#71 cover
Tuggie Athlete - it's paper!
JANUARY 2006      Number 71   
sct logo

Race report on the 2006 Sydney Track Classic

by Mark Shepherd

Over Christmas I was feeling a bit disappointed with my track season so far; I had high hopes of making some breakthrough runs in the 1500m and 3000m but I had come up well short of my goals. I was at the point where I was thinking I might not be able to salvage much from the season, so I joined Mike Hosking (my training partner) in doing some pretty solid build-up training. Sitting here now I'm finding it hard to believe the turnaround in form I have experienced.

On the 19th January Mike and I left for Sydney both hoping to run big PB's in the 5000m. We were both entertaining thoughts of 14:40's and the like and I had realised early that week that this would probably be my best chance to run a big PB given the quality of the field coupled with a weather forecast of cloudy, cool and calm conditions.

A bit after 9:30pm we were all standing on the start line (and I found myself standing next to Scott Westcott!) in the forecast perfect conditions and I knew that I would have to run a blinder to mix it with this field. It seems they always hold you way longer than they need - to test your nerve. Then before you know it we were off!

In the first km I couldn't believe how much jostling and clipping there was going on - there were guys surging for positions, people cutting in and out, and I found myself letting people through to make sure I didn't find myself in a pile up! The first km was a good pace; I went through in 2:51 having finally found myself a group of guys to settle in with.

Into the second km we started running with a bit more rhythm trying to relax, at this point I wanted to try and keep my pace at 72 second laps (3min km) or better and there was plenty of people calling splits around the track so I was well aware what pace we were on. I was starting to wonder if I had gone out too hard as I hadn't proven myself over a 5km this season, and I had also seen no sign of Mike. Mike would normally never let me go so early in a race, but he had been sick in the week before so I put it down to that and made up my mind I would run this pace until I blew up or otherwise.

Into the third km our group started getting tired legs and I heard someone call out a 74 second lap and I found myself leading the group. This is the point were I ran my PB, I decided that I was pretty much halfway and on a road course I would normally start running for home so I ignored the 6 laps I had to go and figured even if I blew up I would still run under 15 minutes so I could walk away happy enough. So I said a prayer and started pushing the pace.

I found out after the race Mike was 20 metres behind and made the same move to catch our group, if I had made my move a couple hundred meters later he would have been able to catch up.

I didn't know at the time but my split for 3km was about 8:45, meaning I had just run my 3rd fastest 3km ever and I still had 2km to go! Before the race I wanted to make sure I ran the 4th km strong because this is a part of the race I find exceptionally tough. I knew if I ran strong through the 4th I would get home in a good time.

It turned out to be a great move because I was starting to catch some stragglers from the group in front which felt awesome! I started getting a big adrenaline kick by passing people and realising that every second I wasn't blowing up was putting me further under 15 minutes!

I didn't get my 4km split because the clock's numbers were all stuffed up but I didn't care, I knew I was on a hot pace. I was still catching people and I was finally starting to realise I would be able to hold it together for the full distance. With no more fear of blowing up I had my sights set on Luke Taylor (another runner my age) who was 40m in front. I managed to catch his group with 500m to go and I was trying to go for home, I got past him with 300m to go and just went nuts trying to make sure he wouldn't want to have a crack at me, I went nuts again at 20m to go and I was almost stopped dead by 20m to go but I made it!!

I didn't even see the clock when I finished due to other runners being in the way, I was bending down, hands on knees when I looked at my watch and saw 14:32! I couldn't have hoped for a better run, I was ecstatic it was a 36 second PB! I looked up to see Mike cross the line in 14:52 which was a 7 second PB even after being sick for a week. A gutsy run.

I spent the rest of the night trying to get used to such an unbelievable number, it goes to show, you never know what's around the corner. My 3 weeks of build-up training paid off big time.



There Is No Tomorrow

A 5000m race report by Stuart Doyle

"Bowscot"
As I sat in the cubical in the loos at the AIS track before my race, I pondered how many other people have sat here in my position, reading the writing on the toilet roll holder in a desperate attempt to take their mind off the race starting in 15 minutes. I've never really like racing at night, so I tried to imagine it was a warm afternoon, but I could hear the PA system echoing outside and unfortunately it still sounded like night time out there.

Back into the cool night air and Vince was waiting. He'd turned up to pace me for the 5k, a good training workout for him. We'd been on a nice warm-up and I felt good, the conditions were just right, cool, only a very slight breeze.

This was the big one for me. Everyone has their 'milestone' or 'benchmark' times that they want to beat some day. For some it's in the marathon, some it's the 100m, for me it's the 5k. I don't know why it's this distance, perhaps because when I was about 13-14 years old, some friends and I used to run around the footpath around Weetangera once a week. It was 5km around the perimeter and we used to pretend we were running in the Olympics and would see who could do the best time, so for me it's always been this sort of 'benchmark' distance. When I took up running as a sport in 1998, it was the 5k that I immediately went for and was delighted when after a little bit of solid training I went under 18 minutes. For the last 6 years I've had this monkey on my back, called "16 minutes". I went close a few years ago, 16:11, but apart from a 16:18, that's the closest I'd been. This PB I also rated as my 'hardest' to beat. I wanted to go under 16 minutes so much. In 1999 I bought this really great racing outfit up in Brisbane and told myself I wouldn't wear it until I broke 16 minutes. Back then I thought I'd have it on by the end of the year!

After the warm-up, I was feeling really good and focussed. I was also trying to stave off negative thoughts, which there were plenty of lurking. The ones saying "you're never going to go under 16". But this time felt a bit different from all the other attempts. This time I really felt I had a good chance of doing it after my recent good form. I'd talked with Vince before the race and he was going to try and take me around in 3:12 pace, 76-77 second laps. We'd talked about how it would be better to err on the side of slowness in the first km as I'm a slow starter and tend to work into my races.

