Butcher brings home the bacon

Masterton endurance runner Graeme Butcher reclaimed the New Zealand ultra-marathon title at Taupo on Saturday.
Butcher, 44, had won the championship, raced over 100km, in 2004 and finished second last year after confirming his entry just two days prior to the race because of a niggling hip injury.
The toll on participants in such an arduous event is evidenced by the fact that of the 12 male starters in Saturday's race five failed to finish although both the female entrants did make it to the end.
Conditions in Taupo were warm, even for a 5.30am start, and Butcher quickly settled into the lead with 2005 champion and New Zealand team-mate Jack Koenen. The latter was first to apply the pressure and by the end of the first 30km he had stretched his lead out to 4mins, and then extended it to 5mins by the 45km mark.
Butcher said he felt comfortable in the early stages of the event although there were a few "slight niggles" caused by the hilly nature of the course and the sharp camber of the road, especially over the opening 30kms.
His decision not to follow the faster pace of Koenen came out of a wish to save his own reserves for the last 25km but the fact he covered the first marathon (42km) in 3hrs 21mins and went through 50km in four hours indicates that he wasn't exactly travelling at pedestrian pace either.
The temperatures also had a bearing on his tactical approach as once the sun broke through they quickly soared to 26 degrees. This made the regular taking of food and drink so important and here Butcher had the support of wife Sue and sister Elizabeth who ensured he was kept well supplied in that regard.
They also notified him of the time splits between him and Koenen and by the 65km mark Butcher had closed the gap to 1min 30secs and 3kms further on he was in front. The next couple of kilometres saw Butcher intent on pressurising his arch rival but he concedes it was no easy task. "He Koenen is a very tough competitor and people like him just don't give in, they fight all the way," Butcher said.
Butcher finally got the break he was looking for on the demanding Hatepe Hill which stretches for 3km and came just before the 80km mark.
But Butcher himself was also suffering, both the distance and heat starting to take its toll. He had cut out the second marathon in 3hrs 33mins and there was still 16km to complete.
It was here that Butcher had to call on all the experience of his relatively short ultra-marathon career, trying to get the right balance of fluids and food in and ensuring it stayed down.
For the last 10km his support crew supplied drinks every kilometre, along with the occasional jelly bean lollies, and he reached the finish in an impressive 8hrs 30mins, a time which was some 36mins quicker than his 2005 effort and 25mins faster than he recorded when representing New Zealand at the world championships in Japan.
Koenen finished 10mins behind in second place in 8hrs 41mins and Napier's Shane McCormack was third in 10hrs 20mins.
Butcher will now have a short period of rest before he teams up with Koenen and two others to tackle the Oxfam Trailwalker 100km event in Taupo in early April. This New Zealand team will be managed by legendary ultra-distance runner Sandy Barwick
And Butcher hopes to impress enough there to be included in the national side for the world ultra-marathon champs to be held in Korea in October.