Duathlon wins to Sheldrake and Rennie

THEY'RE OFF: Race director Mark Sceats gets competitors off and running in the 29th Coast Duathlon. The 30th will be held tomorrow. Picture by Liam Clayton

THE Coast Duathlon put its sadness behind it and arrived at Te Puia in great spirit on Saturday with a big field of old friends and new faces, most of them smiling.

Fuelling the much-larger-than-usual entry was a special occasion for friends, family and fellow athletes to pay tribute to two key figures from the Coast’s 29-race history, Dick Coates and Charlie Savage, who died in the past year.

The day’s new faces were largely thanks to multisport athlete Michelle Rennie, who convinced 75 of her Cardio Coach training group to tackle the challenge en masse.

It produced a day of individual achievements, with a great atmosphere from the city start line all the way along its 100-kilometre route to the finish at Te Puia. Those new to racing on State Highway 35 discovered the challenges of the Coast’s hills and a relentless nor’west headwind.

It was a perfect setting for two of Gisborne’s international athletes to add their names to the honours board.

Rennie won the women’s title in her first crack at a solo race, the former Olympic cyclist’s 4 hours 42 minutes placing her fourth overall. Sixth to the Tatapouri transition with a strong run, and 11th fastest on the bike, she had touches of cramp to deal with on the last run.

She was not alone in feeling the 100km race’s bite.

A teenager when he first competed in this event, race winner Stephen Sheldrake made a last-minute decision to enter as an individual and admitted it was a tough day.

Not that it stopped the former professional triathlete from scorching over the cycle leg in 2:19 and having fourth and fifth-fastest runs overall. His time was 4:11 and his winning margin, 29 minutes.

Just four minutes covered the next four. Matt Harvey was second man in 4:40, with winning veteran Shane Clapperton less than a minute back, Rennie a further minute back and third man Peter Blake next to cross.

Second woman Nan Baker also cracked five hours, in 4:58, with third-placed Georgia Halley finishing in 5:11.

Next were Andrew Briant 5:16, Peter Rennie 5:18, fourth woman Kelly Pelham 5:21, second veteran Dougal Watts 5:24, Glenn Brown 5:42, third vet Pete Lamont 5:54, Keith Scholes 6:07, Ron Skelton 6:38 and 73-year-old Joe Mayhew arriving to a warm reception in 6:45.

Teams raceIn the teams race, Jack McLaughlin combined with Sheldrake to win outright in 4:12. They were the first men, ahead of JP Vorster and Craig Hoskin in 4:17, who were just three minutes in front of fast-finishing Rocky Smyth, Freddy Salgado and Marcus Koll. Smyth was fastest on both run legs.

Simon Bousfield and George Williams were fourth, ahead of Stephen Taylor, Matt Logan and Rhys Farrell, and Jason Phillips with Steve Wolter — all finishing inside five hours.

Nan and Andy Baker won the 24-strong mixed team category in 4:32, 25 minutes ahead of Steve Neshausen, Kendra Tate and Tyler Evans, who grabbed second place within sight of Te Puia from Nan Baker’s other team, Sean and Trish McBreen, both in 4:57.

Just a few minutes covered a group of teams behind them, with Ben Fogarty, Wilson Isaac, Suzie Collins and Amy Wright ahead of Barry Hyland with Luka and Barbara Barron, then Kate, Travis and Danielle Ney, who opened a gap on Fred Barwick and Carol Redpath on the final run.

Fastest women’s team were Helayna Ruifrok and Nicki Davies, in 5:15, 10 minutes clear of June Beange, Rose Candy and Charlene Donald, with Gretchen Morrison, Tina Smallman, Kristina Williams and Jane Moore just three minutes further back third after a close tussle.

Hans van Kregten and Murray van Dorp defended their veterans’ title in 4:50, half an hour clear of Mike Jennings, Norm Graham and Paul Ericson, with Pete Lamont, Jim Gambrill, Dave Conway and Ian Hughes just behind them in third place.

Race director Mark Sceats said Saturday’s race was perhaps the defining moment of his 19 years at the helm. He hopes the commemorative spirit and atmosphere will carry through to help celebrate the 30th annual race in 2018.

Te Puia Hotel has been closed for major renovations and he hopes it will be up and running to play its role at the finish line next year.

RESULTS of the 29th Coast DuathlonIndividuals

Open men: Stephen Sheldrake 4hr 11m 24s, 1; Matt Harvey 4:40:39, 2; Peter Blake 4:44:28, 3; Andrew Briant 5:16:33, 4; Peter Rennie 5:18:11, 5; Glen Brown 5:42:15, 6.

