Top junior distance runner Aaron Pulford will defend his Huntly Half Marathon title this month.

Pulford won last year's half marathon in 1.09.21 and hopes to run roughly the same time again on May 22. He has had several weeks' rest from running and ran his first race for some time winning the Rotorua Half Marathon in a personal best 1.07.41 on April 30.

He is expecting to have to defend his Huntly title against the likes of Stephen Lett, Ben Ruthe, Alex Parlane and Jono Jackson. Thames-based Pulford took home the $1000 winner's prize last year after "turning up for a bit of a run".

It's money that was very welcome for the 19-year-old who placed fifth at the 10,000 metre final at the World Champs in 2010, setting a New Zealand record. Pulford is studying part-time at Wintec in Hamilton for a Certificate in Fitness Industry Training.

He admits it's a financial stretch studying part-time and training full-time. "It's pretty hard to find a job that I can do when I can fit it in! So sponsorship is very important and very helpful to me. I also have a Prime Minister's Scholarship that helps me study at Wintec."

He admits it's a financial stretch studying part-time and training full-time. "It's pretty hard to find a job that I can do when I can fit it in! So sponsorship is very important and very helpful to me. I also have a Prime Minister's Scholarship that helps me study at Wintec."

Pulford has sponsorship from New Balance, help from Athletics NZ as a member of the Rio16 squad and weekly massages from Thames Massage Therapy. He says it's all very much appreciated, but he would be keen to find a sponsor to help with costs such as putting petrol in the car. "I have to do a lot of driving from where I am in Thames to get to races and training and with increasing petrol prices in New Zealand, it's becoming increasingly difficult."

Pulford has turned down several offers of scholarships from American universities because he believes it's important to stay in New Zealand. However, he says pragmatism may eventually win out and he may need to be based in the northern hemisphere for six months of the year to be closer to major events. "At the moment I get the same level of support here that I would get at an American university, and there's a lot more red tape over there with running."

Pulford plans to travel to Europe in mid-June with an Athletics New Zealand group to spend seven weeks attending major track European meets where he intends to focus on racing over 1500m and 5000m. The European trip is dependent on his training progressing well over the next six weeks so that his track form warrants the trip and it is also dependent on raising funds for the trip. Another win at the Huntly Half Marathon would be a welcome help with those costs.

Long-term, Pulford wants to run full marathons but in the meantime is aiming for 10,000m races in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Olympics.