Gisborne’s Mike Robinson shines with third in Wellington Half Marathon

Gisborne's Mike Robinson placed third in the Welington Half Marathon on Sunday. He posted a personal best time for the 21.1km.

Gisborne builder Mike Robinson ran a blistering time of 1h 8m 20s on Sunday to place third in the Wellington Half Marathon.

Robinson, representing Gisborne Harrier Club, produced a personal best time and finished just 7s behind second place-getter Eric Speakman of Lower Hutt.

The winner was Toby Gualter‚ of Wellington, in 1h 4m 32s.

Gualter ran away from the field from the start to cross the line more than one kilometre ahead of Speakman.

He was the strong favourite after winning the Christchurch half-marathon earlier in 2025 and setting a course record in Wellington last year in his first major half marathon win in terrible conditions.

Wellington put on perfect weather conditions this year for a fast and tactical race, which Robinson revelled in.

The Gisborne athlete sat comfortably in the pack behind Gualter for the first 15km.

With 6km to go, Robinson decided to make a move and Speakman went with him.

The two runners surged clear of the pack and stayed together until Speakman pulled clear 300 metres from the finish line.

Robinson, coached by former Gisborne international triathlete Josiah Ney, had been running up to 120km a week leading into the event.

“It was a very enjoyable race,” said Robinson. “I thought I could nudge out Speakman for second. It is the first time I have been in a position to do that and be confident enough to stick it out.”

Gisborne-based Joshua Stewart, representing Hawke’s Bay, also ran a PB of 1h 11m 42s to place 15th.

Wellington’s Sarah Drought, the defending women’s champion, won by more than two minutes and broke her own race record with a time of 1h 15m 44s.