Although the two are not related, both are Lydiard disciples, with a tenacious approach to competition.
As Bill’s two-decade long run at dominating New Zealand middle distance throughout the 1950s and ’60s wound down, Danny’s love of running would begin.
Although he turned to serious running only three years ago, Baillie (47) has run for as long as he can remember. Following his father, Doug, into the game, he ran his first marathon as a 12-year-old and his second a year later.
Although he continued to run as a way of keeping in shape, his first 10,000m on the track was not until the Otago championship last year, when a calf strain forced him to withdraw part-way through. He returned to the Caledonian Ground track earlier this year to win the New Zealand Masters Games 10,000m title. Baillie can credit his lifestyle and work as an alpine guide for maintaining a high level of fitness.
Baillie (Leith) came into Saturday’s race with a number of impressive performances in recent months. He clocked 2hr 48min in the City of Christchurch Marathon in June and in late August took on the world at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Italy.
But Baillie must have wondered what he was in for on Saturday, when Luxmore Grunt champion Jack Beaumont (Winton) set a torrid pace to split the field and open up a solid lead on his rivals.
Lying second, Alex Dodds (Caversham), was first to blink, withdrawing 16 laps into the 25-lap event. Beaumont was beginning to feel his recent Luxmore Grunt victory in his legs and blistering. Despite discarding his shoes, he survived only another three laps before withdrawing and opening the way for Baillie to come through.
Sensing victory, Baillie seemed to quicken his pace over the last five laps, winning the title in 34min 54.06sec.
Oliver O’Sullivan (Hill City-University) was second and Brent Halley (Ariki) third.
Canterbury’s Anna Percy (Christchurch Old Boys) proved she is on course for international honours soon,, with victories in the open women’s 200m in 25.51sec, and 400m, in which she set a personal best time of 57.73sec.
Percy (19), an engineering student at the University of Canterbury, has made the trip south for the past two weekends with coach Andrew MacLennan, as she seeks to lower her times in her specialist 400m hurdles event.
Percy bettered the Canterbury record in the 400m hurdles twice earlier this year, logging a personal best 60.76sec, but needs to lower the time to better the national record of 58.95sec, and world universities qualifying time of 58.45sec, to kick-start her international career.
A member of the High Performance Sport New Zealand Pathway to Podium Squad, Percy has begun the season using the sprint distances as part of building a base in order to set up an assault on the national 400m hurdles record and qualifying time. Her first opportunity will come at the Lovelock meeting in Timaru on January 7.
Other highlights from the meeting were. — Kirk Madgwick (Hill City-University) and Nathan Hill (Leith) going toe to toe in the 1500m to both set personal best times. Madgwick won with a sprint into the teeth of a strong head wind, recording 4min 4.92sec. Hill crossed in 4min 5.83sec. Hill’s sister Rebekah also had a personal best for the distance to win the open women’s 1500m in 4min 58.57sec.
Competitors had to contend with a lot of wind variables in the triple jump competition. Andrew Allan (Gore) won the men’s competition with 13.47m, but all six of his attempts had wind variations between negative 0.5 and plus 8. Twin sisters Joccoaa and Leonie Palmer (Taieri) had gusts of between 0.3 and 5.1 in the women’s competition, won by Joccoaa with 9.98m.
