Damp and cool conditions proved to be no problem for the 430 entrants in the Juken NZ Kaitaia Run/Walk held on Sunday with many describing the conditions as ideal for setting a good pace.
On behalf of the organisers Sport Northland, Colleen Atchison noted numbers were well up on last year's event and everyone seemed to enjoy the day despite the weather. And, Atchison noted, with the start/finish line at the Te Ahu Centre, competitors were able to enjoy the top facilities this northern event offers.
Having recently moved north from Dunedin, Whangarei's Ant Rodger raced away from the rest of the field in the 12.5 km Church Road loop to take line honours in a time of 50.33. Running in a Sport Northland Run/Walk Series event for the first time, Rodger commented that he enjoyed the experience and was keen to compete in the rest of the series.Young Wellsford runner Louis Young, finished in second place in 52.50 with Christopher Mills ( Whangarei) in third place in 55.41.
For the women, Kerikeri's Maria Akesson was again in good form to made it two series wins in a row by convincingly winning the long-course section in a time of 53.01. Another Kerikeri runner, Marion Maxwell, finished in second place in 58.15, with local runner Catherine Semenoff-Murray third in 58.55. Akesson's win leapt her up the Potter Electrical Leaderboard to be two points behind the 2013 Sport Northland Series winner and current leader, Carolyn Younger.
With only two events left in the 2014 Sport Northland Series, the Whangarei and Kerikeri half marathons on September 21 and November 21 respectively, Akesson and Younger will have the two half marathon events to battle out to find the 2014 series winner. Even though Whangarei's Ian Calder did not take part in the Kaitaia event, he still leads the men's leaderboard from Louis Young, who picked up points for his second placing.
