JUNE 2005      Number 69

Tanja Gautschi is a 16-year-old Swiss student who spent 2004 visiting Australia on a 12-month Rotary Exchange Student Program. Tanja is also a promising young distance runner and whilst in Canberra she trained with Mike Sainsbury's group at Calwell. I chatted to her just before she returned to sunny Switzerland in January 2005.

 How long have you been a runner and how did you get started?
About 6 years ago I went to a camp for athletics. I'm not sure why I went - my mother signed me up! When I came back I just wanted to train for athletics. I went to this athletics club. They trained for all events like the high jump, javelin and sprints. When I competed I found my best discipline was running, especially middle and long distance running. So, in addition to the athletics club I went to a running group and trained there for about 3 years. Then I stopped all this and joined a really good running group which trains seriously for middle and long distances. I've been with them for one and a half years and when I return home I'll be back with that group.

 What are your personal best times on the track?
Well, on 3000 metres my personal best is 10:48 minutes. I have only run two 1500 metre races and the second one was here in Australia which was a new PB of 5:05. Back home we either did a 3000 or I did a 1000 metres. I don't know why they chose this distance but my PB was 3:06.

 What running events do you prefer?
For track events I prefer the 3000 metres definitely. I just think for longer distances I get faster towards the end, after I've been running a while. The 1500 is sort of too short but still too long for the tempo they run. It's pretty fast. I get faster after a while - not from the beginning. The 3000 is my best distance.

 How has training for running been different in Australia?
At home we only train on the track from March to September. The rest of the year we train stuff like cross country. That's sort of the main difference. I actually prefer it. After a track season you always like to have a bit of a change and do something different. Even if it's snowing and freezing we go just into the forest and do hills and hills and hills! Or do intervals but not around the track. Just around parts of the forest or wherever. It's just a good change. The track training I found is very similar. We also do all these drills and skills stuff.

 What is different about competing in Australia compared to Switzerland?
It's very similar. I didn't compete that much in Australia. In Switzerland we do a much more serious warm-up for both track and cross country. We start at least an hour beforehand and know exactly what we are to do in the warm-up. It was a warm-up run, and then drills, skills, sprints.
In competition I think, it's like, the same all over the world! It's exactly the same sort of atmosphere. In Canberra I only ran about two track races, but there were not many girls my age, maybe just 5 of us, whereas in Switzerland there's between 10 and 30 in every race! Switzerland is very small. Everyone can travel because it's not far away. Everyone competes at the same events almost every weekend. In every bigger town there's a running track. If it's 'far' it's only two and a half hours away. Three hours at the most if we go to Lausanne. Sometimes the town is right next door. It's very fair for all who travel.

 What do you want to achieve as a runner?
That's a hard question! In the next year I have to work that out. I've had a very relaxing year [in Australia]. I was sort of very serious about running before I came out to Australia. I have to first get back into it. I think that's my goal at the moment - just go get back to where I was and, from there have a look at what's possible.
School is very hard over there [in Switzerland]. It takes up a lot of time. It depends what I want to be. I don't know if I would still have the time to train serious. But, I certainly need it. I just need running to put my energy into.
It's not my goal now to go to the Olympics or something. I just want to take it in steps. Once you achieve one goal you can then have another goal. I'm the sort of person who always needs something to be going on. Like, I just can't sit at home or something. I'm a 'moving person'. I always need to do something! I could have relaxed this past year and done nothing. My mind would not let me - I just feel like I need to go running! I put this pressure on myself to go running. I don't think I could ever give it up!

 Do you like any other sports?
I like all sorts of sports! Personally, with team sports I like them as a spectator but not as a player. For example I don't really like soccer - I can watch it but not playing. I think it's very important to have a sport. I particularly like tennis. I started playing two terms ago in Australia. I never had the time in Switzerland and it's pretty expensive over there as well. I took the opportunity to play here with a group and that was great! I could only do it once a week for an hour but I really loved it. I really hope I can do it back home, even just once a week with friends. I love it because it's a sport I don't want to compete in. I just want to do it for fun. There's no pressure at all. I always looked forward to playing tennis on Monday nights.

 What career would you like to pursue when finish schooling/University?
I'm keen on medicine but it's a hard decision. It's not long ago when I decided I might like to it. I'm still very keen on sports as well. I could maybe go PE teaching or something else to do with sports. It all depends. If I go back to Switzerland and train full time and everything, with school, I might decide I don't want to study sport as well. Then, your whole life is too sporty! I don't know, I'm very keen on medicine, but by the time I start Uni I'm 20 and it takes at least seven years to get through. Then if you want to do specialisations - maybe I want to do sports medicine - it takes another 5 years! I might want to have a family later on, or travel, or, I don't know. I'm glad I've got two and a half years to think about it and see how I go with school!

 What have been the highlights of your travels around Australia?
Oh, everything! From the travel side of things, well, I mean, it was great to go to central Australia. Like, Uluru, it's so impressive to stand in front of this rock. Because, from overseas if you look through Australian brochures there's always this rock. So, to stand right in front of it! And, just the desert - it's so wide, it's so big, it's so unbelievable. There's just nothing for hours and hours and hours! I mean, in Europe you can't travel somewhere, not for five minutes without seeing a house. The emptiness is amazing! Also, I love the beaches! It's a shame we don't have beaches in Switzerland. I've been to beaches in Italy and Spain but it's just not the same. It's not the same at all. It's not that beautiful blue water and that fine white sand. I've seen many beautiful beaches all along the coast of Australia!

On the bus trip we went from Canberra to Mildura, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and then to Central Australia. We went to, like, all those little places - service stations towns - to go back to the coast. We went to Mt Isa, Longreach, Emerald and Yeppoon. We caught the ferry out to Great Keppel Island where we spent 3 days. That was fantastic! Then down through Hervey Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. We spent a day at Dreamworld, then Surfers Paradise and came back to Canberra through Tamworth. I've also been to Melbourne. It was awesome! Melbourne's my favourite city. It has great shopping! And, I loved the trams and all the trees. It's not as hectic as Sydney. But, I love Sydney too - it has a lot to see, like the harbour bridge and the Opera House. I also went with one of my host families on a two week camping trip up to Carnarvon Gorge which is inland from Rockhampton. We went through Dubbo. We were camping in tents - it was great! We did another 4,500 kilometres in two weeks. The distances are amazing! Even if there's 'nothing' for hours I can still look out the window and enjoy the scenery. On the way back we came all the way down the coast to Canberra visiting all those little places like Byron Bay. I also had a surfing lesson at the Gold Coast and was standing on a surf board after two hours. I love surfing! Also, running in the City to Surf - that was great! So many people were running!

