sport and started dominating veteran races. But in the Capital he took the race to the young buck and only the Scotsman could respond. And respond he did, putting the hammer down in the final few kilometres to set a new course record 1hr 09min 15secs.
Winning 20secs ahead of Faas, with Buck and Dravitzki close behind in a shade over 1hr 10min, Douglas was pleased to rack up is first Kiwi win. “It was hard race,” he commented. “But I felt ok and the conditions were perfect for running and it all came together ok.”
Record Field
Indeed, the entire Harbour Capital Marathon event came together well in 2009, with a 20 percent increase in entries to a record 4701 starters, which race director Sally Anderson from the Wellington Marathon Clinic says, “shows how much New Zealanders value their health and fitness even in tough financial times.”
“This event has really come of age,” said Anderson. “We had entries from Australia, Canada, Germany, China, Singapore, Spain, USA, Scotland and England, so the Shoe Clinic Harbour Capital Marathon is becoming very much an international event.”
In 2010 the Shoe Clinic-sponsored event will celebrate its 25th anniversary, which Anderson says promises to be the best yet.
