Title on line at Kerikeri half
Saturday’s Kerikeri Half Marathon is shaping up to be a duel between Warkworth’s Louis Young and Harry Linford of Whanga¯rei, which could decide the overall title in this year’s Sport Northland Run/Walk Series.
With only the Kerikeri event left, t Young is ahead with 31 points while Linford is snapping at his heels with 27.
The Whanga¯rei runner, 23, will have his work cut out to win the overall title though — with 8 points awarded for a first place and 5 for second, Linford would not only have to win but his rival would have to finish third or worse.
Given Young’s form in the Whanga¯rei Half Marathon on September 23, when he set a new course record of 1h 13m 27s and leapfrogged Linford on the leaderboard, the 21-year-old architecture student would have to suffer a particularly bad day to miss out on the overall crown.
There is no contest in the women’s division, which has already been won by 41-year-old Maria Akesson of Kerikeri, who has an unassailable 20-point lead over her nearest rival, Katie McVerry.
Sport Northland event lead Jesse Gavin said the conditions so far looked promising with a mix of cloud, sunshine and light winds forecast.
Anything would be better than last year’s heavy rain, which forced the cancellation of the prizegiving and the evening’s street party.
Entrant numbers were down on last year — around 1800 compared to just under 2000 in 2017 — but that was likely because last year’s Kerikeri Half doubled as the national championships.
Last year’s fastest runners, Chris Lautenslager and Oska Baynes, hadn’t entered this year.
Numbers for Saturday’s event were 917 runners, 44 competitive walkers and four race chairs, with 195 in the walk and 314 in the run/walk hybrid. More than 200 had entered the Ray White 5K event, which starts with a lap of the vines at Marsden Estate Winery before joining the last section of the half marathon course.
The Kerikeri event was popular for its scenic, mainly downhill course, but also because most of the route, from the start on Waiare Rd near Okaihau to the SH10 junction, was run on closed roads.
From the roundabout to Kerikeri Domain participants would for the first time be able to run on a new footpath, which meant Kerikeri Rd would be open to normal traffic.
Prizegiving will start about 12.30pm on the Domain with the Kerikeri Street Party running from 5-9pm. Northland rugby league fans can rejoice with the NZ Warriors taking on the West Tigers in a pre-season game at Whanga¯rei next year.
The Warriors and Tigers will face off in a double-header at the Northland Events Centre at Okara Park on March 2, with their main NRL and Intrust Super Premiership (reserves) squads facing off.
The ISP game will kick off at 2.15pm and the NRL squads go head-to-head at 5pm.
The match could also be a homecoming for players from both teams, with the Warriors’ Adam Blair and the Tigers’ Elijah Taylor both Northland-raised.
The match will also be one of the first for new Tigers coach (and Kiwis coach) Michael Maguire, where he will go in to battle against former Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney, who is in charge of the Warriors.
Maguire, who has just finished guiding the Kiwis in their test series in England, is returning to NRL coaching with the Tigers after a year off following a six-season stint with South Sydney from 2012-17.
Northland Events Centre Trust chairman Alastair Wells said the two trials would provide a huge boost for the region.
“It’s a fantastic event for the Northland region. The games will be held on Saturday afternoon to allow plenty of travel time for everyone in Northland to be able to attend,” Wells said.
”We would also love to see visitors from Auckland and further south come up for the weekend to enjoy the event along with our wonderful Northland hospitality.”
“The event will include a load of prematch entertainment and plenty of activities for kids and youth, so make sure you get your tickets and come along and support your team.”
Kearney welcomed the opportunity to take both Vodafone Warriors squads to Northland.
“As a club, we really enjoy playing in areas around the country and giving locals the chance to see our players up close,” he said.