The Star: March 21, 2024

The Star Thursday March 21 2024
8
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
• By Chris Barclay
CHRISTCHURCH Marathon
competitors can relax to a point.
The first City2Surf runner across
the line won’t be going the extra
mile next month.
Oska Baynes used the fun run
as a tune-up for the April 21
marathon – not that he intends to
complete the 42km test of endurance.
Baynes will be a pacemaker
for fellow long-distance runner
Andy Good, and anyone else
aiming to clock two hours 20 by
the 32km mark.
“I’ll be the metronome at the
front and take some of the wind.
I’ll do three laps then pull out
and leave the boys to it,” he said.
Baynes, who fittingly owns The
Frontrunner branch in Sydenham,
was not about to stop short
in the City2Surf however, despite
racking up 17km before most
runners had their shoes on.
“It was a standard Sunday,”
MARATHON
EFFORT:
City2Surf
winner Oska
Baynes (fourth
from left in
the front row
wearing a
FFRC top) at
the start line.
At front runner pace
shrugged the 32-year-old, who
routinely runs 160km a week.
Baynes drove to the finish line
at New Brighton, then ran back
to his store at The Colombo,
before loping back to join the
10,000 social and serious runners
assembled at Latimer Square for
the 12km route start at 9am.
Factor in a post-race warm
down and Baynes managed a
perfunctory 35km before midday.
“I was trying to replicate being
a little bit tired before we started,
running an hour and a bit beforehand
you notice a little bit of
fatigue,” he said.
“Then you try and do the event
at marathon-level pace.”
Baynes, who represented New
Zealand at the world half marathon
championships in Latvia
last October, timed 39 min.
Other than assisting his running
mates next month, Bayes has his
sights on Australia’s Gold Coast
marathon in early July.
Principal’s A+ effort
• By Chris Barclay
DONNA BILAS did her
homework and completed the
assignment.
The principal of Addington Te
Kura Taumatua also has a certificate
to prove she completed her
first City2Surf, the end goal after
losing 99kg.
Bilas told a school assembly
last June she would tackle the
12km course from Latimer
Square to Rawhiti Domain on
Sunday and she fulfilled that
pledge, crossing the finish line in
2hr 40min.
“What a feeling! I wasn’t
last and I finished before the
prizegiving,” said Bilas, who had
a gastric bypass in 2021 to fasttrack
her weight loss.
The 51-year-old had spent the
summer holidays walking around
Hagley Park and the central city
every second day, and continued
that exercise regime when the new
school year started.
That preparation paid off as
she walked the long route – no
mean feat after she underwent
two knee replacement surgeries
last year.
She completed her preparation
on Friday with her race bib on,
leading students around the
school’s cycle track.
“There were moments of quite
big emotion, feeling ‘Wow I’m
doing this’, especially when it got
to 6km.”
Bilas paused for a brief photo
opportunity at the midway
point and then carried onto the
finish where one of her students,
7-year-old Jack Burrell-Peddie,
escorted her over the line.
“That meant everything,” she
said.
“He walked the 6km, waited
WALKING TALL:
Donna Bilas and
Jack Burrell-
Peddie at the
finish line at
Rawhiti Domain.
Below – Bilas
before she had
gastric bypass
surgery in 2021.
and when he saw me coming he
rejoined the course and walked
across with me.”
Bilas now has her sights set
on next year’s 12km walk/run
at Marlborough’s Saint Clair
Vineyard half marathon.
“I feel so proud, now on to the
next one,” she said.
• City2Surf wrap-up, pages 14
& 15
A CONSIDERED CHOICE
HOLLY LEA CARE CENTRE
At Holly Lea, we are committed to delivering exceptional care. A place where personalised care
meets modern care practices and facilities. Ensuring your lifestyle is as you’d like it to be, not as
you’re told it has to be. Holly Lea Care Centre offers care up to hospital level, as well as a specialised
memory support unit.
123 FENDALTON R OAD, CHRISTCHURCH | 03 351 7764 | HOLLYLEA. CO. NZ