They might have been last off the course at the Queenstown International Marathon on Saturday, but Steve Rutherford and Carolyn den Baars received one of the biggest cheers of the day.
The Methven couple crossed the finish line at the resort’s Recreation Ground — just as the prizegiving was coming to a close — after 7hr 33min of hard graft.
Mrs den Baars told the Otago Daily Times they entered on a dare last summer.
"We were with some mates who have done a few of these, and they said if they can do it, we can.
"But . . . it was a lot harder than we expected."
Mr Rutherford said he competed in the Coast to Coast twice in the early 1990s, but neither of them had done a marathon before.
They both had busy fulltime jobs and had found it difficult to get enough training under their belts.
"If we do it again, we both know what we’re up against."
Alternating between walking and jogging, the last 15km had been "cruel on the legs", Mrs den Baars said.
A record 9500 runners took part in the event — up from fewer than 6000 in 2014 — with 90% from outside the district and 16% from overseas.
The 1936 runners who registered for the full marathon means it has surpassed the Auckland Marathon as the country’s biggest.
Ironman Oceania managing director Dave Beeche said it was the "best one yet", with fine weather playing a major part.
"The first year it was crappy; last year was better and this time we finally got the stunner we were waiting for."
The possibility of numbers rising further was limited by the resort’s accommodation rather than the course itself.
"We can create more capacity because it’s off-road, and we can always add more [starting] waves.
"But I think it’s going to gradually increase from here on rather than the significant rises we’ve seen so far."
The event raised $40,474 for the Queenstown Trails Trust, with $11,000 of the total coming from runners’ voluntary donations.
