Athletics: Cope takes good season to next level with her full marathon debut

By MURRAY McKINNON

After a successful winter of cross-country and road racing, Takapuna's Nicole Cope will put herself to the test of running a marathon on Sunday.

The 33-year-old will debut over the 42.2km distance in the 10th anniversary of the BMW-sponsored event, which starts in Devonport, crosses the harbour bridge and completes an out-and-back run along Tamaki Drive to St Heliers before returning to finish at Victoria Park.

Cope has completed a number of half-marathons and realises the full distance is unknown territory.

"The half-marathons that I have done have been at the end of half-ironman triathlon races. It will be a matter of pacing myself, taking plenty of drink on board and not overdoing it, but I will give it a bash," Cope said.

She has not indicated a finishing time, but her best half-marathon of 75 minutes at the end of a triathlon points to a respectable first attempt.

After dominating the Auckland cross-country season, Cope was named in the New Zealand squad for the world cross-country championships in Brussels next March.

Scott Winton (Counties Manukau) will look for a better showing, time-wise, than his first-up performance of 2h 28m 54s in the Christchurch marathon in early June.

"I learned a lot from that. I went out too fast and did not take in enough fluid," Winton said.

The winner of last year's half-marathon in a time of 1h 06m 14s, Winton has only just come back into full training after a calf muscle injury.

He will be up against proven marathon runner Mark Hutchinson, now living in Queensland.

Hutchinson is a previous winner of the event in 1998 and 2000, running almost identical times of just under 2h 25m. He comes into the event with an outstanding recent performance of fifth in 2h 20m 40s in July's Gold Coast marathon.

More than 9000 runners will cross the bridge in the marathon, half-marathon and 10km events.

World mountain running champion Melissa Moon (Wellington), the marathon winner in 2000, will contest the half-marathon.

National 10km road champion, New Plymouth's Dale Warrander and Manchester Commonwealth Games marathon representative Craig Kirkwood (Auckland) will battle out the men's half-marathon.