Plenty of colour under grey skies

AND THEY'RE OFF: Azelia Parkinson (wearing the orange hi-vis vest on left) sounds the horn to get the ASB Kerikeri Half Marathon underway in Okaihau on Saturday morning.

The conditions may have been gloomy in Okaihau on Saturday morning but the overcast sky and firm but cool tailwind made for perfect conditions for the 26th running of the ASB Kerikeri Half Marathon.

Whangarei runner Harry Linford was first across the finish line at Kerikeri Domain with a time of 1 hour 12 minutes and 7 seconds. Afterwards, Linford admitted he was rapt to have finally achieved his goal of winning the Kerikeri half-marathon, having finished runner-up the past two years. The architecture student admitted he had been propelled by a timely end of year university result which came through the day before the race, seeing him receive an A for one of his design papers.

Hot on Linford's heels, just 17 seconds behind, was second place-getter Brad Luiten from Auckland, who drew away from the rest of the field early on in the run to finish in 1.12.24.

The women's division was dominated by Auckland runners Rachael Kingstone and Anna McRae, who finished in 1.24.15 and 1.25.36, respectively, while Whangarei long distance specialist Ady McKenzie was third in 1.25.56.

However, Northlanders featured highly in the competitive walking section, taking out the first and third spots in both the men's and women's division.

Kerikeri's Shirley Dryden was the first to cross the line in 2.14.44 to claim the new challenge trophy donated by Alan Connolly for the first overall walker, along with the women's title, with Victoria Sintes (Auckland) runner-up in 2.32.42 and Paihia's Julia Collins third, in 2.32.34.

The men's competitive walk was won by Whangarei's Alan Connolly in 2.15.10 with Slavko Rosandich from Auckland second in 2.27.43 and John Hunt from Kerikeri in 2.42.33.

Other winners on the day were Jennifer Woodham from Kerikeri, who won the spot prize of a Merida bike, while Josie Bower took away a two-night trip for two to Fiji.

Event spokesperson Colleen Aitchison from Sport Northland again emphasised the profile the event brought to the Far North, saying an estimated 50 per cent of participants coming from outside the province. She said feedback for the event was "phenomenal! I spoke to quite a few afterwards who have done these type of events throughout the country and they rated this as one of the best. The course, entertainment, the volunteers, the welcome they got back in Kerikeri ... "

Aitchison noted conditions couldn't have been better for the event, with overcast conditions, light showers and a firm (mostly) tailwind, although things did get a little bit warmer later in the morning which didn't affect the faster half of the field.

She noted the turnout was relatively quiet compared to last year, with 1734 runners and walkers along with one wheelchair racer featuring amongst the 1983 registrations. While there was the usual attrition rate of some runners unable to complete due to injury, Aitchison said the majority of the difference between the number registered and the number which finished was made up of those who left it to the last minute before pulling out after realising an injury niggle - or another commitment - would prevent them from taking part.