Wreford shot to the lead early and appeared to gather momentum with each stride on his way to finishing in the remarkable time of 2hr 19min 17sec. His plan was to cruise through the first 25km then try to pick the pace up to a time trial effort over the last part of the course.
"I knew, having run the course before, 2hr 30min was achievable, perhaps 2hr 25min," Wreford said.
"It was a bit quicker than I thought."
With many attempts having been made to topple Allison's time of 2hr 24min 3sec over the past 17 years, and many falling well short, it was possibly Wreford's relaxed approach and race plan that enabled him to post the first sub-2hr 20min time on the course.
He approached the race with added emphasis, given he was unable to post a good 10km result due to the cancellation of last weekend's national road championships in Christchurch.
His aim of cranking up the pace in the second half of the Moro-sponsored marathon was achieved with a negative split, clocking a second-half time of 1hr 9min.
"I'm finding marathons are my cup of tea," Wreford said.
Coached by Lydiard disciple and Rome Olympic marathon bronze medallist Barry Magee, Wreford said his main objective was to complete the distance in a time similar to the 2hr 27min 36sec he posted when he finished runner-up to Rowan Hooper (Christchurch) two years ago.
Longer term, he is aiming for a sub 2hr 20min in the Fukuoka international marathon in December.
"I guess we'll have to reasess that now. Perhaps a time closer to 2hr 10min is on the cards."
Wreford also hopes to qualify for the London Olympics in the marathon.
Wreford had only been back training four weeks, because of problems associated with his foot placement when running.
But it is the partnership with Magee that is proving a winning formula. Earlier this year, he broke the course record in winning the Legends marathon over the famous Waitakere Ranges course.
"I just love the distance. I find the longer it gets, the stronger I get."
As for his record run yesterday, Wreford thought Magee would not be very surprised.
"He expects the unexpected from me. He's used to it," he said.
"I was stronger than I thought. There was more in the tank than I thought where my fitness was at."
Second in the open men's section was Will Smith in 2hr 37min 11sec, with Australian Andy Quirk third in 2hr 53min 47sec.
A desire to just get out and see if she could still do it allowed Dunedin's Sarah Chisnall to retain the open women's title in 2hr 57min 50sec.
Chisnall has been plagued by hip problems over recent months and was inspired by ultra runner Lisa Tamati's book to run the marathon again.
"Reading her book gave me the motivation to give it a go today," she said.
Despite the lack of training, Chisnall's plan was to see if she could run steadily and make it through.
"I just want to run and feel alive and just do it."
But before Chisnall can feel alive after her marathon yesterday, she must first face the music from her coach.
"Now I have the difficult task of informing my coach I did a marathon in training today," she said.
Second in the open women's section was marathon centurion Ingrid Frost (Auckland) in 3hr 16min 30sec, with Toni Smith third in 3hr 18min 13sec.
The marathon and associated half-marathon events attracted 2235 entrants yesterday.
