The Return of the King - Saturday, maybe...

"The King is back", could be the catch phrase for six-times champion Chris Morrissey when the Norske Skog Tasman Kawerau King of the Mountain race takes places this Saturday, October 31.
Morrissey relinquished a stranglehold on the 54 years-old race to the 823m summit of Putauaki which towers over Kawerau, when he gave the event a miss in 2008.
In his absence, Galatea farmer Sjors Corporaal grabbed the crown.
Now both men are set for a head to head scrap for the title when the battle begins at high noon.
Morrissey has not been seen in action much in the Eastern Bay over the past 18 months following a move to Papamoa.
But the former NZ rep to the World Mountain Running Cup has been turning out in multisport events, such as Monty's Revenge (for which he donned a full retro costume - including Stubbies) and producing strong, if not winning, results.
The Kawerau race is, however, not one in which he will be satisfied to come second and he will have to look to his hallmark strength on the uphill to come up with the win.
For his part, Corporaal will want to be in touch at the summit and produce his trademark downhill speed.
Not that it will be a two horse race.
Two Pomona (Queensland) Mountain Race winners, Neil Labinsky and Matthew Kaluder will be on the startline along with a couple of fast Eastern Bay juniors in 15-year-old Shay Williamson who claimed third last year and two-day Coast to Coast winner Sam Clark (19).
Whispers of a top five ranked Commonwealth Mountain Running Championships competitor being a possible starter have also reached organisers.
While the men's open category looks set to be a thriller, the veterans classes and in particular The Old Shoe handicap trophy look likely to be tightly fought out.
With the handicap giving runners (men over 50 and women over 45) extra time for every year of age, the inaugural winner Colin Earwaker of Rotorua will need to put in a blinder if he's to keep the trophy.
Earwaker gives away several years, and therefore minutes, to 11-times open champion Barry Prosser of Wellington and even more to a number of local runners including Craig McFarlane and Graeme Ryder. Whakatane's Cheryl Everest is another who will be in the reckoning when the trophy is decided.
The race day programme includes the ever popular interschool relays on the park opposite Firmin Field which are then followed by the Prince and Princess of the Mountain races for runners aged nine to 13 inclusive.
A new innovation this year will see the best of these junior runners joining a "Sub-30 Club" if they finish in less than half an hour. The club is a shadow of the "Sub-60 Club" for main race runners who complete their race in under an hour.
While entries in the junior events have now closed, entries for the main King of the Mountain Race for those seeking glory, a serious bit of pre-Toi's Challenge training, or simply a great hill-climbing adventure can still be made on the day.
For full details see www.kawerauharrierclub.co.nz

ENDS