Open women: Michelle Rennie 4:42:22, 1; Nan Baker 4:58:29, 2; Georgia Halley 5:11:20, 3; Kelly Pelham 5:21:11, 4.

Veteran men: Shane Clapperton 4:41:11, 1; Dougal Watts 5:24:32, 2; Peter Lamont 5:54:56, 3; Keith Scholes 6:07:24, 4; Ron Skelton 6:38:55, 5; Joe Mayhew 6:45:26, 6.

Teams

Men: Stephen Sheldrake/Jack McLaughlin 4:12:45, 1; JP Vorster/Craig Hoskin 4:17:01, 2; Rocky Smyth/Freddy Salgado/Marcus Koll 4:20:57, 3; Simon Bousfield/George Williams 4:46:30, 4; Stephen Taylor/Matt Logan/Rhys Farrell 4:52:42, 5; Jason Phillips/Steve Wolter 4:55:20, 6; Michael Lynch/Ihaia Wiremu 5:07:42, 7; Mark van Wyk/Noel Holden 5:11:20, 8; Alex Busby/Matthew Gibson/Matthew Jefferd 5:14:57, 9; Glen Brown/Paul Sadlier/James Langford 5:18:11, 10; Lewis Summerfield/Darren Abrahams/Roger Davies 6:14:17, 11; Phil Ware/John Meban/Dean Orsler/Alex Meban 6:44:12, 12.

Women: Helayna Ruifrok/Nicki Davies 5:15:11, 1; June Beange/Rose Candy/Charlene Donald 5:25:22, 2; Angela Newman/Mary Briant 5:28:20, 3; Gretchen Morrison/Tina Smallman/Kristina Williams/Jane Moore 5:34:56, 4; Kelly Norris/Berys Rogers/Karen Natusch 5:56:47, 5; Anna Harris/Rachel Cringle/Cate Busby 6:04:32, 6; Kim Rowland/Francis Rowland 6:27:41, 7.

Veteran men: Hans van Kregten/Murray van Dorp 4:50:53, 1; Mike Jennings/Norm Graham/Paul Ericson 5:27:19, 2; Pete Lamont/Jim Gambrill/Dave Conway/Ian Hughes 5:30:45, 3.

Mixed teams: Nan Baker/Andy Baker 4:32:30, 1; Steve Neshausen/Kendra Tate/Tyler Evans 4:57:30, 2; Nan Baker/Sean McBreen/Tricia McBreen 4:57:53, 3; Benny Fogarty/Wilson Isaac/Suzie Collins/Amy Wright 5:00:45, 4; Luka Barron/Barry Hyland/Barbara Barron 5:01:07, 5; Kate Ney/Travis Ney/Danielle Ney 5:05:42, 6; Fred Barwick/Carol Redpath 5:09:26, 7; Harley Dibble/Georgia Halley 5:12:47, 8; Holly Teesdale/Peter Quax 5:18:00, 9; Hayley Redpath/Demelza Thomas/John Redpath/Blake Redpath/Quinn Redpath 5:19:27, 10; Sara Wilson/Dave Wilson/Ngaire Wolter/Graeme Pearson 5:19:45, 11; Tracy Webb/Phil Rowland/Marianne Gillies 5:22:26, 12; Allan Porter/Nadine McKinnon/Isaia Tulia 5:23:37, 13; Alice Ormond/Robson Timbs/Sam Williams/Bobbi Williams/Cate King 5:24:32, 14; Rebecca Naske/Paul Naske/Graham Elliott/Lynda Gaukrodger 5:27:52, 15; Scott McKinley/Ruby Cave/Henry Ellingham/Ados Friar 5:29:08, 16; Kama Laing/Hadfield Kutia/Laura Clark 5:32:26, 17; Jo Buckley/Ian Chatfield/Megan Costello 5:38:13, 18; Annie Butler/Elsa Donovan/Roz Gathercole/Rob Hooper 5:44:23, 19; Jayne Clark/Rowan Clark 5:50:33, 20; Steph Malarde/Jason Lines 5:55:31, 21; Lisa Loader/Neville Parkinson/Bianca Shaw 6:03:49, 22; Abigale Salmond/Chris Gilmore/Tim Salmond 6:04:24, 23; Bridget Sparks/Adrian Sparks/Joel Sparks/Julie Beattie 6:41:48, 24.