So all the thinking and planning was over and we were on the start line. The gun went and so did Vince! He took off at what felt like a very hot pace but I have a habit of starting too slowly, so I made sure I stuck just behind him. The pace did feel fast and my thoughts were confirmed when we went through 200m in 37 secs (74 sec lap pace, or 3:05km pace). Vince said "whoops" and immediately slowed down. The next two laps felt like a complete dawdle to me, and I thought we may have dropped off the pace a bit, but I felt really confident that Vince wouldn't be too far off pace, so I had a huge confidence boost that it felt so easy. Went through first km in 3:16, damn, a little bit slow, but Vince immediately sped up. Into the first two laps of the second km and the pace had definitely increased but I was still feeling like it was a training run. It wasn't until the last 200m of the second km that it started feeling distinctly like race pace. It was so nice to be able to concentrate on relaxing and not worrying about the pace, so valuable to have Vince doing that for me. We went through second km in 3:13, I didn't actually know this at the time, in fact I didn't even look at my watch as I had faith that Vince had picked it up to around 3:12 pace.

As the third km started, Vince picked it up another notch and for the first time it started feeling a little uncomfortable for me, but I told myself not to panic and tried to imagine it was an out and back road course, in which case you usually start feeling the pressure near the 2.5k turnaround, this helped me mentally prepare for feeling like the pressure was on. Again, I just tried to concentrate on leaning forward (I have a bad habit of leaning back when I get tired) and relaxing my upper body and running loosely. I didn't get a split on the 3rd km, I must have been so focussed I didn't even bother worrying about what pace we were on, I just felt like Vince was definitely doing the right pace for a sub-16.

The fourth km is when the mind games really started. This is where I've lost the battle in every other sub-16 attempt (and there's been lots of them!) in the past. In footy terms, it was the championship quarter!! As we entered the 4th km, I knew my job was simple, just stick with Vince! It was here that his work as a pace-maker was worth his weight in gold!! I just knew all I had to do was keep that red singlet within touching distance and the sub-16 was mine. Each 400m, Vince would look at his watch and the pace would lift a fraction, I was really hurting big time now and my mind started playing tricks like "you can't keep this pace up", but I'd ignore it and just say "I'll stick with him for the next 200, and then take it from there". It felt so hard though, and my body was crying in pain, but I countered this by remembering a really incredibly hard session I did once around waste basin with Andrew Whitehead, where I felt like throwing up 13km into the session, but managed to pull through and run with him for the 16km, I thought to myself, I don't feel like throwing up quite yet, keep pushing! This is how I got through to the 4km mark.

Vince had given me some great advice prior to the race "just keep a positive mind". When we hit the 4km mark this positive attitude really paid off. We went through in 12:51, and the thought that I was completely stuffed and now would have to race the fastest km of the entire race to go under 16 minutes, just didn't enter my head at all. All I remember thinking was "12:51, I can do this!"

So I was ready to take off now for the last km, and give it everything. I just knew I had to keep with Vince for the next 400m. He really helped me on this lap by pulling out a 75.8 (the fastest 400m split of the race). We went through with two laps to go, 13:28, in my mind, prior to the race; the absolute cut-off for a sub-16 had been 13:30 at the 2 laps to go mark, still on track! It almost killed me, but I stayed with him to the 4400m mark, 1.5 laps to go, and then thought, all I have to do is stick with him until 1 lap to go and then sprint. Then Vince said "I've had it, go Stuey" (or something along those lines). Suddenly I felt like a little sailing boat heading into the Southern Ocean whose pilot boat has just turned off and headed back into harbour! But what a pilot!! A moment of panic hit me as I realised I was well and truly exhausted and didn't know if I could keep going at this pace. Then something strange kicked in, I had this amazing feeling of anger and I though, damn it, I'm set up for this, it's 4400m, I'm on pace for a sub-16, this chance may never come along again, this is the moment now, not tomorrow, there is no tomorrow! The adrenaline kicked in! On my own now, it felt strange but the fear of slowing helped me focus. Went through one lap to go, 14:44, sprint!! I need a sub-76, sprint I thought. 300m to go and I could feel the lactic building up, went into the bend for 200m to go and Vince was there cheering madly, 150 to go, I could hear Vince yelling "sprint Stuey, sprint!" this scared me, because I thought I was sprinting already, I tried lifting up into Rohan Lowry gear, but I just couldn't shift gears, this was all I had, this pathetic lactic-induced pseudo-sprint!

The last 100m felt like six years, or maybe a lifetime, as everything seemed to go in slow motion except for the clock at the end of the straight. 15:52, 15:53, 15:54...but the line was just there, I knew, at long last, this I was going to do it, one final last stretch to the line and a glance sideways, 15:58.... This was my Olympic qualifier, this was my world cup qualifier! I had done it! A huge "YES" seemed to spontaneously burst out from deep within me. I fell down onto the track, frothy foam streaming out of my mouth onto the track. I couldn't move, literally, couldn't get up for about two minutes, but it didn't matter, I didn't have to move anymore!

Running is a great thing, and racing even better. It can teach you so many valuable lessons. One is, never be too proud to ask for help. I'm so lucky I know such a great guy and great friend in Vince. I can't say how grateful I am to Vince for coming out and helping me achieve this dream. It means so much to me, thankyou!

The other big lesson is this: Never give up on a dream. Three years ago I was struggling with chronic hamstring injury and nothing was going right. It went on and on for two years. As the years went on, there have been times when I thought I'll never put that sub-16 outfit on in my life and was very close to snipping the tags off and just wearing the bloody thing or relegating it too a dark top cupboard, forever a reminder of what might have been. But something pig-headed in me made me keep going, not giving in to excuses such as "I'm getting old" or "my body just isn't built for this".

Another lesson: Never give up on a dream, if you want it, you can get it. There is no tomorrow.

Vets: Thursday 27th, 1: S. Doyle, 15:58.56. Splits: 3:16, 3:13, 3:11, 3:11, 3:07.


From the Top

Make it happen!
What is the top? How do we reach it? Training hard and smart is the way and while this is a very good start we have to have the hunger for success!!

This means being prepared to push yourself even when you don't feel like it - just because you feel a bit tired or sore. You have to motivate yourself! You have been training hard for months now! Well, maybe if you are prepared to "keep up the good work" for a bit longer the results you want may come. "Make it happen" - this is so important when racing (or sometimes even in training)!

