Athletics: Morris makes up for past with Ness Cup win

Leith runner Kirsty Morris beat Hill City's Matthew Bixley by 0.40sec to win the Ness Cup mile at the Caledonian Ground on Saturday.

Bixley led coming into the home straight but Morris drew level and kicked on to break the tape first.

The Ness Cup, an annual race, features runners of varied ability starting from a handicap.

Many sported a black armband on Saturday in honour of Doug Crumpton, former athlete and husband of Otago marathoner Shireen Crumpton, who died recently.

The first runners away made considerable ground before the back markers were released, making the race confusing to follow as the fast and the slow blended, before the leaders emerged on the final lap.

Having been pipped for the win some years ago when she began racing, Morris was glad to take the victory, but modestly noted it was "all down to the handicapper" - in this case Hill City's Richard Barker.

She finished in 5min 10sec, while the fastest time of the day went to Caversham's Daniel Balchin, who ran 4min 37sec.

Morris, like most who competed, found the crosswind on the home straight slightly challenging.

Other than the wind, conditions were clear and cool. A moderate number of competitors turned out to contest track events ranging from 100m to 5000m, as well as field events which included a weight pentathlon.

The longest distance of the day was the mixed 5000m, won by Caversham's Tony Payne in 15min 33.2sec, with the next four finishers all going under the 16min mark.

Payne was "pretty happy" with his run, saying he let Leith's John Winsbury lead the pack and take the wind for about the first 3km, before making a move with four laps to go.

He was also happy to have gone "all out" in the earlier 1500m event, finishing fourth in his section in 4min 16sec, while Southland's Glen Ballam won in 4min 7.2sec.

In the women's 15-16 1500m, Hill City's Rebekah Greene won by almost 2sec from Southland's Christina Taylor in 4min 45sec.

In the shorter races, one of the highlights was Cory Innes' sharp victory in the 400m.

Posting a competitive 47sec flat, Innes beat his nearest competitor, Hill City's Andrew Moore, by 0.04sec.

Innes also agreed the wind on the circuit was a problem but said he was happy with his run. His training was on target as he prepared for the upcoming New South Wales championships.

Organisers described the field events as routine, with no records set, though in the masters 35-plus discus, Matt Dallow had some strong throws, with one almost reaching 50m.