Athletics: No firm favourite for road race

An intriguing battle looms in today's Port Chalmers to Dunedin road race.

There is no firm favourite for the trophy in the handicap race, and even the fastest time is likely to be up for grabs.

Otago cross-country champion Nathan Baxter (Ariki), Edmond Cup steeplechase and Dunedin half marathon champion Callan Moody (Ariki), Otago road champion Matt Lambert (Ariki), national junior 10,000m champion Tony Payne (Caversham) and Oliver O'Sullivan (Hill City) could all be in the mix.

Moody, Baxter and Lambert are hard to separate over this terrain, with the three hills at the front end of the course serving as a leveller in preparation for pace over the second half.

But this may favour O'Sullivan and Payne, as both have great strength and staying power, although Payne may still be hampered by a niggling injury he carried into last weekend's half marathon.

The annual handicap event begins in Port Chalmers at 1pm before following a course to a new finishing area on Butts Rd near the intersection with Logan Park Dr.

The record for the 12km course of 37min 40sec, set by Alan Moir (Ariki) in 1974, does not appear to be under threat.

Moir, along with Tony O'Brien (Mornington) in 1975, are the only athletes to have broken the 38min barrier, but neither managed to take line honours in the handicapped event.

Only two athletes have had the distinction of winning line honours on two occasions: Archie Kirkwood (Otago University) in 1941 and 1943, and Frank Perry (Leith) in 1950 and 1989.

The event was opened to women in 1982, and only two have claimed outright honours: Sue O'Sullivan (Hill City) in 1983 and Ros Dowland (Caversham) in 1985.

Junior age-group races follow the senior race on a course encompassing the surrounds of Logan Park, with the start-finish area near the Butts Rd and Logan Park Dr intersection outside the Caledonian Ground.