Imagine you are in sixth place in the state championships and only six runners will be chosen for the state team for the national championships. Someone is coming up on your shoulder. As you lift the pace to shake him off, he hangs on, but you lift the pace a little more. He still hangs in there, so what do you do? Give in? Or... remember to keep your nose in front and win by a nose!


Geoff Monro
President - January 2006




Our Annual Awards Night and AGM:
This 'not to be missed' occassion is being held on Wednesday evening May 17. The venue is the Town Centre Sports Club in Greenway. It will commence at 7.00pm and be completed by 8.30pm. Light refreshments will be provided. There will be a number of 'lucky door' shoe vouchers as prizes. Trophies will be presented to age-group winners and certificates to place-getters in SCT's winter and summer pointscore competitions. Most of the current committee members are standing again however if you wish to nominate for a position on the committee you are welcome to do so by contacting the secretary Gordon Nightingale.

The best ACT sporting achievements for 2005:
Were recognised by ACTSport at a presentation dinner held in December. Emma Murray's gold medal at the World Long Course Mountain Championships was rated the fourth best performance from all ACT athletes in 2005. In first place was Michael Rodgers for winning the World Championship cycling time trial. Second went to Michael Milton for his downhill speed skiing record and third to Oenone Wood for winning the Women's Cycling Union World Cup.Other athletes in the top ten were Simon Thompson, Jodie Henry, Sonia Mills, Adam Folkard, Matthew Inabinet and Lauren Boden.

3000 metre PB for Mark Shepherd:
Competing at ACT Interclub on 10 January, Mark placed third in the 3000 metres in 8:28.12, improving his personal best by over 10 seconds. Fourth placed Michael Hosking shaved a couple of seconds from his best time with 8:36.88. The winner of the race was NCG steeplechaser Scott McTaggart in 8:24.08. Sarah Salmon won the women's 3000 in 9:46.73 with SCT's Catriona Windsor placing fourth in 12:43.28.

Good times at the Sydney Track Classic:
SCT runners have performed well at the Sydney Track Classic held on Thursday 19 January. Kelly Roberts won the 'B' 800m race in 2:11.61, a season's best and a big improvement on her 2:14.59 at the NSW State Championships held the previous weekend.
In the 'A' 5000m race Mark Shepherd had a breakthrough run placing 6th in a big PB of 14:32.44. Michael Hosking also recorded a PB of 14:52.05 placing 13th in the race which was won by Australian marathon representative Scott Westcott in 14:06.87.


Stuart Doyle's Tour Triumph:
Stuart's victory in the 'Tour de Mountain' on Sunday 18 December produced a headline in The Canberra Times: 'Doyle makes amends'. The key sentence read "Not only did Doyle beat 2004 winner Adrian Sheppard of Woden Harriers, but his time of 74min 24sec slashed a minute off the course record held by Australian cross country champion Martin Dent."
Here is John Harding's race report:

South Canberra Tuggeranong runner Stuart Doyle turned from bridesmaid 12 months ago to conqueror in today's 19km Tour de Mountain run over the mountains of the Woden Valley. Not only did Doyle convincingly overcome his nemesis of 2004, Adrian Sheppard of Woden Harriers, but his time of 74 minutes 24 secs slashed a minute off the course record held by Australian cross country champion Martin Dent. Sheppard was second in a personal best of 77:14 and M50 veteran Trevor Jacobs of Weston Creek third in 78:23. In the women's field Leanne Wilkinson ran 93:08, a personal best by more than 8 minutes, to finish just over one minute ahead of Australian orienteering champion Jo Allison who ran 94:24, a six minute best time. Another orienteering international Daniel Winslow was third in 95:05. The oldest male and female competitors produced amazing performances, with 78 year old Rad Leovic clocking 2:18:43 to take out the M65 division, and 63 year old Caroline Campbell recording 2:01:17 to win the W60 age group. The inaugural men's13kms was won by Robert Ginnivan in 59:46, with the first female, triathlete Judi Barton, finishing second outright in 63:04.

Chris Williams was the first U20 runner placing 5th overall in 1:20:42. Hugh Jorgensen placed 4th in the 13km event. Jim and Maria White continued their streak as the only runners to have completed all 8 'tours'. Jim had to walk Mt Taylor as he suffered a knee injury 11k into the race.
SCT Results:
19kms: Males: 1. S Doyle 1:14:24, C Williams 1:20:42, 17. G Dutton-Regester 1:26:17, 43. D Roach 1:50:59, 51. E Thompson 1:59:37, 60. J White 2:17:27. Females: 21. M White 2:18:15. 13kms: Males: 4. H Jorgensen 1:08:30.


SCT wins the Parliament House Relays!
SCT's 'A' team has won the 2005 Parliament House Relays! This was a repeat of our stunning victory last year which came after more than a decade in the wilderness. This year some young junior runners filled in for a few missing 'guns', teaming with some new seniors, a couple of mountain runners and a 'running coach'.
Emma Murray ran the first 1.77km leg in a swift 5:56 before handing over to Jessamy Hosking who increased SCT's lead over Weston Creek with a PB of 6:15. Michael Hosking and Mark Shepherd further improved our 'comfort zone' to 2 minutes 45 seconds. Then it was up to Paul Torley, Peter Hosking and Greg Hosking to try and hold off the Creek's A-graders. Our lead was reduced to a little over one minute before Hannah Flannery managed to open up some time against the Creek's Carinna Tong. Meanwhile Woden Harriers were unleashing some of their top runners which moved them past the Creek and into a threatening second place. Chris Williams then steadied the ship running 5:34 for the 9th lap before Stu Doyle sprinted to victory with a 5:25 anchor leg. Our second team "A-Reserve" was a combination of very young and slightly older runners with Mark and Michael running second legs. "A-Reserve" finished a very creditable fourth amongst the A-grade teams with Catriona Windsor (6:38) and Michael Hosking (5:06) being the fastest runners. Emma Windsor was a back-up runner for our 'A-Reserve' team and ran 9:30. Well done everybody!


