While Ollie Jones dominated the men's race, the members of the Wanganui Speed Skating Club had a lot more impact in the other races at the marathon section yesterday, to include an excellent week racing in the nationals at home.
Rebecca Smith will feel she is almost on parity with the dominant women's champion Nicole Begg of the South Canterbury club, but it came down to simple numbers to leave her as runnerup behind Begg in the final sprint to the line for the women's marathon race.
Smith, nursing injured ribs, and Begg were in the lead group of six girls who worked together in the early laps, with Smith counting on clubmates Monique Cleeve and Melissa White to assist her with drafting.
However, as the attrition rate set in, Smith was soon left alone with Begg and her own Timaru teammate Ariana Snook, as they ran lap after lap together with Smith unable to break up the pairs' momentum, as they could set the terms of who would lead and how fast each lap could go.
Begg went out on her own a couple of times, but Smith would dig in to rejoin her, finding Snook shepherding after her on each occasion.