NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Olympics

Olympics: Pain bites in the longest run

NZ Herald
3 Aug, 2012 10:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Kimberly Smith. Photo / Getty Images.
Kimberly Smith. Photo / Getty Images.

Kimberly Smith. Photo / Getty Images.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Most sportsmen and women, no matter how high they progress up the professional ladder, do what they do because of a deep-seated love of their sport.

Marathoners are different. Even those with a masochistic streak reach a point in the race where it just stops being fun. That old maxim about a fine line between love and hate is at work here.

"At 20 miles [32km] you really want to be done. It's not very comfortable at that point," says Kimberley Smith, who tomorrow will line up on The Mall to run the gruelling 42km race.

"It's a really painful race. Not a lot of fun."

London will offer a flat, possibly fast race, although the 11am start and the potential to be running through the hottest part of the day might militate against scorching times.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Expected to be near the front towards the end are Kenyan Mary Keitany and veteran Gete Wami of Ethiopia, but if the race plan falls into place, the diminutive Smith is capable of making a nuisance of herself, especially if the finish time is around 2h 25m.

"I don't want it to be too fast. Some of the African runners can run a really quick pace. Sometimes they die and sometimes they don't. If it is going out at a suicidal pace I'll have to keep a consistent pace myself."

That requires some discipline. It is not easy to watch others disappear into the distance and keep faith in your own plan. If you think the marathon might give you a bit of time to drink in the sights then you're wrong.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You're just thinking about the race the whole time really. I try to split the race up in my head. I think ahead to the next drinks station. That's every 5km. When you're at 20 miles, though, and you've got 10km to go, it's really daunting."

It's where athletes, no matter how well-trained or hydrated, start to hit the imaginary wall. Like an invisible force-field from some 70s sci-fi show, you can see runners changing characteristics, like they've changed from sneakers to wading boots.

It's where Smith hopes she'll be able to start reeling in her competitors. Touch wood, she's never really hit it.

"I don't know if I've ever hit the wall as bad as some people. You see some people running and they hit it and they can barely move. I'm more likely to have a gradual slowdown."

Discover more

Olympics

Olympics: All you need to know about our new golden duo

02 Aug 09:55 PM
Olympics

Olympics: Who are those cyclists at the rowing?

03 Aug 01:04 AM
Olympics

Olympics: Should it be Sir Mark Todd?

03 Aug 04:32 AM
Olympics

Olympics: Pressure on Black Sticks

03 Aug 05:30 PM

This is Smith's third Olympics. The 30-year-old Rhode Island-based runner competed at Athens and Beijing on the track and has Oceania records for the 3000, 5000 and 10,000m.

"I am starting to feel more like a road racer now. I really like running on the roads and feel a lot more comfortable. I can't see myself ever going back to the track."

Dylan Cleaver

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Olympics

Olympics

'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes

Olympics

Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold

Olympics

The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament
Hawkes Bay Today

Napier teen wins gold at Australasia's largest boxing tournament

Pastures Past: Before the vet was just a call away
The Country

Pastures Past: Before the vet was just a call away

Juvenile filly shines like diamond in season’s last black-type race
Racing

Juvenile filly shines like diamond in season’s last black-type race

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables
The Country

Vege tips: Daikon radishes and pickled vegetables

'I broke the rule of my grandfather': All Blacks' brother on 75 hours lost at sea
Kahu

'I broke the rule of my grandfather': All Blacks' brother on 75 hours lost at sea

Facing challenges: Kauri Museum seeks sponsors to secure future
Northern Advocate

Facing challenges: Kauri Museum seeks sponsors to secure future



Latest from Olympics

'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes
Olympics

'World-leading': New study addresses concussion risks for female athletes

The new technology installed will detect signs of concussion from blood.

08 Jul 09:12 PM
Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold
Olympics

Olympic champion Butcher wins kayak cross World Cup gold

29 Jun 10:44 PM
The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers
Olympics

The staggering figure the Paris Olympics cost French taxpayers

23 Jun 06:29 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search