Marathon to Campbell

Press, 2 June 1986, Page 24

Marathon to Campbell

By

NEVIN TOPP

John Campbell (Invercargill) came within five seconds of setting the record time for the Moro Christchurch marathon yesterday, when he won the event in 2hr 15min 19s.

For Campbell the race was confirmation of his form as he builds up his training schedule in preparation for the Commonwealth Games marathon at Edinburgh on August 1, the race giving him a training distance of about 260 km for the week.

The marathon, which doubled as the New Zealand marathon championships, was run in tough conditions, the runners battling into cool southwesterly winds for the first half of the race, and then having to contend with showers of rain on the return leg. Tom Birnie (Bascik New Brighton) 1 , the record holder for the event, had to be content with second place, having won the race the previous two years. Shane Marshall (Matamata Harriers), the talented North Island runner, finished a creditable third in his debut over the 42.2 km distance.

Campbell, Birnie and Marshall shared the lead on the outward leg of the race, their time at the 20km mark (just under halfway) being Ihr smin 425.

However, Campbell broke away and established a lead over Birnie of about 150 m by the 28km mark, with about the same distance further back to Marshall.

Campbell said later he was satisfied with his time, having put down an estimate of 2hr 16min in his entry form.

There had not been too much pace over the first half of the race, and he decided to push ahead in the second half.

Finishing fourth was an Australian veteran, Carl Stevenson, from the Wayerley club, in Melbourne, but Roger Robinson (Victoria University) took the New Zealand veterans’ championship title

when he finished fifteenth.

Sharon Higgins (Owairaka) was an upset winner in the women’s section, finishing in a personal best time of 2hr 45min 445, beating her time set in her first marathon, the Fletcher, at Rotorua, earlier this year. Bernadine Portenski (Scottish Harriers) also bettered her personal best time of 2hr 50min 58s set at Rotorua, finishing in 2hr 46min 565. She was also the first veteran woman home. Kim Webb (Ilford AC), a London runner, and the favourite on paper, found the conditions hard, but still finished third in a time of 2hr 53min 50s. Her best time is 2hr 39min, set in the London marathon in 1985. Mary O’Connor (University) was another

runner to use the day as a training effort for her Commonwealth Games marathon build-up, winning the women’s section of the half-marathon in Ihr 12min 35s from Carol Reid, an unregistered runner, who finished in a creditable Ihr 14min 14s. Ken Maloney (Takapuna) was unsuccessful in his bld to break 60min for the half-marathon distance, the conditions working against him to the extent that he finished in ihr smin 555, from Pat Meffan (University) and Bruce Rattray (Christchurch). Results.— MARATHON

MARATHON Men: Campbell, 2:15.19, 1; Bimie, 2:17.57, 2; Marshall, 2:18.48, 3; Stevenson, 2:26.57, 4 and first veteran; S. Hunt (Wellington), 2:27.45, 5; Robinson (Victoria University), 2:33.39, second veteran; D. McMillan (Olympic), 2:33.49, third veteran. Women: Higgins, 2:45.44, 1; B. Portenski, 2:45.56, 2 and first veteran; Webb, 2:53.30,3; C. Bardsley (Sumner), 2:55.15, 4; B. Blair (New Plymouth), 2:59.02, 5 and second veteran. Half-marathon Men: Maloney, 1:05.55, 1; Meffan, 1:06.46, 2; Rattray, 1:07.02, 3; P. Clode (University), 1:07.27, 4; R. Mulcahy (United), 1:07.55, 5. Women: O’Connor, 1:12.30, 1; Reid, 1:14.14, 2; J. Todd (Hill City), 1:18.00, 3.