Two of Central Otago's top female multisport athletes battled it out for line honours during the Southern Lakes half marathon held in Wanaka during the weekend.
Wanaka pair Merryn Johnston and Simone Maier ran neck-and-neck for most of the 21km course down Cardrona Valley Rd to Wanaka's Pembroke Park.
Johnston pulled away in the final stages to win in 1hr 21min 16sec, breaking her own course record by 1min 31sec.
Maier finished 26 seconds adrift with a time of 1hr 21min 42sec.
Queenstown runner Adrian Bailey blitzed the men's race record by 3min 49secs to win in a time of 1hr 11min 31sec.
Lake Hawea secondary school pupil Alex Dodds (17) won the 10km men's road race in a time of 37min 29sec, while women's winner Kim Herbert-Losier, of Dunedin, set a record and was only just pipped by Dodds overall in a time of 37 min 37sec.
