Waitārere run tests brigade

Waitārere run tests brigade

Anyone doing the Waitārere Fun Run at the weekend would have been short on air, but one group nearly ran out completely.   

The Waitārere Beach Volunteer Fire Brigade donned full equipment and ran their 2km race hooked up to their oxygen tanks. Fire chief Chad O’Hara says with between 30-40 minutes of oxygen in each tank, it can disappear quickly under stress. 

“It seemed like a good idea at the time until we realised it was a very warm day,” he says.

The team crossed the finish line together in 27 minutes in what he says was a valuable training exercise. The brigade also used the event to give a live demonstration of the dangers of throwing water on an oil fire in the kitchen, and to display their new fire engine.

Joining the firefighters was a contingent of police who entered, while the largest group entry belonged to Paraparaumu Beach School with 50 runners. More than 1800 people entered, about the same as last year.

Half-marathon winner Damien Lardner, 30, scorched over the 21.1km distance in 1hr 18m 18s, almost five minutes ahead of the next runner, Scott Turkington.

Lardner, an engineer of Feilding, is using the event to prepare for the Hawke’s Bay Marathon next month and was just trying to hold a steady marathon pace.

He says he’s always been into running and competed at the World Ironman in Taupō last year.  He belonged to the PNorty running club, a sub-club of Feilding Harriers.

The women’s 21.1km event was won by Hillary Wicks in a time of 1.44:01, while talented Waitārere Beach track athlete Courtney Fitzgibbon skipped over 5km in her backyard to win the female section and finish third overall behind Bair Waldrom and Cameron Hopkins.

The Waitārere Forest Run was first organised 29 years ago by Levin Joggers and Walkers as the Great Forest Marathon. For many years, it was the only off-road marathon in the country.

But it almost became a victim of its own success. With an ageing volunteer committee, Levin Joggers and Walkers made impassioned pleas for new members over a long period to no avail, and were forced to disband a few years ago.

So, rather than let the event fold, they passed the baton to a company with experience in event management. Cue Barefoot Sport NZ, who have continued that legacy since and are grateful for the continued volunteer support that helps make the event a success. 

New World Levin supplied cake and Lewis Farms fruit for the smoothie bike machine, while the event’s charity partner was food recovery organisation Kybosh.

RESULTS:

2km male: 1 Cooper Williams 7.23mins. 2 Leo Rickerby 8:19mins. 3 Theo Bradley 8:20mins.

2km female: 1 Eden Morriss 7.44mins. 2 Elyse Tye 8.18mins. 3 Lily Hay 9:19mins

5km male: 1 Bair Waldrom 19:21mins. 2 Cameron Hopkins 19:40mins. 3 Tom Millar 21:57mins.

5km female: 1 Courtney Fitzgibbon 19:56mins. 2 Lucia Harfitt 20:14mins. 3 Lucie Thompson 20:55mins.

10km male: 1 Tarik Carter 41:20mins. 2 Olly James 41:22mins. 3 Michael Peck 41:23mins.

10km female: 1 Juliet Moorehead 45:02mins. 2 Maia Holden 45:43mins. 3 Jasmine Morriss 46:09mins.

Half-marathon male: 1 Damien Lardner 1.18:18hrs. 2 Scott Turkington 1.23:08hrs. 3 Corey Kellogg 1.27:46hrs.

Half-marathon female: 1 Hillary Wicks 1.44:01hrs. 2 Lissy Shannon 1.45:45hrs. 3 Catherine Galloway 1.47:23.