A turn of speed over the final 1500m by James List (Ariki) won him the senior men's title in the Clyde to Alexandra road race on Saturday.
In ideal conditions, List (23), a physical education student, was prominent from the start, mixing it up front with the Hill City pair of Michael Wakelin and Oliver O'Sullivan, and Bevan Stevens (Caversham).
The four headed the 384-strong field until List applied further pressure at the halfway stage, but was still unable to nudge himself clear, until when 1500m out he was able to begin building on his advantage, going to the line 10sec clear of second-placed Wakelin, in 31min 32sec.
List's time was a personal best by 4sec, and backed up his 1hr 10min 30sec time in the Christchurch half marathon in June, where he finished seventh.
"I'm very, very pleased with that. I'm quite stoked," List said after his victory on Saturday.
When asked why he was not mentioned as a pre-race favourite, List revealed a preference for anonymity.
"I'm quite happy to hide behind a bush at times," he said.
He attributed his victory to some solid 200m repetition work, in preparation for the National Road Relay and the upcoming track and field season.
Shireen Crumpton (Hill City) made no race of the senior women's title, winning in 33min 43sec.
Otago University runners dominated the minor places, with Erin Whitla second in 36min 58sec, and Maddy Munro third in 30min 27sec.
Tony Payne continued his run of top form, following his Otago cross-country title, to win the junior men's title in 32min 52sec.
Clubmates Lyndon Brown and Daniel Balchin completed the set for Caversham, with Brown second in 33min 40sec and Balchin third in 33min 52sec.
Romana Salis (Hill City) remained undefeated in local junior women's events, winning Saturday's junior women's title in 41min 27sec. Ashley Booth (Alexandra) was second in 43min 31sec with Susanna Greaves (Ariki) third in 45min 42sec.
Graham Sinnamon continued to dominate the local award section, winning the first local trophy for an unprecedented 13th time.
