Te kaha of the long distance runner

Tu Tangata, Issue 24, 1 June 1985, Page 18

Te kaha of the long distance runner

by Michael Romanos

Sonny Te Kohi McLaughlin can run and run and run. His endurance running feats have brought him a world record, many amazing world class performances and the admiration of athletes and onlookers the world over.

But McLaughlin has fallen short of receiving the kind of recognition he richly deserves in his own country.

This proud, superbly conditioned man is perhaps the greatest ever Maori athlete. Certainly he is one of New Zealand’s most incredible sporting competitors.

You see, McLaughlin, the long distance runner, is a 67 year old “youngster” and last April completed his 68th marathon an event he first contested a mere 13 years ago as a 54 year old.

He clocked a magnificent 2 hours 56 minutes 5 seconds in the Winstones’ Hamilton marathon in 1978 and 2 hours 57 minutes three years on when aged 63.

His burning ambition is to complete a sub-three hour marathon when he’s in his 70’s. The current world record for a 70 year old over the arduous 26 mile 365 yard event stands at 3 hours 6 minutes.

McLaughlin who took up competitive running when most people are looking towards retirement, is a past rugby and tennis star, reaching the top in maoridom and Bay of Plenty.

Sonny McLaughlin has been called “Cy” ever since he was four or five years old.

“I really don’t know where ‘Cy’ came from, but I’m quite happy with it. It’s distinctive,” said the man who stands out even among a 70,000-strong Auckland fun-run.

Born at Opape Pa, nine miles south of Opotiki, Cy’s parents were Harry McLaughlin, a Scotsman, and Te Ao Te Kohi. Cy, the boy, was brought up by his grandparents Te Kohi Ranapia and Keita Reweti. Grandfather Te Kohi was a Ngaitama sub-tribe chief and a tohunga of the Ringatu Church. Cy relished their clean-living style and even today, he still refrains from alcohol and tobacco. “Its got to be one of the reasons I’m fit and healthy,” he says. At 67, Cy is an unbelievably healthy stamp of a man. Picture this tall (6ft

2in] 10 stoner with not an ounce of fat. Square shouldered and straight back, barely a wrinkle exists anywhere. Ronald Reagan eat your heart out Cy has a lengthy, full head of reddishbrown hair with not a trace of greying.

In fact, Cy looks more like a well preserved 45 year old. He wears dapper clothes and his running gear is always spot on, including his special trade mark a head band either of American Indian or Maori origin.

A long healthy life is the background of Cy’s family tree.

His mother passed away last year aged 86 and was active right up to her death, “always in a kumara patch,” says Cy. Grandparents Te Kohi and Keita both lived til near 90.

Cy said as a youngster he used to go into the bush with his grand-dad to chop the vine that grows around the kauri tree. “The juice of the vine is called Aaka and is marvellous as a mouth wash and keeping teeth in order. “My grandparents always had sound teeth and so have I.”

McLaughlin played representative senior A rugby for the Bay of Plenty for almost a dozen years and was considered an outstanding, fast 14 stone flanker and lineout forward.

But he couldn’t get any higher until he was 32 years old and perhaps a little past his peak.

“I had confidence in myself,” he said. “I was a very speedy side row forward.

“Being from the country, the national selectors, even the Maori All Black selectors, seem to bypass me.

“The Bay of Plenty side wasn’t a glamour team in those days but the New Zealand Rugby Almanac picked me for three successive years in their national All Blacks teams so I suspect the Maori selectors at least had to look me up eventually.”

McLaughlin finally gained selection in the New Zealand Maoris in 1950 and stayed in the side for three seasons. He played matches against the British Isles, Fiji and a New Zealand 15 in Wellington following a six match internal tour.

“The biggest thrill I got was playing for the Maoris against the British.

“That was my first big time game. We were beaten by four points but what happened was, we lost a player through injury and because of the noreplacement rules, I had to mark their winger Ken Jones in the second half. Jones was an Olympic sprinter but I

feel I did pretty well in marking him. I guess he only escaped me once.”

McLaughlin kept playing rugby till he was 36. Tennis took over his main sporting interest. But that went back someways as well.

He was a top player for around 20 years, playing for the Opotiki club and representing the Bay of Plenty.

In 1949, Cy won the New Zealand Maori championships doubles with Bunny Peni and three times he reached the semi-finals for the singles crown.

One memorable occasion was when Bay of Plenty met Waikato and Cy went down fighting to national third ranked Joe Roach 6-5, 6-5.

At 53, after the McLaughlins shifted to Auckland, Cy won the New Zealand watersiders’ open singles title.

McLaughlin began running five miles a day, partly because he liked running but mostly because he realised if one wants to keep healthy, fit and alive for a long time, “you’ve got to prepare for old age”.

