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Five walkers had entered the races, two each in the 12 and 24 hour races and one in the six hour. All had asked to be judged. I did the judging on behalf of the New Zealand Centurion Endurance Walking Club, the first time I had judged. Below is my report on the races. The official results might not be available for some time because the race organiser Simahin Pierce must go through all the information recorded by the lap counters and check that the results are consistent, a time consuming task particularly if he has to resolve inconsistencies. Until then, any records and other achievements described below are unofficial.

The five walkers were all there: Peter Baillie and Geoff Hain for the 24 hour race, Keith Still and Colin Clifton for the 12 hour and Graham Cleal for the six hour.

This was Peter's second attempt at walking 100 miles in 24 hours. His first attempt was in the 2004 race when he walked 174.129 kilometres to make him New Zealand Centurion C13. Peter had announced a few weeks ago he was aiming to walk at least 180 kilometres, thus breaking Gerald Mendelson's 24 hour national record of 177.665 kilometers, and possibly walk as far as 200 kilometres.

Geoff, from the Gold Coast, was after his New Zealand Centurion designation. He had walked 100 miles in 24 hours twice. The first time was October 16-17, 2004 at the Santos Stadium, Adelaide, when he did 100 miles in 23:30:38 to give him his Australian Centurion designation of C49. The second was earlier this year when he won the 24 hour mens walk held on the Coburg Harriers Track, Melbourne, April 16-17, walking 163.441 kilometres.

Keith and Colin had travelled from Tauranga. Keith came into the race underdone, having not done as much training as he would have liked. Colin looked the same as ever.

I spoke briefly with the five walkers and asked if they had any questions about the judging. All were experienced walkers and as I expected they had no questions.

Geoff was crewed by his wife Annie and together they used a more laidback approach to crewing than Peter and Bart. Annie left it to Geoff to pace himself. Geoff's main way of pacing was to count the number of laps he did per hour. Occasionally Geoff would ask Annie to confirm with the lap counters the number of laps he had completed.

As he had done in previous years, Graham crewed himself. Keith and Colin also crewed themselves.

Graham made his usual fast start. He was followed by Peter, Keith, Geoff and Colin. After two hours, the large progress chart on the inside of the track showed Graham, Peter and Keith had walked 16 kilometres, Geoff 15 and Colin 14. The chart did not record fractions of kilometres which meant Graham, Peter, Keith, Geoff and Colin had walked at least the distance given on the chart.

Peter was lapping at 2:50 to 3:00 minutes per lap, a pace that would have given him 192 to 203 kilometres for the 24 hours. Peter looked strong and several people commented on his form. Bart was pleased with Peter's progress. Peter picked up the pace and was soon lapping between 2:45 and 2:50 (203 to 216 kilometres for the 24 hours).

Not surprisingly, the fast laps meant Peter pulled away from the other walkers and after four hours the distances were: Peter 35 kilometres, Keith and Geoff 31, Graham 30 and Colin 27.

Peter went through 40 kilometres in 4:42, an average of 2:49 per lap, and the marathon in 4:58. Five hours saw Peter on 42 kilometres, Keith 39, Geoff 38, Graham 37 and Colin 34. Fifty-three minutes later, Peter passed 50 kilometres, having maintained his average of 2:49 per lap.

Graham finished his race seven minutes later, walking 44 kilometres in the six hours. I presented him with a certificate of achievement on behalf of the New Zealand Centurion Club, and Simahin Pearce presented him with a trophy for winning the M60-69 division in the six hour race.

Peter passed 60 kilometres in 7:11. This meant he had taken 1:18 for the last ten kilometres, an average of 3:07 lap. As Bart's stopwatch had shown, Peter was slowing, a sore knee the main cause. Bart told me Peter had injured his knee earlier in the year.

Geoff passed 60 kilometres at 7:53, well inside the pace needed to reach 100 miles in 24 hours. At the eight hour mark, Peter was on 66 kilometres, Keith 62, Geoff 60 and Colin 50.

Keith went through 70 kilometres in 9:01 and was well on his way to a distance in the nineties. However, he slowed over the last three hours of the race and finished with 89 kilometres for the 12 hours, a creditable performance given his lack of training.

Colin finished the 12 hours with 75 kilometres. At the prize-giving that followed immediately after the race, Simahin Pierce said he hoped Colin would be here next year because he would be in M80 and there were no race records for this age group.

Around the 10 hour mark, Peter expressed an interest in walking 100 kilometres in 12 hours. Peter was certainly capable of doing this but achieving this gaol would likely have reduced how far he went in the 24 hours. He went through 90 kilometres in 11:00 and the decision was made for him. Peter reached 97.6 kilometres in 12 hours.

Peter passed 100 kilometres in 12:20. As far as I know, the fastest time for 100 kilometres by a New Zealander is 12:57:21 by Gerald Mendelson in 1998. However, Peter's 100 kilometre time was not timed officially and will be recorded as a notable performance.

Geoff passed 100 kilometres in 13:53. This meant he had taken six hours for the last 40 kilometres, a slow pace but Geoff seem to have everything under control.

Peter passed 140 kilometres in 16:02, an average of 3:05 per lap, and 150 kilometres in 19:25, an average of 3:06 per lap. Meanwhile, Geoff reached 140 kilometres in 20:16, leaving him 3:44 to walk the last 21 kilometres, a very easy target.

In the wee hours of the morning, Bart retired to his tent for some sleep. Before doing so, he briefed Jack on what he had to do when crewing Peter.

Peter was the first to prove me right, reaching 178 kilometres with over half an hour to go. When he crossed the start-finish line at 178 kilometres, he raised his forearm to acknowledge the applause but otherwise he appeared intent on adding a few kilometres to the record. One spectator commented that Peter did not even smile!

At 23:37:33, Geoff proved me right. As with Peter's, Geoff's 100 mile time was timed using three stopwatches. His wife was on hand to successfully take a photograph with a temperamental digital camera. Geoff continued walking through to the end of the 24 hours but was in no great hurry and finished with 162.474 kilometres. Peter finished with 182.648 kilometres.

Maureen Metcalfe, the president of the New Zealand Centurions, was unable to attend the prize giving and I presented Geoff with his New Zealand Centurion medal on her behalf. Geoff's achievement made him New Zealand C14, to go along with his Australian C49. I also presented Geoff and Peter with certificates of achievement for the distance they walked in the 24 hours race.

Geoff made a special point of thanking me for judging, a consideration I greatly appreciated.