Shy Ngawati tries to shun the spotlight

Ady Ngawati is considering the merits of a disguise. That way, when she turns up at the start line of the Adidas Auckland Marathon on Sunday nobody will recognise her as the shock winner of last year's race and the inevitable spotlight will land on someone else.
As a modus operandi, it would be classic Ngawati. The 31-year-old sports tutor at NorthTec in Whangarei has made a habit of sneaking up on rivals at big ticket events and doing the business.
Last year, Ngawati had race organisers at the Auckland Marathon scratching their heads as she hurtled down the finish shute to win the women's title. She then fronted up at the Te Houtaewa Challenge ultra-marathon run on Ninety Mile Beach in the far north and won that race as well.
Already she is planning to add her name to the start list for a series of off-road running events next year, including the Cape Brett Challenge held in April.
But, in the meantime, she is busy trying to avoid the spotlight ahead of Sunday's race.
"I'll give it a go and see if I can try and defend it," Ngawati said.
"But I feel like the spotlight is on me and I don't like it. I would rather just turn up and, you know, run a bit and that'd be it." That was how she snuck in and arrived at the finish line last year looking like she was just jogging to the dairy for a loaf of bread. After her top 20 overall finish last year, there are two chances of Ngawati going incognito on Sunday though: no show and stuff all.
The Auckland Marathon will double as the national marathon championship event next year and, subsequently, has attracted a stellar cast of New Zealand's leading marathon disciples.
Ngawati thinks that will translate into a mean pace on Sunday as athletes take the opportunity to test themselves on the course that is only open in full for the event and is not available for training runs, in particular the climb over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
A maximum field of 10000 runners will wind their way through inner-city Auckland streets, crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge then wending along Tamaki Drive to Okahu Bay, before runners turn back and head to the finish line at Victoria Park in the Auckland CBD.
Among the leading women rivals is Nyla Carroll, who won the national title in Rotorua earlier this year where Ngawati finished fourth. Aucklanders Melanie Burke and Lara Phillips are also listed to start. All four women are ranked in the top 10 open women marathon runners in the country.
"Personally I reckon a sub 2h 50m I'd be happy with and from there I don't know what will happen. I do know there's a lot more competition this year. It is going to be interesting anyway," Ngawati said.
"A podium finish this year and I would be very happy. I know I have got the fitness in my legs but I don't know if I have done the speed work I might need."