WHAC teams had a great "away trip" to the New Plymouth Mountain to Surf Marathon on Saturday 6 March.  Ian Dent (1.20) and Dave Carrigan (1.11) won the pairs/teams race (the marathon distance split into two legs) in a combined time of 2.32.29  (A mixed team sneaked second overall but were in the mixed race).  Second in the mens race were Mark Te Punga (1.16) and Paul Sharp (1.19) for a combined 2.35.58.  Patrick Mackay (1.19) and Trent Stallard (1.17) were third in 2.36.40 and Paul Hewitson (1.17) and Ian Macfarlane (1.19) were 4th in 2.37.50.  This bodes well for the coming cross country and road seasons ahead, especially for the "more mature"- in age anyway-section of the club - 3 of the 4 teams were made up of Masters aged runners (40+)

In the Full Marathon, Gordon Clarke ran strongly for 3.16 - although he was on for close to 3 hours thru 30km before the heat and pain of running down the mountain caught up with him.  Peter Corbett had a strong showing for 3.47 - Peter got a special mention from the organisers as it was a "homecoming" of sorts for him - he came second in the first ever New Plymouth marathon in 2 hours 26 (a few years ago now of course)!

It was a fun group trip away - and one to think about for next year if you are considering something different.  The downhill sections are pretty hard on the legs but the great Taranaki hospitality and brilliant race organisation make it an event well worth doing.  And the "Naki burgers" at the "Crowded House" sports bar as recommended by Kelvin at "Frontrunner" were as good as he said they were!