West Coast Marathon Won By Scotsman

Press, Volume C, Issue 29706, 27 December 1961, Page 12

West Coast Marathon Won By Scotsman

(From Our Own Reporter)

GREYMOUTH, Dec. 28. Only three competitors out of seven starters conupteted the course of 26 miles 385 yards in the first marathon race ever held on the West Coast, yesterday afternoon. The race started at Hokitika, and finished at Centennial Park, Cobden. "I felt fine over the early pert of the journey but was troubled by stitch during the last six males,” said the winner, J. Hamilton, a member of the Greymouth Harrier Chib who was born in Scotland. Hamilton spent some time in Australia before coming to the West Coast He said that until yesterday’s event the furthest he had raced was over a distance of 10 miles, in Sydney. Hamilton started from a handicap of 5 minutes and covered the distance in the splendid time of 2br 42mm 32sec, m vary hot aimshine

and on a tarsealed surface all the way. He was not in the least distressed at the | end of the race. Second to Hamilton was the ; Canterbury runner J. Stewart. who started from the 15-minute mark. His time was 2hr 54mm ssec. The scratch man, W. Hobbs, ' also of Canterbury and the I only other runner to finish, was third, in 2hr 50min . 37.25ee. Bobbs, who ran the ’ first 10 miles in 58 minutes ' compared with Hamilton's 60, was unable to maintain the more even pace of the > winner. The limit man, T. Sweeney (Greymouth), off 43min, led tor three-quarters of the journey but had had enough by the time he reached Parao, more than six miles i from tris destination. The other three stortars cried off some time before that. Hamilton won three