FIERCE, FAST PACE IN MARATHON RACE

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31005, 10 March 1966, Page 19

FIERCE, FAST PACE IN MARATHON RACE

The national mara-

thon championship at Hamilton on Saturday could prove the greatest of all the gruelling. 26 mile 385 yd races ever held in New Zealand.

The exceptional ability of the leading runners in Saturday's race makes New Zealand one of the top contenders for the marathon gold medal at the Jamaica Commonwealth Games in August. This year, both at the highest level and in depth, New Zealand has never been so atrong in marathon talent.

The battle for top placings on Saturday may rest mainly between the brilliant Canterbury champion, D. McKenzie, of Greymouth, and the international representatives, R.

Puckett, J. L. Julian, I. Keats (all of Auckland), and the fast and versatile Tokoroa runner, M. Ryan. T. Marshall (Otago). S. Sole (Auckland) and C. F. Reece (Canterbury) have all produced international-class times this season and could lift the lesser placings to an exceptional level. FASTEST TIME McKenzie’s time in the Canterbury marathon of 2hr 17min 22sec was the fastest run in New Zealand. But it was only 16.6 sec better than Puckett’s previous best run in New Zealand, in 1964. Puckett may see McKenzie as the most serious threat to his national title. He bypassed the Auckland marathon, possibly with the intention of producing peak sharpness to cope with McKenzie in the national championship. Puckett has, however, yet to show top form in marathon running this season. At the same time McKenzie may not be able to reproduce his Canterbury form after a relatively brief interval between races. But the strong Auckland team members are not likely to take any chances with McKenzie and will doubtless direct all their resources of international experience to defeat him. SHARP THREAT And the more so because a win by McKenzie could threaten the inclusion of one of Auckland’s team from selection for Jamaica. Not more than three are likely to be chosen, and one of these could possibly be W D. Baillie, who might be used as a minor string in the marathon.

The critical feature of McKenzie’s performance in the Canterbury marathon which has doubtless made the Auckland runners think hard is that his run was done in hot conditions which helped reduce the potential times of most other runners in the race by as much as 10 minutes. This might mean that McKenzie is capable of reducing his Canterbury time by as much as five minutes in favourable conditions. McKenzie, besides his clearcut brilliance over the marathon distance, may also have

more pace over 10 miles than any of his competitors except Ryan. He proved this when he ran a close second to Baillie in the national 10-mile championship at Prebbleton this season. Possiblj’ Julian's, and certainly Ryan’s, speed could match McKenzie’s over six miles. But if McKenzie decides to watch the clock and not his rivals in the national he could be clear of Julian by 20 miles, and probably Puckett as well. If McKenzie stays with a slow front bunch Ryan might outsprint him at the finish. Ryan has done a 4min 4sec mile, and also has the fastest New Zealand track six-mile time this season, to his credit. He is coached by Baillie. PUCKETT’S RECORD But Puckett has never been beaten in a national marathon and the capacity of McKenzie to withstand the psychological pressure of such big-time competition cauld be a factor in his performance. Which ever way it goes, the race is likely to identify more international-class marathon runners than New Zealand has room for in the team for Jamaica.