Brendan Quirke, 31, from the Hutt Valley Marathon Clinic won the Feilding Marathon on Saturday in 2 hours 56 minutes. He took the lead about a quarter of the way into the journey from Edwin Massey (Wellington Scottish), completing the first half in 1 hour 27 minutes. Despite the westerly wind increasing in strength for the final two laps of the Reid Line East, Makino Rd, Brewsters Rd circuit, he only slowed by two minutes for the second half.. A very respectable split in terms of marathon running. Second place went to Andrew Waddington of in 3:17:53.
Visiting British athlete Tim Harris was 10th overall in 3:40:33 and confessed to perhaps having run a bit fast given he has to repeat the same distance next weekend in Italy to stay on track for his seven marathons in seven continents in seven weeks quest. A hip around by athletes at prize giving saw $300 raised for Tim's charity cause WaterAid to bring much needed water resources to the people of Uganda.
First masters runner and third overall was Palmerston North 65 year old Bruce Wilson in 3:22:02. This was a performance worthy of a top rank in most international marathons - Wilson's time would have placed him second in the men 65-69 category at the recent Boston Marathon!
Another in the men 65-69 age group was race organizer Dave Penfold, making it to marathon No.200 - believed to be the second greatest number of marathons run by a New Zealander. The overall record belongs to Michael Stewart of Hutt Valley at over 400, and he added one more to the list at Feilding as well.
Forty year old Aucklander, Ingrid Frost, was the fastest woman in 3:29:30. The Sir Matthew Oram cup, presented to the first Manawatu District runner across the line wasw on by Desiree Silk. Her time was 3;56:36 and served as part of her preparation for next years Coast to Coast.
Defending walk champion Robert Radley of Palmerston North was unable to compete, having suffered a serious injury recently at the 24 hour champs. The win went to Malcolm Gray of Auckland YMCA in 4 hours 53 minutes, with runner-turned-walker Christine Aroa of Hutt Valley second in 5:07.
In the two-person teams event, local runners Craig McLean and Robert Dabb won in 2:51:56 from John Bourke and Bart Baker (Palmerston North).
| Women's Walk : 45-49 | ||||
| Name | From | Category | Time | Event |
| Kathryn Blair | Lower Hutt | 1 | 5:20:27 | 3 |
Women's Walk : 50-54 | ||||
| Shirley Dixon | WELLINGTON | 1 | 5:15:20 | 2 |
| Carolyn Vince | Eltham | 2 | 5:49:16 | 4 |
Women's Walk : 55-59 | ||||
| Chris Aroa | Lower Hutt | 1 | 5:07:22 | 1 |
Men's Run : Open | ||||
| Brendan Quirke | Hutt Valley | 1 | 2:56:00 | 1 |
| Andrew Waddington | 2 | 3:17:53 | 2 | |
| Jojo Tipace | Brisbane AUST | 3 | 3:31:18 | 4 |
| Tim Harris | Dorset UK | 4 | 3:40:33 | 9 |
| Richard McChesney | Lower Hutt | 5 | 3:46:25 | 11 |
| Steve Titmus | Townsville AUST | 6 | 4:03:52 | 16 |
| Edwin Massey | Wellington | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| Richard Johnson | WANGANUI | 0 | DNF | 0 |
Men's Run : 40-44 | ||||
| David Matthews | Brisbane AUST | 1 | 3:31:40 | 5 |
| Brad Johnson | Palmerston North | 2 | 3:42:04 | 10 |
| Clive Eastwood | PETONE | 3 | 4:17:48 | 21 |
| Desmond Hussey | Eltham | 4 | 5:10:43 | 26= |
Men's Run : 45-49 | ||||
| Eddie Meijer | Lower Hutt | 1 | 3:35:17 | 6 |
| Roger Morrison | WANGANUI | 2 | 3:36:03 | 7 |
| Perry Newburn | Wanganui | 3 | 4:31:22 | 24 |
Men's Run : 50-54 | ||||
| Dennis Jordan | Stratford | 1 | 3:53:46 | 13 |
| Michael Stewart | LOWER HUTT | 2 | 4:04:59 | 17 |
Men's Run : 55-59 | ||||
| Lex Chalmers | Hamilton | 1 | 3:57:03 | 15 |
| Wayne Lindsay | Lower Hutt | 2 | 4:08:54 | 18 |
| Paul Rodway | WELLINGTON | 3 | 4:09:31 | 19 |
| John Gleesen | Auckland | 4 | 5:39:34 | 28 |
| Dave Eagle | WAINUIOMATA | 0 | DNF | 0 |
Men's Run : 60-64 | ||||
| Anthony Gear | Palmerston North | 1 | 3:36:59 | 8 |
| David Penfold | FEILDING | 2 | 4:22:00 | 22 |
| Phil Kirk | Auckland | 3 | 4:22:25 | 23 |
| Steve Tubbs | Wellington | 4 | 4:44:32 | 25 |
| Richard Crooks | Napier | 5 | 5:10:43 | 26= |
Men's Run : 65-69 | ||||
| Bruce Wilson | Palmerston North | 1 | 3:22:02 | 3 |
| David Hamilton | Auckland | 2 | 3:54:29 | 14 |
| Ashley Smith | WAITARA | 3 | 4:10:48 | 20 |
Men's Run : 70-74 | ||||
| Alec Day | Auckland | 1 | 3:47:14 | 12 |
Men's Walk : 40-44 | ||||
| Malcolm Gray | Auckland | 1 | 4:53:05 | 1 |
Men's Walk : 45-49 | ||||
| Lynton McLay | Lower Hutt | 1 | 5:12:34 | 2 |
Men's Walk : 65-69 | ||||
| Ces Reed | Stratford | 1 | 5:49:40 | 4 |
Men's Walk : 70-74 | ||||
| James Reed | Stratford | 1 | 5:46:47 | 3 |
| Robin Smyth | Upper Hutt | 2 | 6:02:41 | 5 |
Women's Run : Open | ||||
| Desiree Silk | Feilding | 1 | 3:56:36 | 2 |
| Kelly Robinson | Upper Hutt | 2 | 4:50:33 | 5 |
Women's Run : 40-44 | ||||
| Ingrid Frost | Auckland | 1 | 3:29:30 | 1 |
| Mel Tuineau | Auckland | 2 | 5:53:38 | 6 |
Women's Run : 45-49 | ||||
| Patricia Brown | PALMERSTON NORTH | 1 | 4:03:15 | 3 |
| Brenda Burke | WELLINGTON | 2 | 4:25:59 | 4 |
Two Person Run | ||||
| C Mclean & R Dabb | PALMERSTON NORTH | 1 | 2:51:56 | 1 |
| J Bourke & B Baker | PALMERSTON NORTH | 2 | 3:15:34 | 2 |
| J Hargreaves & N Hazelhurst | PALMERSTON NORTH | 3 | 3:20:41 | 3 |
| K Palmer & M Palmer | PALMERSTON NORTH | 4 | 3:34:51 | 4 |
| J Harding & R Falconer | PALMERSTON NORTH | 5 | 3:38:52 | 5 |
Results supplied by: Robert Dabb.
