Monica Tate, 76, completed the full marathon.
Seventy-six-year-old Monica Tate reckons “finishing is winning” when it comes to marathons.
Tate was one of nearly 8000 runners of all ages, backgrounds and abilities who took on the 2025 ASICS Runaway Hawke’s Bay Marathon on Saturday.
The scenic event offered four distances across the Bay: the ASICS Marathon (42.2km), La Roche-Posay Half Marathon (21.1km), 10km Run, and the 2.2km Kids Run.
At 76, Tate was the oldest to complete the full 42.2km marathon this year, clocking a time of 7:08:37.
“Crossing the line is the ultimate achievement and goal,” she told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“Finishing is winning.”
Tate started running marathons when she was 35 and is now on track to complete her 200th marathon by the end of the year.
“I had my sister running this marathon as well, and she has done over 300 marathons,” Tate said.
“I introduced her to running a long way back, and she helped encourage me to keep going to reach my 100th in 2019.”
She and her sister, Charlotte Nasey, 74, were born in Dargaville. They now live in Auckland, where Monica still works as a general manager for home-based support services.
“I am not one for being ‘fussed over’,” Tate said.
“I have been very grateful to have had the opportunity to stay active, especially in our ‘ageing years’. That to me is the ‘key’ to good health.”
The sisters were among the 75% of participants from outside the region.
Another was Wellington’s Ingrid Cree, who claimed her fourth consecutive women’s marathon title, in 2:47:47.
“I feel amazing, I love it here, I can’t stop coming back,” she said.
“My family loves to come along, my kids do the fun run, and the festival feel at the end is so great.
“We come from Wellington, and I think it’s always better when they’re here,” said Cree.
Cree finished nearly two minutes ahead of Bethany Bromfield, who led most of the race before being overtaken in the final kilometres. Marina Ferguson completed the women’s podium.
In the men’s race, New Zealand Olympian Malcolm Hicks took the title in 2:24:46, just over a minute ahead of Rodwyn Isaacs, with Hiro Tanimoto in third.
“It’s a beautiful course, stunning weather down here and there was fantastic support out there,” said Hicks.
“It’s my first time here, it’s fantastic, loved it.”
It was also the first time for Susan Amatiello, who travelled from the United Kingdom with her husband, Pasco, to run alongside their daughter Lucia, who lives in Levin.
The pair represented one of the 66 countries participating in the event.
“Lucia ran the full marathon for the first time,” Susan said.
“My husband and I also signed up for the marathon, but unfortunately have had a winter of injuries and illnesses and decided to swap to the half.
“In a way, this is better, as we could cheer Lucia over the finishing line. Otherwise, she would have been waiting a long time for us to finish.”
Susan finished the half marathon in 3:10:54, while Lucia completed her first marathon in 5:23:57.
“We were most looking forward to seeing our daughter cross that finish line. And also, the views,” Susan said.
From Sydney, Australia, Madison Pinkus and Montana Watt travelled across the Tasman to complete the full marathon together, both finishing in just over four hours.
“Napier is honestly stunning, it was such a beautiful route, it was so scenic [and] unreal – we were running past sheep and alpaca! I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Pinkus said.
“Now we’re keen for a couple of days of wine tours. We’ve travelled all the way from Sydney ... and we’re so happy to be here,” Watt said.
In the half marathon, the top three women were Anneke Arlidge, finishing in 1:17:27, Phillipa Williams, 1:21:59, and Claire Hammett, 1:22:01.
Men’s half marathon winner Cameron Graves broke the course record with 1:05:34, Jack Moody second in 1:07:18, and Joe Steward came in third in 1:07:27.
In the 10km race, defending champion Matthew Arnold retained his title with a time of 32:13, just three seconds off his course record in 2024. Robin Moore finished second, with Nic Ratcliffe in third.
On the women’s side, Anna Sharp claimed victory ahead of Maisie Kilner and Samantha Austin.
The oldest Hawke’s Bay’s participant, Victor Smith, 74, who took on the 10km race, finished in 1:45:54, achieving his goal of crossing the finish line under two hours.
“It was excellent, I enjoyed the course and was happy with the time I finished it,” he told Hawke’s Bay Today.
Victor has already recovered from the weekend walk and has done his regular walk today, just slightly shorter this time, 3km.
“I think that was my last time [at Hawke’s Bay Marathon] as it was a little bit harder than it had been ... but there is always a chance of doing it again next year,” he said.
A man hit his ex-girlfriend on the head and when she fled upstairs, he burned her clothes.