College Sports: Runners have big day out in road champs

By JENNI RUTHERFORD

Thousands of pairs of feet will pound kilometres of pavement around two separate courses on Sunday.

While some runners brave the 42km of the Auckland marathon, secondary school students from around the region will run a shorter course at the Domain in the Auckland road race championships.

With 5000 entrants expected to turn out for the half and full marathons, combined with about 200 students running between 3.6km to 6.4km, the volume of foot traffic could resemble the city's "Spaghetti Junction" on a bad day.

The penny dropped for College Sport event organiser Warren Ogilvie this week, when he realised the annual marathon was not going to be run, as usual, during Labour Weekend but instead on the same day as the road race.

But he does not foresee a conflict in competitions.

"Schoolkids shouldn't be doing the marathon or the half-marathon, so I don't see it as a clash."

Marathon organisers have wanted to move away from Labour Weekend.

The desire to maximise Aucklanders' participation and the involvement of corporate and company teams were some of the reasons behind the race being held a week later.

Entries for the secondary schools road race are down one-third on previous years, but Ogilvie does not think that is because of the marathon.

Age restrictions prevent younger athletes from entering the endurance event, and marathon organiser David Ligoff agrees that teenagers should not be competing over the distance.

Competitors have to be over 18 to run the marathon and over 16 for the half-marathon.

Auckland Grammar's Clark Ellis is expected to be among the frontrunners in the senior boys' 6.4km race, while cross-country champion Leanora Joy, from Kaipara College, will be the one to beat in the senior girls' 5.3km race.

ATHLETICS

Andrea McBride returned to New Zealand with a swollen ankle and bruised pride after injury prevented the Avondale College seventh-former from qualifying for the javelin final at the world junior championships in Santiago, Chile.

McBride rolled her ankle badly during the run-up for her first throw.

She managed 42.97m - more than six metres outside her personal best - with her final, and only successful, throw.

Sixteen-year-old April Brough missed out on a spot in the 200m final, but had a hand in rewriting the record books.

The Cascade Christian College student recorded her second-best time in the 200m heats. Her time in the semifinal was just 0.07s outside her personal best, but it was not enough to qualify for the final.

Brough was also part of the successful 4x400m and 4x100m relay teams.

The 4x400m team made it into the final after smashing the New Zealand junior record by nearly 4s.

They finished eighth, in a time which again was inside the old record.

Despite missing the final of the 4x100m relay, the team, who included former St Cuthbert's College student Andrea Miller, were 0.14s away from a junior record.

Coming up this week:

* Today:Auckland premier and senior B girls cricket.

South zone junior girls' softball.

Central zone junior boys' and girls' softball.

North Harbour junior boys' and girls' volleyball.

* Tomorrow:

Auckland: Intermediate and junior girls' cricket. Western zone junior boys' volleyball. Southern zone junior boys' and girls' volleyball. North Harbour junior girls' softball.

Counties Manukau junior boys' and girls' volleyball.

Central junior boys' and girls' volleyball.

* Friday:

Auckland: junior boys' premier boys volleyball.

* Saturday:

Auckland: outrigger canoe regatta, premier and lower-grade boys' cricket, tennis.

Northern region weightlifting.

North Harbour: premier and lower grade boys cricket.

* Sunday:

Auckland: road race championships, sport climbing.

* Monday:

Auckland: junior girls premier volleyball.

Southern zone junior boys softball.

* Tuesday:

Auckland: junior touch rugby.

Eastern zone junior boys and girls volleyball. Western zone girls volleyball.