Rotorua Marathon could be Warrander's last

Rotorua Marathon legend Dale Warrander says this morning's race could be his last.

As more than 4500 competitors lined up for this morning's race at the Government Gardens in Rotorua - a lean-mean 38-year-old, originally from Tauranga, now residing on the Gold Coast, has gone through his race-day preparation.

It included waking at 6.30am, eating a bowl of cereal, and a light warm-up run 30 minutes before the 42.2km race.

"I don't like having a very heavy breakfast, I might have a reasonable lunch the day before and another light dinner and the next day a light breakfast, just to top up the stores because all the loading should have been done by that stage. It's just a matter of keeping the energy levels up that morning."

Warrander has a record five wins at the Lion Foundation 48th Rotorua Marathon and he is hoping for an impressive six wins and all for a good reason.

"This could be the last one, the last marathon I run, we will just see how it goes," Warrander said.

"I've sort of made a commitment to my family. This is probably the last competitive year. It would be nice to go out a winner."

A personal trainer in the Gold Coast, Warrander said his preparation for this year's race had gone well.

"It has been going really good. I'm in about the same shape, if not slightly better shape than last year. It's just putting it together on the day and getting it all right."

While many may feel the pressure to perform, Warrander says he tries to concentrate on what he can do rather than what the competition are up to.

"You always got that pressure knowing you're the champion.

"But I'm just going to get out there and enjoy it. If I get out there and do the best I can, I should come out with a good result."

He will need all of that experience for this morning's race with the likes of Nelson runner Phil Costley looking to add a third Rotorua Marathon win to his tally of 30-plus national athletics titles.

"I just have to focus on my own performance. Everyone gets carried away with who's running what. I just run my own race, you can't determine how another person is going to run," he said.

"If you run your own race and it works out the way you want it, it will be good. It's a good event and a good contest. I've run this race in all sorts of conditions. So it's going to be no different from previous events."

The Metservice last night was predicting the odd morning shower for the start of the event with a high of 18C and southwesterlies. The marathon for the elite runners is expected to get underway at 9am.