Sjors Corporaal and Annika Smail are on the verge of a remarkable trail-running treble after the pair took out yesterday’s 32km Kauri Run on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Galatea farmer Corporaal shattered the men’s race record by more than 2 minutes, clocking two hours, 25 minutes and 35 seconds in his first attempt at the distance, just six days after winning the 18km Toi’s Challenge race in Whakatane.
Rotorua’s Smail was equally dominant, meaning the pair have a chance to complete the North Island Triple Crown clean sweep when they line up at the 21km The Goat Alpine Adventure Run around the flanks of Mt Ruapehu in two weeks’ time.
Corporaal, still looking fresh at the finish line, admitted he was shocked at beating Ben Ruthe’s 2008 time of 2:27:50.
“I didn’t expect that – I didn’t think I’d come under 2:30 so I’m happy-as,” the 32-year-old said. “I was a bit worried only having a week after Toi’s and I’d say my legs will be knackered after this downhill.  I’ve never run that far before so I wasn’t sure what was going on but I’m glad I pulled through.”
Hamilton’s Kerry Suter was second in 2:29:26, climbing a spot from his third-placing last year and knocking more than 8mins off his best time.
He pushed Corporaal hard and led him at the 21km mark but couldn’t compete on the final climb to the Kaipawa trig 560m above Coromandel township.
“I knew if I didn’t have a decent lead at that last trig station, it was all over and that’s what happened,” Suter said.  “I was pushing pretty hard along the flats before the last climb, turning over 3min 20sec kilometre times, but I just couldn’t shake him.”
Papamoa multisport athlete Chris Morrissey was third in 2:37:54, with remarkable Rotorua 53-year-old Colin Earwaker fourth and Darren Ashmore rounding out the top five.
Smail also backed up from her win in Whakatane, holding off former Commonwealth Games cyclist Michelle Hyland (Te Awamutu) by just over a minute. 
Smail, herself a former mountain biking star, clocked 3:06:10, with Hyland leading home another Te Awamutu runner Dawn Tuffery in 3:07:35.
“I nearly got caught near the 21km mark – that sort of woke me up and I realised I’d have to pull my finger out and push quite a bit after that,” Smail said.
Hyland, a former triathlon star who went to the 2004 Olympics as a road cyclist, is dabbling in trail running and said her bike stint was helping substantially.
“I think it’s the endurance - you’re out there on the bikes for up to six hours and it’s a similar thing to trail running – you’re just doing your own thing,” Hyland said. “You need a bit of mental toughness.”
Earwaker, who won the first Kauri Run title in 2004, is a raging hot favourite to win the classic division (50+) of the Triple Crown with his unerring ability to compete with athletes 30 years his junior.
He also took out his division at Toi’s Challenge and is also a former winner of The Goat, romping to a shock win in 2006.  He’ll relish the extra break he gets over the next fortnight.
“I was pretty happy with last week but it’s taking longer to recover now and I think I was still feeling the effects today,” Earwaker said.  “I need at least two weeks between races these days and one week just isn’t enough.  I certainly wasn’t fresh this week.”
Corporaal and Smail head into The Goat as defending champions, with Corporaal having also won in 2007.
The last time anybody claimed the Triple Crown sweep was in 2005, when visiting Englishman Thomas Owens won all three races within a month.
This year, the fastest man and woman across all three Triple Crown races will collect an extra $1000 cash prize, while there are also prizes this year in the masters ranks (40-49) and the classic division (50+).

Results:

Men: Sjors Corporaal (Galatea) 2:25:35 1, Kerry Suter (Hamilton) 2:29:26 2, Chris Morrissey (Papamoa) 2:37:54 3, Colin Earwaker (Rotorua) 2:41:59 4, Darren Ashmore (Rotorua) 2:49:03 5.

Women: Annika Smail (Rotorua) 3:06:10 1, Michelle Hyland (Te Awamutu) 3:07:35 2, Dawn Tuffery (Te Awamutu) 3:13:09 3, Kirsten Milne (Te Awamutu) 3:15:29 4, Rebecca Smith (Rotorua) 3:29:10.