 What is the biggest difference between Switzerland and Australia?
The lifestyle is different. It's more relaxed in Australia. It's friendly and open minded. Here people are friendly straight away. In Europe it takes a while to get closer to a person. It's just not as hectic here. Over there everyone's busy all the time!

 Is your favourite tennis player Leyton Hewitt?
Certainly not! He's a great player but, um, yeah, Roger Federer is still better! Definitely, yeah, I have to support my neighbour.

 Do you have any sporting heroes?
Oh, I don't know. I read the book about Cathy Freeman while I was here. I really think she was an amazing runner - how she came to that point at the Sydney Olympics. I admire all those people who achieve well in sport. Of course, I admire Roger Federer - he's really good. He's first class!

 What other hobbies or pastimes do you have besides running?
There's heaps of things I'd like to try. In Switzerland I just don't have the time. School takes up most of my time. The rest of my time I spend on running. Even on the weekends there's not much time to do different things. I like dancing, aerobics, tennis and all those sort of things. I love skiing and snowboarding. We go every winter for holidays. I absolutely love it!

 Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I really really enjoyed my time over here in Australia! It was really worth it. It was a great experience. I'm so glad I took this opportunity to come over here. I don't think I really knew what I was signing up for. I didn't have any expectations what it was like to be an exchange student. I've heard all the great stories from people who have come back from exchange. I was very excited when I was accepted. I just thought it's an opportunity you only have once in a lifetime. I always knew it would be a great experience. I just made the most of every moment!

DISTANT RUNNER
By Bruce Glikin
Amber Fields Publishing

The breathtaking first race that opens Distant Runner leaves the reader wondering in open-mouthed amazement what will happen next. What is the secret behind a 5000 metre performance that stunned a knowledgeable Hayward Field crowd? Is it possible for such prodigious talent to burst onto the world stage out the anonymous heartland of America? What is the real story behind Danny Murray, the newly definitive 'unknown runner'?

We are soon taken on parallel journeys chronicling the lives of athlete and adviser. Danny Murray is the disturbed child prodigy who is on the cusp of graduating from the toughest school of hard knocks. Gabe Seward is the former Olympic Trials runner from the seventies who counsels children from the wrong side of town.

The two meet by chance on a darkened road out of Eugene, Oregon with Seward befriending the guarded, mysterious Murray. What follows is a rollercoaster journey of drama, tragedy and passion not unlike the ups and downs experienced by an Olympic marathon runner. Glikin skilfully draws the reader into the outwardly different yet spiritually similar worlds inhabited by Murray and Seward.

Distant Runner builds with such momentum we anticipate with page-turning speed a dramatic climax. Scripted is an adjective that springs to mind when describing the novel's structure and street-wise dialogue. In a youthful lifetime we are taken from the vast plains of Kansas to the Douglas-fir shaded mountain trails of New Mexico. From the jasmine perfumed gardens of River Oaks, Houston to the synthetic 400 metre running tracks of Oregon, Dubai and Europe.

This is not just a story about a distance runner and his counsel. It's a story about characters and life. These characters are expertly drawn so that we care about their lives and fate. We hope for a good outcome but one that remains real. Distant Runner delivers an oxygen-debt laden punch and on the way shows us that runners can't be simply categorised. They are complicated individuals living real, sometimes tragic but always hopeful lives.

This is novel for all lovers of a great yarn, not just readers who happen to be runners.

A view from the sidelines

As everyone knows by now, I got an injury in January and decided to take the puffy (read sensible) and unusual option of cancelling my entry in the race. I didn't want to build up a reputation as a total piker though and decided it'd still be nice to go along and spend the weekend with some good friends in a runner-friendly supportive atmosphere and see what I was missing out on. We stayed at Vince's sister's place (base station) at Leura, and after making the wise decision of ignoring the navigational advice of a champion rogainer and an orienteer (gramps and goobs) managed to get straight there without going via control number 158 at the northern end of Blue Mountains.

There was electricity in the air at base station that night, I think I was as nervous as any, as I realised I hadn't made any decisions on how I was going to navigate my way around the course the following day in order to spectate/get to the finish etc. It was becoming obvious that not only was this going to be a logistical nightmare, but everyone was way too focussed (rightly so) on their own prep to begin to worry about how I was going to get around. But luckily VP managed to sense a bit of my panic I think and took time out from pinning numbers/putting on champion chips etc. to help me with some route choices for the next day.

Morning of race was calm, cool and beautiful, as only mountain mornings can be. I still wasn't sure on my route selection. Basically, as a driving spectator, there are limited options. You can watch the start, but then you miss being able to go to Megalong Valley to see 8k mark. But this gives more time to get to either the finish at Caves House or road crossing at 38k mark. Or miss the start; go to 8k mark and watch, but then risk not getting to 38k mark in time. In the end, the decision was made for me, as I dropped everyone off at the 'start' I realised that this wasn't actually the start and people were being bussed on to the start line... hmmmm, plan one out the window. I decided to drive down to Megalong Valley using my not-so-detailed tourist map as guidance.

Due to my highly tuned navigational skills (as shown night before getting to control #1 at base camp) I managed to drive straight down Megalong Valley and get to road crossing at 8k mark with plenty of time to spare. The Fireies were just setting up drink station when first 60+ runners came through (they start at 7am). I got chatting to some long-time spectators who said there was enough time to see runners come through and then have breakfast at a café before heading to 38k mark. Then I explained that one of the runners (Bumnut) was going at course record pace, and they suggested I miss the breakfast.

The crowd built up as we awaited the first wave 1 runners. The morning fog was cold and I was starting to rue the fact I'd left all warm clothing back at base camp. But waiting gave opportunity to find a good vantage point to film the runners as they came through. I forgot to mention, I decided on the first night to make a film of ACTrun's involvement in this year's race. The first runner through was some dude who ended up finishing further down the top 10 somewhere (dark blue top) he already looked like he was racing. After a seemingly long 1.5 minutes, a second group consisting 4 runners, including bumnut, came through at a fast pace. All seemed relaxed, especially bumnut who was smiling and chatting. I went so bananas cheering that I completely stuffed up my filming, and thus bumnut doesn't feature at all in this little snippet of the film.