His serious, motivated running started in 1972 when he joined the Owairaka Athletic Club and soon after he completed his first and slowest marathon. Something less than three and a half hours.

His appetite for continuous endurance running is enormous. The sheer enjoyment and competitive spirit seems unsatiable.

“I want to beat the younger ones,’’ he says.

“It gives me satisfaction to pick them up in a race. The further the race the better and more successful I run.’’

Examples of McLaughlin’s fantastic recovery and racing mileage ability comes thick and fast.

For instance, in 1981 he ran the 30 mile Iron Man race, a week later the Mountain to Surf Marathon in 3hrs lOsec, a little later the Auckland to Hamilton 80 miler and the next weekend the Rotorua Fletcher Marathon in 3hrs 6sec.

In 1982 he squeezed in eleven marathons when the “normal” marathoner struggles to race three or four over a 12 month period.

In all his marathons and road races like 10km, Cy seldom finishes other than first in the over 60's grade and in the ultra distance events he often finishes high up in the overall plaeings let alone his age group. His marathon racing has taken him to South Africa, Boston, Canada, Australia, Honolulu and Japan.

The last named country hosted the world veteran marathon championships in 1983. Cy finished fourth in the over 60’s but he was a little disappointed.

‘‘Japan wasn’t my day for a real top race. I only had one day to acclimatise and the weather didn’t suit me. I like it very warm with not much wind.”

But marathons are for beginners one might be led to believe. The annual 80 mile race from Auckland to Hamilton in 1980 had McLaughlin clocking his best time in the event —l2 hrs 21min on the road.

He lapped Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium a mind-boggling 402 times in order to run the 100 mile event in heatwave conditions. Cy’s time. Exactly 16hrs 3min 47sec.

During 1981 he gave a real standout performance, running the 60 mile Auckland to Huntly road race in 7hrs 53min. That equates to under eight minutes per mile. Amazing for a 63 year old and for good measure, McLaughlin's pistonlike legs took him to second placing overall.

But an even greater achievement was still to come.

In June 1984, Cy smashed the world non-stop 24 hour running record for over 60’s, completing a journey of 210.129 km (131 miles) around the East Coast Bays (Auckland) track stadium. He bettered the record at 2pm and carried on to complete 24 hours at spm.

‘‘The body was going well that day,” he recalls.

“I never suffered during the event. It was amazing because I finished second over a specially selected field of 10 runners. The chap that won it was 36 year old Dick Tout and the world open record holder Joe Record of Australia could only finish fourth.”

McLaughlin won a Auckland road race spot prize giving him a trip to Rarotonga to race in the Around the

Island 20 miler last November. Cy circled the Rarotonga perimeter in a superb 2hrs 17min, finishing 17th overall from a field of 160. Earlier this year, Cy raced in his eighth New Zealand marathon championship, winning (of course) the over 60’s age grade by more than 30 minutes. The next morning he trained as usual with the Auckland YMCA road runners club and in the afternoon he was on the track at Mt Smart Stadium. At Mt Smart he competed in the veteran’s track and field meeting, winning the over 65’s 800 metres, 2000 metres, long jump and took second placing in the 100 metres and 200 metres sprints. Impressive huh! McLaughlin said he was profoundly touched when he received a life membership, trophy and T-shirt from the YMCA last February. “Its the first time I have been honoured this way,” he said. “Even my athletic club, Owairaka, have never presented or acknowledged me with anything like the YMCA did.” Retired from working as a watersider two years ago, Cy is married to Charlotte Apiata who comes from the Cape Runnaway region. The couple have three married children Sonny lives in Vancouver, Canada and daughters Ngarangi and Keita. There are also eight grandchildren.

Cy trains once a day almost every day of the year. He runs for one to three hours, covering a weekly total in excess of 100 miles and spends upwards of 20 minutes a day with weights. People from all over the world write to Cy asking him about dieting, running and training procedures. A hint when running he said is to keep your hands relaxed to keep blood circulating and to keep your body straight. Cy said his advice to people of all ages is to, “do something, move around as much as possible. There’s no need to run like I do. Walking and general exercise is sufficient. A lot of young people carry far too much weight. “Drinking a little alcohol is alright but the downfall of many people is that they over-drink. Smoking is one of the worst things one can do. “Join some kind of social club. It’s important to occupy the mind. There are too many people alone and lonely.”

When asked why so few Maori people have excelled in athletics, Cy says, “Maoris don’t keep it up. There are some good ones at school but they don’t keep going. A good athlete is not a lazy athlete.” Sonny Te Kohi McLaughlin keeps going, that’s for real. I am in no doubt this astonishing encourager of healthy activity will achieve his world record sub-three hour marthon when he’s 70. And Cy won’t stop there.