Oldroyd returned to her North Canterbury home with mixed emotions on Dunedin’s fickle climate following her win in 2017.
"The course was great. The day started out warm and sunny. Then the weather closed in," she said.
"I remember being so damn cold. It was wet, cold, foggy and just damn horrible," she said of finishing in one of her slower times of 2hr 59min 22sec.
That memory is one of the reasons Oldroyd has hesitated to return. But with the event embracing a charity for cancer detection dogs, Oldroyd wanted to support a charity she holds dear.
"This is something very close to me and I wanted to get behind it 100%."
Oldroyd, a business intelligence consultant who works remotely for the Dunedin-based Flock Consulting, has done little by way of competitive running since winning a sixth Buller Marathon title back in early February in a slick 2hr 45min 47sec. She has opted to spend time with her two rescue dogs and do some horse riding instead.
"It’s the only fitness I’ve got left. So I’ll be winging it."
But if her recent results from last year are anything to go by, Oldroyd will be fresh and ready to mix it up.
Last year was a stellar one in which she began with three-consecutive second placings in the Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and Sunshine Coast Marathons, before hitting a three-race winning streak beginning with the Adelaide Marathon. Two months later she won the Auckland Marathon in 2hr 49min 30sec and rounded the year off with victory in the Queenstown Marathon, just three weeks later, clocking 2hr 53min 9sec.
Oldroyd has compiled an impressive marathon resume around the world during the past decade. Among her best results was a second placing in the 2018 London Marathon, in which she stopped the clock at 2hr 46min 27sec.
But following her Buller result this year, Oldroyd thought it was time to wind down and reflect while spending more time with her partner, dogs and horse.
An intriguing race is in store with the late inclusion of defending women’s champion Margie Campbell.
Both athletes have similar ability.
Canterbury’s Andy Good appears to be the early favourite for the men’s title, while fellow Cantabrians Tom Galloway, Kyle Simpson and Chris Kearns are also favoured to feature at the business end.
Dunedin athletes Sam Guest, Brady Clarke and Matt Cosgrove could well be in the mix along with Patrick Anderson (Nelson) and Fergus David (Queenstown).
The race for the associated half marathon titles remain wide open. Dunedin region athletes Erin Graham and Henrietta Jones could feature, along with Imogen Foley (Auckland) and Lucy Twiggy (Christchurch) for the women’s title, while in the men’s field, Samuel Marmion (Rangiora), Sam Anderson (Huntsbury), Sebastian Aguilera (Dunedin) and George Seque (Methven) could well all be in the mix at the finish.
The 10km section is expected to be a highly competitive affair in both sections. The race for the women’s title in particular where early favourites Aly Craigie, Becky de la Harpe and Eliza Rothery will go head-to head.
Likewise the men’s race is shaping up to be a cracker where the eventual champion could well be either Thomas White, Neale McLanachan, Alex Witt, Reuben Beard or Leon Miyahara.
- The full marathon starts at Portobello Domain at 7.30am. The half marathon run starts 9am from Caledonian Ground, with half marathon walk 9.15am, 10km run and walk 9.40am and 5km fun run 9.55am.
By Wayne Parsons
