International Race for Line Honours at Queenstown Marathon

19 November 2015

International Race for Line Honours at Air New Zealand Queenstown Marathon

The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon this Saturday will feature stories from all walks of life in New Zealand and around the world, with the race to be first across the line equally an international one.

New Zealand can boast both defending champions Victoria Beck (Dunedin now Australia based) and James Parsons (Napier) but both will face intense opposition from near and far to their titles, with the men’s race in particular attracting overseas interest.

Those challenging Parsons include ex-pat Japanese athlete Hirotaka Tanimoto who now calls Wellington home, Tanimoto won the Christchurch marathon this year in an impressive 2:24. Australian John Csongei brings strong credentials to the event from his home in Adelaide including a win in his home town marathon in August, while Sweden’s Simon Karlsson may be a factor, especially if the conditions are cool on Saturday.

Kiwi hopes lie with Parsons but also at the feet of impressive 2014 Auckland Marathon winner Stephen Lett, the 26 year old showed his promise with a 2:27 winning time in Auckland. Look out also for Tony Payne, the Aucklander has a sub 1:10 half marathon to his name and will test himself and others over the full distance on Saturday.

Parsons has had an interrupted build up but is nonetheless ready for the start gun on Saturday morning.

“I am pretty pumped, nervous and excited. Training had gone really well and I ran a really good half about a month ago with a four minute personal best but I got injured not long after that. It has been a long taper through that time, I only got running properly really yesterday but the positive is I feel fresh after the enforced break.

“It is the mental game now, lots of visualization. It was an overuse injury, a ligament angle got inflamed and I simply couldn’t run through it, I enjoyed good help from my physio and it now feels great, I just need to rely on my fitness and leave it all out there on Saturday.”

An interesting contender on Saturday will be that of Dunedin Marathon winner Romain Mirosa. The Frenchman is Surveys Manager at Otago University and while here is very much continuing his passion for running. On Saturday he will not only contend for the podium, but is running in a ‘team’ with renowned artist Simon Richardson (famous for painting former All Black Anton Oliver nude) and wellbeing columnist Rachel Grunwell to raise funds for the family of the late Wayne Biggs. Biggs died of Lymphoma in August, but not before he had himself raised awareness and funds for great causes, including riding a Vespa around the South Island raising money for Leukemia and Blood Cancer. Biggs left behind wife Aimee and two young children, with Mirosa, Richardson (brother-in-law to Biggs) and Grunwell doing their bit via fundraising site givealittle to ensure they have more than memories of a wonderful man to get them through difficult times.

Defending women’s champion Beck has had a change up in her team this year, one she is looking forward to testing on Saturday.

“Training has gone really well, awesome preparation to be honest. I feel stronger than last year and I’m looking forward to seeing what happenson Saturday. I have a new coach with more mileage in my schedule, I am now working with David Byrne out of Sydney and have been for three months now, since just after the Gold Coast Marathon. I haven’t raced much in that time though, it really has been doing more mileage with a focus on Queenstown, getting good quality sessions in.

“I really enjoyed it last year and again I am hoping to race in some cooler temperatures than here in Aussie! I enjoyed the off-road nature of it, it is nicer on the muscles and a nice change and the scenery is beautiful which is nicer on the mind. The key is staying focused during the whole race, everyone struggles towards the end and a couple of the ‘bumps’ can test you, the key though is to stay focused, especially in the final 10k.”

Challengers in the women’s field include Mel Aitken (Dunedin), who finished second to Beck last year and has already run 2:49 in finishing second in the 2015 Christchurch Marathon. Aitken has enjoyed a good season with age group titles in cross country and on the road and a PB in Christchurch and is already trying to manage her excitement levels at lining up again.

“I am just super excited to be back, this was my most exciting race last year and I was up in Queenstown yesterday and went for a run on part of the track at Frankton and found myself getting super excited at the thought of the race on Saturday,” said Aitken.

“I have had a really good season and am so looking forward to Saturday on a course that I just love. The mix of off and on road is great, the atmosphere was electric and the weather didn’t faze me at all. I have done a lot of races but Queenstown is one of the top races in my view in regards organisation and support from volunteers as well.”

Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon Schedule
Note there are road closures for key points on the course, in particular around start locations and times. Please CLICK HERE and scroll to Road Closure information

Saturday 21 November
7:45am 10km start, Lake Ave, Frankton
8:00am ASICS Half Marathon start, Speargrass Flat Road
8:45am Air New Zealand Full marathon start, Millbrook Resort
1:00pm Kids Run start, Memorial Street
3:30pm Prize Giving

Sunday 22 November
9am-1:00pm Info Desk Open
12:30pm Long Lunch at Rata with Josh Emett

The event website has all necessary information about course maps, event schedule, entry details etc. www.airnzqueenstownmarathon.co.nz. The official Queenstown Marathon mobile App has all the participant and spectator information for event week.

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