Running man back on track at relay | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

He's back.

After a six month lay-off from competitive running following a torn knee cartilage, Rotorua's Colin Earwaker looked every bit the athlete at the weekend.

The Lake City Athletics masters runner was in dominant form for his team during the annual Kaingaroa Timberlands Redwoods Forest Relay.

Earwaker with the help of teammates Trevor Ogilvie, Campbell Horne, Bruce Edwards and Chris Corney relished the slippery conditions underfoot to successfully defend their masters men's 5 x 5000m title after clocking a combined 1hr 29mins 48 secs to beat old rivals Whakatane and Tauranga.

Earwaker, who won the 2004 World Masters Half Marathon title and finished 15th at last year's World Masters Running Championships, recorded his team's fastest time of the day in 16mins 56secs - 45 seconds outside his own course record.

"I was happy with that" said the dynamic runner.

"While I've been training for the last seven weeks, it's my first event and I felt OK."

Following rehabilitation, Earwaker has made a gradual return to full mileage of 150km a week and is now looking ahead to defending his title at the upcoming Kauri Run in the Coromandel while Ogilvie, Horne and Corney will team up with Lake City club mates Peter Vyver, Steven O'Callaghan, Kim Harwood, John Harvey and Wayne Hendrikse for next month's National Road Relay Championships in Christchurch.

"I think it's going to be pretty tough down South, especially with many of the masters runners taking on the senior men's runners, but we'll try our best," said Ogilvie.

In addition to winning the masters men's title, Lake City Athletics were also in impressive form in a number of other relay categories.

The team of John Bishop and Eric Westra finally shrugged off their bridesmaid tag taking out the 2 x 5000m walking event in 68mins 28secs from previous winners Napier Harriers, while club mates Maureen Heald and Christine Hocking came home in third. The senior women's 5 x 5000m team of Johanna Ottosson, Catherine Donovan, Luanna George, Tineke Holland and Kathy Howard finished third place - 25 minutes behind winners Bay Cougars who were in lethal form.

The Auckland based team of Caroline Smith, Stacey Pearson, Mikki Williden (2005 Rotorua Marathon winner) and Jess Ruthe tore up the forest track with a new race record of 1hr 34mins 45secs - with Ruthe set a new open women's lap record of 17mins 14secs. Hamilton City Hawks won the masters women's race with Lake City's Lynne Peirse, Lynne Ogilvie, Lynley Martin, Louisa Hendrikse and Tanya Lee-Parker coming home in second and Mt Maunganui Joggers and Walkers third, while the Hawk's also dominated the senior men's race finishing five minutes ahead of predicted winners Bay Cougars and Egmont Athletics.

Other notable relay highlights came when Mt Roskill's Fetelow Zomo and Tauranga Girls' College runner Lydia O'Donnell both set new youth lap records.

Saturday's Kaingaroa Timberlands-sponsored relay attracted close to 100 teams of runners and walkers from throughout the North Island.

See today's Daily Post for full results