Michael Voss takes out Rotorua Off Road Half Marathon

Rotorua off-Road Half Marathon winner Michael Voss. Photo / Stephen Parker

For Michael Voss, his 21km winning run is just a small part of his weekly mileage.

The Rotorua 23-year-old was first over the finish line of the Copthorne Rotorua off-Road Half Marathon yesterday morning, finishing the 21km distance in one hour, 19minutes, 6seconds.

He says he used the event as his normal Sunday run as part of his training in the lead up to the Rotorua Marathon in May and by the time he had finished, he had clocked up 160km of running in that week.

"It's sort of my weekly mileage at the moment," Voss says.

Very familiar with the trails of yesterday's event, Voss says that helped him through the race knowing where the hills were and where he could push himself.

He is no stranger to winning running events.

Just last month he was the first man home in the Tarawera Ultramarathon 50km, leading comfortably throughout win in 3h 41m 27s - also part of his Rotorua Marathon training.

The Lake City Athletics runner says he enjoys competing in events and seeing everyone on the race scene as part of his trainings because it helps with his motivation.

"I'd race every weekend if I had my way."

Later this month, Voss will contest the New Zealand 10,000m Championship, at Auckland's Mount Smart Stadium on March 21, before the national half marathon champs in April.

They will be his final events before the Rotorua Marathon on May 2.

While he's expecting a different crowd of runners at those events, Voss is hoping for a win at all events.

As a builder working in some hot weather conditions, Voss says the key to staying ready to race is looking after yourself.

He says staying hydrated is one of the most important ways he looks after himself, often choosing to do his training runs when the weather has cooled off.

Results
Half Marathon run:

Men:
1st: Michael Voss (Rotorua).1:19:06; 2nd: David Haunschmidt (Rotorua); 3rd: Matthew Hallam (Waihī Beach).

Women:
1st: Poppy Rae McGregor (Waikane); 2nd:Hannah Gapes (Rotorua); 3rd: Alexandra Gass (Kailua).

Half Marathon walk:

Men:
1st: Derren Hutchinson (Napier), 2:31:05; 2nd: Warren Bavister (Rotorua), 2:38:43; 3rd:Mike Cosgrove(Te Kuiti) 3:04:40.

Women:
1st: Penny Purcell (Tauranga), 2:29:49; 2nd: Jodine Power (Putaruru), 2:44:40; 3rd: Christine Maxwell (Tauranga), 2:52:18.

*Results are according to official race results from thetimingteamresults.co.nz as of 4pm, March 1.