Marathon: New record set Running Festival

Reporoa's Michael Voss approaches the finish line during the 10km race. Photo / Ben Fraser

Reporoa flier Michael Voss has smashed the 10km record at the Rotorua Running Festival.

Voss, 18, led from the start in the 10km race yesterday on his way to a first-placed finish at the festival.

His time of 31.52 minutes was nearly four minutes faster than the previous record set last year by John Caie (Tauranga).

Caie finished runner-up yesterday in a time of 36.18 minutes with Carlos Lopez Fernandez (Tauranga) a further minute back in third.

"It's always good to win," Voss said. "I cut the training right back this week and felt pretty fresh today, compared to most Sundays, so that was a good thing."

The apprentice builder hopes to run for New Zealand next year at the IAAF World Junior Championships, in the 10km event. To qualify for New Zealand, Voss needs to run under 30.40 minutes during the New Zealand 10,000m Championships in Auckland in January.

"Getting under that 30 minutes 40 seconds is the goal now, so I will ramp up the training again," he said. "I will probably be doing a bit more speed work now. The fitness is up there but I just need to shorten up [my training] a bit and get more speed in the legs."

He said his coach, Kim Stevenson, told him to go out at a strong pace yesterday. "I think he will be pretty happy, he said to go out at about that pace and see if I could hold it."

Voss' best time across 10km is 31.30 minutes which he ran earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in the women's 10km race, Rotorua's Megan Grant was first across the finish line.

Grant moved to Rotorua in March to work at the hospital as a pharmacist and said she was enjoying running in the area.

She said she was aiming for a sub-40 minute run yesterday but was happy to settle for a time of 41.46 minutes. Rotorua's Siobhan Griffiths finished in second place in a time of 44.51 minutes.

The Rotorua Running Festival has been running since 2013.