Nina Rillstone set herself up for a bold showing in the marathon at the world athletic championships in Osaka later this month after breaking her New Zealand half marathon record in New York yesterday.

The 32 year old from Auckland finished third, in a close race, in 1h 10m 35s, to clip 14 seconds off her own record set in Christchurch just over two years ago.
Just three seconds covered the first three placings.

“I didn’t get the practice running in heat and humidity today that I was expecting,” said Rillstone, “but I’m really happy to get a national record.”

The women's section was won by 26 year old Hilda Kibet of Kenya in 1h 10m 32s. Kibet splits her time between the Netherlands and cousin Lornah Kiplagat's High Altitude Training Centre in Kenya.
Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia won the race in 59m 24s.

NEW YORK HALF MARATHON
(Central Park to Battery Park)
Women.-
Hilda Kibet (Kenya) 1h 10m 32s 1, Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) 1h 10m 33s 2, Nina Rillstone (NZ) 1h 10m 35s 3, Yuri Kano (Japan) 1h 11m 5s 4, Madai Perez (Mexico) 1h 11m 20s 5, Megumi Oshima (Japan) 1h 11m 35s 6.