Next through were a group with gooby, gramps, timbo, DavO in it. More mad cheering, but I think I managed to get most on film. Then decided to wait for VPuff before rushing off to 38km mark. Vpuff took longer than I expected but was looking relaxed when he came through, and I thought "clever boy" going out nice and easy. Would have liked to stay and watch others come through, and in hind sight, you actually have heaps of time (for anyone in the future planning on spectating) to wait for everyone before heading off for 38k mark, even if you're planning on seeing the first runner through at the end. But I didn't know this, so rushed off in commando style, tearing up the mountain and onwards through Blackheath, Mt Victoria, and down the Jenolan Caves Road. Again, no nav problems, I was on fire as I got control after control with little effort and way ahead of time.

Got to the 38k mark with ages to spare, so decided to go a little further down the road in the car, but soon realised there were no more places to park and ended up driving all the way down to Caves House and parking in one of the overflow car parks. "Bugger it" I thought, I'll get a little training run in and run up the 6 inch track out of the Jenolan Valley and try and catch the runners coming through at some far-off out of the way deserted point. I know from my own marathon experience that those last few km's can be very depressing and lonely so thought I'd place myself somewhere a few k from home, where no one else was, to cheer up our runners as they came through.

I ended up having heaps of time to muck about after doing a solid 3k run up the mountain on fresh legs. So got into tour-de-France mode and started making signs. I was initially only going to do a 'bumnut' and 'gooby' signs, but as time wore on, made more and more until a whole section of track up the hill was covered in signs cheering ACT runners on to glory... As Dave B said, would have been good to have flour (and 300 other ACT supporters) but I tried to make as much sound as 300.

Was ecstatic to see Dr B-nut come through with the yellow jersey on. He looked rooted though but did manage a brief smile on being shown his 'bumnut' sign. I was a bit worried about his ability to hang on to the lead, but as the seconds, then minutes went by with no other runners in sight, my excitement levels grew as I realised he had it in the bag!! GO BUMNUT! Then a few out-of-towners came through, then after a few more minutes came TinTin-grampthpos-IIASM-grasshopper like an unstoppable steam train up the hill. He was too delirious to understand the jumble of sticks on the ground and somehow interpreted my shout of "there no one coming behind you" as "there's someone coming behind you" and thus ran like a train out of control down the mountain to glory, a glory all his own.

My excitement levels were going nuts now, but the best was about to come! I started wondering where DavO had got to, as expected him through before Gramps (sorry gramps, your holy one) but no DavO. Then I see this good looking blond bloke with a pony tail and a lovely flowing running style in the distance... well, some of the things matched DavO, but he's not blond! Then the impossible thought entered my mind... it couldn't be... it could... it is!! Bloody Nora!! It was Gooby!! I went absolutely bananas and you'll see my filming is woeful as a result, but it was gooby, simply powering along. While everyone else had looked pretty smashed, she was fresh, strong and was even smiling and chatting and understood the stick comprehension test and all! I was now at a level of excitement that bordered on dangerous.

Then after what seemed a long time (when waiting time moves slowly) Tim comes solidly up the hill, he looked pretty stuffed but was very focussed and moving at a good pace. Still no DavO, was wondering what had happened to him. Had he fallen off a cliff? I couldn't imagine anything less dramatic forcing him out of a race. Time went on, the leaves started dropping, the sticks were kicked out of place, only for me to re-arrange so that at least I knew what they said.

Then, after an eternity (was only about 20 minutes) DavO comes along, looking pretty good (but no pony tail or anything), so he obviously hadn't fallen off a cliff. I shouted a bit etc, but was secretly wondering what had gone wrong for him. Then shortly after, Vince arrives, sadly the 3 weeks of flu had taken their toll and he was now walking. It was scary to see the calibre of runner like DavO and Vince suffering and gave me ultimate respect for this course. Vpuff was scary! I was scared! He looked like a man who'd flatten you if you said the wrong thing. . . he offered to swap, I didn't realise how serious he was so suggested he piggy back me... no smile... "stay clear" I thought to myself, like when around a wounded bear.

So as Wounded Bear disappeared off over the last rise on this almighty course, on his way to a grand milestone, the milestone of running this almighty monster, I had to make a tough decision. I put on my CEO suit and decided to 'rationalise' my spectator efforts and get down to the finish line where I could start interviewing people, watch arrivals and generally mingle with the assembled "A list" ,as one does.

I left Wilson (my favourite stick) and ran off after Wounded Bear. Following him down the mountain was rather entertaining; he was now catching some other competitors. As I reached each competitor I'd shout out "I'm only a spectator, don't worry". 99% of responses were "I don't give a s%%t, I couldn't care less, I'm not racing any more". As was Wounded Bear's response as I got near him. I could understand.

The finish area was awesome. The setting, the crowd, the atmosphere, the race caller, the friends, the stories. Was a great weekend. Not sure if it's inspired me to do it... lots of pain! But a great spectacle and truly encourage anyone who's thinking of spectating to come along.

Fadden Pines is Back!

It's exciting, it's challenging and it's back! I'm talking about the Fadden Pines schools cross country series which SCT has started again after a 2-year break when we couldn't gain affordable insurance. Before this hiccup the series had been running continuously since the 1970s.

Our schools cross country series has developed many great SCT champions. A few of the runners to come through these breeding grounds are Ranid May, Cathy Burton, Glenda Regan, David Field, Nina Field, Chris Sainsbury (3k in 8:28!), Luke Gratton, Mark Shepherd, Michael Hosking and Nick Walshe.

This year competition was held on Sunday afternoons at 2pm from May through to August (except school holidays). We have three races which cover ages from 6 through to 'grey-haired oldies' (parents and friends). The distances are 1250m, 2000m and 2500m - all accurately measured on a spectator friendly loop through the pine forest at the Fadden Pines picnic area.

