MARATHON TITLE TODAY

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27884, 4 February 1956, Page 2

MARATHON TITLE TODAY

A THIBET ICS

RICHARDS EXPECTED TO RUN FAST TIME

With Olympic selection in the offing the Canterbury marathon championship today may be the fastest ever run in New Zealand. In last year's provincial title race. A. W. Richards (Technical) ran the 26 miles 385 yards in 2hr 31mip 28sec to beat the previous best time in this country by more than a minute. Then the world's leading marathon man, J. T. Holden, of England, recorded 2hr 32min 57sec in winning the Empire Games title at Auckland.

After being in the lead by several minutes with about four miles to go in the national event last season, Richards was overtaken and narrowly beaten by A. Lydiard (Auckland) in 2hr 41min 29.8 sec. Richards’s loss on that occasion was largely laek of experience, particularly with Auckland’s humid conditions.

If conditions are favourable today it is almost certain that Richards will go for time, as he may be unfortunate with the weather if he leaves his main attempt until the New Zealand championships in March. If he can better his best time today and follow this up with a win at the national meeting, even in slower time, he will be well in the run as an Olympic candidate.

This year’s entries are disappointing and there will be only three starters this morning. 7he other two are L. E. Fox, former national champion and Empire Games representative, and an improving runner in F. Stevens, both of the Olympic club.

The race will start from near the Woolston tennis courts in Richardson terrace. The course follows the Heathcote river to the new Cashmere Hospital and returns down the other bank to lead through the St. Martins-Opawa districts round the foot of the hills to Heathcote and Sumner. Retracing their steps to Heathcote, the runners will turn down Humphreys drive to Linwood avenue. River road. Fitzgerald avenue, Bealev avenue, Sherborne street, Cranford street, to Malvern street and Rugby Park where the runners will complete one circuit of the quarter-mile track. The runners will start at 11.30 a.m. and the winner is expected to enter Rugby Park before the beginning of the interprovincial contest with Wellington at 2