Veteran athlete takes 2015 Coast Duathlon

WITH 75KM TO GO: A strong Terry Scott heads north to Te Puia from Tatapouri. Pictures by Liam Clayton

CRAMP did its level best to upset a few competitors on Saturday . . . but 2015 Coast Duathlon champion Terry Scott held on to just enough of a lead he built on the bike to survive a cramp-affected run to the finish at Te Puia as his lead was whittled away.

The veteran triathlete is the latest in a long line of champions of the 100km Coast Duathlon, also joining a select group of veteran age groupers who have taken solo line honours over the race’s 27-year history.

But he had to work for it . . . as he dealt with cramp and a tight hamstring that started late on the bike leg, bearing down on him from behind was a faster runner and second-time runner-up James Hillard.

At the line 100km north of where they began, it was Scott in 4 hours 20 minutes, with Hillard just out of sight 68 seconds behind and closing.

Hillard had to be content with being twice the bridesmaid but it was a strong performance nonetheless.

Third was open men’s winner Allan Porter in 4:44, with women’s champion Trish McBreen just three minutes behind in fourth place overall.

Second-placed open age grouper Pete Rennie was next to finish in 5:03, then came the rest of the veteran solos: Glenn Brown in 4:58, Peter Lamont in 5:15 and Charlie Savage in 6:18, experiencing one of his more painful races after suffering serious cramp for the first time in 27 Coast starts . . . all the way from the second half of the cycle to limping to the line at Te Puia.

Similarly, cramp and a tightening hamstring could easily have ended Terry Scott’s race.

“I was deliberately conservative on the first run, confident I could catch James on the bike,” he said.

His middle-of-the-field 14km run meant Hillard and Porter were out ahead of him but he reeled them in on the 75km ride to Tokomaru Bay and built a lead that paid off when leg problems bit.

It was a handy build-up to races in coming weeks, including the Tinman, a half ironman in Rotorua and later the national age group triathlon championships, where he had a podium finish last year.

McBreen has similar goals ahead and with no other solo women to race this year, still put half the men’s field behind her, with the usual smile at the finish.

Near-perfect conditionsIt was a smaller but one of the faster fields that set off from Gladstone Road in overcast, damp conditions and light, misty rain at Tatapouri. The road dried out further north and conditions morphed into near-perfect with cool, overcast conditions most of the way and a light, shifting breeze.

A week ago runner Doug Moore was knocking out another sub-three-hour marathon in Auckland. As he recovered during the week, he wavered on whether he should be a starter and nearly flagged the Coast Duathlon.

In the end he ran for Pete Murphy and the change of heart paid off . . . they took line honours in the teams race, in a time of 3:41 that did not threaten the long-standing race record of 3:12 set 24 years ago in a howling southerly, but was pretty quick in the conditions and one of the fast times of recent years.

Murphy’s charging 2.05 ride soon had them in the lead and was the fastest of the day by five to six minutes over fellow quick cyclists Brent Sheldrake, Craig Hoskin and Tayler Reid.

Reid and Rocky Smyth were second men and overall team in 3:50, while winning mixed team Georgia Halley and Craig Hoskin were third to the line in four hours. Michelle Rennie and Barry Hyland were second mixed team and fourth overall after passing third mixed team Peter Webster, Brent Sheldrake and Leigh Sheldrake on the final run leg.

Fastest runner of the day was Steve Morrow, whose storming runs out front, coupled with cyclist Bruce Whitley’s much more modest ride time, was enough for victory in the veteran teams and sixth place overall.

Murray Van Dorp and Hans Van Kregten were third men and seventh team after puncturing, while Mike Jennings, also fresh off the Auckland marathon, was in the third vet team with cyclists Don Niven and Norm Graham.

Race director since 2001 Mark Sceats felt the smaller-than-usual field was faster than normal and announced his commitment to stage the race at least until the 30th anniversary event in 2018 “and review it from there”.

He can be sure that a certain Waikohu farmer will be on that start line.

Results:Individuals:

Open men: Allan Porter 4hrs 44min 02 secs, 1; Peter Rennie 5:03.05, 2.

Open women: Trish McBreen 4:46.55.

Veteran men: Terry Scott 4:20.14, 1 (first individual overall); James Hillard 4:21.22, 2; Glenn Brown 4:58.55, 3; Peter Lamont 5:15.17, 4; Charlie Savage 6:18.06, 5.

Teams:

Women: Hayley Anderson/ Rose Candy/ Jane Moore, 4:39.29, 1.

Men: Doug Moore/Peter Murphy 3:41.45, 1 (line honours); Rocky Smyth/Tayler Reid 3:50.57, 2; Murray Van Dorp/Hans Van Kregten 4:32.02, 3.

Mixed: Georgia Halley/Craig Hoskin 4:00.23, 1; Michelle Rennie/Barry Hyland 4:11.25, 2; Peter Webster/Brent Sheldrake/Leigh Sheldrake 4:12.24, 3; Trish McBreen/Jim Gambrill/Janine Gambrill 5:04.34, 4; Arna Searle, George Searle/Kristina Williams/Jarred Moroney 5:08.21, 5.

Veterans: Steve Morrow/Bruce Whitley 4:30.13, 1; Glenn Brown/Joylon Sparks/Dan Murphy 4:35.30, 2; Mike Jennings/Don Niven/Norm Graham 4:53.23, 3; Jayne Clark/Rowan Clark 5:01.58, 4; Dave Conway/Peter Lamont 5:33.40, 5.