There have been great improvements recorded by runners in early races this year. Some of these runners could be our Champions of the Future!! In the 1250m race 8-year-old Daniel Hearle went from 5:56 to 5:24 to 5:08! In the 2000m race 9-year-old Nicola Torley went from 8:57 to 8:34 to 8:02! In the 2500m race Robert Torley set a junior record of an amazing 8 minutes 26 seconds while yours truly set the parents record of 9 minutes 10 seconds. In the parent's race they've been other excellent performances from Jim White, Gordon Nightingale and Jenny McKinlay.
All I can say is WOW!! Which, of course, stands for Watch Out World! So, come and join us next year at Fadden Pines and let's all reach for the TOP!!!

Was conducted on April 30 and included the 'ACT superveterans mountain running championship' for those aged 55+. There was also an open 13km race and an open 7km race. Charlie Modrak won the silver medal in the 7km championship running 42:49 for the 7km course finishing 4 minutes behind Bob Harlow. Alan McGlew in a 'tune-up' for the ACT junior mountain running championship won the open 7km event in 33:23. Nick Mesher placed 3rd in 40:42. There were no SCT runners in the 13km event which was won by Ben Rattray (63:08) and Vanessa Haverd (74:41).verdana,

Your new committee was elected on Wednesday evening at the Town Centre Sports Club. Geoff Monro - President, Mike Sexton - Treasurer, Paul Torley - Registrar, Gordon Nightingale - Secretary. Jim White and Kayler Torley are your new Uniform Managers. See Jim for uniforms during the winter and Kayler during the summer. Ewen Thompson remains as newsletter editor and website manager. Jane McGlew is our Vikings Liasion person and Awards Manager. We are still looking for a few people to fill other non-executive rolls. If you think you can help your club, please contact Mike or Geoff!

A meeting held at Canberra High School on 27 April 1955 resulted in the formation of the ACT Branch of the NSW Athletics Association. ACT Athletics celebrated the 50th anniversary of this event with a special anniversary Dinner attended by over 100 people at the Yamba Sports Club on Saturday 30 April 2005. Awards for the 2004/05 season were presented at this dinner.

Kerrie Wright and Greg Dutton-Regester both won medals in their debut marathons! Nick Walshe ran 2:43:10 and Chris Williams 2:56:09 on debut. Here are the results for SCT runners: 11 Nick Walshe 2:43:10, 43 Chris Williams 2:56:09, 83 Greg Dutton-Regester 3:08:00, 86 Hugh Jorgensen 3:08:30, 94 Geoffrey Monro 3:09:49, 139 Kerrie Wright 3:18:24, 160 Nick Mesher 3:22:46, 511 Don Roach 4:09:15, 681 Ewen Thompson 4:37:39.
5km Results: 4 Mark Shepherd 15:25, 6 Michael Hosking 15:59, 11 Stuart Doyle 16:54, 17 Andrew Bishop 18:24, 30 Greg Hosking 20:46, 56 Elizabeth Hosking 24:20, 75 Garry Hosking 25:51, 77 Caitlin Hosking 25:54. 10km Results: 20 Allan McGlew 38:19, 55 Jim White 44:54, 104 James Moore 49:24.

The Australian LAA Australian Teams and Multi Event Championships were held in Hobart on 23 April 2005. There were some excellent results from SCT athletes and 'friends'. Isabella Havlat won the silver medal in the U13 girl's 1500m in a new PB of 4:50.86. Training partner Courtney Kennedy placed 6th in 4:57.12. In a very close finish Isabella was just 0.13 seconds behind Victoria's Bronte Gange. In the U13 800m race Isabella placed 6th in 2:27.49 while Courtney was 8th in 2:30.72. Kristie-Lee Addyman placed 8th in the U13 1500m walk in 9:27.06 and 14th in the Triple Jump with 8.27m. Courtney Wilson competed in the U15 Multi-Event Championships placing 11th with 2575 points from her four events - 100m, 90m hurdles, discus and 800m run.

April 2. Flat out and back next to the lake on gravel. Top 4 SCT: Female - 1 Fiona Jorgensen 16:48, 3 Kayler Torley 17:50, 4 Karen Daniels 19:25. Male - 1 Mark Shepherd 12:36, 2 Nick Walshe 13:13, 3 Ben Dawson 13:24, 7 Geoff Monro 14:31.

April 16. Flat out and back on bike paths next to the lake. Top 4 SCT: Female 3.5k - 1 Sonja Taylor 14:46, 2 Courtney Wilson 15:53. Male 3.5k - 1 Declan Wilson 12:33, 8 Michael Torley 16:58, 10 Colin Bridge 16:59. Female 5k - 1 Noni Clarke 18:27, 2 Jillian Hosking 19:44, 3 Fiona Jorgensen 20:39, 4 Kerrie Wright 21:04. Male 5k - 2 Mark Shepherd 15:43, 3 Michael Hosking 15:54, 8 Andrew Bishop 18:19, 9 Philip Turini 18:23.

April 23. Each leg is approximately 3.6km. The course is two laps on roads behind the Campbell Park Offices. Brilliant results for SCT with our senior women winning and senior men placing second!

April 30. Undulating dirt fire trails at the back of Theodore. Top 4 SCT: Female 3k - 1 Sophie Vardos 11:33, 4 Sonja Tayler 13:38, 5 Karen Daniels 14:28. Male 3k - 1 Paul Torley 12:19, 4 Michael Torley 14:53, 8 Brendan Pearce 18:47, 9 Heath Pearce 18:56. Female 5k - 1 Noni Clarke 18:57, 2 Fiona Jorgensen 21:01, 3 Kerrie Wright 21:20. Male 5k - 2 Greg Dutton-Regester 19:03, 3 Geoff Monro 19:30, 7 Hugh Jorgensen 20:35, 14 Brian Wenn 22:10.

May 7. Dirt bush tracks at the back of Campbell Park. Top 4 SCT: Female 3k - 1 Sophie Vardos 11:14, 2 Hannah Flannery 11:59, 4 Dominique Wilson 13:21, 10 Dianne Shepherd 18:58. Male 3k - 1 David Wilson 10:43, 2 Declan Wilson 11:36, 4 Charlie Modrak 12:28, 5 Jim White 12:36. Female 6k - 2 Fiona Jorgensen 24:35, 3 Kerrie Wright 25:06, 9 Karen Daniels 29:57. Male 6k - 7 Geoff Monro 22:43, 10 Nick Mesher 23:24, 24 Charlie Modrak 26:03, 26 Jim White 26:31.

