XCR Round 2 - Hanging Rock Results
It was exciting to visit a new venue for the 12K cross country at the iconic Hanging Rock. First impressions as we rocked into the carpark were – Wow, there’s the special Rock (we had a great view of it from the carpark and tents area), and Wow, there’s some kangaroos. As we made our way from the carpark to the tent, we realised that there was not just a group of kangaroos, but hundreds or thousands of them around. It was impossible to dodge the kangaroo poo as it was literally every 10 cm.
A big thanks to Janice for bringing the Waverley tent along today, and to the many who baked and brought goodies for our picnic afterwards.
First away was Matt Harvey in the U18 7K, and he looked strong all the way. He has improved so much from last year, and his time showed it, improving from 53 minutes to 34:13. Awesome work Matt.
Then our women got underway in the 12K. It was a great course to watch with the iconic rock in the background and plenty of spots to watch from within easy reach of the tents, including the special racecourse track segments. Sally and Niamh were strong. Janice and Em were next, and then impressively Linda led Petra and Jackie in. This was Linda’s first 12K in a ruggard course with some hills out the back. Great running. Petra also managed to turn the tables on Jackie this time. stay tuned for this exciting battle over the rest of the season.
In the mens race Smoothy led us in, and only 2 weeks after COVID, so its good to see him getting back in shape. Then new-old boy Davin Hopper put in a stunning performance to be our 2nd runner in and only 20 odd seconds behind Smoothy. Martin was our 3rd runner in, which mean’t our 50+ team did really well finishing in 2nd place. Impressively Smoothy was 2nd in 55+ and Davin was 3rd. Two state medal performances. Well done.
Next in was Daniel who is improving out of sight this season – nearly 2 minutes quicker than last year. Only 11 seconds behind was Ernie to complete our Div 3 team. I was next (nursing a hamstring) with Peter Kormendy just behind, then Harvs, James McEniry and Smurf (Welcome back), just pipping Slips before the finish, to round out our Div 4 team. Michael Jansen and Nick Spiteri also did well to make it an impressive 13 Open men finishers, 3 more than last year.
At one stage a kangaroo joined the womens field and hopped its way through the runners. We need to sign some up for Waverley. They’re pretty quick and would look good in a Waverley singlet.
Petra was in good form selling the Waverley uniforms, and at one stage tried to sell one to Tony Halley who was standing nearby. He had to explain that he ran for another club to escape Petra’s strong marketing pitch.
Our results:
Female Open
12km: Sally Lim 56:51; Niamh O’Reilly 59:13; Janice Marston 1:05:41; Emily Stokes 1:08:15; Linda Sharp 1:15:42; Petra Spiteri 1:19:31; Jacqueline Mitchell 1:23:04;
Male Open
12km: David Venour 48:20; Davin Hopper 48:43; Martin Spiteri 50:00; Daniel Spiteri 53:27; Ernest Lim 53:38; James Atkinson 54:16; Peter Kormendy 55:34; Michael Harvey 58:24; James McEniry 59:52; Ewen Vowels 1:02:30; Shane Fielding 1:02:44; Michael Jansen 1:03:51; Nicholas Spiteri 1:08:18;
Male 18
7km: Matt Harvey 34:13;
Full results are at: https://athsvic.resultshub.com.au/
and Waverley results and Winter Trophy points are in the results section of our Stack Team App
Team results, and some photos are in the photos section:
Men 50+: 2nd Great work, David Venour, Davin Hopper and Martin Spiteri
Women Div 4: 3rd Well done Linda Sharp, Petra Spiteri and Jackie Mitchell
Women Div 3: 6th, Men 60+: 7th, Men Div 3: 13th, Men Div 4: 7th
In other team results: Mentone won Div 1 for the first time.
Sandringham won Womens Div 1 for the first time. Its a Bayside revival.
Malvern won Womens Div 2.
Our men were still behind Malvern in Div 3. So we have a goal this season to start finishing ahead of them. Looking forward to getting House and Julian back for the 10K.
Sally has extended her lead in the Winter Trophy, with Martin in 2nd and myself and Niamh not too far behind. Impressive runs today were: - Niamh improving by 5%
- David Venour and Davin Hopper running beautifully and medalling in M55
- Janice Marston and Emily Stokes improving from Jells
- Matt Harvey knocking nearly 20 minutes off his time last year.
Our next event is the Lakeside Road 10K on Sunday 2nd June. One of the fastest 10k courses around.
Then Saturday 15th June – Bendigo 8K Cross Country at St Annes Winery. We’ll have the Waverley bus for this one. Please rsvp when I put the link up to secure your spot.
