In the 24 hours leading up to yesterday's race Glennie (36), ran three 10km runs in support of ultra marathon champion Glenn Sutton, in his 24 hour quest around Bayfield Inlet, as part of his preparation for the Badwater Ultra Marathon.
''I thought Glenn would need as much support as he could get, so I thought if I could spread it out a bit, it would be all right,'' Glennie said of his pre race preparation.
A Dunedin based mental health worker, Glennie is relatively new to running. His only other sporting achievement was as a member of the Southland Secondary Schools underwater hockey team.
''My 20s were just a blur,'' he said of life after secondary school.
Glennie's path into running began four years ago when he arrived in Dunedin after several years in Ireland and Auckland. He began tramping, which evolved into jogging, leading to half marathons in Dunedin and Invercargill last year.
He teamed up with Sutton when he joined the Caversham Harrier Club earlier this year. Despite realising his limitations when competing alongside senior runners in the Lovelock and cross country relay events, yesterday's race was his first individual test in harrier competition.
Competing from a 5min handicap, Glennie was unsure of what to expect, but quickly featured in the first 10 and gradually worked his way to the lead.
Entering the fourth and final lap of the 5km event Glennie still had plenty of work to do, as he was 36sec shy of the lead and a competitive field was converging behind him.
But taking the lead midway through the final lap he quickly set about opening up a telling gap and eventually crossed the finish 19sec clear of second placed Eric Scharpf (Hill City University), who battled hard throughout to hold out fellow 6min marker Gene Sanderson (Ariki).
Although Glennie made his victory look easy, it was far from the case as he ran the final 800m in survival mode.
''I just felt like throwing up,'' he said of his run down the long straight to the finish.
''It was just a matter of keeping my legs moving and holding my pace.''
Glennie's actual time for the event was 23min 24sec. Second placed Scharpf clocked 22min 43sec, and Sanderson was pipped on the line by a fast finishing Kenneth McDonald (Caversham), who from the 9min 30sec mark, clocked 19min 18sec.
Fastest time honours went to Neale McLanachan (Leith) who posted 17min 58sec.
Louise Darwin (19), a second year medical student, made the most of her 2min handicap to win the open women's race.
Darwin last ran two years ago, in her final year at secondary school, with little success, but attending medical school with the promising Sabrina Grogan has re ignited her interest in returning to running.
