Fine win by Gillis in 50-mile race

Press, 6 April 1981, Page 22

Fine win by Gillis in 50-mile race

The r.o;cd Australian ultra distance runner. Tam G:.;i.-. o: S»ugave a superb es.iubi.icii of p.»<7, pace. ~na tactics io w.n ttie (wcc.icHi Aew Br.ghton: on race, toe Hie second time, on Sa,urdaj ids time for the 5;)-tnile event round tne circumference of (lie outer si.ouroan -areas of Christchurch was 5 hr 113 min 26 sec. He beat last year’s winnet Mayne Rouse (St Martins) by exacln 10’.Tilnutcs with ti.e latter? clv.o-mate, Dcni'-is O'Keefe, running w.;h drive and courage to; take th..rd less than 3 min further back. And John Souter iTiiv.aruj was fourth and Stewart Hill, a farmer winner of the eient. fifth. Both O'Keefe and Souter ran personal best 50-niile time?. In spite of a severe infection, Don Kcv.-seeker, of Syd-ney.-the holder ct' several Aus-

tralian long-distance lilies and records, battled through a severe race ordeal to come sixth Gillis nr.t only bettered his 1979 winning time by about 5 mtn. He also set a best world veteran time for 50 miles in the 40 to 45 agc-group. lie said conditions were ides!. But Gillis was stepped at the Hornby railway crossing by a train at 27 miles, which cost him seme minutes. Gillis said: "I had to concentrate on keeping my pace down and not be te npted to make my! run too soon. But 1 was especial-! iy pleased to win, since a lot of my training was curtailed by, humid, recent Australian condi-i tions.” In spite of their depth of cx-| perience. most - of the leaders! committed the cardinal error in; distance running of going out too, fast: the main bunch, including

Rouse, O’Keefe, and Souter, went through the fivc-mile point at Ferrymead in- 31m:n. By contrast, Gillis stayed well back throughout the first third of the race, thus repeating his tactics when he beat Siegfried Bauer to win the Symon and! Lowther lOCkm race over the I severely testing Port Hills course! last October. But in-tead of being shattered: as he was in his epic battle with! Bauer in the 103 km, Gillis fin.| ished on Saturday as though he had just been round the block. In spite of the indiscretions of pace, the rest of the field would have had no .answ'er to Gillis’ superb fitness arid pace. He was 5m back when the field went through the half-way point "in about 2 hrs 44min and remained so as Souter, O’Keefe, and Rouse battled for positions abut 30 miles. > ' About 41 miles Gillis startled the leaders by sprinting past them and thereafter increased

his pace so that- his rate vva: seme of his fastest for the jour Further down the finishing I’.s there were other triumphs Deo bie Khbde, of the Sumner Kcai Runners Club, set a Canterbury and New Zealand women s .>(' mile best time of 7hrs 49m:n 58<te. The ’previous record was held by Diane Dixey (New Bngh teni in 9 hrs a-ntl 4 see, Martin Edwards, aged 16 is: Martins) made history to be the voungest to finish the New Brigntch' 50. He was tenth in 9hrs 3T49George Lucking (St Marlins? runnirg his first "50''. perfonnen crcdita'Mv lo be ninth equal vvttl Frank Collins in ‘Jhrs 22min 12 Peter Woldcn. who completed the IGOkm last year scored an other creditable first to finish thirteenth in lOhr 44min and so

sdid Jim McGill, aged 29, who ran ■ courageously tr> finish a minute in front or Wolden. t Joint Drew, al 67 the oldest ■ finisher, running his tenth New ! Brighton •’50." reduced his last ye.::'s tune by Jhrs 2min. Running the scccnd half of the tace . 3min faster ti-. n lite first, i.e fm- , ished fresh to take equal placing -with McGill. Results: T. Gillis (Australia'. 5.:;3:2t>. 1; W. Rouse 'St Mar'ins'. •5 43:25. 2: D. O'Keefe (St Mar. tins'. 5:46:H. 3: -I -Souter ,Tiir.aru'. 5:51:47. 4; S. Hill Technical. 6:26:47. 3: U. Keysscckcr.(Australia). 6:18.42. 6; D. Rhode (Sumner Road Runners'. 7:49.36, 17: G. Lucking 'St Martins) ;.:ul F. ; Collins iUniversity i. i);22:’2 icquab. '.?: M Edwards 'St Mattins'. 9:37:49. 10: J. Drew (Veteran.-' and J. McGill. 10:43:0 (equal l . Il: P. Woldcn. 10:14:0. 12; There were 19 stances