Tom Mayo from Great Britain easily won the 25th anniversary Huntly half marathon yesterday in 1h 7m 51s.
Mayo, who represented England at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games in the 1500m, moved into another gear over the second half to break clear of Kim Hogarth of Palmerston North and carry
on for victory by just over a minute.
It was a two-way duel from the start, Hogarth setting the pace with Mayo in tow. The pair quickly established an early lead over the rest of the field of over 1700.
After passing the first 10km in 32m 35s, Mayo eased into the lead on a slight uphill.
"I decided to take it easy over the first half and then go for it. I had some cramping in the legs on the run around the lake, which had me worried a bit," said Mayo.
It was the first time Mayo, a sub- four-minute miler, has competed over a half marathon.
Although a resident of Auckland, Mayo was not eligible for the New Zealand championship. The title, based on the Huntly race, went to Hogarth. "It's not the first time I have been beaten by a foreigner for a New Zealand title," said Hogarth.
He was referring to being beaten by Australians in winning New Zealand steeplechase track titles.
Hogarth leaves in five weeks to take up an American athletic scholarship at West State University.
"I want to get over there and get within striking range of qualifying for the steeplechase at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games," he said.
Nicole Cope of Auckland added the national women's half marathon title to the New Zealand half ironman titles won in 2000 and 2003.
Cope and Sarah Christie from Wellington settled into a large group of runners and were content to run the pace of the pack for the first 14km.
Cope also used an uphill on the course to full advantage, breaking clear of Christie. Cope's winning time was 1h 15m 47s, nearly two minutes faster than Christie.
It was Cope's first race since winning the New Zealand 10,000m track title in Inglewood in January.
"I had bad achilles tendon trouble after the 10,000m race and had a month off," said Cope.
Christie, twice former national half marathon champion, was full of praise for Cope's run.
"She was too strong, put in a bit of a burst and I didn't have that next gear to go with her."
