Top runners for Dixon Miles

This year's Rod Dixon Miles will be hotly contested by top secondary school runners on Sunday.
A change in venue from Otamatea High's grass track in Maungaturoto to Whangarei's all-weather track at Kensington Park should result in fast times and possibly new records. Initiated by Otamatea High School in 2007, the miles - 1.609km - are now jointly organised by the school and LJ Hooker Athletics Whangarei, with major sponsorship from the Skin and Vein Clinic, in Whangarei.
Three Aucklanders will be out to win, including Georgie Grgec, gold medallist in Athletic New Zealand's 5km Under-19 women's road championships last Sunday and Tadele Tekle-Haimanot silver medallist in the men's under-19 10km championship. The third Aucklander, Haile-Melekot Tesfaye, ran into sixth place last Sunday, but is reputed to perform even better over shorter distances. Bronze medallist in the 1960 Olympic marathon Barry Magee coaches all three.
The boys' mile has also attracted an entry from Brett Clifford who won Timaru Boys' High School's Jack Lovelock Centenary Mile at the end of 2009.
Haimonot won the boys' Rod Dixon Mile in 2008, defeating Northland's Ryan Smith and was narrowly defeated last year by Cameron Graves, from Auckland. Grgec took second last year behind Margot Gibson from Christchurch - who went on to win gold in the Secondary Schools' World Cross-Country Championships earlier this year
Local entries include Tayla Going and Rachel Martin in the girls' mile and top boy Ryan Slater in the boys' mile, along with Harry Linton, Ethan Carter and James Edwards.
Organisers are delighted with the quality of the entrants. "It's very encouraging to get entries from such talented young runners. The visitors will no doubt challenge our best, but at the same time hopefully stretch our guys, resulting in some good performances at this early stage of the season," Athletic Whangarei president Ian Babe said.
The miles are supported by Rod Dixon, who currently lives in the USA these days, but signs certificates for all the finishers. Dixon was one of New Zealand's top runners in the 1970s and 1980s, performing with distinction in cross-country, road and track races, including winning bronze in the Olympic 1500m in 1972, bronze in two World Cross-Country Championships, and gold in the 1983 New York Marathon.
The girls' mile starts at 11.40am and the boys' at 12.40pm. For more information phone 094387571. Late entries will be accepted up to 11.10am at the venue.