Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon 1997
25 May 1997Sydney, NSW
Winners' Times
| Male | 1st | Steve Moneghetti | 62:32 |
| 2nd | Pat Carroll | 62:55 | |
| 3rd | Paul Arthur | 66:58 | |
| Female | 1st | Heather Turland | 73:20 |
| 2nd | Liz Miller | 74:14 | |
| 3rd | Sue Malaxos | 77:08 |
After a 20-minute lap around the city, at 5am, Moneghetti tip-toed back into his hotel room so as not to wake his wife and two young daughters. He snuck into the shower and then lay in the foyer to read the newspaper and eat three pieces of toast with jam and tea. It proved to be a breakfast of champions. As the morning sun was still burning the condensation off bedroom windows around the country, Moneghetti had conquered the 21.1km half marathon course and beaten a record 4,304-strong field to win in 62 minutes and 32 seconds in warm, still conditions. It was an impressive effort considering six weeks ago the 34-year-old elite athlete from Ballarat ran the London Marathon in the third fastest time of his distinguished career and could barely walk let alone run for the first week afterwards. "It was my first race back after the marathon and it was a slog," Moneghetti said. "Whether I run smooth or ugly, I'm always tough."
In perfect sunny and still conditions, the 34-year-old from Ballarat won the 21.1km event in 62min 32s in what will be his last major race before the Athens world championships in August. Carroll, a Commonwealth Games 5,000m finalist from Brisbane, finished 23s behind in second, and 1994 City to Surf champion Paul Arthur was a distant third in 66:58 after dropping off the pace around the 5km mark. Carroll knew Moneghetti was running "a little scared" by the way he kept looking over his shoulder for him.
"I felt worse in the first half than the second. I thought I was in strife but then my strength came through in the hilly sections. It is unusual for me to have good and bad patches. I was up and down all over the place." The victory proved Moneghetti is in good shape for Athens, where world focus and Australia's medal expectations will concentrate on his strong but narrow shoulders. Moneghetti will prepare for Athens with several weeks' hot-weather acclimatisation in Townsville, where he'll be joined by fellow marathon medal hope Heather Turland.
Heather Turland, a 37-year-old mother of four and two-time City to Surf champion, admits she's often "on another channel" before a big race. Turland was flitting around the starting area like a startled bird when a worried spectator yelled out "come on mum get back behind the line they're waiting for you". "My watch must have been slow," Turland said. The late bloomer from Bowral didn't have time to muscle her way into the leading line-up of seeded runners and was forced to start from the foot path. It didn't take Turland long however to find some space and pace and establish her authority in the race. She broke away from her main rival Liz Miller, another mother of two, about the 15km mark and ran the last three kilometres wearing a wrap-around smile. "I knew I had it," she said of her 73-minute 20-second victory.
After being congratulated by two of her proud children who came to Sydney with their builder father "to watch mum run", Turland took the time to pass on her congratulations to blind Sydney runner Nicholas Gleeson, who completed the half-marathon accompanied by a guide. Gleeson said that while it was his first half-marathon, he'd discovered the secret of surviving the pain and strain of distance running. "Have more kids," he said. "It works for the women."
Another Race Report
After sleeping in and almost missing out on the day's events, we made a hasty dash for the City. Parking is always a problem, so we parked at Milson's Point, and jogged across the Bridge. We knew then that it would be warm run. Lining up with everyone else felt really good - so that even though I knew I was not in top form, it was still a pleasure to be there and part of the event. Even after the gun went, and we slowly shuffled off, I met lots of friends, the same ones it appears, that enter all the races.
Probably the less said about the actual run, the better. "Start slow and taper off" is a good phrase that comes to mind as a description. Hell, I enjoyed the warm weather, the crowds and, of course, the beautiful views.
My time ? 1 hr 38 mins.
Kevin Tiller
CoolRunning Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon Page (includes links to other race articles)
