FASTEST MARATHON Brilliant Run By McKenzie

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30978, 7 February 1966, Page 18

FASTEST MARATHON Brilliant Run By McKenzie

The brilliant Greymouth athlete, D. G. McKenzie, ran the fastest marathon recorded in New Zealand when he won the Canterbury championship over 26 miles 385 yards at Christchurch on Saturday.

McKenzie’s worldclass time of 2hr 17 min 22sec bettered by 16.6 sec the previous

best marathon time run in New Zealand by R. Puckett in 1964.

The time was only 3.Bsec slower than A. B. Magee’s bronze medal time at the Rome Olympics. McKenzie’s performance was more outstanding because of heat wave conditions which made the race one of the most severe marathons run in New Zealand. 19 Dropped Out

Heat caused 19 out of a field of 35 starters to drop out. Only five finished under three hours. Their times were well below their normal standard for the race. The field was one of the strongest to contest a marathon here, yet last year 17 runners finished in under three hours.

The leading bunch behind McKenzie until nine mlies was C. Reece. T. Preece (Toe H) and K. Williams (Christchurch). Then Preece applied pressure and Williams dropped back. Near the turning point, at the junction of Sparks road and Hendersons road, McKenzie was about eight minutes ahead of his nearest rivals, who included C. Reece, D. Reece. Williams, B. Turner (Shirley) and A. Evana (Technical).

Experienced athletics administrators who saw the race said McKenzie’s performance showed him capable of a world record time of about 2hrs lOmin in normal conditions. He lowered his last year’s Canterbury record time by about five minutes. His run indicates that New Zealand has a rising athletics star who may dominate world marathon running and should prove a winner at the Empire Games. World Class Times

Alcorn, running steadily in sixth place, then began increasing his pace. Extreme heat in the unsheltered middle section of the course severely affected runners and a large proportion of those who dropped out did so not long after this stage.

Two veteran runners, aged 52, finished in good shape. J. Drew (St. Martins) was twelfth and L. Fox (Olympic) sixteenth. The former Canterbury miler, P. May (University), ran courageously to finish fifteenth. His wife, a former Canterbury sprint champion, who followed the race throughout, ran with him for encouragement part of th« way during the closing stages. Results:—

McKenzie ran the race solo ind increased his lead throughout. His intermediate times, 10 miles 51min 19sec, 15 miles Ihr 16min 40sec, and 20 miles Ihr 43min 18sec were for each distince both in world class.

Although slowing at 20 miles, he finished the last six miles in about 33 minutes, an astonishing performance unequalled in New Zealand. The second man home, R. Alcorn (Methodist), finished about 17 minutes behind McKenzie, in 2hr 35min 26sec, his second fastest time for a marathon.

D McKenzie (Greymouth), 2:17.22, 1; R. Alcorn (Methodist), 2:3526, 2; C. F. Reece (St. Martins), 2:43.29, 3; R. McMillan (Waimate), 2:48.57, 4; D. J. Reec. (St. Martins), 2:51.35, 5: P. Brown (St. Martins), 3:0.2, 6; N. R.ld (New Brighton), 3:6.15, 7; D. Cameron (Marist), 3:8.52, 8: R. Johnston (St. Martins), 3:12.19, 9; S. Young (University). 3:16.35, 10; M. Shackel (Marist), 3:25.10 11; J. Drew (St. Martins), 3:27.03, 12: K. Leitch (Christthurch), 3:28.49, 13: J. Spencer (Presbyterian), 3:35.57, 14; P. Ray (University), 3:41.48, 15; L. Fox (Olympic), 3:43.42,

C. F. Reece (St Martins), whose thorough training could have enabled him to cope with the heat was seriously troubled with a recur-

ring leg injury but battled on to finish third, in 2hr 43min 29sec. This was nearly 20 minutes slower than his time in the Great Western marathon at Greymouth on December 4.

The strong Waimate athlete R, McMillan ran the best race of his career to beat the seasoned St Martin's ninner, D. J. Reece, out of fourth place. P. Brown (St Martin’s), running his first marathon, was sixth. St. Martin’s club, with three men in the first six placings, won the teams' race. All five St Martin’s runners finished the course.

McK*nzl**« Fas* Star* The race began with four lapa of Rugby Park, an innovation which created considerable interest among a large number of spectators. McKenzie began the race at about a smtn mile pace and had lapped a number of runners before he was out of the gate.