May 14/15. A 5km race (CCC pointscore for juniors) on Saturday and a 21.1km half marathon on Sunday. Top 4 SCT: Female 5k - 2 Sophie Vardos 19:01, 3 Jillian Hosking 19:11, 6 Kerrie Wright 19:53, 7 Hannah Flannery 20:21. Male 5k - 1 Mark Shepherd 15:08, 3 Michael Hosking 15:43, 5 Allan McGlew 17:22, 7 Keith Cassilles-Southgate 18:02. Female 21.1k - 12 Jessamy Hosking 95:53. Male 21.1k - 2 John Winsbury 72:09, 18 Greg Dutton-Regester 80:29, 24 Geoff Monro 82:03, 51 Hugh Jorgensen 87:44.

May 21. For juniors a relay race with 3 runners per team, each person running 3km. SCT dominated the event with our female and male 'A' teams winning and our 'B' teams placing second! A 6km scratch race followed the relays. Female 3x3km - SCT 'A' Sophie Vardos 11:32, Jillian Hosking 11:54, Anne Southgate 12:02. SCT 'B' Hannah Flannery 12:08, Meredith Castle 13:17, Sarah Dobbie 12:52. Male 3x3km - SCT 'A' Allan McGlew 10:21, Keith Cassilles-Southgate 10:49, Philip Turini 10:56. SCT 'B' Peter Hosking 11:30, Greg Hosking 12:00, Robert Torley 11:11. Female 6k - 2 Kathy Southgate 24:02, 4 Jessamy Hosking 25:05, 5 Fiona Jorgensen 25:32, 9 Kerrie Wright 27:59. Male 6k - 1 Mark Shepherd 19:13, 2 Michael Hosking 19:13, 6 David Wilson 22:30, 7 Geoff Monro 22:51.

The big questions are: 1) When do we want to hold our Championships? We will be restricted somewhat as it is likely that a test event will be held in Melbourne before the Commonwealth games and if this requires all officials we will lose a considerable number of officials. 2) Do we want to have any other events? 3) Are people happy with the same alternate program, Interclub 1 and Interclub 2 from week to week Tuesday competitions through January? 2) When do we finish in 2005? 3) When do we start in 2006? 4) What changes would you like to the program? 5) When do we run the 10,000m Champs On National stage there will be a 10,000m at Zatopek and CG Trials. 6) Do we want to finish end of February or go right up to CGs or even past? If you have any suggestions, please contact Michael Thomson on 0414 733339 or Kathy Southgate.

Were held in Brisbane from 8 to 10 April 2005. Here are the results for the SCT athletes who were members of the ACT team... Gold Medal: Angeline Blackburn, 400m Under-20 56.05. Silver Medal: Jessie Pritchard, Long Jump Under-20 5.29m w 0.4. Bronze Medals: Ashley Colquhoun, 10,000m Walk 46:25.35. Jade Sutcliffe, 100m Under-23 12.40s. 4th: Jade Sutcliffe, 200 Metre Sprint Under-23 25.61. 4th: Angeline Blackburn, 200 Metre Sprint Under-20 25.52.

A low-key meeting was organised at the AIS track on Saturday 2 March primarily for athletes competing in the Australian U13-U15 Championships in Tassie. There were some excellent performances from the Calwell group... Courtney Kennedy ran 4:57 for 1500m, Matthew de Smeth was just outside his 800m PB running 2:00, Isabella Havlat ran a 6 second PB in the 800m with 2:21 and Sophie Vardos ran a 1500m PB of 4:52.

I like the second definition in my dictionary: editor n. person who directs the preparation of a newspaper or broadcast news program or a particular section of one (sports editor).
A parent of one of our athletes recently asked me why their son/daughter didn't have something written in the Tuggie Athlete about their son/daughter's recent newsworthy achievement. The simple answer is that nobody wrote a story about this achievement! To have something included in Tuggie Athlete all you need send it to me using the email form on the SCT website. Even if it's something as simple as 'my daughter Gwen Stefani jumped 1.95 metres in the high jump last Saturday and it was a PB'. Until recently SCT was lucky to enjoy the services of the very respected writer and athlete Jim Tucker. When a job change restricted Jim's former prolific writing it was left to the editor to write 90% of the general news you read in Tuggie Athlete.

It goes without saying that Emily at age 14 and 9 months became the youngest winner in the history of the Women and Girl's Fun Run. She managed to out-sprint last year's winner, Canberra running legend Joy Terry, after trailing with 400m to run. On a warm and windy Sunday morning 3 April, Emily ran 17:58 for the 5km course from Stage 88 to the Carillon and return. Joy finished second in 18:06 with Canberra Marathon entrant Angela Bateup third in 18:32.
There were quite a few category winners from SCT. The Hoskings' took home quite a few prizes and Kathy Southgate was the first W45 veteran placing 6th outright. Here are the SCT and 'friends' results: 1 Emily Brichacek 17:58, 4 Noni Clarke 18:57, 6 Kathy Southgate 19:40, 7 Kelly Roberts 19:42, 10 Jillian Hosking 20:28, 12 Jessamy Hosking 20:40, 17 Kerrie Wright 20:53, 19 Anne Southgate 21:31, 41 Sonja Taylor 23:34, 59 Karen Sellman 24:30, 60 Elizabeth Hosking 24:31, 67 Karen Daniels 24:54, 98 Caitlin Hosking 26:39, 106 Bernadette Sainsbury 26:52, 112 Kim Sainsbury 27:10, 137 Maria White 28:20, 241 Fiona Jorgensen 32:53, 262 Christine Hosking 33:57, 308 Megan Daniels 37:10. There were almost 600 finishers!

Your esteemed administration manager and club secretary has been doing a little swimming and cycling in recent months. He put it all to good use at the Australian Ironman Triathlon in Forster on Sunday 3 April. Here is his race black and white:
549th David Wilson in 11:09:48. Swim - 1:07:31 (883rd) Ride - 5:36:30 (515th) Run - 4:25:47 (574th). Sounds like a tough day at the office. Laurie Irvine placed 1000th in 12:28:00 (1:23:49), (6:49:41), (4:14:30). The race was won by Chris McCormack (8:25:45) and Lisa Bentley (9:13:20). For both it was their fourth victory at the classic race in four years.

