Crumpton's tactic of attacking from the start and applying pressure on the field paid off as she finished the 10km course 1min 9sec clear of second-placed Belinda Wimmer (Waimea) in 34min 15sec.
For Crumpton, the signs were positive two weeks ago when she won the 10km Clyde to Alexandra road race, just 3sec outside her own course record of 33min 40sec.
"I wasn't sore afterwards, and my recovery was almost immediate," she said.
Such was the nature of the course on Saturday that times were always going to be slower than normal, with a high number of turns, tight corners and a strong wind that affected pace judgement.
Going out hard from the start and running her own race were the key factors in her victory, Crumpton said.
"I'm pretty pleased with the way things worked out," she said.
The victory capped a successful year for Crumpton, who in July won the open women's title at the Oceania championship and became the first athlete in 22 years to win the open women's title on the Gold Coast course.
Crumpton has not committed to competing in the Dunedin half marathon next weekend, but has the Otago road championships in her sights in two weeks, along with Auckland's 10km race in October and the queen city's half marathon in early November.
Sue Cuthbert was the only other Otago medallist at the championships, winning silver in the 5km masters women's 40-44 grade in 19min 22sec.
The Otago junior men put in a strong showing, with Tony Payne (5th) and Lyndon Brown (9th) both with top-10 finishes. Payne recorded 26min 15sec for the 8km event and Brown 26min 49sec.
The senior men's team found the pace of Dale Warrander a little hot to handle, the Aucklander winning the 10km title in 30min 10sec, from Sam Wreford (Canterbury), second in 31min 3sec, and Craig Kirkwood (Waikato Bay of Plenty), third in 31min 19sec.
Luke Hurring was Otago's best, finishing 11th in 32min 18sec, while James List wrestled one back from Sam Kidd to finish 13th in 32min 36sec, with Kidd 16th in 32min 58sec.
John Winsbury, Otago's other representative, finished 18th in 33min 14sec.
In the masters men's section Stewart Paul finished 7th in the men's 35-39 grade in 35min 21sec and Richard Hendry 10th in the men's 40-44 grade in 36min 1sec.