Parliament House Relays (10x1.77km)
SCT 'A' Grade Time Total
1Emma Murray5:565:56
2Jessamy Hosking6:1512:11
3Michael Hosking5:1217:23
4Mark Shepherd5:0122:24
5Paul Torley6:0828:32
6Peter Hosking5:5834:30
7Greg Hosking6:3041:00
8Hannah Flannery6:3647:36
9Chris Williams5:3453:10
10Stuart Doyle5:25 58:35
 
SCT 'A-Reserve' Time Total
1Catriona Windsor6:386:38
2Nicola Torley7:1813:56
3Charlie Modrak6:5220:48
4Dimity Herstik7:5028:38
5Michael Torley7:5336:31
6Joshua Torley8:1844:49
7Elizabeth Hosking7:2352:12
8Michael Hosking5:0657:18
9Mark Shepherd5:1662:34
10Jim White6:55 69:29


Spring Series #1 - Boathouse 5k:
The first race of the 2005 Cross Country Club Spring Series was on an out-and-back bikepath course from the Boathouse to Duntroon. Emma Murray in a relative sprint for her was first female in 17:53 while Michael Hosking was the first male in 15:58.SCT Top Six:
Female: 1 Emma Murray 17:53, 2 Noni Clarke 18:02, 8 Jessamy Hosking 21:27, 14 Catriona Windsor 21:54, 15 Kayler Torley 22:03.
Male: 1 Michael Hosking 15:58, 2 Allan McGlew 17:16, 4 Robert Torley 18:00, 15 Colin Bridge 19:55, 18 Paul Torley 20:14 24 Jim White 20:43.


Spring Series #2 - Weston Park 5k:
On Tuesday 8 November, a win to Nick Walshe and second place to Jessamy Hosking on the picturesque course on the quiet roads of Weston Park.SCT Top Six:
Female: 2 Jessamy Hosking 21:08, 8 Kayler Torley 22:22, 16 Catriona Windsor 23:57.
Male: 1 Nick Walshe 16:47, 3 Allan McGlew 18:04, 19 Colin Bridge 20:25, 20 Paul Torley 20:29, 27 Jim White 21:26, 34 Brian Wenn 21:49.


Spring Series #3 - Reconciliation Place 5k:
Another win to Emma who beat former A-series 3000m runner Noni Clarke on Tuesday 15 November. Robert Torley in 5th place was our fastest male runner.SCT Top Six:
Female: 1 Emma Murray 17:55, 2 Noni Clarke 17:59, 10 Jessamy Hosking 20:48, 13 Catriona Windsor 21:04, 15 Kayler Torley 21:13.
Male: 5 Robert Torley 17:34, 8 Allan McGlew 17:54, 12 Christopher Williams 18:16, 23 Paul Torley 19:39, 24 Colin Bridge 19:45, 39 Charlie Modrak 20:45.


Spring Series #4 - North Curtin 5k:
Emma and Noni battled it out on the hilly North Curtin course with Emma winning by 3 seconds. Chris Williams was the first male SCT finisher in 8th place.SCT Top Six:
Female: 1 Emma Murray 18:28, 2 Noni Clarke 18:31, 5 Jessamy Hosking 20:55, 9 Nicola Torley 22:18, 19 Kayler Torley 23:47, 20 Susannah Churchill 23:56.
Male: 8 Christopher Williams 18:00, 17 Robert Torley 19:12, 25 Colin Bridge 20:18, 30 Brian Wenn 20:51, 34 Charlie Modrak 21:15, 36 Jim White 21:42.


Spring Series #5 - Regatta Point 5k:
The final race of the CCC Spring Series at Regatta Point on Tuesday 29 November saw Emma Murray take out the female race (and series) while Nick Walshe placed 3rd amongst the males.SCT Top Six:
Female: 1 Emma Murray 18:27, 7 Jessamy Hosking 21:03, 10 Catriona Windsor 21:58.
Male: 3 Nick Walshe 16:49, 14 Allan McGlew 18:14, 27 Robert Torley 19:24, 29 Paul Torley 20:00, 31 Colin Bridge 20:09, 38 Charlie Modrak 21:21.


The Black Mountain Challenge:
The annual 5k 'fun run' from Black Mountain Peninsula to the summit of Black Mountain was held on Sunday 11 December. The race starts with about 2km of flat running followed by 3km of 'gentle uphill'. Mountain runner David Osmond won the event comfortably in 18:24 while Jackie Fairweather broke Joy Terry's course record by 15 seconds. Although breaking the 20-minute barrier by a fraction of a second Jackie's time was rounded up to 20:00 as happens in all road and cross country events. SCT's Chris Williams had a good run to be second U20 runner in 20:02 behind Tim Martin who ran 19:45. Emma Murray was the second female finisher in 21:45. SCT Results:
5 Chris Williams 20:02, 9 Allan McGlew 20:27, 10 Ben Dawson 20:34, 12 Geoff Monro 21:17, 14 Greg Dutton-Regester 21:36, 16 Emma Murray 21:45, 28 Jessamy Hosking 23:11, 43 Hugh Jorgensen 24:32, 53 Greg Hosking 25:17, 59 Brian Wenn 25:40, 63 Charlie Modrak 26:08, 75 Don Roach 28:23, 100 Jim White 30:51.


The Australian All-Schools T&F Championships:
This year the Championships were held at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush from 8 to 11 December. Angeline Blackburn was SCT's outstanding athlete winning the U17 400m and placing second in the 200m.Here are the individual results for SCT athletes:
Boys U18 800m - Ht 1, 8th Philip Turini, 2:01.22.
Girls U15 400m - Ht 1, 6th Isabella Havlat, 60.80.
Girls U15 800m - Ht 2, 5th Isabella Havlat, 2:25.33.
Girls U14 800m - Ht 2, 7th Sarah Dobbie, 2:36.69.
Girls U14 1500m - 13th Courtney Kennedy, 5:02.80.
Girls U18 3000m - 6th Hannah Flannery, 11:37.07.
Girls U17 200m - 2nd Angeline Blackburn, 25.46.
Girls U17 400m - 1st Angeline Blackburn, 54.77.
Girls U17 2000m Steeplechase - 5th Anne Southgate, 7:26.12.
Girls U20 5000m Walk - Jillian Hosking.. DQ.
Girls U17 High Jump - 7th Anastasia Havlat, 1.60m.


