Rower Luke Watts wins Wanganui Harrier Club Brine to Wine Road Race

Rower Luke Watts wins the run section of the annual Brine To Wine Road Race in Whanganui on Sunday in just 3 seconds over the hour.

Fresh from a successful rowing season, Luke Watts used his residual fitness to street his rivals in the annual Wanganui Harrier Club Brine To Wine Road Race on Sunday.

Watts led the fabulous Aramoho Wanganui Rowing Club charge at the 2018 Rocket Fuel New Zealand Rowing Championships at Lake Karapiro earlier this year. The small, but focused group of young men, took out the senior sculling trifecta in the single, double and quadruple sculls.

Since the end of the rowing season, Watts has taken to running to maintain fitness levels and on Sunday completed the 16km course in 1.00.03, more than a minute ahead of his nearest rival and new harrier club member Chris Line with clubmate Josh Payne a further eight minutes behind in third.

Watts claimed the Gilbertson Shield for his effort."I like to do a bit of running after the rowing seasons ends to keep me fit," Watts said.

"I'm not a club member, but I did do the half marathon last December. I was quite happy with my time on Sunday, although I should have sprinted that last bit to go under the hour."

The Brine To Wine event is open to individual runners and walkers and teams with the course beginning at Castlecliff Beach and finishing at the Top 10 Holiday Park in upper Aramoho.

The two-man teams run half the track each, starting at the beach to the BP Taupo Quay with the second legs finishing at the Top 10 Holiday Park.

Harrier club deputy president Bill Charnock said the event had originally been called the Wine To Brine Road Race because it ran the opposite way.

"Originally the race began at the old Holly Lodge Winery and finished at the beach, but when the winery closed we changed the direction and had our finish at the Top 10," Charnock said.

The first individual walker home was club member Pete Monrad in 1.54.19 to win the Rosoman Family Trophy, while the first team runners were young siblings Oliver and Elliot Jones clocking 1.12.16.

The first team walkers to finish were Palmerston North athletes Ross Campbell and Sharon Patterson in 1.54.28.