Athletics: Macdonald twins finish one-two

Kyle Macdonald turned the Tauranga Half Marathon into a fun run finishing at Fergusson Park. Photo/George Novak

The Macdonald twins arrived six minutes apart on the day of their birth.

Kyle first, Iain second.

The same was almost true at the Tauranga Half Marathon yesterday, when the older brother led home the young buck by a comfortable margin after leading from pillar to post.

A decisive move from the start line gifted Kyle a lead he never relinquished.

At times the chasing pack held its distance - without shortening it - and in the end the finish was only notable for an announcer unfamiliar with a one-two Macdonald finish to question whether he was seeing double.

Kyle, sporting slightly longer curly hair, was under no illusions as to where he finished and enjoyed letting his nearby brother know all about it.

"In the first 50 metres I have gapped them, then after three or four kilometres I thought I should have held back because the gap was staying the same," he began. "I suffered a little bit in the second half because of the start, and because I was doing all the work out the front by myself. It's never easy to run a 70 minute half marathon when you're doing it all yourself.

"Iain hasn't been training very hard and I wouldn't normally have that lack of respect from him and take off like that. His form has been a bit off and he hasn't been training as hard as me - he's been a bit slack."

Iain politely chipped in with the fact the power shifts between the brothers every three or four years. He will contest the half marathon at the Rotorua Marathon in a little under three weeks, with Kyle stepping up to the full distance.

Women's winner Lisa Robertson won easily, but was less aware during the race of the events unfolding behind her.

"I think Jess was on my back most of the way, but I don't tend to turn around and look," she said. "I found a few guys to run with, so I just tacked on with them and stayed there.

A first time winner in her first attempt, she was happy despite falling three or so minutes outside her best ever time for 21.1km. "My coach was telling me to get a PB but there were a lot of hills there."