At about the 15km mark, Ady Ngawati knew.
She knew Aucklander Hanny Allston was coming, and that her legs were starting to feel the pressure as she tried to bag her first-ever New Zealand road running title at the Fullers Kerikeri Half Marathon.
So when Allston blasted past at the 18km mark
and surged on to win the women's race, wiping Ngawati's bid to become the first Northlander to win the title, it wasn't so much devastation that she felt. Rather it was resignation.
"I tried," Ngawati said.
"I knew she was coming but when it happened there was nothing I could do about it. I could see her up the road but my legs wouldn't take me there," she said.
It had been a bold bid from Ngawati though. By surging out in the first half of the race, she had managed to open up a 40-second lead by the halfway mark.
But with the wind in her face Ngawati could not hold on. Over the demanding undulating course to the finish line, Allston made the most of the conditions to grab the victory.
It was quite a performance from Allston, who announced at the finish line that she was heading to Australia to try and break into the athletics scene there. But the most stunning run of the day came from the men's champion, Kim Hogarth of Auckland.
Hogarth, a steeplechase track specialist who was unlucky to miss selection to the Beijing Olympics earlier this year, powered through the uphill sections early in the race before conserving some of his energy through the later stages to deliver a mindboggling pace over the last 2km.
Hogarth's only challenger was Stephen Lett. But he finished almost two minutes adrift after getting within 200m of the lead at the 13km mark.
More than 2500 particpants lined up at the start line at Okaihau before surging toward the finish shute at Kerikeri. It was a record field in an event that is now regarded as one of the premier half marathon races in the country.
Ian Calder was the best performed Northland male. He finished ninth in 1h 16m 30s.
LEADING RESULTS
Men: Kim Hogath 1h 8m 15s; Stephen Lett 1h10m 27s; Robbie Johnston 1h 11m 16s. Women: Hanny Allston 1h 17m 45s; Ady Ngawati 1h 18m 47s; Melissa Norris 1h 21m 52s.
