KIM SMITH

AS THIS EDITION WENT TO PRESS KIM SMITH ANNOUNCED HER ARRIVAL AS A CONTENDER IN WORLD MARATHON RUNNING, TAKING 1M25S FROM ALLISON ROE'S 29-YEAR-OLD NATIONAL MARATHON RECORD AT THE LONDON MARATHON. THE RESULT COMPLETES SMITH'S DOMINATION OF THE NATIONAL DISTANCE RUNNING RECORD BOOK. PHIL TAYLOR SPOKE TO SMITH ON THE EVE OF THE RACE.

Mainstream media dropped the ball last month missing the significance of Kimberley Smith's sensational time in the New Orleans half-marathon.

Fortunately my Dad was on to it, sending me the four-sentence, one-paragraph clipping that appeared in his newspaper. It was headed "Smith Second'' and is what newspaper people call a brief. They run in a column of similar little stories deemed unworthy of bigger headline or some work to flesh out a proper story.

Dad, a bit of a runner himself back in the day, understood the significance.

"This clipping was all that appeared on Kimberley Smith's 1h7m55s half-marathon,'' his note said. "Only 3 seconds off the fastest half run by a woman in the US [the winner of Smith's race, Ethiopian, Berhane Adere is fastest]. And there must have been more than one African in the race.''

Although not meaning to diminish Valerie Villi, he noted that she got more publicity for tossing the shot out to her usual distance and, Smith, he suggested faces more competition in distance running. No argument from me. Sports editors failed to recognise a breakthrough result by a woman who has become New Zealand's fastest distance runner.

Smith doesn't have a New York marathon to her name, as does Allison Roe (1981), or an Olympic marathon medal, as has Lorraine Moller (1992). In fact, she was to make her marathon debut (London, 25 April) as this story was in production.

What she does have, as well as fantastic marathon potential, is ownership of the New Zealand record book. She holds eight national records, from one mile on the track to the half-marathon on the road.

Compare Smith's times to Moller's and you will find she is faster over all distances they both have run, almost two minutes quicker on the track over 10,000 metres. Smith's time in New Orleans in March took 1m40s off her only previous attempt at the distance and makes her the 7th fastest in the world this year, 48s slower than the fastest.

Ahead of her on that list are four Ethiopians, a Kenyan and an Ethiopian-born Turk. Check the list for the fastest-ever half marathon times and you find she is the 23rd fastest woman in history and the 6th non-African. One place and one second ahead of her on that list is Catherine Ndereba, the Kenyan nicknamed Catherine The Great due to her exploits.

Ndereba is the second-fastest marathoner (2:18:47) of all time, a four-time Boston Marathon winner and silver Olympic marathon medallist in 2004 and 2008.

Smith has, remember, run only two half marathons. Boil it down and you get this: Smith is right up there in one of the most competitive events. Yet she doesn't get the coverage in New Zealand you would expect of such credentials. Media myopia aside, that may be because she has developed into a world class distance runner in the United States. Out of sight, out of mind?

Not for vo2max. We thought it well past time we got to know more about Kim Smith. We tracked her down to her home in Providence, Rhode Island, just as she had ground out her biggest week of training in preparation for London. First impression: For all her years in America, she remains a laid-back Kiwi. When we emailed asking what would be a good time to phone, she said anytime was fine as she didn't do much apart from run. Oh, and eat.

Ask whether she has a favourite food and she answers, not really, "I like lots.''

Earlier she'd confessed she used to be "a takeaways person''. "
Now I cook a bit and make more healthy meals.'' Vegetables, once foreign to her, are now a staple.

Second impression: She's coping with the hard work required for the marathon. When we spoke, a month out from London, she had put in a 110 mile (172 km) week. A decade ago she could never have imagined that.

"I thought I was an 800 metre-1500 metre runner. I had no idea I had that endurance.'' Despite having a lean, angular body, running wasn't in Smith's genes.

Raised in Papakura, the only daughter of Alan and Jeanette, (she has a twin brother, Tim, and older brother, Geoff), no one in the family ran.

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STORY BY + PHIL TAYLOR
PHOTOS COURTESY + PHOTO RUN