Following are the SCT results for this popular race held on 13 March. The race winners were Gemechu Woyecha in 69:36 and Liz Miller in 78:30. SCT Runners... 8 Nick Walshe 78:31, 18 Geoff Monro 84:11, 20 Greg Dutton-Regester 84:38, 29 Hugh Jorgensen 87:28, 55 Nick Mesher 95:50, 82 Brian Wenn 100:58, 118 Don Roach 109:30, 126 Jim White 110:16! 137 Kerrie Wright 112:24.

Our hard working Uniforms Co-ordinator Dianne Shepherd has finally retired after three years doing the Carson Kressley routine for SCT. Don't we all look fabulous! Even if there are no sleeves to tszuj. Thanks to Dianne we have enough singlets and crop tops to last for quite a few years. Two people have taken on this job for 2005/06. Jim White will be selling uniforms during the winter season and Kayler Torley during the summer season.

Were held over 3 days from 11 to 13 March 2005. There is a very long list of SCT athletes who were medal winners.The title of 'ACT Champion' (and gold medals) went to Jade Sutcliffe, Angeline Blackburn, James Moore, Michael Hosking, Simon Evans, Anna Brichacek, Courtney Wilson, Dominique Wilson, Anne Southgate, Anastasia Havlat, Sophie Vardos, Jessie Pritchard, Eowyn Osborne, Ashley Colquhoun, Ben Dawson, Jenny Brichacek, Kathy Southgate and Leo Kennedy.
Silver medals were won by Greg Hibberd, Eowyn Osborne, Wade McMahon, Anna Brichacek, Kiefer Martyn, Sonja Taylor, Philip Turini, Sophie Vardos and Philip Curran.
Bronze medals were won by Frederic Periac, John Winsbury, Declan Wilson, Isabella Havlat, Kayler Torley, Adam Cunningham, Peter Hosking, Anastasia Havlat, Dominique Wilson, Matt de Smeth, Christina Ivansson and Ben Dawson. The full list of SCT Results is available on the website.

On 27 February the ACT 4x1500m relay championships were conducted during Interclub at the AIS track, Bruce. Our open men's team defended their title from 2004 in brilliant style running 17:18.55. The runners were Philip Turini (4:26), Mark Shepherd (4:12), Robert Torley (4:20) and Gareth Candy (4:15).
Our open women's team ran magnificiently recording 20:13.56 which was just 12 seconds outside the ACT Resident Record which has been held by SCT since 1980! The runners were Jenny Brichacek (4:46), Hannah Flannery (5:12), Kayler Torley (5:11) and Jillian Hosking (5:04).
Our women's combination team placed an excellent second. The runners were Kathy Southgate (5:09), Isabella Havlat (5:10 a big PB), Anne Southgate (5:20) and Courtney Kennedy (5:15). Our U20 women's team placed third! The runners were Sophie Vardos (4:56), Sonja Taylor (5:59), Dominique Wilson (5:34) and Christina Ivansson (6:05). Our Under20 men's team placed 4th. The runners were Lucas Attwood (5:04), Declan Wilson (5:05), Allan McGlew (4:40) and Ben Dawson (4:34). Nick Walshe ran 4:16 and Peter Hosking 5:05 for mixed teams.

February 1. A flat out and back course by the lake. Top 4 SCT: Female - 1 Noni Clarke 18:36, 5 Jessamy Hosking 20:27. Male - 11 Shaun McCabe 19:27, 16 Hugh Jorgensen 20:16, 29 Jim White 21:41, 31 Brian Wenn 21:48.

February 8. A 5km road and cross country course at Weston Park. Top 4 SCT: Female - 1 Noni Clarke 18:37, Jessamy Hosking 20:03, 10 Judith May 21:09, 19 Kayler Torley 23:10. Male - 5 Nick Walshe 16:39, 8 Stuart Doyle 17:23, 19 Steve Cook 19:11, 21 Robert Torley 19:30.

February 15. A convoluted cross country course around the Woden Cemetary. Top 4 SCT: Female - 3 Jessamy Hosking 21:03, 8 Kayler Torley 23:24. Male - 9 Nick Walshe 17:11, 12 Gareth Candy 17:57, 15 Stuart Doyle 18:35, 30 Colin Bridge 20:47.

February 22. One lap of the lake on the bike path. Brian Wenn's 100th Hobson Summer Series race! Top 4 SCT: Female - 7 Jessamy Hosking 30:14. Male - 4 Nick Walshe 23:31, 5 Gareth Candy 23:56, 23 Hugh Jorgensen 28:45, 31 Jim White 30:26.

March 1. Out and back on the bike path to the National Museum. Top 4 SCT: Female - 4 Jessamy Hosking 21:36. Male - 3 Nick Walshe 16:44, 5 Gareth Candy 16:57, 6 Stuart Doyle 17:25, 18 Robert Torley 19:45.

March 8. The famous Women and Girls' Fun Run course mainly on bike paths to the Carillon and return. Top 4 SCT: Female - 7 Jessamy Hosking 20:22, 16 Kayler Torley 23:20. Male - 3 Nick Walshe 16:38, 5 Gareth Candy 16:58, 16 Robert Torley 18:54, 23 Hugh Jorgensen 19:39.

March 15. The tried and true slightly hilly 3 lap road course of the Peninsula. Top 4 SCT: Female - 4 Jessamy Hosking 20:56. Male - 2 Gareth Candy 17:12, 29 Peter Hosking 21:11, 31 Charlie Modrak 21:29, 37 Jim White 22:20.

March 22. The out and back bike path course to Reconciliation Place. This was the final event of the 2005 Summer Series. There was a presentation of awards and Easter Eggs afterwards. SCT's Jessamy Hosking was leading the female pointscore for the series until this final event only to be 'pipped at the post' by the rapidly improving Jane Zeller who ran 17:57. Top 4 SCT: Female - 7 Jessamy Hosking 19:51, 16 Kerrie Bremner 23:12. Male - 4 Nick Walshe 16:09, 22 Hugh Jorgensen 19:10, 26 Peter Hosking 19:34, 31 Greg Hosking 20:11.

