Record Running in Wellington this Weekend

With runners and walkers from a record 19 countries, this year’s Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon is setting records before the starters gun is even fired.

Almost 400 runners and walkers will line up at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Sunday for the 34th Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon event.

Established in 1986, the event has been the regions premier marathon event for more than three decades and is one of New Zealand’s “big five” marathons alongside Christchurch, Rotorua, Auckland and Queenstown.

Runners this year have come from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Thailand, UK and USA. Indeed, favourites for the feature full marathon come from as far afield as Japan, Australia and right here in Wellington.

Japanese Favourites

Favourites are two Japanese runners, one from Wellington’s sister city of Sakai, and the other a resident of Wellington in recent years. Tsubasa Hokamura won the trip to the Wellington Marathon as the first Sakai resident to finish the Senshu Marathon last February. The 29-year-old has run 2hrs 30min, which would have been fast enough to win last year’s Gazley Volkswagen Marathon. But not this year.

Favourite is Wellington-based Japanese native, Hiro Tanimoto. The 34-year-old has a best time of 2hrs 20min dating back to 2015 and was a winner of the ASB Christchurch Marathon in 2015 as well. But a win in his-adopted Capital City has eluded him. In 2017 he shared the lead with American Dan Lowry for 30 of the 42.2k before an injury reduced him to limping to the finish.

Both runners, however, will need to watch for Australian Jai Edmonds and Wellingtonian Mark Moore. They have best times in between the two Japanese runners and Edmond has credentials as the Australian Champion in 2017 while Moore has improved at every outing and could be the dark horse out there on race day.

Bridesmaids Go Head to Head

Marathon runners Lisa Brignull, Ingrid Cree have both finished in the top three in past versions of the Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon, but neither have won it. That will change this year, as they are clear favourites to fill the podium, with one of them perhaps on the top step.

The two are evenly matched too. Cree, from Wellington, broke three hours for the first time in February when winning the amateur race at the Senshu Marathon in Japan in 2hrs 57min. Brignull, from Christchurch, has a best of 3hrs 02min, and is super consistent with several marathons under 3hrs 10min without breaking the magic three hour mark.

The two aren’t likely to threaten the 2017 record of New Zealand champion Alice Mason (2hrs 48min), but it will be an exciting race of attrition that should see one of them finally win the Gazley Volkswagen Marathon.

Wellingtonian Returns Hunting First Title

A few years back Sarah Gardner was a promising Wellington runner who finished among the top five in most outings. Living now in Tauranga, she has progressed in 2019 into the fastest improving road runner on the national scene and returns to home soil hunting a personal best time and maybe even a race record in the half marathon.

Earlier in the year Gardner won Tauranga’s Sun to Surf half marathon and backed that up with a best time of 1hr 18min to win the Hawkes Bay half marathon in May. Just four weeks ago she almost stole the ASB Christchurch half marathon too, only being passed in the final few kilometres by Dunedin’s Margie Campbell. She returns as favourite on home soil this Sunday, but the 35-year-old won’t have it all her own way.

Auckland jockey, Lisa Cross, is also one of the country’s best distance runners and has been climbing back toward top form after a quiet few years having children. The 36-year-old has the fastest half marathon time at 1hr 14min and recently claimed third in the NZ full marathon champs in Christchurch. With Cross and Gardner going head-to-head, the 2017 race record of 1hr 17min 40secs by Ruby Muir could be under threat.

As well as winning $1000 cash, winners breaking course records in the half or full marathon net a $1000 bonus. The first Wellington man in the full marathon this year also wins a trip to the Senshu Marathon in Japan as part of Wellington’s sister city relationship with Sakai.

Former Winners Face Fast Visitors

The men’s half marathon is also expected to produce fast times, with two former winners facing two in form visitors. Wellington’s Niam McDonald and Dougal Thorburn have both tasted success in their home event, McDonald being the surprise winner in last year’s half marathon while Thorburn has won both the half and full distance. They will face Australian Nick Sunseri and Christchurch’s Chris Dryden, who with a recent 1hr 07min third place in Christchurch recently is considered the favourite.

Dryden is the fastest on form this year, but Thorburn has a faster best time of 1hr 06min. Sunseri has run 1hr 08min, while McDonald has a more modest 1hr 10min from last year’s win. But that came in terrible wind and rain, and the forecast for Sunday is for a fine day with moderate winds, which should see the 22-year-old improve significantly.

Something for Everyone

Along with the feature Gazley Volkswagen Marathon and Shoe Clinic Half Marathon, the event also includes the Mizuno 10k and The Hits Kids’ Magic Mile.

Event Manager, Michael Jacques is excited with the calibre of racing in this year’s Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon, but points out, “This event is so much more than the top runners,”

“We provide something for everyone from kids right through to first timers and weekend warriors.”

Jacques says it is great to see people like Wellington’s Des Young continuing his streak as the only person to have run every year of the event. “Twenty years ago Des was often in the top 10 finishers, but these days he’s happy running in the middle of the pack like any other recreational runner. I think that’s what the event, and what the sport, is all about.”

Another runner who knows a thing or two about marathons is Aucklands Garth Barfoot, who at 83 will be trying to be the eldest ever finisher of the feature full marathon. Although Barfoot himself is more worried about trying to run faster than he did in Wellington two years ago at 81.

Sunday’s Gazley Volkswagen Wellington Marathon kicks off on Sunday at Westpac Stadium with the Full Marathon Walk at 7:00am. The Full Marathon Run, which doubles as the Wellington Championship, starts at 7:30pm. The Half Marathon Run and Walk start at 8:45am, the 10K Run and Walk at 9:15am, and the Kid’s Magic Mile at 9:30am.

Late entries can be made on Saturday at Gazley Volkswagen, 38 Kent Terrace in Wellington. For more information see www.wellingtonmarathon.kiwi.

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