Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle / Sport

Reaching the vertical limit

By Jared Smith
Whanganui Chronicle·
6 Feb, 2017 09:07 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The gathered crowd watches Kerry Bennett begin what would be the fastest time in this year's NZMG Stair Race up the Durie Hill steps.

The gathered crowd watches Kerry Bennett begin what would be the fastest time in this year's NZMG Stair Race up the Durie Hill steps.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It may not seem such a good idea after a few drinks the night before or some strenuous competition in the morning, but 26 brave souls still lined up at the foot of the Durie Hill lookout to tackle Whanganui's unique NZMG event yesterday.

The infamous Stair Race is unique to the river city compared to its Dunedin hosting counterpart - a 355 step climb on a 100m vertical walkway, where the thighs and lungs scream on the way up and the calves and heart-strings tear on the way back down.

There had been 33 entries originally, surpassing the 30 of 2015, but organisers said after a long Sunday night at War Memorial Hall, a few had withdrawn themselves for the 5pm dash.

Star Race rules are that one foot must touch each step, and the competitor must give their name clearly to the marshall at the top of the climb before they can descend.

Some hardy souls like Gisborne's Peter Lamont and local Bruce Baldwin were still keen, despite having been flat out in the morning winning medals in the kayaking on Lake Wiritoa.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

John Pereniho showed how treacherous the downward scramble can be on rubber legs as he slipped, re-gathered, but then fell on another step before gritting out the final two levels.

Top veteran rower Pat Carroll, despite having been in his boat that morning, was able to make sure of his footing for a rapid descent.

"I wondered, 'when's this [strain] going to kick in?'.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I was born in a house with stairs.

"I beat this guy - that's the main aim," he said of town mate and 2013 winner Kerry Bennett, who was following rapidly behind him.

 Pat Taylor nears the end of her steep descent.
Pat Taylor nears the end of her steep descent.

However, with 30 second interval starts, Carroll's 7m 43s time was not enough to beat the swift but precise Bennett, and neither was Lower Hutt's Mark Arthur (7m 31s).

With a 6m 52s time, Bennett cruised to another overall victory and gold medal for his age group.

"Very, very hard, push yourself to the limit," Bennett said of the native Whanganui challenge.

"I got up this morning not thinking about it, [saying] 'I'm going to marshall a bike race'.

"It's something to look forward to, but there's so much to dread.

"At the end of the day it's all good fun."

However local Neil Mayo's extraordinary games record of 5m 42s was safe for another two years, with Mayo not entering this year after winning again in 2015 with a 6m 23s effort.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Whanganui Chronicle

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running

Sponsored Stories

Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title

Sponsored Stories

Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running
Whanganui Chronicle

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running

'I’m doing it again to compete in it, rather than just complete it.'

15 Jul 05:00 PM
Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title
Sponsored Stories

Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title

14 Jul 05:00 PM
Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau
Sponsored Stories

Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau

14 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP