Fifty year-old Ian Calder blitzed the men's field in the Northland Cross-Country Championships held over hills, soggy grass and thick mud at Barge Park on Saturday.
Calder finished the 7.5km course in 28 minutes and nine seconds, still looking fresh and 42 seconds clear of triathlete Mike Gowing, in second place.
Calder,
who took up running a year ago after selling his dairy farm, attributes much of his running successes to coach Ian Babe.
"Not only is he an excellent coach, but he has succeeded at the distances I want to do," Calder said.
Under Babe's coaching, Calder has already won two top masters titles in the 50-54 age group: the Australian 1500m and the NZ 800m.
Calder considers his cross-country win as preparation for the Oceania Masters Championships in Townsvillelate next month. He will compete in three events: the 800m, 1500m and half marathon.
New Zealand senior women's duathlon champion, Katherine Anton, showed her class by winning the senior women's race over 5kms, in 20:45, while Denise Limby headed the master women's field home, in 23:26.
Aaron Millar ran strongly over 5kms in the under-20 men's race to record an impressive time of 18:29, while another promising young runner, Dylan French, won the boys' under-17 race in 19:45.
Cameron Wild ran a well-judged 2.5kms in the boys under-15 section to come home in an excellent 9:35, ahead of second-placed Travis Connelly in 9:49 and Harrye Fredericksen in 9:57. Donald Ross, better known for his BMX racing, finished fourth.
However, as unregistered runners, Wild and Fredericksen were ineligible for official placings, leaving Travis as the Northland champion, with Ross second.
The youngest runners on the day were Lakiesha Cummings, who won the under-12 girls' race (2.5 kms) in 14:35, while Lewis Miller won the under-12 boys' race in 12:13.
Absent from the competition on Saturday were two Northland athletes, who were in action at the national secondary schools cross country nationals in Taranaki.
Kerikeri High School's Melissa Simpson finished 18th out of 198 runners in the 3km junior girls' race, which was won by Margo Gibson in 10:53.
Whangarei Boys High School's Ryan Smith finished 41st out of 248 runners in the 6km senior boys' race. It was won by Nayland College's Harry Dixon in 19:27.
