Corporaal completes trail running sweep
6 December 2009

Bloodied and sore, Galatea farmer Sjors Corporaal wrapped up the North Island Triple Crown trail running series in style yesterday, but not without a few nervous moments.

The 32-year-old took out the 21km The Goat run around the flanks of Mt Ruapehu, with the perilous surface made all the more treacherous by heavy overnight rain.

“You couldn’t tell a slippery rock to land on from a good rock - it was unreal and a bit of a minefield out there and I fell over heaps,” Corporaal said.
Pushed all the way by Wellington’s Rees Buck, the former New Zealand 3000m champion and cross country star, Corporaal eventually came through for his third consecutive win in the event.

His time of 1hr 57min was just 53secs outside Englishman Thomas Owens’ 2005 course record. “If the conditions were as dry as the year he set it, we should have gone under pretty comfortably.  We had to take it pretty easy out there but Rees was really good on his feet and he led for a long time. I could tell he was starting to slow down going uphill so I thought I’d stick with him to see what would happen and I eventually made my move in the last quarter.”

Buck finished 2mins 40sec back with Papamoa’s Chris Morrissey third in 2:03:10. Rotorua’s Annika Smail couldn’t complete the women’s Triple Crown sweep after wins in the 18km Toi’s Challenge in Whakatane and the 32km Kauri Run in Coromandel, having to settle for third.
Unheralded Whitianga runner Ruby Muir broke through for her first win, clocking a sharp 2:25:46, with Palmerston North’s Piret Klade second in 2:32:51 and Smail a further 3mins back. 

Results:
Men: Sjors Corporaal (Galatea) 1hr 57min 0sec 1, Rees Buck (Wellington) 1:59:40 2, Chris Morrissey (Papamoa) 2:03:10 3, Tom Wu (Auckland) 2:06:26 4, Dan Clendon (Wellington) 2:09:52 5, Colin Earwaker (Rotorua) 2:13:31 6, Karl Dravitzki (New Plymouth) 2:17:33 7, Dennis De Monchy (Tauranga) 2:18:22 8, Allister Adams (Wellington) 2:20.04 9, Bryn Davies (Palmerston North) 2:20:17 10.

Women: Ruby Muir (Whitianga) 2:25:46 1, Piret Klade (Palmerston North) 2:32:51 2, Annika Smail (Rotorua) 2:34:57 3,Rita Homes (Napier) 2:35:41 4, Leonnie Waayer (Wellington) 2:36:36 5

Jones climbs mountain for victory
20 August 2008

DANIEL Jones defended his Pomona Junior King of the Mountain title on Australia’s Sunshine Coast last month.

One of Whakatane’s prominent runners, Jones finished second in 24 minutes 25 seconds, an improvement on his third overall placing in 2007. This year’s time broke the junior record by 20 seconds.

Other Whakatane runners also had good results - Sjors Corporall was second in the open men’s division and came home in 26.29, Gary Schwass was third in the veteran category at 28.10 and Meagan Edhouse was third in the women’s race recording 32.34. 

The event is held in the small Queensland town every year and is the sister-race to the Kawerau King of the Mountain. Runners from all categories compete on both sides of the ditch, vying for a trans-Tasman title.

Eighty-three runners tackled the mountain with some 10,000 spectators cheering the runners on. The race attracts all kinds of festivities, swelling the town’s population. Bands, clowns, side shows and varieties of food and drink make up the easier activities of the weekend.

The men’s winner was Australian Neil Labinsky, who won his second successive Pomona title in a time of 22.56. Labinsky is a regular competitor at the Kawerau race but has yet to conquer the Eastern Bay event.

Jones heads to Switzerland next month to represent New Zealand in the world mountain running championships.

Six times world mountain running champion Jonathan Wyatt won his third New Zealand title on the Mt Campbell Range in Motueka on Saturday.

The overseas based runner headed in Wellington's Glenn Hughes by two minutes. Hughes repeated his second placing of last year. Callum Harland 2004 champion was third.

Shireen Crumpton won the women's title beating Anna Frost and twice world champion and five times New Zealand champion Melissa Moon of Wellington. Frost was running by invitation so Moon takes second in the New Zealand championship and Lara Phillips of Auckland third.

Ruth Croft of North Canterbury just back from the world cross country championships in Scotland and the world university cross country championships in France won the junior women while Daniel Jones of Whakatane won the junior men.

The masters winners were Patrick Meffan of Nelson and Paula Canning of Waimea.

Men.-
Senior 14.2km: Jonathan Wyatt (Wgtn) 68m 42s 1, Glenn Hughes (Wgtn) 70m 42s 2, Callum Harland (Waik) 71m 50s 3, Aaron Jackson (ACA) 74m 44s 4.
Junior 7.20km: Daniel Jones (Whakatane) 43m 52s 1, Peter Meffan (Nelson) 46m 42s 2, Dougan Butler (Hawera) 48m 55s 3.
Masters 14.20km: Patrick Meffan (Nelson) 77m 0s 1, Cliff Bowman (Waimea) 78m 21s 2, Graeme Lear (Wgtn) 83m 19s 3.

Women.-
Senior 7.20km: Shireen Crumpton (Hill City) 44m 20s 1, Anna Frost (Hill City) 45m 4s 2, Melissa Moon (Wgtn) 47m 6s 3, Lara Phillips (Akld) 49m 2s 4, Johanna Ottosson (Lake City) 49m 22s 5. NZ championship: Crumpton 1, Moon 2, Phillips 3.
Junior 5.70km: Ruth Croft (Nth Cant) 37m 44s 1.
Masters 7.20km: Paula Canning (Waimea) 50m 3s 1, Marion Millward (Ham) 51m 35s 2, Debra Lautenslager (Nelson) 56m 20s 3.

Article by Murray McKinnon
Communications Advisor
Athletics New Zealand