Shane McCormack won the 24km Memorial Road Race on Saturday effortlessly retaining the title. McCormack spread-eagled the field through the suburbs and over the Poraiti Hill to Puketapu. Enjoying the good conditions McCormack maintained a solid effort along Omaranui Road, and finished in 1.35.32 only 29 seconds slower than last year. Craig Eustace(1.42.25) produced a strong effort on the homeward half to secure second, improving by four minutes on 2004. At a crucial stage, Trevor Fulton(1.45.13) pounced on an unfortunate detour by HBMC's Phil Cameron(1.45.36) to win the battle of the fifty year olds. John Craven(1.49.45) was fifth runner home, while 68 year old Marion Sherburn(2.15.04) re-enforced her legendary status, running over 1� minutes quicker than last year. Eustace's improvement won him the Arthur Lord Trophy for the sealed handicap competition.
The Memorial Road Race Cup for the 4x6km relay was contested by five teams. Eric and Brendan Speakman, assisted by father Mark and anchored by Mitchell Turner were victorious in 1.36.08. Eric(23.37) outsprinted Craig Mathers to the first changeover, before his younger brother(23.41) tore up the tarmac, creating a sizeable break on Simone Morris. Mark(23.32) and Mitchell(25.23) combined to stretch the winning margin to over 10 minutes by the finish. Michael Sullivan, Stephen Lindsay(two laps) and Rachel Town came charging home for second place, only fifty seconds ahead of the combination of Mathers, Morris, Anieka Engels and Natasha Town-Warner.
report courtesy Trevor Fulton
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