Perth runner James Smith and Albany's Kate Pritchett the big winners at 26th Elleker Running Festival

Perth runner James Smith persisted in wet conditions for his maiden win in the Elleker Running Festival half marathon on Sunday morning. Smith took an early advantage and stayed on course, with eventual runner-up Callum Dowell (1hr.16min.52sec.) closing in on the leader at the 15km mark. But Smith persevered and was never headed as he pushed through the last 6km to finish in an impressive time of 1:16:22. The Perth runner improved on his previous second-place time of 1:21:42 in 2019 in a dominant performance from start to finish. Michael Goodier stormed home after Dowell and Smith, crossing the line in 1:19:19 for third place. With Dowell giving chase at the 15km mark, Smith said focusing on his own race helped get him over the line. “That point of the race was hard,” he said . “There was a bit of a hill out the back so it was a bit of a push and I knew the guy in second (Dowell) was gaining on me so I was just trying to run my own race and not think about him. “This is one of the best local runs I’ve done. The food’s awesome, the venue’s awesome and the vibe’s good — it’s really nice.” Smith is now gearing up for the Rottnest 10km run on June 12 and is also eyeing the Sydney City2Surf in August. Albany’s Kate Pritchett won the female division, producing a stellar performance to finish the race in 1:24:34, improving on her 2021 time by 17sec. Pritchett said despite some difficult periods, she was delighted with the result. “There were a few points where you sort of run out of energy and have to get a second wind — coming up the second time on Lower Denmark Road was hard,” she said. “It was a really good event. It’s a pity we don’t have more around Albany, but it was really great to see so many people show up.” Jonah Hanikeri took the top spot in the 10km run with a time of 34:26.8, while Julianne Sander was the first female to cross the line, finishing in 44:45.1. In the 10km walk, Johan Hagedoom blitzed the field with a time of 1:12:47, finishing more than nine minutes ahead of his nearest competitor, Paul Finlay (1:22:10), while James Watton rounded out the top three with a time of 1:25:37.