First event of the Albany Athletics Club’s three-race series attracts strong numbers
The first of the Albany Athletics Club’s three-race series took place in ideal conditions at the Terry Road course and attracted 36 runners.
All runners relished the favourable course and fine weather and there were some exceptionally fast times in each of the three races.
The event included the tradition of guessing your time before the race run without watches.
The champion guesser for 2020 was Gemma Ellis, who opted for 16min.45sec. for her 2km run and came in at 16:43.
The two-second margin was no walkover because Saffron Collins selected 15:29 and recorded 15:26.
The 2km course, including a bush trail, sandy straight and two hills, was a challenge for the big field of mixed junior runners.
The diminutive Jindy Boyle set a cracking sub-12-minute pace to take the honours, with another promising junior, Lilian Molenda, finishing second.
Two others from the small brigade, Callum Benson and Aiden Nash, put on a stirring finish, with Benson getting home by 1sec.
The 4km course comprised two laps of the short course and again attracted a mix of very young runners and club veterans.
Youngster Mitchell Eley maintained his fine form this season with a sparkling near-record time and he was too fast for regular rival Caleb Benson on the day.
Georgia Whitelaw was the first female over the line after a close battle with club newcomer Zoe Diletti. Whitelaw’s time was an impressive 90sec. faster than she ran last year.
In the 6km event, Paul Nash led the field past the 4km mark and finished strongly to edge out a persistent Barend Joubert, with the evergreen Caroline Evans taking the female honours.
The third leg of the series at Terry Road on August 16 is the club’s annual Cross Country Championship over the three distances.
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