A past Otago road and cross-country champion, Hurring is becoming a master of an event that has been a feature on the Otago harrier calendar since 1969.
He first won the 10km race, from the far side of the Clyde dam to the top end of the Alexandra township, fouryears ago, impressing in his first year as a senior athlete by recording a time of 29min 25sec, and outclassing an international-class field containing Eddie Smith, Chris Dagg and Robbie Johnston.
He repeated the dose the following year.
He returned to the course last year to finish fourth in a hotly-contested race comprising most of Otago's young emerging middle distance runners, including Tony Payne (Caversham), who finished third.
Payne (21), an Otago University law student, won the national junior 10km road title two years ago and proved Hurring's main rival on Saturday.
Hurring had made his intentions clear from the start and shot out to a 20sec lead, with Payne heading a bunch containing Nathan Baxter (Ariki), Daniel Balchin (Caversham) and Mike Wakelin (Hill City).
With Hurring unchecked up front, and Wakelin falling from the pace, Payne made a break on Baxter and Balchin, and set off after Hurring.
But it was all too late for Payne, and Hurring went on to cross well clear in 29min 40sec, with Payne second in 30min 49sec and Baxter third, a further 7sec behind.
With the Otago senior road championships held in conjunction with the event, there was consolation for Payne, who, as the first registered Otago athlete to finish, claimed the Otago title. Hurring is affiliated to the Canterbury Centre and is ineligible for the Otago title.
Hurring's most recent success was finishing second in the City of Christchurch Marathon at Queens Birthday Weekend in an impressive time of 2hr 25min 6sec.
The race for the open women's title mirrored that of the men's section, with Canterbury-based Kellie Palmer leading from the start to claim her second victory on the course.
Palmer won the open women's section in 2007, and was runner-up to Otago and North Island cross-country champion Rachel Kingsford last year.
As in the case of Hurring, Palmer is unable to claim the Otago road title held in conjunction with the event.
It was claimed by second-placed Kirsty Morris (Leith), with Kim Hebert-Losier (Hill City) third.
