City to surf half marathon competitors brave breezes

Michael Green showed up with his marathon club uniform, his trusty running shoes and his stopwatch _ to find an empty starting line.
Wondering if he had the right date for Tauranga's City 2 Surf Half-Marathon, the 60-year-old asked a nearby cafe owner for help.
He was told the run had started at 8.30am - almost an hour earlier.
Mr Green had confused the start time with that of the Whangarei Half-Marathon several weeks earlier.
But the late start didn't put Mr Green off - he was still in good spirits when he was last to cross the line.
"I thought I might as well run it. So I set off and managed to finish. I was quite surprised they waited for me at the finish."
Mr Green was among about 1000 keen runners and walkers taking part in the annual event, held in strong winds yesterday.
The cool southwesterly winds made spectators cringe as they watched their friends and family brave the breezes. But the months of training for the competitors was a strong encouragement.
Mr Green finished in two hours 48 minutes on the official clock but his actual running time was one hour 55 minutes according to his stopwatch.
In fact, the finish was the icing on the cake for the Auckland-based author - he won a major spot prize, a BBQ Factory outdoor gas barbecue.
"It's just fantastic. I thought it was tremendous," he said.
His name was called after about seven other people whose names were called out had already gone home and missed out on the prize.
Tauranga accountants Glen Baveystock, Keryn Ryder and Francisca Staal, who featured in a Bay of Plenty Times preview of the event, all completed the half marathon run on Sunday.
The Staples Rodway trio had trained together for the run. Mr Baveystock said the morning run went well and the weather wasn't too much of a problem for them.
"It was not too bad, the worst was around Pilot Bay. But it could have been worse, it could have been raining."
The women were feeling the effects of the run today as they took to their desks again. But Mr Baveystock, with a few half marathons under his belt, said he was "feeling quite good so far".
Taking out first place finish, Mount Maunganui resident Paul Davidson powered over the line.
The first woman home was Janet McKay of Taupo.
At the finish the pain on many faces was clear - but the proud looks of achievement that followed proved it was all worth it.
The finish was at the Mount Maunganui shopping centre car park. Organisers estimated about 1000 people entered the event now in its sixth year.
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