Was held on Sunday 20 February in Namadgi National Park. The 6.5km race to the summit is for the 'King and Queen of the Mountain' titles. Five-time Empire State Building Run Up winner Paul Crake set a record of 36mins 38secs in 1998 for the eastern ascent of the mountain. Runner up that day was David Osmond in 37:33. Osmond has gone to represent Australia four times at the World Mountain Running Championships, with a highest finish of 21st, as well as being runner up in the Empire State Building Run Up.

The eastern ascent women's record of 44:20 was set in 1999 by the Australian champion Angela Sheean, who finished 19th in that year's World Championship a few weeks later. This was well and truly eclipsed by Theodore's Emma Murray who secured the Queen of the Mountain title with a brilliant 42:40, adding to an impressive string of results during the last 6 months. Vanessa Haverd of Narrabundah, was also under Sheean's time, clocking 43:58. Fastest junior was 16 year old Alan McGlew who ran 40:32 and fastest veteran Trevor Jacobs, a world-class M50, who clocked 39:15.
The 18.7km race taking in scenic Bushfold Flats on the descent was won by David Osmond in 87:42 from a fast finishing Trevor Jacobs in 88:14 and Adrian Sheppard in 89:42. Emma Murray had a comfortable win in 100:30, with Vanessa Haverd 2nd in 116:01 as she exercised caution with her recuperating knee and Carinna Tong 3rd in 118:27."
SCT Results:
King of the Mountain 6.5kms - Female: 1 Emma Murray 42:40. Male: 6 Alan McGlew U18 40.32, 14 Andrew Reghenzani 48.07, 17 Hugh Jorgensen M35 49.33, 22 Gordon Nightingale M55 55.48. Bushfold Flats 18.7kms - Female: 1 Emma Murray 100:30. Male: 11 Hugh Jorgensen M35 113.04.

Athletics Australia Service Pins have been presented to three SCT members in recognition for their many years of outstanding service to our sport. Congratulations to Alan Bishop (20 years), Greg Gilbert (30 years) and the amazing Dot Mills (40 years)!

Aidan Dziubinski and Greg Hibberd have each broken records at ACT Interclub meetings in January and February. On 25 January Greg broke the Australian Record for his disability class in the shot put with a throw of 9.48 metres. On 1 February Aidan cleared 4.90 metres in the Pole Vault to break the ACT record. This record (4.80m) by Mark Stewart had stood since 1988! Aidan is now living in sunny Queensland and training with Sydney Olympics silver medallist Tatiana Grigorieva.

SCT's Chris Williams won the Australia Day 8km fun run held on 26 January. There was a great story and photograph in the following day's Canberra Times. Here is an excerpt from reporter Ben Houston's story: Mr Williams, 18, who is studying sports tourism management at Southern Cross University in Lismore, was pleased with his time [28:27], his second fastest over the distance. "I'm actually in the middle of marathon training at the moment. I just came out for a quick short 8km hit-out. My first marathon will be in Canberra on April 10." Chris also said he'd been running since the age of six and had decided to move up from 1500m events to tackle long-distance running. Jim White also managed to be prominently featured in the lead pack of the photo in the Times. Ex-President Gordon Nightingale also ran. Were there any others?

Jenny Brichacek continued her excellent track season at the February 10 Vets meeting. Running in the mile, Jenny broke her own club record by 3 seconds with a PB of 5:01.0. The windy conditions kept her from challenging Elaine Cooper's ACT record of 4:56.2.Kathy Southgate has also been in record-breaking form recently, running 2:32.33 at Interclub to shave 2 seconds from Marlene Reid's state W45 800m record. Kathy also smashed her own state W45 mile record in January at Interclub with an excellent 5:26.12.

Were held on the Tuesday 4 January in near perfect conditions at the AIS track in Bruce. The winner of the race was Brian Livingston in 30:57.92. The ACT Champions were Anthony Haber (31:37.83) and Jackie Fairweather (35:28.39). The first SCT runner was Stuart Doyle, 7th, in 35:01.52. Next were Geoff Monro 11th, 37:46.05 and Ewen Thompson 15th, 44:53.45.

On Tuesday evening 25 January SCT athletes won 4 silver and 1 bronze medals. Jillian Hosking placed 2nd in the Under-20 3000m in 10:39.99. Kayler Torley was 2nd Under-16 in 11:22.43. Phil Turini was 2nd Under-18 in 9:50.31. Robert Torley placed 2nd in the Under-20 5000m in 17:39.99. Peter Hosking was 3rd in the Under-16 3000m in 10:48.92.Our other 3000m runner was Greg Hosking who placed 5th in the Under-14 race with 11:27.59. Our best senior 5000m runner was John Winsbury who placed 4th in 15:19.02. Other 5000m results were: Michael Hosking 5th - 15:38.05, Mark Shepherd 6th - 15:39.34, Gareth Candy 10th - 16:06.07 and President Geoff Monro 15th - 17:42.83.

Was held at the Homebush Olympic Venue from the 20th-24th January 2005. Angeline Blackburn won a silver medal running for 'Australia-A' in the 4x400m relay teaming with Laura Verlinden, Kristy Radford and Sianne Toemoe to run 3:50.00. Unfortunately in the 4x100m Relay Angeline's team failed to finish. In the Women's 400m individual event Angeline placed 4th in 57.39.

On Sunday 19 December the 19km race is mostly off-road covering Isaacs Ridge, Mount Wanniassa and Mount Taylor with an altitude gain of 630 metres. Organiser John Harding wrote in his report: 'Australian X-Terra champion Jason Chalker, a leading national cross country and track competitor in his youth, took charge of the race during the early kilometres over Isaacs ridge, only to succumb to a challenge from ACT mountain running representatives Adrian Sheppard and Stuart Doyle on Mt Wanniassa. Sheppard held a narrow margin over Doyle over Farrer Ridge and up Mt Taylor and maintained this to the finish for a 16 second victory in 1hr 18mins 16secs. Chalker was two minutes in arrears to be third in 1:20:54.' The female winner was Kirra Rankin in 1:29:30.
SCT Results: 2 Stuart Doyle 78:32, 19 Hugh Jorgensen 96:12, 30 Jim White 105:30, 32 Ewen Thompson 106:58, 45 Don Roach 126:02. Jim and Maria White are now the only two runners who have completed all 8 'Tours'!

