It wasn't a personal best but it was the best I could do today.Ady NgawaitWhangarei runner Ady Ngawati is looking forward to a well-earned holiday in Queensland after finishing eighth in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon yesterday. Ngawati's time of 2 hours, 56 minutes and 27 seconds was 14 minutes behindthe women's winner, Western Australian Lauren Shelley who posted a very quick 2:42.22. "It wasn't a personal best but it was the best I could do today," Ngawati said after the race. The 32-year-old's best time for the 42km distance is 10 minutes faster than what she ran yesterday, achieved when she won last year's Auckland Marathon for the second time. However, Ngawati's focus this year is on the Xterra World Off Road Running Championships in Hawaii in December, and she has not yet done any speed work, she said. Running a sub-three-hour race would be the ultimate, so she was on track after completing the fast and flat run in calm conditions. The women's race featured a sprint finish for podium positions, with Queenslander Roxie Schmidt crossing the line one second behind Shelley, while Japan's Mai Tagami was another four seconds back in third place. Kenya's William Chebor won the men's race with a super-fast time of 2:12.00. The Kenyan broke away at the halfway mark and was never reeled in, finishing nearly five minutes ahead of top seed, Victoria's Shane Nankervis. New Zealander Matt Smith was third with a time of 2:16.51.
