Twin shocks himself with victory | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty

You've heard the about the identical twins and the New York marathon, where one brother legs it to 21km before ducking into a  toilet and swapping singlets with his sibling.

Iain Macdonald swears Saturday's gutsy King of the Mountain title was all him, although fingers might have been pointed if his identical twin hadn't been planted halfway up Mauao leading the cheer squad.

Kyle was supposed to be the twin with the form leading into the Vitasport-sponsored race to the 231m-high summit and back, although a wrangle with an abscessed tooth and too many missed trainings left his brother flying the family flag.

And fly he did, leading home the 141-strong field in 19min 11sec for his fourth King of the Mountain crown after sitting out last year's race with a stress fracture.

Eastern Bay farmer Sjors Corporaal eased home in 19:25, 30sec quicker than last year's effort, while rising Manawahe teenager Shay Williamson was third, more than a minute back.

Hamilton nurse Helen Rountree, 30, made it back-to-back Queen of the Mountain titles and three in five years, finishing in 23:19, more than a minute slower than a year ago.

Rountree held off Whitianga's Ruby Muir (24:14) and Morrinsville's Sarah McSweeney (24:46).

Macdonald was a reluctant starter in the annual Boxing Day run, making a late decision to enter.

"I thought I might have a year off and enjoy the festivities, which I certainly did on Christmas day 'til the wee hours, waking up today feeling a bit seedy. But I had a 15km run in the morning with Kyle and Glenn Hughes and felt quite good."

Macdonald was ecstatic at his fourth win, which made a mockery of his own pre-race form guide.

"My time was six seconds quicker than I've ever done, which is a huge surprise because I didn't think I was in great shape.

"Training hasn't been that flash, and although I've been running five or six days a week there's been no real consistency. Obviously I'm in better shape than I thought.

"Kyle's been the one in form and I doubt anyone gave me much of a chance."

Macdonald sat back on the soft-sand run to the base of the hill but upped the pace from there, with only Corporaal to worry about on the dash to the top.

"I could feel Sjors move in behind me on the way up but I was feeling good at the top and tried to put a bit of a gap on. There's an old saying, 'if your rivals can't see you then they've got nothing to chase', so I pushed it on every corner and actually had a better downhill that I did up," said Macdonald, now eyeing next week's Port of Tauranga half ironman as a team runner.

Corporaal, 32, this month wrapped up the North Island Triple Crown trail running series, with Saturday's 4.5km dab a relative sprint compared to the 20-30km rugged terrain races he's used to.

"Yeah, that's heaps shorter than I usually do," Corporaal said, "although  it's my third time here and I'm getting closer to the 19 min mark, which is good."

 Corporaal was content to sit in behind Macdonald on the uphill grind. "I was on his tail but that 10sec gap at the top is too much to a guy like him because once you start back down, 10sec suddenly becomes quite a bit.

"To have a chance I needed someone tentative in front of me. If the guy ahead is happy to let it all hang out and is familiar with the terrain, which Iain is, then it's tough to pick him up."

Despite playing bridesmaid again, Corporaal didn't feel as though the drive north was wasted.

"The kids ran in the junior races and got to have a swim in the sea and an icecream, so it's a top day for all of us."