The number three is proving to be a significant one for Dunedin runner Jonah Smith after he won his third Dunedin Marathon title held over the new east harbour course yesterday.
Each victory in the event has come three years apart for the dairy farmer.
He first won the marathon on the original course that finished at Watson Park in 2016, and his second victory came in 2019 on a rearranged course that utilised a finishing line at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Smith made the most of his limited time for training — Covid restrictions prevented the staging of the event in the past two years, he was expecting a third child with wife Anna, and also working full swing with calving.
That effectively meant he ran the 42.2km course on willpower and natural ability.
"I owe my boss a lot for giving me the day off to do this," he said.
"It’s a bit slower than my previous two, but I’ll take it.
"Training has been a bit thin, but my legs sort of held up."
The race quickly came down to a three-way battle between Smith, Tom Galloway (New Brighton Olympic) and 2019 runner-up Matthew Moloney (Athletics Nelson).
The three made their intentions clear as they led the field around the Portobello and Harington Point sections at the bottom end of the course.
"Tom was doing most of the pace work over the first few 10 or so kilometres into the wind. So we settled into a bit of a rhythm."
Near the albatross colony, they turned with the wind at their backs and it was game on with pace and momentum of a strong tail wind lifting the three.
Moloney dropped off the pace at the 25km mark, telling Smith and Galloway he was done and to "have a good battle".
About 2km later, Smith decided to play his hand and upped the pace on Galloway.
"I thought, ‘jeez, this is rough. If I drop off then Tom could come back at me’. Anything can happen in a marathon."
Smith battled through, but to compound matters, he turned into a strong headwind over the final 5km.
"I thought, ‘gee, I’ve gone too early, I better just hang on here’. I just kept a rhythm going and thought if Tom catches me then I’m gone. I had no idea and got there in the end."
Smith crossed 55sec clear of Galloway in 2hr 42min 1sec, with Moloney third in 2hr 47min 26sec.
Of his three victories, Smith highlighted the second one in 2019, because he had to work for it all the way and his time of 2hr 33min 59sec was his fastest in the event.
"This was definitely the toughest I’ve ever done. But then, they’re all tough. No marathon is easy."
University of Canterbury runner Harry Rattray overcame a battle with a strong headwind by feeding off a large gathering of spectators around the course to win the open men’s section of the half-marathon in a smart 1hr 12min 4sec.
Rattray said he ran the half-marathon in the event three years ago, finishing in 1hr 27min.
"It’s a PB [personal best] for me today, and great to knock so much off my time."
The local Hill City-University club made a clean sweep of the open men’s 10km event, which was won by Reuben Beard in 32min 34sec.
Alex Witt was second in 33min 56sec and Simon Cromarty third in 34min 20sec.
