News & Updates

Hannah Miller looks set to add the New Zealand 10km road title to the New Zealand marathon title she won in Christchurch in May.

The 24-year-old from Southland has a personal best 10km of 33:42 in winning the 2019 Clyde to Alexandra road race and she confirmed her fitness clocking 34:50 on the same course last week.

Sarah Drought of Wellington won the title in 2012 in her career best time of 34:46. A consistent road runner having won the Wellington title five times, will be wanting to repeat her 2012 victory on her home course which is laid out on the roads surrounding the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt.

Chasing a podium placing will be Ellen Schaef second in the Manawatu Whanganui championship in 37:46, Deborah Lynch PB of 38:40 and Esther George who has a best of 35:39 from placing second in last year’s Wellington Road Championships.

The senior men’s 10km is expected to develop into a four-way battle between twice previous champion Daniel Balchin, 2017 national 1500m champion Eric Speakman, 2019 national marathon and half marathon champion Oska Baynes and Otago 3000m champion Janus Staufenberg.

Balchin comes into the race fresh from his win by three seconds over Staufenberg in 29:42 in last week’s Clyde to Alexandra 10km. Speakman has a best of 30:17 from the 2020 Wellington Championships and was third the last time the championships were held two years ago in Auckland (last year they were cancelled because of Covid). Baynes won the 2018 Southern Lakes 10km in 30:07 and last year he won the Selwyn 10km in Leeston in 30:39.

Also in the mix for a medal are Ben Bidois, Waikako Bay of Plenty champion in 31:26, Hirotaka Tanimoto Wellington champion in a PB 31:08, Daniel Jones, runner up to Tanimoto in 31:33, Liam Lamb, the 2020 under 20 champion, Ieuan van der Peet second in the Canterbury Championships in 31:35, the Manawatu Whanganui champion in 31:29 Luke Scott, Thomas Richards fourth in the Canterbury Championship in 31:49, Nathan Tse third in last year’s Wellington Championships in 31:28 and David Lee who ran 14:23.33 for 5000m in March at the Night of Fives.

Sally Gibbs at 59 years of age should once again excel in the master women’s 5km. Gibbs won the masters race outright in 2016 in Masterton, in 2017 in Christchurch and at the last two championships in 2019 and 2020 in Auckland. Gibbs won the recent Manawatu Whanganui senior 10km road title in 36:50. Victoria Humphries is also contesting the 55-59 age group. Emily Solsberg will run in the 40-44 age group, Ingrid Cree 35-39 and Michele Allison in the 65-69 group.

Leading runners entered in the master men’s 10km are the first three finishers at the cross country championship Oliver O’Sullivan 35-39, Simon Mace 45-49 and Brian Garmonsway, 40-44 who won outright in Cambridge in 2018. In the recent Auckland championships Mace set a New Zealand masters 45-49 record of 31:55. Other top age group runners entered are: 35-39 David Lovelock and Alex Kelliher; 40-44 Nick Horspool, Brett Tingay, Paul Crowhurst and James Richardson; 45-49 Dwight Grieve, Stephen Day and Nick Moore; 50-54 Chris Mardon, Grant McLean and Todd Stevens; 55-59 Richard Bennett, Paul Hewitson and Peter Stevens.

Junior mountain running champion Benjamin Rickerby will aim to add the U20 8km road title where he will be up against Daniel Du Toit. Boh Ritchie, 15, the 2020 U14 champion should make it a double for the season in the women’s U20 5km to go with the U20 cross country crown she won in Taupo in July. Last week in South Australia, Boh won the Australian secondary schools U16 cross country championship. Also competing in the U20 race is 17-year-old Amelia Green. Ava Sutherland, Sophie Robb, Kate McHardy and Sara Jury are entered in the U18 5km. Jamie Mora, who set a New Zealand U17 6km record of 18:50 at the Auckland Championships will contest the U18 title against Quinn Moss and Jacob Kilmister. Callum Wos and Jack Erikson, the 2020 U14 winner, are down for the U16 4km while a strong field of Imogen Barlow, Courtney Fitzgibbon, Scarlett Robb, Poppy Healy and Amelia Joyce are entered in the girls U16 4km. In the U14 3km Otto Church features in the boys and Scarlett Gwin in the girls.

Laura Langley, the 2019 champion with a PB of 1:48:58 from third in the 2017 championships and Courtney Ruske the 2014 and 2015 champion with a PB of 1:44:07 from second in the 2015 Victorian Championships, go head-to-head in the senior women’s 20km race walk. Jonah Cropp, who set a New Zealand junior 5km race walk record of 23:45 in the Canterbury Championships will contest the U18 5km race walk and Lucas Martin, who held the previous record at 23:46, will compete in the U20 10km race walk. Alana Mathews is down for the U18 5km race walk. Jacqueline Wilson, 76, who set a world W75 20km record of 2:25:37 at the World Masters Championships in Finland in July will be aiming to improve on her New Zealand W75 10km record of 67:57 in the master women’s 10km race walk.

By Murray McKinnon