MARATHON MAY BE “KILLER”

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29989, 26 November 1962, Page 9

MARATHON MAY BE “KILLER”

PERTH, November 23. The frying-pan heat at Perth will not effect New Zealand marathon runners, A. B. Magee and J. L. Julian, nearly as much as it will runners from the United Kingdom, the New Zealand camp believes. Both Magee and Julian come from Auckland and are accustomed to jogging over the Waiatarua course in the Titirangi ranges uhder a burning sun. The United Kingdom runners, by contrast, are wilting in the Perth heat and would like to have the marathon begin an hour or mote after the scbedued time of 3.40 p.m. (7.40 pun. New Zealand time). The New Zealand coach. Mr A. L» Lydiard, has described the Perth course as

Undulating Course (Special Cnpdt. NZ.P.A.) “testing.” It is 26 miles 385 yards of undulations, though the maximum rise is only 140 ft Magee and Julian ran 20 miles over it last week, clocking about 6* minutes to the mile. ‘‘lt's more rolling than the Owairaka course in Auckland," Julian said today. “Most of it is pretty smooth and unsealed but one stretch of a mile or two, a few miles out of the main stadium, is a bit uneven. It is rather like the Rome course, except that

at Rome we ran downhill for the last six miles." . Magee, who was third in the Rome Olympics, and Julian are among the favoured runners at Perth. Their big threats are D. Power, of Australia, the winner in Cardiff in 1958, and the Englishman, B. L. Kilby, who recently won the European marathon in 2hr 23min. The Australian champion. K. Ollerenshaw, shook his head today when asked what he thought of the 3.40 pm. start “Those poor Englishmen. They could really fry in thia weather.” he said. Though Oilorenahaw indicated that the whiter-skinned representatives would be more prone to collapse, he said that mid-afternoon running could be a ‘filler” for anyone.