Pacific School Games Results:
There have been some excellent results achieved by SCT athletes (plus 'friends' and members of associated LA clubs) at the 2005 Pacific School Games held in Melbourne from 26 November to 4 December. Silver medals have been won by Declan Wilson, Liam Dwyer and Tyson Cottam in middle distance events. Declan broke Chris Williams' U14 club 1500m record running 4:31.85 when he finished less than a second behind Mohamed Ali from New Zealand. Liam ran 2:16.59 in the final of the 12yrs 800m and was also pipped by a New Zealander. Tyson came from well back in the 10yrs 1500m running a 13-second PB of 4:55.98.
Full Results (so far):
Tyson Cottam (10yrs) - 2nd 1500m, 4:55.98. 5th 80m Hurdles, 13.69. 11th High Jump, 1.15m. 16th Long Jump, 3.71m.
Liam Dwyer (12yrs) - 2nd 800m, 2:16.59. 5th 1500m, 4:39.38.
Declan Wilson (12yrs) - 2nd 1500m, 4:31.85. 9th 800m, 2:23.65.
Maree Fleming (13-14yrs) - 10th Shot Put, 11.31m. 17th Discus, 23.74m.
Daniel Frecker (11yrs) - 10th 1500m, 5:10.65. 11th 800m 2:29.65.
Anastasia Havlat (15-16yrs) - 6th High Jump 1.67m.
Isabella Havlat (13-14yrs) - 11th 800m, 2:25.42.
Rebecca Henderson (13-14yrs) - 6th 3000m, 10:31.13. 13th 800m, 2:30.32.
Sophie Vardos (17-19yrs) - 12th 3000m, 11:06.56. 13th 800m, 2:26.80.
Philip Turini (17-19yrs) - 5th (Prelim) 800m, 1:56.24. 8th Final 800m, 1:59.15.
If your result is missing from this page, let me know and I'll include it!


The passing of Amanda Carey:
It's with great sadness that I must tell members of SCT of the passing of Amanda Carey on Wednesday. Amanda was a member of SCT in the early 1990s and represented the ACT in Australian cross country and road running championships. She served on the committee of SCT and was editor of 'Tuggie Athlete' in 1992. Amanda won the ACT Cross Country Club 'Novice Champion' title in 1991. She developed into an excellent mountain runner, winning bronze medals in the Australian Mountain Running Championships in 1992 and 1993. Amanda represented Australia in the 1993 World Mountain Running Championships held in France placing 44th. Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer some years ago and finally lost her battle as the cancer had already spread. The Canberra Times said Amanda was 43 and is "Now free in her beloved mountains". A bush farewell for Amanda was held on Saturday 27 November at Namadgi Visitors Centre, Tharwa.

Stuart Doyle wins the Belconnen Fun Run:
Stuart Doyle had his first major fun run victory in the 6km Belconnen Fun Run on 13 November. About 900 runners participated on the day over a course starting and finishing at the new Swimming Centre at Belconnen. The event was organised by year 12 Sports Administration Students from Hawker College, under the guidance of teacher Alana McGee and raised money for Paediatric Brain Tumour Research.
It was ironic that a former Hawker College Student, Stuart Doyle was first across the line in the great time of 19 minutes 45 seconds. Local school teacher Sarah Salmon was the first female, with Michael Leahey and Cathy Newman the first veterans. Seventy five year old Rad Leovic along with his veteran mate Doug Fry strolled around in 33 minutes 35 seconds much to the amazement of all the families present.
SCT Results:
1 Stuart Doyle 19:45, 29 Jim White 25:18, 81 Gerard Barrett 29:12, 204 Kelly Roberts 40:12.


World Junior Championships qualifier for Angeline Blackburn!
Sixteen year old Angie Blackburn is the ACT's latest World Junior Qualifier, with a sensational win in the women's open 400m race at ACT Athletics Interclub competition on Saturday 5 October. Blackburn's performance was easily the highlight of the competition and the highlight of her short career so far.

Blackburn took half a second of her personal best running 54.64 seconds for the 400m, well under the AA qualifying time and well under her personal best of 55.16s. Still in heavy training and having only her third race for the year, Blackburn was surprised by how fast her time was. "I was really relaxed today, my last two races have been slow, but I was happy with them due to my heavy training. Today I was really relaxed and focussed, my coach told me to take the first 200m a bit easier than I normally do so I can focus on finishing strong." Blackburn showed a maturity beyond her years as she was able to focus on her race and not worry about other athletes around her. With Olympian and Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Nova Batman (Peris-Kneebone) and World Youth 400m hurdles silver medallist Lauren Boden drawn in lanes outside her, Blackburn was remarkably relaxed and ran to plan.

"Having Nova in the race made me really relaxed, she has been a mentor for me and it was great to have her there, it was also good to have Lauren there as we need the competition. I was focussed on what I had to do, running against yourself and the clock." Blackburn ran a controlled race sitting back from Batman and Boden over the first 200m, and then made her move on the final bend entering the home straight in front. Boden fought on well finishing second just outside her own personal best with 56.01s. Blackburn's winning time is just outside the ACT under 18 record held by Queanbeyan's Zoe Buckman of 54.62s, and ranks her number two junior female in Australia over 400m. Batman wasn't Blackburn's only mentor at the competition with long time family friend Sarah Lugnan and her mother in the crowd. Blackburn who is coached by Rob Hathaway is in an elite training group that includes ACTAS athletes Brendan Watt and Brandan Galic, affectionately known as B1 and B2, and up until recently has been the only female in the group. "The boys are great, I grew up on the Cann River with my two cousins, so I am used to training with the boys. I'm always running personal best times in training as I am really relaxed and enjoy the competition."

Blackburn along with Watt and Galic have applied for an ACTAS scholarship and are hoping to hear shortly on whether they have been successful. Yesterday's performance couldn't have come at a better time with scholarships likely to be announced next week. Blackburn has set her eyes on the Australian All Schools Championships in Sydney in December, a Telstra A Series meet and the Australian under 20 Championships. Strong performances in these events and more qualifying times will almost assure the young Alfred Deakin High School student selection in the Australian team and a trip to Beijing.

