Bunckenburg twins run away with honours

Identical twins Lizzy and Kathryn Bunckenburg are making a name for themselves in long distance running in the Wellington region.

Competing in the recent Harbour City half-marathon, Lizzy, 17, finished first in the race for 13-19 year-olds, with Kathryn less than a minute behind in second place.

Their times, 1h 29min 36sec for Lizzy and 1h 30min 13sec for Kathryn, broke the previous race record, set two years ago, by almost 15 minutes.

That success was the last thing the year 13 Onslow College pair were thinking about when they entered the event.

"That was our first one," Lizzy said. "We just wanted to get a time and see how we could go."

That success is not the only one the pair have had in recent months, with Lizzy anchoring the Wellington team to second place in the girls' 19-and-under event at the New Zealand cross-country championships in Waikanae.

In the individual results, she finished 10th.

Lizzy also helped her club, Olympic Harriers, win the Bays relay last weekend in Wellington.

She also competed in the College Sport Wellington road race championship in Upper Hutt last week and finished third in the under-19 4km race.

For Kathryn, an injured foot meant she missed the road race championship.

"I really wanted to compete and I was really disappointed to miss out," she said.

Their next major college event will be the national road race championships, which will be held in Hastings on December 11 and 12.

- © Fairfax NZ News