Wanganui's Rebecca Smith takes second place - January 2016
Former WHS student Rebecca Smith (middle) chases hard for second place in the ladies 42km marathon at the Cemetery Circuit course yesterday. Timaru's Nicole Begg and Ariana Snook were placed first and third respectively.
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.
The tempo slowed around the time Jones was finishing as the women's trio did not even make a show of skating hard downhill past the supporters at the Heads Rd headquarters, such was their tired state. However, it was all on for the final lap as Begg and Snook led Smith up the final climb on Ridge St, perhaps looking to pull a one-two to get away from the dogged Wanganui competitor.
Smith timed her run well and passed Snook on the final downhill turn, but did not have enough asphalt left to overcome Begg in the dash to the checkered flag.
The Wanganui racer was not disappointed considering she was in a two v one battle.
"Not at all, especially when you have such good [form] from one of them [Begg].
"I was third coming down the hill, just about at the turn I passed [Snook], but with two of them sprawled across the track it's hard to make a third [skater] fit too.
"Previous experiences [racing Begg], I've had to adjust my tactics this year. But when it's two of them against me, there was no chance of that. Sitting seemed to be the option."
Earlier in the day, in wet track conditions, Wanganui's Renee Tears won the junior girls half marathon of 21km - 13 laps around the course.
The marathon race doesn't count in the overall points for the NZ Speed Skating Road, Track and Marathon Championships, so Tears was disappointed that her efforts at Kowhai Park and Jubilee Stadium saw her finish just three points behind South Canterbury's Jazmyn McAuley for the overall crown.
There was better news in the boys racing as Chase Mopeth delivered on his Friday promise and won best overall for the juvenile boys group, and the Joe Bright Memorial Trophy for outstanding male speed skater. Clubmate Josh Valentine also finished on top of the primary boys division.
(Wanganui Chronicle 4/1/16)
