![\"New](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.time-to-run.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/road-shoes.590.jpg\" "\\"New")
<\/a>New Zealand Road Championships 2011<\/p><\/div>\n
Stephen Lett withstood a strong challenge from fellow Auckland runners Jono Jackson and Alex Parlane to win the national 10km road running title along Wellington\u2019s waterfront on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Lett becomes the king of 10km running in New Zealand adding the road title to the track title won in January.<\/p>\n
Lett said after a close second in the national cross country championships it was good to get the road title.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m stoked. It was a good course, quite tight but it was good to have the crowd around, lots more spectators than if they had been held out of the city,\u201d he said.
\nParlane made a bid for victory mid way through the race, breaking up the leading group and taking Lett and Jackson with him. Going by instructions from his coach Jack Ralston Lett set sail with 2km to go and went on to win by five seconds in 30m 58s.
\nJackson was second with Parlane third, followed by the Wellington pair of Tim Hodge and Stefan Smith.
\n\u201cWe started off a bit slow and then Alex started cranking it up with 4km to go. I went with him and then I started to get a bit of a gap on him in the last lap and it was starting to hurt over the last kilometre,\u201d said Lett.
\nJackson said that he had Lett in his sights throughout the race.
\n\u201cHe always gets a break one or two laps out and then it\u2019s just chase cat and mouse.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s a good competitor I just want to beat him once,\u201d said Jackson.<\/p>\n
Lisa Robertson of Auckland captured her first national title winning the senior women 10km in 34m 32s. Canterbury\u2019s Fiona Crombie set the pace from the start with Robertson chasing. With a 1000m remaining Robertson hit the front and went on to win by 16 seconds.
\n\u201cI just knew I had to get in front and she wasn\u2019t going to let me, so I thought I may as well wait till the last bit when she was a bit more tired and then go for it,\u201d said Robertson.
\nCrombie said she set out to challenge herself.
\n\u201cI ended up pushing it at a good pace, kept it true and honest. I was trying throughout but the last kilometre I had a few stomach issues so I couldn\u2019t push it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Julian Oakley (Tauranga) was an impressive winner of the M19 while Auckland\u2019s Georgie Grgec retained her W19 title.
\nOakley said that his middle distance track speed helped him to the victory.
\n\u201cIt was a pretty slow race which I was happy about. 1500m out Alex (Gorrie) took off and I closed the gap and when I caught up to him I thought I might as well go from here, 1km to go I got the lead and I just held on,\u201d said Oakley.
\nJohn Schreuder finished strongly just seven seconds behind Oakley in 25m 49s with Gorrie third in 25m 52s.
\nGrgec said that she had most of the season off with a stress fracture of the foot.
\n\u201cI had six weeks off and I\u2019m just getting back to racing now,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI was not expecting anything and to retain the title is a great thrill.
\n\u201cI was just trying to hang on to Nicole (Mitchell). She kept kind of surging then she made a move down the back with 500m to go. So I went after her and just kind of tried to keep pushing it,\u201d said Grgec.
\nMitchell said that there was a good group that got established and worked together well.
\n\u201cI got out sprinted in the last bit. It\u2019s good preparation for the world mountain running championships, to see where I\u2019m at training wise,\u201d said Mitchell.<\/p>\n
16 winners were Jacob Priddey (Hamilton) in the men and Wellington\u2019s Susannah Lynch in the women.
\nFor Priddey it was his first national title.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a good first time title after all the training,\u201d said Priddey.
\n\u201cEveryone took off fast so I just sat in and got some protection from the wind and then I tried to break everyone on the second lap but a couple of guys came with me and then I got to the last 500m took the lead and ended up winning,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Tauranga\u2019s Sally Gibbs W45 fresh from her success at the recent world masters championships was in superb form in the master women winning the combined race with the junior women outright with an outstanding time of 17m 22s for the 5000m.
\n\u201cI\u2019m glad I had a cyclist (Todd Stevens) leading me through as I was quite confused about the course,\u201d said Gibbs.
\n\u201cIt was windy, it\u2019s a pity I didn\u2019t have time to enjoy the scenery. The aim was to try and win overall so I\u2019m happy with that and happy with the time,\u201d she added.
\nDaniel Nixon of Wellington won the master men 10km in 32m 34s from Martin Lukes who ran 33m 17s.
\nNixon said that the crowd support was brilliant and gave him a extra edge.
\n\u201cI felt quite good at the start and I wanted to go out quite hard and strong and just run my own rhythm and not really think about the other people. I just had this image of myself in a cocoon the whole way just totally concentrating on myself \u2013 I was wondering if this makes me the fastest old man in New Zealand,\u201d said Nixon.
\nRoseanne Robinson of Otago won the women\u2019s 10km walk championship in 50m 1s, while Mike Parker of Auckland won the men\u2019s 10km walk in 49m 57s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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