Blackburn could be one of several ACT athletes selected in the team if she continues her outstanding form. 15 year old Emily Brichacek, 17 year old Lauren Boden, training partner Watt and Queanbeyan's Zoe Buckman all possible qualifiers. Brichachek, has already qualified in the 3000m and ran a time under the 1500m qualifying but in a mixed race. Buckman bettered the 1500m qualifying yesterday running 4:27.51 but like Brichacek it was in a mixed race and will not be recognised by selectors. "Angie Blackburn has been knocking on the door for two years and finally it opened, with a huge personal best and a World Junior qualifying. everybody in the association is very pleased for her." said Michael Thomson, president of ACT Athletics.


SCT wins the 'Cundy Cup':
SCT has won the 'Cundy Cup' for 2005 after points were allocated to runners following the Yarralumla Relays - the last event of the winter season. The 'Cundy Cup' goes to the club that scores the most points at Cross Country Club 'Pointscore' events based on all age-groups. In this way high place-getters in 'minority' age-groups such as W50 can score good points for their club. Winners in each age-group score 25 points. The winning club is regarded as the strongest club by participation and performance for the winter season. The cup was presented to Jim White by Ken Eynon at the CCC presentations following the Yarralumla Relays.

Winsbury and Murray win Two Peaks Classic:
John Harding reports on the double SCT victory at the Mt Majura Vineyard 26k Two Peaks Classic on 5 November:
"World long distance mountain running champion Emma Murray slashed 6 minutes from her own race record in winning the Mt Majura Vineyard Two Peaks Classic. Murray clocked 1hr 53mins12 secs for the gruelling 26km course over Mt Ainslie and Mt Majura and finished 5th outright. World rogaining champion Julie Quinn was second in 2:12:08, just 10 seconds ahead of Symeko Jochinke. World duathlon championship representative Vicki Godfrey was 4th in 2:18:52 and former Australian orienteering representative Julia Minty 5th in 2:21:47, highlighting the quality of the field.

The men's race was won by two time Australian mountain running representative John Winsbury who clocked 1:42:42, two minutes outside his race record, only 4 days after he took out the Victorian Alpine Four Peaks event. Vince Craig was 2nd in 1:46:54 and Adrian Sheppard third in 1:50:06. Previous winner and former record holder Trevor Jacobs was fastest veteran in finishing 4th in 1:51:21.

Former Australian mountain running champion Judith May made a pleasing comeback to running after three years in road cycling when she was fastest female in the One Peak 15kms in 73:19. Carinna Tong was 2nd in 78:00 and Allison Sargeant 3rd in 82:50. W60 Caroline Campbell had a brilliant run, finishing 7th in 90:25. Former English orienteering international Stewart Fishwick had a comfortable victory in the men's One Peak in 62:33, with Robert Ginnivan 2nd in 67:24 and Mark Guilfoyle 3rd in 68:18.

The move of the race start from Watson to the Mt Majura Vineyard was a great success, with a large increase in the field and the bottle of Pinot Noir very popular with finishers. Thanks are extended to vineyard owner Frank Van de Loo who not only hosted the race but spent a great deal of time mowing grass strips through long grass sections and mowing an area for car parking, as well as personally handing a bottle of wine to each finisher and presenting the awards to the winners."

SCT Results - Males 26k: 1 John Winsbury 1.42.42, 28 Jim White 2.27.28, 36 Ewen Thompson 2.41.00. Females 26k: 1 Emma Murray 1.53.12.


Emma wins Brindabella Classic in record time:
Emma Murray has won the 2005 Brindabella Classic held on 23 October. This was Emma's second victory in the 55.4km ultra marathon held from the Cotter reserve to Bulls Head and return. In doing so, she broke Linda Thompson's 1988 course record (achieved on the 'easier' downhill course) by almost six minutes! Emma also improved her own time from 2004 by 32 minutes and finished ahead of ACT running legend Trevor Jacobs and Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist Jackie Fairweather. In the 27.7k downhill Bulls Head Classic Jim White placed 12th (3rd M55) and Gordon Nightingale placed 19th. Brindabella Classic Results (first 5): 1 Jonathan Blake 3:58:05, 2 Emma Murray 4:05:14, 3 Trevor Jacobs 4:06:57, 4 Jackie Fairweather 4:09:38, 5 Martin Fryer 4:19:58.
Here is Emma's account of the race:


Got out of bed at 5am and made myself a couple of fruit buns with honey and banana and a cup of coffee. I was still eating and drinking when I pulled the car up outside Adrian's place to pick him up. Luckily, Ads managed to lock himself out of his house without his wallet, giving me a chance to finish my breakfast while he gave Peta an early 5.50am wake up call to let him back in the door. We were away by 6am and after a very slow drive to the Cotter stuck behind some tourist Brindy runners from NSW not knowing where to go, got to the Cotter around 6.30am.

Met up with my fellow "pass the prawn" relay team members, Matilda and Lex to organise logistics and gee each other up... well Lex and Tilda organised logistics as I was little help with driving directions. I got "the prawn" out of its package for its fateful journey to the top of the mountain and back again. It was a sticky lizard - our relay baton. Quite similar to holding a handful of sweaty jelly snakes really.

Didn't do much else before the start gun went off at 7am and we all ran off up the fire trail. I was running up close to Trev [Trevor Jacobs] and Jo [Jonathan Blake] but felt okay and comfy so decided I must not be pushing it too hard for so early in the race. Before I knew it we were at Vanities and plunged through the water. The day was heating up and I wanted to be sensible with drinking enough so I think I had a drink here, or maybe the next drink station, I can't remember.

Then through the next section affectionately being called the wasteland where I chatted to 'drinkbottle man' for a bit before he pulled away in front of me. Then after this comes the long slightly uphill section along the creek. This bit tends to go on a bit. I remember when Trev and I went for a training run up here before I did the Brindy last year he said in his best guru voice "when you run this bit in Brindy it tends to go on a bit" so now I always remember it as the "bit that goes on a bit". At this stage, Trev was in front of me and Ads was behind, I was the meat in the male sandwich... I was slowly gaining on Trev up the hill and Ads was closing in on me from behind. He caught me just before the aid station at the large bend at the top of the large climb. He didn't sound too positive about how he was feeling and he wasn't happy the aid stations only had cordial and no sports drink. If he hadn't of told me I wouldn't have noticed the difference. So I tried to convince him that cordial is way better than sports drink. He stopped at the aid station and I keep going and pulled away a bit along the next section of flat undulations.

