Sweet smell of success draws runners to finish

Just some of the hundreds of runners who ran over the Harbour Bridge yesterday. Picture / Dean Purcell

You could almost smell the endorphins in the air as thousands of elated runners pounded into Victoria Park at the end of the Auckland Marathon.

They grinned, they grimaced and they gesticulated their way over the finish line - and in testimony to the effectiveness of modern day deodorants, there was barely a whiff of body odour despite the sweat and pink faces.

First to finish yesterday was Phil Costley in two hours, 22 minutes and seven seconds.

He didn't break last year's record set by Dale Warrander of 2h 16m 49s, but 35-year-old Costley, from Christchurch, didn't seem to mind.

"I only decided to run it three weeks ago when other plans fell through."

It is Costley's fourth win from four starts of the Auckland Marathon, which begins in Devonport, goes over the Harbour Bridge, and winds up in Victoria Park after a run up and down Tamaki Drive.

The little-heard-of Sharon Fitzgerald was the first woman to finish - in two hours 53 minutes.

The 34-year-old St Heliers mother was delighted as she had never run a marathon in under three hours.

In fact, she had only ever run one other marathon, and placed credit with her United Kingdom coach Steve Smythe who had been emailing her training programmes.

Like Costley, she appeared as cool as a cucumber, sweat-less and puff-less, but it wasn't like that for all of the front runners.

Her rival, Bernie Portenski, Wellington, collapsed in a soaking heap just past the finish line before rising frothy-mouthed but proud.

White-gloved volunteers hovered like waiting butlers at the end point ready to catch those who might have pushed themselves too hard.

But the day wasn't all about marathon runners.

Some chose the half-marathon, others a 10km run and the more leisurely types a 5km walk.

Devonport friends Wendy Hay and Josie MacKenzie ran the half marathon together having last year run the 10km race and previously walking the half marathon.

Pam Millward, of Howick, ran her first half-marathon in 30 years and was happy with her time of two hours and 15 minutes.

"I just sort of plodded," the 58-year-old said of her training.