Ross uses local knowledge to shine in tough stage

North Otago veteran Eric Ross held off the leaders to be first home on the toughest stage of the Alps 2 Ocean Ultra, a gruelling 88km from the shores of Lake Ohau to Loch Laird, beside the Waitaki Lakes.

Ross (67) knows the area well, having had a hand in the course design of the 323km, seven-stage ultra-running event, which is being held for a second time, and put his local knowledge to good use.

He held off the event's leaders after starting two hours earlier yesterday morning, finishing the Queen stage of the event 12hr 4min later.

''We were so pleased he held off all the challenges from the super-fast guys that started at 9am yesterday morning,'' co-organiser John Crombie said.

''Last year, the earlier 7am starters were caught well before the halfway point, so it was an amazing effort.''

Ross now lies seventh in the men's supported category.

His combined time after four stages is 23hr 49min, 4hr 48min behind the leader, Keith Burrows.

The Englishman has a 41min lead over Jason Rawlings.

Wellington runner Paul Hewitson lies third.

The tough, race-defining 88km stage included two tough climbs of over 800m.

As well as testing the runners, the difficult stage provided some magnificent scenic views as competitors took between 10 and 19 hours to complete the route.

In the closest battle in the event, Emily Kratz, of the United States, took over the lead from Queensland runner Sarah Foster in the women's unsupported event, where runners have to carry their clothing, food and sleeping bags in the ultimate challenge of adventure running.

Kratz completed the stage in 11hr 28min, 17min quicker than Foster.

Kratz now has a combined time of 22hr 40min, only 3min ahead of Foster with three days of racing left.

Men's unsupported leader Chris Coolican (Canada) pulled out with an injured hip and calf during the fourth stage.

Seth Campbell took the lead in the unsupported category.

Campbell, a former US Special Operations Ranger, takes a 46min lead over Tim Franklin (Australia) heading into the final three stages.

With a combined time of 21hr 6min, experienced ultra runner Katy Anderson, of Australia, leads the women's supported event by 1hr 32min from New Zealand runner Kelly Sutherland.

Anderson lies fourth overall while Sutherland is seventh.

Today's stage five is a shorter, punchy 45km that starts at Loch Laird and heads down the Waitaki River Valley.

-By John Mackenzie