I caught Trev not long before the fallen tree and chatted a while before getting in front to reel in 'drinkbottle man'. I was trying to work out was Trev's caper was. He didn't seem fussed that Jo was a fair way ahead. I thought he must have a secret plan up his sleeve. I overtook pulled away from Trev on the short section of downhill before the last steep section before the top. Here Bulls Head runners started coming the other way, it was so nice to say hello to all the familiar faces. I knew almost everyone who went past and we all smiled at each other and exchanged encouragement. I thought how nice it was - its great being part of the running community in Canberra, they're a wonderful bunch. Then after the Bulls Head runners, Jo went past on his way back down, he wasn't too far ahead. I got to the top and passed "the prawn" to Lex and had a drink. On the way down I got to say hello to more people, Trev and Ads, who weren't too far behind, Jackie [Fairweather], Velcro, Simon, Julie and then said hello again to the various Bulls Head runners as I passed them.

DavO caught up with me not long after the fallen tree and rode with me most of the way back down the hill. This bit was quite fun, racing down the hill and chatting all the way to the "bit that goes on a bit". Then DavO took off ahead to see how Silvano was going. I felt pretty comfy and started daydreaming as I ran along this flatter section and then through the wasteland. I spied Tilda there waiting for Lex and she looked a bit nervous so for the next section I started to worry that she might have regretted me dragging her out here.

Vanities and the uphill passed pretty uneventfully and then DavO came from behind me and asked how I was going. I said I was feeling fine and was looking forward to a swim when I finished. I asked him if Lex had got to the relay change yet and he told me Tilda wasn't there when he got there - she had gone off for a warm up... oh no... I thought. And then I asked how far Jackie and Trev were behind me. I had totally forgotten about them. He said Jackie was only 30seconds behind!! Oh crap. So I sped up and felt silly for not staying focussed. There wasn't too far to go so I just went fairly solidly to the end and luckily wasn't caught by Trev and Jac. My time was 4hours 5min... 30min or so better than last year - and my main aim for the race was to beat last years time so I was really happy.

Team "pass the prawn's" performance wasn't too shoddy either, the prawn had made a pretty fast journey to the top of the mountain and back down again to come third in the relays. Tilda and Lex came out to the Moonrock Café and were feeling pretty good about the race - and want to come back next year!
New VEADF Criteria:
The criteria for membership of the VEADF has been updated and can be viewed on the website. The following athletes are qualified to apply for membership of the VEADF: Angeline Blackburn, Noni Clarke, Simon Evans, Emma Murray, Jessie Pritchard, Kelly Roberts, Mark Shepherd, Jade Sutcliffe and John Winsbury.

The NSW 10,000m Championships:
The NSW state championships were held on a cool, humid night at SOPAC, Homebush on Saturday 1 October. The atmosphere was rather bizarre as a 'terrorist exercise' was being conducted in the area and RAAF gunship helicopters and Blackhawks were hovering overhead. The women's championship was a 2-horse race until the final kilometres between Lucinda Chapman and Belinda Wilshire. Chapman was the winner in 35:42.82 with Wilshire running 36:18.99.

In the men's race David Byrne ran away to an easy win (30:13.74) from a close tussle between former Dutchman Jan-Willem Schaar and Robin Whitely.
ACT runners Mark Shepherd and Michael Hosking, deciding at the last minute to compete, successfully negotiated their way around the 25 laps of their maiden track 10,000 metres. They were both fairly happy with their times as they were able to finish off reasonably strongly over the last few kms. Mark finished 4th in 31:59.06 and Michael fifth in 32:14.68.


Financial Assistance Guidelines:
At the request of the 2004/05 SCT Committee, Nick Walshe developed a set of guidelines to be used by the committee (and future committees) when calculating the amount of financial assistance given to athletes. These guidelines have now been added to the financial assistance page of the SCT website.

Winter Series #14 - West Basin 10 Mile:
Was held on Sunday 10 July over the traditional 1 lap bike-path course around the west basin of Lake Burley Griffin. There was also a 5km race. Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 5k - 2 Fiona Jorgensen 20:19, 5 Kayler Torley 22:19.
Male 5k - 11 Michael Torley 26:44.
Female 10 mile - 5 Kerrie Bremner 79:10.
Male 10 mile - 9 Robert Torley 62:50, 13 Geoff Monro 64:19, 14 Nick Mesher 64:29, 25 Charlie Modrak 71:24.


Winter Series #15 - Red Hill:
July 16 - out and back fairly flat dirt track courses. Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 3.7k - 2 Hannah Flannery 14:17, 3 Fiona Jorgensen 14:32, 6 Sarah Dobbie 15:09, 7 Kayler Torley 15:54.
Male 3.7k - 2 Nick Mesher 13:30, 6 Paul Torley 14:11, 7 Hugh Jorgensen 14:23, 10 Jim White 15:41.
Female 6.7k - 2 Jessamy Hosking 27:52.
Male 6.7k - 1 Mark Shepherd 21:50, 2 Michael Hosking 22:01, 4 Nick Walshe 23:25, 6 Stuart Doyle 24:24.


Winter Series #17 - Mill Creek:
Race manager Stuart Doyle devised a devious course for 30 July which featured a creek crossing where you had to get your feet wet! A real cross country course for the enthusiast. Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 3k - 1 Jillian Hosking 12:03, 3 Hannah Flannery 12:14, 8 Kayler Torley 12:48, 9 Anne Southgate 12:53.
Male 3k - 1 Ben Dawson 10:14, 2 Keith Cassilles-Southgate 10:28, 4 Robert Torley 10:52, 7 Peter Hosking 11:31.
Female 6k - 1 Kath Southgate 24:42, 4 Sophie Vardos 25:42, 5 Fiona Jorgensen 25:55.
Male 6k - 1 Nick Walshe 21:26, 3 Ben Dawson 22:34, 8 Robert Torley 24:59, 10 Colin Bridge 25:20.


