Athletics: Purcell powers to new record

Penny Purcell won the half marathon walk at the Mount Joggers and Walkers event in record time. Photo / John Borren

Penny Purcell caused quite a stir at the finish line of the recent Mount Joggers and Walkers half marathon.

The 54-year-old walker not only beat home the first male by nearly a minute but she set a new record time of 2:20:25.

Purcell averages a kilometre every six minutes, which is quicker than many runners, but admits her winning time came as a shock after a gruelling schedule.

"I did the 100km in 24 hours in Australia for the Anzac Day Challenge, then a week later I did the Rotorua Marathon and got second woman home in under five hours. I had two weeks' break before the Huntly Half and then a week later the [Mount] race," she said.

It was the latest in an impressive list of achievements for the dedicated walker, who took up the sport 16 years ago.

"I had no training, so I trained myself. You have to be careful because the faster you go, the easier it is to get into a slow jog. That is what you have to really watch as some of the races are judged, so you can easily get disqualified."

Purcell has lived in Tauranga for five years but is a local legend in Katikati, where she lived previously.

She walks for nearly two hours, five nights a week, and does 20 half marathons a year. This year she also has four marathons in her sights.

The undoubted highlight of her career so far was completing the New York Marathon in 2011, which she says was an extraordinary experience among 48,000 competitors. Last year she added the London Marathon to her list of accomplishments.

But she says it is frustrating that walkers do not get anywhere near the amount of attention paid to runners at the same events.

"We put just as much hard work into training as runners do and we pay the same amount of money as they do [to enter events], but we are just left behind," she said.

"I would like to see that change.

"If people enter and do well walking, then they know they will be recognised. That is all I am asking. At the NZ Masters Games, which I have been doing for 12 years, they have the marathon walk and run held on separate days."

Next up is the inaugural Taupo Marathon in August, with the San Francisco Marathon her big goal for 2016. "That is the only way I can walk the Golden Gate Bridge."