Fitness challenge: Rustic run a winner

Michelle Burton, Rachel Grunwell and Allister Macgregor compete in the Coatesville Classic. Photo / Daniel Sauer, Photos4sale

Each week Rachel Grunwell tries out a different exercise to bring you the lowdown.

What is it? An event in Coatesville (15 minutes' drive north of Auckland), including a half-marathon, 8km run/walk and Kristin 2km Kids' Dash.

What's needed? Running gear.

The experience: The Coatesville Classic half-marathon is known for its hilly course through closed rural roads. On the out-and-back course you run past ponies and even a show pony's home, too - Kim Dotcom's mansion.

Some 980 runners turned up for the start gun. Aucklander Sasha Daniels won the half-marathon in 1:14:30; Tony Payne registered 26.48 to win the 8km race. Event director Rob Docherty said both results are course records - impressive.

I tracked down Sasha to ask his secret. (Last year he won the Kerikeri half-marathon and he did the Auckland Marathon in 2:39:18. He was 13th: Tony was 5th). Sasha, 42, lives near Meadowbank and often catches the train into work in the CBD - he's a lawyer at Telecom - and runs home for training. This 10km roughly takes 40 minutes. He then puts in some serious miles at the weekend.

He's running up to 120km each week, training for the Rotorua Marathon on May 3. I'm running this, too (but nowhere near his pace).

Sasha loves running: it makes him feel fit and healthy and helps him keep up with his two kids. These are reasons I run, too. I ran the Coatesville event with two other GetRunning club members, Michelle Burton and Allister Macgregor. We used Coatesville as training for marathons we want to do, cheering loudly for Sasha as he flew past us on the country course. His average 3.31 pace was inspiring.

Today, I'll be cheering Allister on, from a distance, as he runs the London Marathon. His story is also inspiring. This CEO of a group of Gen-i franchises (an arm of Telecom) was diagnosed five years ago with a malignant tumour of the throat. Doctors told him he'd die. While he was in hospital recovering from an operation, his daughters gave him Kerre McIvor and Gaz Brown's book, Short Fat Chick to Marathon Runner. Allister vowed that if he survived the cancer, he would run the New York Marathon, just like Kerre. Well, he beat the doctors' predictions - and completed the marathon, shedding triumphant tears of joy at the finish. Today he'll add another marathon to his list. He doesn't care what time it takes. He's just grateful to be healthy, fit and running.

Worth it? Hilly half-marathon, but choice course. Cool finisher medal.

Try it: Next year's event will be in mid-March. See coatesvilleclassic.co.nz for details.

Rating: 8.5/10

Rachel wears: Run Swiftly Racerback $69, Run for Your Life Crop $135, lululemon.co.nz