Nearly 3000 runners enter distance races

Press, 24 May 1985, Page 32

Nearly 3000 runners enter distance races

By

GLENN HASZARD

Nearly 3000 runners have entered the Adidas Moro Christchurch marathon and half marathon to be held in Christchurch on June 2.

The marathon, on the 1974 Commonwealth Games course from Queen Elizabeth II Park to Christchurch Airport and back, has attracted 760 runners, down by 200 from last year. The reduction is attributed partly to a counter-attrac-tion in Rome, the Sixth World Veteran Games. The half marathon, on half the course, has attracted a field of 2050, which is 50 more than last year. The international runners in the field for the marathon are Britain’s 1974 Commonwealth Games champion, lan Thompson, Switzerland’s Richard Umberg, with a best time of 2hr 12min, and Juergen Huegemann, of West Germany, with a best of 2hr 15min. Other less well-

known runners have entered from Japan, Sweden, the United States and Australia. Three Christchurch runners are the best New Zealand runners entered. They are last year’s winner, Tom Birnie, and the runnerup on that occasion, Allan Sinclair. Don Greig has good form going into this race having recently won the Fletcher Rotorua marathon. He has represented New Zealand in the Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships over the marathon distance. A former winner, Gerald Dravitski (Taranaki), Murray Hunt (Waikato), and Chris Pilone (Auckland) are the main North Island challengers for first New Zealander. A British woman runner,

Gillian Burley, is the outstanding entry in the women’s marathon. She has a personal best time of 2hr 32min 53s and would have raced in the London marathon but had a bout of influenza, so has opted instead to run in Christchurch. In the half marathon a former winner, Pat Meffan, will be matched • against Wayne Duckett (Taranaki), Neil Lowsley, Bruce Rattray, Eddie Gray and Tony Good. In the women’s half marathon the leading contenders are Mary Warne, Erin Baker (the tri-athlete), Doreen Dryden and Vai Lindsay. Tony Good and Doreen Dryden have entered both the marathon and half marathon and will decide closer to the event which distance suits them.