Bernardine Judith Portenski (née Coleman, 26 August 1949 – 1 February 2017), commonly known as Bernie Portenski, was a New Zealand long-distance runner. She set numerous age-group world records, and competed at events ranging from 800 metres to marathon. Athletics Portenski took up running at the age of 30, and discovered a liking for long-distance events. She ran 114 marathons, including competing at the annual Rotorua Marathon on 33 occasions. In 1992 she qualified for the Olympics, but was deemed too old by the New Zealand Olympic selectors and was not added to the team. Personal life Portenski was born in Lower Hutt on 26 August 1949, the daughter of Mary Coleman (née Caroll) and John Coleman, and educated at Sacred Heart College. When not running, Portenski ran a hairdressing salon in the Wellington suburb of Miramar. She was married to Peter Horan, and had one daughter and one stepson. Portenski was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in May 2016. Portenski died in Wellington on 1 February 2017 at the age of 67 from the ovarian cancer with which she had been diagnosed the previous year. Records and achievements Portenski recorded the following times, titles, and records: Open Winner, 2001 Auckland Marathon 40–44 age group 34:48.95 for the 10,000 metres (at Wellington, 1993) – New Zealand age-group record 45–49 age group 17:32.13 for the 5000 metres (at Hastings, New Zealand, 18 January 1998) – New Zealand age-group record 35:35.5 for the 10,000 metres (at Wellington, 1 February 1998) – New Zealand age-group record 2:43:38 for the marathon (at Rotorua, 2 May 1998) – New Zealand age-group record Winner, 1998 New York Marathon (45–49 age-group) 50–54 age group 5:00.58 for the 1500 metres (in 2002) – New Zealand age-group record 17:22.22 for the 5000 metres (at Wellington, 10 February 2002) – New Zealand age-group record, world third-fastest 36:34.24 for the 10,000 metres (at Inglewood, New Zealand, 21 January 2002) – New Zealand age-group record, world second-fastest 2:51:40 for the marathon (at Auckland, 28 October 2001) – New Zealand age-group record 55–59 age group 2:38.36 for the 800 metres (at Wellington, 22 January 2005) – second-fastest by a New Zealander 17:58.05 for the 5000 metres (at Wellington, 6 February 2005) – World age-group record 37:22.37 for the 10,000 metres (at Wellington, 16 April 2006) – World age-group record 1:24:50 for the half-marathon (at Wellington, 1993) – New Zealand age-group record, world second-fastest 2:59:23