Winter Series #18 - Goorooyarroo:
6 August. An 800m gentle hill to start followed by speed bumps in a great bush location! Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 4k - 3 Kelly Roberts 15:36, 7 Anne Southgate 16:55, 9 Hannah Flannery 17:11, 14 Nicola Torley 18:31.
Male 4k - 4 Ben Dawson 14:01, 5 Keith Cassilles-Southgate 14:26, 9 Philip Turini 15:15, 11 Nick Mesher 15:20.
Female 8k - 1 Kathy Southgate 33:03, 3 Jessamy Hosking 34:15, 4 Fiona Jorgensen 34:44.
Male 8k - 3 Mark Shepherd 26:39, 4 Michael Hosking 27:03, 9 Nick Walshe 29:06, 15 Geoff Monro 31:06.


Winter Series #19 - Yerrabi Pond:
Not many runners on August 13 as it was the day before the City to Surf! Top 4 SCT Results: Female 3.8k - 2 Sarah Dobbie 16:10, 3 Nicola Torley 16:33 Male 3.8k - 2 Robert Torley 13:47, 4 Paul Torley 14:21, 9 Michael Torley 19:38. Female 7.8k - 1 Jessamy Hosking 32:51, 2 Kerrie Bremner 36:27. Male 7.8k - Nobody! Not even Jim White or Jim Tucker!

Winter Series #20 - Dunrossil Drive:
The August 20 classic was ably organised by Ted Harrison [yes, Ted is still training for the Melbourne Marathon!]. Conditions were wet under foot and it was a surprise that Weston Creek's Martin Dent came within 2 seconds of the ancient and very tough 11:52 course record held by Graham Clews. Some photographs. Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 2.1k - 5 Nicola Torley 8:56.
Male 2.1k - 7 Michael Torley 10:08.
Female 4.2k Junior - 3 Hannah Flannery 16:35, 4 Sophie Vardos 16:40.
Male 4.2k Junior - 1 Ben Dawson 13:36, 3 Keith Cassilles-Southgate 14:14, 5 Philip Turini 14:45, 6 Robert Torley 15:04.
Female 4.2k Open - 3 Noni Clarke 14:56, 4 Kelly Roberts 15:28, 5 Kathy Southgate 15:34, 8 Jessamy Hosking 16:57.
Male 4.2k Open - 3 Mark Shepherd 12:34, 8 Stuart Doyle 13:47, 13 Geoff Monro 15:07, 16 Nick Mesher 15:19.


Winter Series #21 - North Lyneham:
This is now an 'old favourite' - one or two laps around North Lyneham Ridge.Top 4 SCT Results:
Female 3.1k - 1 Nicola Torley 13:51, 2 Karen Daniels 15:23.
Male 3.1k - 5 Paul Torley 11:48, 9 Conrad Shepherd 13:19, 11 Jim White 14:25, 15 Michael Torley 16:42. Female 6.2k - 4 Kerrie Bremner 30:27, 6 Dianne Shepherd 39:01.
Male 6.2k - 6 Hugh Jorgensen 25:46, 8 Brian Wenn! 26:47, 10 Jim White 28:16, 13 Ewen Thompson 30:11.


New SCT Tracksuits available!
We now have a good supply of a freshly designed club tracksuit. They are available from Mike Sexton who will be at Interclub track & field competition from 4pm on Saturday afternoons. The price is $100 for the full tracksuit or $60 for the top and $40 for the pants.


Just Read It. (The editor's diary)

Erin was the best slow runner

I think I may have saved myself. I was in danger of becoming a good slow runner.

Many years ago there was a girl who used to train at Calwell. Erin was one of those lucky runners blessed with natural talent. She could run fast and make it look easy. She also practised with the dedication that produced top-three finishes in national competition as a young teenager. She once placed third to Georgie Clarke in the national U16 800 metres. Erin no longer runs seriously and you're more likely to find her photograph in the social pages than the sporting pages of The Canberra Times.

Back in the 1990s during winter I'd sometimes take the group on 'long runs' lasting 45 minutes to an hour or more. One of these adventures sticks in my memory. It wasn't the one where we stopped for ice creams; or the one where our shortcut through the bush became a swamp; or the one where we practised our discus throwing with dried cow pats; or the one where Kelly rolled her ankle and had to be carried through paddocks to a farmer's house. It was the one where I discovered an extra quality to Erin's running.

We were homeward bound when I noticed Erin was falling behind the group. I dropped back to run with her. She kept running slower until we were crawling along at a snail's pace. She was the best slow runner I'd ever seen and nine years later I take great pleasure in reminding her of that fact whenever I see her around town. By moving like a glacier on that run she was making a 13-year-old's not so subtle point that she disliked slow running.

Thinking about Erin reminds me that I also dislike slow running. Why then have I fallen into this pattern of moving slowly? I guess it's 'easy' and doesn't take much thought. The bad thing about doing so much slow running is that over time your body learns this pattern of movement. A 'Cliffy shuffle' is not the best style of movement to adopt if you want be a fast distance runner. What works best is an economical version of the middle distance running pattern.

Erin was a fast runner because that's what she did most of the time. Her body felt comfortable running that way because that's what it knew best. The drills Mike taught her reinforced this pattern of movement. For her, running slowly was uncomfortable just as running fast these days is uncomfortable for me. My body has learned all too well the pattern of slow movement. It's time to change.


Ewen W Thompson ... January 2006

Copyright © 1997 - 2007    www.sctathletics.com/ta071.html




HOME
ABOUT SCT
RECENT PHOTOS
FEMALE RECORDS
MALE RECORDS
TUGGIE ATHLETE
RUNNING WRITING
MORE SCT NEWS

Search site:
 
PicoSearch


LINKS
SITE NEWS
ABOUT THIS SITE



Apply for Record

$$ Assistance Form

Contact SCT

V.E.A.D.F.

Interclub Results

Summer Pointscore

Winter Pointscore

T&F Championship

Fadden Pines CC

Guestbook Entries

Visitor Stats