Results
For competitive club runners there is nothing like a good race to
blow out the cobwebs and start a new season of rivalry. Unless you are Bert,
from the Ben and Bert show, in which case the promise of carrot cake for
afters, is enough reason to get to the start line.
So, roughly 94 days after the first day of Level 4 lockdown 95
runners (not counting the kids and walkers who had their own races) set off on
the 5km Centennial Cup, an out and back course starting on the Esplanade at
Island Bay. The traffic was extremely heavy on the course but at least the day
was calm with warm temps for this time of year.
Of those who started, which included a lot of new faces, the
handicapper says 50 beat their handicap times. By running faster than expected
these people have eliminated any chance of ever winning a club handicap race
with James Turner doing the numbers. But bribery might work.
In terms of results, the winner of the cup on handicap was
Jasmine Smith who shut out the cunning Don Stevens, who has a history of doing suspiciously
well in handicap races.
But when it comes to speed time waits for no man and nor
does Hamish Carson. Hamish, who would normally be eyeing up another European
season if it wasn't for CV19, ran an impressive 14.16 with a big gap back to the rest of the field. He
was so quick I never had a chance to get set up for a return home picture, so
the historical photographic record is now somewhat incomplete. Sharon will have
something though.
Hamish’s time is a course record and while there is a rumour
the distance was short his time and record should stand, until a commission of
inquiry finds otherwise.
I am pretty confident that on today’s performance
Hamish should scrape into the Men’s A-Team for the late July Wind Needle Relay
and later the University Relay out at QE Park. And who knows maybe he might
make a return to the National Relay, where his crushing last lap run (as
reported live, blow by blow, by teammate Seamus Kane) gave the Scottish the
national title.
Stephen Day was next fastest, earning another notch on the
belt against Andrew Wharton who was 8th. That should get some discussion going at next
week’s K-Park thingy.
Mel Stevens was the fastest woman, which is no surprise; and
she came close to nailing James Turner over the last 60 metres of the race. Put
that on the K-Park agenda for discussion as well.
The next fastest woman was
Heather Walker who I don’t know much about but clearly is somebody to watch in
future races.
Perhaps the only disappointment for the day for the
Centennial race was the chance that “the Hodge” might make a return to
competitive racing. That’s Tim I am talking about last seen by me masquerading
as Groucho Marx. I saw some reference to
him doing some training, during the lockdown period, so naturally had high
expectations of a return. It was not to be, at least today anyway.
Now as for brother Malcolm H, there was also the chance he
might show to demonstrate his unique race strategy which is to go hard, go
early and fade (or not) at your leisure. Now to be fair sometimes this approach
to racing can actually work but you have to be bold enough to have a go. I personally recommend it for the half-marathon
distance.
Somebody who did turn up was Mr GoPro himself. I am referring of course to Daryl Bloomfield, the affable race director of the Scottish Waterfront
5km race series. People keep going back to these races because of Daryl’s personable
and friendly nature, which makes me wonder if he is related to Dr Ashley B.
The kids had their own out and back bash with around 8 or so
nippers participating. I think it was a 1km
out and back, done twice. As club
president Michael Wray pointed out at the prize giving there is currently no
trophy for the “J Team Race”, but he has issued an executive order to fix this.
The walkers had their round the block race
earlier and the winner on handicap for the second year in a row was Terri
Grimmett. Well done Terri. The walking race traditional attracts a clutch of
racers from other Wellington clubs, notably Trentham United, and this year was
no different.