On Sunday 12 December over a simple course - a 2k flat warm-up from Black Mountain Peninsula then 3k's up to the summit of Black Mountain. Steeplechaser Scott McTaggart smashed former steeplechaser Gerard Ryan's course record with his stunning run of 16:42. Australian Marathon Champion Daniel Green finished 2nd in 17:31. The first female was ex-SCT mountain runner Fiona Jorgensen in 23:01.
SCT Results: 5 John Winsbury 18:38, 7 Nick Walshe 19:23, 11 Stuart Doyle 19:56, 14 Geoff Monro 21:49, 24 Hugh Jorgensen 23:03, 32 Peter Hosking 24:25, 40 Charlie Modrak 25:43, 44 Greg Hosking 26:31, 46 Jim White 26:37, 49 Heath Pearce 26:57, 51 Don Roach 27:34, 53 Brian Wenn 27:36. F4 Jessamy Hosking 23:40.

On a stormy December afternoon the bright light of an impossible victory finally shone once again for SCT's A team at the Parliament House Relays after many years of darkness. Our young team of mostly locally-trained juniors saw off the challenge from the powerful Weston Creek and Woden teams to eventually win the 10-member team competition by over 4 minutes.

Noni Clarke set up the victory with a brilliant 5:44 first leg of the 1.78km course. Mark Shepherd, Michael Hosking and Nick Walshe recorded the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fastest times and were backed up by all the other members of the team. The winning time of 54:21 was only a minute behind the dodgy North Canberra 'record' of 2000 which was set by a team with no females. Such was SCT's brilliance that we were able to move four runners who could have been in our winning 'A' team to our 'A2' team which scored a creditable 5th place!

The most successful ACT team in recent years to compete at the IGA Australian All-Schools Championships returned with a swag of medals and contained a number of SCT athletes. The competition was held over 4 days from 9 December 2004 at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre and SCT female athletes returned with six medals. Emily Brichacek won two gold in the 1500 and 3000m events, Angeline Blackburn a gold in the 400m and bronze in the 200m, Jessie Pritchard a silver in the long jump and Anastasia Havlat a bronze in the high jump.
Here are the SCT results:
Girls 400m U16- 1, Angeline Blackburn, 55.51. Girls 1500m U15- 1, Emily Brichacek, 4:33.13. Girls 3000m U15- 1, Emily Brichacek, 9:52.31. Girls Long Jump U18- 2, Jessie Pritchard, 5.57m, w:-0.5. Girls High Jump U16- 3, Anastasia Havlat, 1.69m. Girls 200m U16- (w: 1.5) 3, Angeline Blackburn, 25.23.Girls Triple Jump U14- 4, Kiara Bomben, 11.02m, w:5.1. Girls 800m U15- 4, Emily Brichacek, 2:19.04. Girls 3000m U20- 5, Jillian Hosking, 10:39.12. Girls 3000m U17- 7, Hannah Flannery, 10:41.86. Girls 400m U14- Heat 2: 4, Kiara Bomben, 60.89. Girls 200m U14- Heat 2: (w: 2.0) 5, Terri Sutcliffe, 26.85. Girls 3000m Walk U18- Jillian Hosking, DQ. Girls Long Jump U14- 10, Kiara Bomben, 4.83m, w:-0.2. Boys 800m U18- Heat 2: 7, Phil Curran, 2:01.77. Boys 800m U17- Heat 1: 10, Philip Turini, 2:02.36. Boys 400m U18- Heat 1: 7, Tom Havlat, 51.80. Boys 100m U16- Heat 2: (w: 2.2) 7, Josh Hatch, 11.65.

The 'Zatopek' is best known as the most prestigious 10,000m race in Australia. The meeting also showcases other track & field events and two SCT athletes were amoung the invited runners at the suburban Melbourne track on 4 December. Kelly Roberts ran a season's best of 2:12.92 in the 800m race to place 5th, a little over 3 seconds behind the winner Lara Nicod from NSW.Michael Hosking placed 15th in the 'de Castella' U20 3000m race. Michael ran 8:55.73 which was about 7 seconds outside his PB in the race which was won by Brendan Woodman from Victoria in 8:31.45. The Zatopek 10,000m races were won by Victorian's David Ruschena (28:59.55) and Haley McGregor (32:41.10) while former Mount Tuggeranong 5k record-holder Tiffany Levette placed third in 33:39.87 and the Runners Shop's Sarah Salmon fourth (34:01.60).

The first three place-getters in SCT's 2004/05 pointscore awards for winter and summer are listed below. The male and female winners of each age-group have their names engraved on our perpetual trophies. Prizes and awards were presented at our 2005 Annual General Meeting. Nick Walshe was awarded the historic 'President's Trophy'.

SCT 2004 Winter Awards

SCT 2004/05 Summer Awards

In recent months I've gone very quiet with racing. Almost cold turkey. I thought my decision to race sparingly would have been difficult. At heart I'm a racer and I love racing.

One reason for not racing regularly on Saturday afternoons is that I've been joining a long-run group out at the Cotter on Saturday mornings. A decade or more ago I ran regularly out at the Cotter on Saturdays. It's a fantastic place to run. Smooth gravel roads. Up and down some very testing hills. Some nice flatter sections where you can run at a good rhythm. It's just a great place to run!

There are two different things about 'Cotter 2005' compared to 'Cotter 1990s'. Firstly there are no trees. At least, no 30-year-old Radiata Pines interspersed with clumps of native eucalypt forest. The Canberra bushfires burnt all the trees which have now been cleared. Secondly is how much longer it takes me to get around the courses! There are three main courses at the Cotter, all measured in miles. The '15', '18' and '21'. Being a slow old wombat my favourite is the 'Cotter 15'. In the old days I could get around the '15' in 1hr 50min to 2hrs. Last Saturday I tried hard and it took me 2 hours 7 minutes!

I'm going to race again - starting with the Gold Coast Half Marathon on 3 July. A number of other SCT runners will also be running at the Coast in either the Half or the Marathon. I'll write about it in my blog. You can find it at http://gsxsuzuki.blogspot.com/. If you just want the boring facts and figures try my online diary at http://www.sctathletics.com/ewen2005.html

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