"So I've done a couple of races and performed well and hit all my targets, which is really cool."
He said Rotorua is a particular kind of race.
"There are lots of hills, obviously, so I've made sure my strength has stayed high to get myself up the hills, but it does sort of depend on the day. I've got a race plan I'll be sticking to, but it also depends on what the other guys are wanting to do or end up doing. If there's a big group, you don't want to end up by yourself with the big group just behind you doing it easy," he said.
"I've got a time that I'm aiming to run which is quicker than what I did last year. You sort of work out a time that will win the race unless someone really really fast turns up, and I've done all my training to that. I'll start off with the goal of running that time and at some stage I'll sort of switch over to think 'Right, now it's time to start thinking about winning the race'."
It's a way of avoiding getting spooked by someone going out really fast.
"If you're concerned about their position, you're just going to blow yourself to pieces. But you start off with a time in mind, something you can handle, then switch over to think about working on positioning and maybe playing a bit more of a tactical game to be there in the end."
Sanson is well aware of the threat posed by Jono Jackson and Josh Maisey.
"Jono is a class act. He's got a lot of experience and knows what he's doing. I don't know a lot about Josh, where he's at, but he's probably got the speed at the finish line that would be a little bit of a concern I guess, but hopefully [by then] he's not anywhere near me. But [the threat] could be anybody. I went into the race last year and I wasn't very much of a threat and I pulled through to get second, so you've really got to watch everybody."
He described the Rotorua Marathon as a runner's race.
"It's always such a cool event and it's got such a lot of history behind it which is kind of why I like it ... and it's not really commercialised like a lot of the races get to be."
Tokoroa's Lysaght has a swathe of goals for tomorrow's race, among them looking to be the first Lake City runner home for the third year in a row and winning the club's masters trophy in the process, after finishing third in the 40-44 years age group last year.
"I have a whole hierarchy of goals - to win my age group, the ultimate for me though would be to go under 2hr 40m because I have never done that at Rotorua, and make sure I win the masters trophy for the Lake City Club.
"But there's also a teams aspect as well. The top three runners from each club's combined times decide who wins the teams' trophy, so I also want to be in the top three of my club and the other guys to do well so we have a good shot of winning that teams trophy."
Lysaght first tackled the Rotorua event in 2004 and has completed each one since.
"This is my 14th this year and all going to plan, next year I'll do my 15th and that will put me in the [Rotorua Marathon] survivors' club. Then I'll probably retire from being a competitive marathon runner."
After 14 races, Lysaght said there was little point changing his preparation.
''Things have been going all right, you don't want to make any drastic changes in case they backfire on you. Because I'm getting a bit older [I have] probably reduced a little bit of the intensity and volume in my speed work but that's about it.''
Preparation has included the Buller Marathon in Westport earlier this year and the New Plymouth Mountain to Surf and Auckland Marathon last year.
"I'm fairly confident I've done the training, but I'm getting a bit older so I'm probably not as fast as I was five years ago. Last year I did about 2h 44m and I'd like to do it a bit quicker, but it all comes down to the conditions on the day and if you can find anyone to race against as that always pushes you along."
The half marathon starts at 8am with the marathon getting under way at 8.20am. The first half marathon finishers are expected around 9.05am and the first marathon finishers around 10.45am.
