Gisborne builder beats runner half his age to win Wellington half-marathon
His wife’s suggestion that Parkrun was a good way to meet people had far-reaching benefits for Gisborne builder Mike Robinson.
He rediscovered a childhood talent for running and embarked on a fitness journey that led to first place in the half-marathon race within the Wellington Marathon.
Robinson, 40, beat promising Wellington runner Max Doherty – half his age at 20 – by three seconds after a 21km run in cold, windy weather.
Reflecting the conditions, Robinson’s time of 1h 9m 29s was 69s slower than his third-place finish last year.
His race preparation was not ideal.
“I was meant to fly down by myself on the Friday [two days before the race] but the flight was cancelled and I couldn’t make it any other way than by road,” he said.
His wife Sarah shared the drive; they left on Saturday morning and got to Wellington seven hours later, not too put out by the change in plans.
The race field started into a stiff southerly, and Robinson stayed with a 12-strong leading group through the first 7km. Then runners started dropping off.
Frontrunners, including Robinson, took turns leading into the wind.
“By the time we got to halfway, four of us were left and because of the southerly we were about a minute and a half off the pace we wanted,” Robinson said.
“The pace increased a lot. We ran hard for the last eight or nine kilometres. The young lad, Max Doherty – he’s a junior cross-country national rep who’s just come up to seniors – led out. I was hanging on to him. He kept surging and I kept hanging on.
“Inside a kilometre from the finish, he surged and I surged as well and gapped him. I gave it everything for the last kilometre and put four seconds on him.
“At the end, I was tired but I felt pretty strong.”
Robinson is now looking towards the Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne Road Champs in Hastings on August 15.
He won’t be racing in the masters competition.
“My interest is in the open grade,” he said.
“There’s nothing better than finishing ahead of the younger fellas. I’m still able to be competitive at 40, so I’ll keep going as long as I can.”
Robinson has been running seriously for the past eight years.
“I ran as a kid and did well at the Colgate Games – I won the 1500 metres for the under-11s – and was a cross-country runner.
“Then I dropped running and picked up rugby and boxing. I did competitive boxing for over 10 years from about the age of 18.”
Why boxing?
“Dad used to follow boxing, and my two brothers boxed.
“My elder brother Andy was a professional in the light-heavyweight division. He won a fight in China on the Manny Pacquiao undercard. My younger brother Rich was a Golden Gloves champion in the welterweight division. Both have given it [boxing] away.
“I didn’t have too many fights; injury was always a factor. I had fights in Waikato and Wellington ... 10 or 12. I won more than I lost.
“I’ve always been fit, always doing some sort of competitive sport.”
All three brothers played schoolboy rep rugby, their dad George was a handy marathon runner and their mum Jill represented her region as a hurdler.
After he left school, Robinson worked at a Wellington timber sales yard, which led to a building apprenticeship.
“You’re dealing with the builders, and you ask the ones you like if they’ll take you on.”
He completed his apprenticeship and headed to England on his OE, at the same time as his wife-to-be, Sarah Harding. But they didn’t meet until 12 months in, when they were both staying in Wimbledon at a 25-bedroom former retirement home with communal kitchen and lounge.
After 18 months based there and travelling around, they returned to New Zealand about 2012, first to Christchurch where work was plentiful (Sarah is an environmental scientist) and then in 2016 to Sarah’s home town, Gisborne.
They were married at Wainui Surf Club in 2017, and about 2018 Robinson started running again.
“I came here knowing nobody,” he said. “By the time I finished renovating and selling a house and building our new house, next to Sarah’s parents (Ivan and Lois Harding), I still hadn’t met anyone.
“Sarah said, ‘Why don’t you go to the local Parkrun?’, so I went. Parkrun is on a Saturday, any weather, all year round.
“It was good ... just meeting people, you all share a common interest. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at. You do a lot of training by yourself, but you can do long runs together because everyone goes at a similar pace.
“I hadn’t done anything for three or four years, and on my second Parkrun I did sub-20 minutes for 5km. I realised if I trained I might do well.
“With young kids [Ella, 6, and Lucy, 3], I have to try to get out and train when it suits the family. I train six days a week, and on my rest day I do mobility stretching and physio rehab.
“It impinges on family time and certainly requires understanding from my wife. She supports me. I finish work about 3.30pm so have a little time to get training done before dinner.”
Robinson’s first major placing outside Gisborne was a third in the Hawke’s Bay half-marathon in 2022. In the 2023 Wellington half-marathon he was sixth in a time of 1h 10m 26s.
“I started training by using the Arthur Lydiard method I read about in his books,” he said.
“Then about 18 months ago I got on to a former Gisborne triathlete, Josiah Ney, through his father-in-law, Mark van Wijk.
“Josiah had moved to Canada by then but when he was back on holiday he offered to coach me. He’s based in Tasmania now and we keep in touch by WhatsApp.
“I’d been training with him for a few months before last year’s Wellington Half-marathon, which also served as the national champs, and after that run I was rapt. The guy ahead of me in second place – Eric Speakman – is a world-class 5000m runner. To be just seven seconds behind him . . . I couldn’t believe it.
“When you do well, you always think ‘I can do well again’.
“Since then, I’ve placed seventh at the national 10km championships in Cambridge last August, with only seconds separating the runners from second to seventh.
“In November, I had the sixth-best time in the Auckland half-marathon, 1h 10m 01s. I was queuing for one and a half hours for the ferry to Devonport – they’d had a late influx of entries and the ferries were packed – and I missed the start by 10 minutes. For the first 8km I had to weave my way through joggers.”
Robinson was then struck down by meniscus injuries in the knees. Cycling, “heaps of strength work” and the passage of time got him back on track.
On May 16, he had his first race in six months, finishing third in the Hawke’s Bay Half-marathon in 1h 09m 44s.
“I was doing well before Josiah started coaching me, but no race is the same. The one at the weekend was windy, whereas before when I did well I had perfect conditions every time.
“Under Josiah’s coaching I am able to do more off less training, and I am a lot stronger because he incorporates gym work into my training.”
Asked if he had any ambitions to compete internationally, he said: “I think my ship might have sailed there, especially in the open grade. Ultimately, it comes down to funding, and my family comes first.”
But with the Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne Road Champs and the Waikato-Bay of Plenty and Auckland half-marathons still on his radar this year, he is making up for the six months of competitive inactivity that injury forced on him.
And if he eventually moves into age-group masters’ competition, he might find that ship has been waiting for him all along.
The Wellington Marathon was won by Hawke’s Bay runner Josh Stewart who, in recent years, was based in Gisborne, working at Gisborne Hospital. Stewart’s time was 2h 32m 51s. Hiro Tanimoto finished 58s back in second place.