An aerial shot of runners at the Waitārere Forest Run. Photo / Andrew Turner atphoto@xtra.co.nz
Running to and from the office each day has served the winner of the Waitārere Forest Run well.
Wellington man Oliver Howitt, 36, runs to work and back each day as an energy programme manager for the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA). The 12-kilometre round trip was the extent of his training.
Between raising a young family and work, he didn’t have much time to hit the streets otherwise, so running to the office each day made sense, although he admitted the 21.1km of the half-marathon was a real test.
“I was cramping afterwards and a bit worse for wear.”
Howitt was part of a leading group of five that set a strong clip early in the run. He hit the lead with about 5km to go and finished in 1h 24m 10s, just 26 seconds ahead of Wairarapa forestry worker Whana Gordon in second, with 12 seconds back to Carl Fisher in third.
For Gordon, 51, it was the second consecutive year he had been runner-up. He finished less than a second behind winner Tbaba Liu in 2023.
The former top boxer said he took to running after giving up smoking four years ago. He loved running for both its physical and mental health benefits.
Howitt wasn’t sure whether he’d be back next year. He tried to do one different running event each year, as a way of seeing the country.
The women’s event was won by Jess K in a time of 1h 42m 11s, ahead of Natasha White (1h 42m 2s) and Charlotte Milne (1h 44m 17s).
More than 1800 people entered the Waitārere Forest Run at the weekend, about the same number of runners as last year. Babies were pushed along in prams, while the oldest runner was born in 1932.
There was a 21.1km half-marathon and 10km, 5km and 2km events. Runners in the half-marathon got value for their entry fee, as the course probably measured closer to 22km on the day.
Organiser Bengy Barsanti, from Barefoot Sport, said more young people entered this year, with an increase in entries for the 2km event, while schools, sports teams and businesses were well represented.
It was noticeable that many young runners finished among the top placegetters in the 10km and 5km events, both male and female, including 11-year-old Isaac Perrett, who was second in the men’s 5km.
The course was marshalled by volunteers. Members of the Levin Mountain Biking Club patrolled the course and communicated with organisers about where runners were and made sure the prizegiving was held off until the last competitor had crossed the line.
Barsanti said the success of the event was a credit to the volunteer groups involved.
The Waitārere Forest Run was first organised 28 years ago by Levin Joggers and Walkers as the Great Forest Marathon and quickly became arguably the biggest and most popular event on the Horowhenua sporting and social calendar.
The 2020 event had to be canned at the last minute because of Covid-19 and since then Levin Joggers and Walkers have handed the running of the event to Barefoot Sports.
Barsanti said he was keen to carry on the legacy created by Levin Joggers and Walkers as the event was now firmly ensconced on the running calendar, attracting runners and walkers from throughout New Zealand.
“It’s a beautiful course,” he said.
For many years, it was the only off-road marathon in the country. In recent years it has been restricted to a half-marathon.
Half-Marathon Men:
1 Oliver Howitt (95) 1:24:10
2 Whana Gordon (602) 1:24:36
3 Carl Fischer 1:26:48
4 Scott Turkington (1131) 1:27:43
5 Denis Owen (1031) 1:31:29
6 Chester Neill (57) 1:32:15
7 Brendan Quirke (733) 1:35:02
8 Thomas Deighton (1196) 1:35:21
9 Logan Amey 1:36:29
10 Olly James (1055) 1:36:55
Half-Marathon Women:
1 Jess K (310) 1:42:11.
2 Natasha Whyte (1277) 1:42:20.
3 Charlotte Milne (26) 1:44:17.
4 Hayley Shaw (1004) 1:45:59.
5 Samantha Grant 1:48:40
6 Alex Quinn (316) 1:49:46
7 Haley Savage (958) 1:50:25
8 Sarah Mitchell (113) 1:50:51
9 Vanessa Addy (34) 1:52:48
10 Roslie Amner 1:53:03
10km Male:
1 Phil Knutson (649) 0:41:15
2 James Brent (1014) 0:42:58
3 Mira Horak (86) 0:44:10
4 Toby Lane (1105) 0:46:04
5 Steile Veenendaal (700) 0:47:35
6 Simon Templeman (1337) 0:48:01
7 Matthew Berg (1479) 0:48:04
8 Chris Smith (991) 0:48:11
9 Natalie Montgomery (1346) 0:48:24
10 Greg Taylor 0:48:34
10km Female:
1 Heather Walker (531) 0:43:20
2 Juliet Moorhead 0:45:49
3 Katie Jenkins (858) 0:48:52
4 Amy Walker (532) 0:49:14
5 Beth Hampton (135) 0:49:26
6 Amy Di Benedetto (1446) 0:50:08
7 Claire Brent (1013) 0:50:18
8 Dale Wicken (1153) 0:50:25
9 Carolyn Nelson (1331) 0:50:38
10 Vanessa Coveny (64) 0:51:00
5km Male:
1 Jacob Williams 0:17:41
2 Isaac Perrett (1110) 0:22:00
3 Jeremy Boyd 0:22:11
4 Jack Jenkins (860) 0:22:13
5 Diego Landaida 0:22:13
6 Hamish Davenport 0:22:49
7 Micah Berendsen 0:23:19
8 Brodie Palmer 0:23:40
9 Kyle Wealleans (1468) 0:23:46
10 William Edgecombe (1373) 0:24:05
5km Female:
1 Mia Thomson (1085) 0:20:48
2 Lucie Thomson (1086) 0:21:43
3 Kiana Wealleans (1467) 0:21:54
4 Lucia Harfitt (1125) 0:25:27
5 Daniel Wilson (550) 0:25:47
6 Lucy Easton (74) 0:26:06
7 Karyn Ammundsen (220) 0:26:07
8 Lara Montgomery (1355) 0:26:31
9 Stepanie Bookless (130) 0:27:11
10 Priya Shaw 0:27:25
Kids 2km:
1 Cooper Williams 0:07:20
2 Emily Williams 0:07:29
3 Riley Read (1081) 0:07:57
4 Hayvin Pohe 0:08:22
5 Joshua Holden (872) 0:08:27
6 Theo Bradley (1321) 0:08:33
7 Tyson Riggs 0:08:34
8 Tyler Savage (959) 0:08:44
9 Adelaide Gordon (1462) 0:08:59
10 Max Parr 0:09:03