Leith Newsletter July 2005 – September 2005 pdf download 179KB
Leith Newsletter Oct 2004 – June 2005 pdf download 179KB
The above newsletters contain the same Cross Country, Road and Trail (along with track & field) reports summaries that are displayed below but with photos added
National Cross Country Champs, 6 August 2005
Rabbit Island, Nelson
Report by Andrew Lonie
The National Cross Country Championships on Rabbit Island, Nelson on 6 August were very successful for both Otago and Leith runners. Sarah Bryant was 6th in the Senior Women’s 8000m race in a time of 30:46, and spearheaded the Otago team which gained a silver medal. Neale McLanachan had a great run to get 24th in the Senior Men’s 12000m event in a time of 41:49. Neale was part of the Otago Senior Men’s team which won the bronze medal.
Also competing were Ian Thomas in the Mens 35-39, Chris Sole in the Men’s 45-49, Jessica Shields and Deborah Lambie in the Women’s Under 16, and Kirsty Morris in the Women’s Under 19. Ian was 5th in his age group in a time of 27:43 and Chris was 7th in a time of 29:46 (both in 8000m race). Ian was the first home in the Otago Men’s 35-49 team which won a silver medal.
In the 4000m Girls U16 race Jessica was 24th in 17:02, only two seconds behind Otago’s Romana Salis, and Debbie was 37th in 19:30. In the 6000m Women’s U19 race Kirsty was 9th in a time of 24:06. Overall Leith can be very proud of the significant contribution its competitors made to a very strong Otago performance
Otago Cross Champs, Saturday 16 July
Waikouaiti Race Course
Report by Andrew Lonie
The centenary of the Otago Cross Country Championships were held at Waikouaiti Race Course on Saturday 16 July, in sunny but cold, moderately windy conditions. The track was reasonably dry but a bit spongy underfoot down the back straight, and there were a couple of muddy sections in the paddocks.
Junior races.
Leith’s representatives in the Under 16 races were Jessica Shields and Deborah Lambie (W16) and Emma Lloyd (Girls U12).
Jessica and Deborah were 2nd and 3rd respectively in their 4km race, finishing in 17:12 and 17:55, not too far off the pace set by winner Romana Salis (Hill City). Emma completed the 1500m Girls U12 race in 8:30, gaining third place.
In the Men’s Under 19 (8000m)
Will Hyndman again showed some strong running in his first year of harriers to complete the 8000m in a time of 33:24.
In the Women’s Under 19 (6000m)
The Leith team of Kirsty Morris, Laura and Emily Scoones were first, with Kirsty the race winner in 22:52, Laura 5th (27:29) closely followed by her sister in 6th place in a time of 27:40. Once again Leith junior women showed a lot of promise we look forward to their continued improvement over the next few years.
Senior and masters races
In the 6000m race incorporating Masters Women 35 and MW45 (also Men U16), Jan Craig had a great run of 23:35 to finish 2nd in MW45, only seven seconds behind Julie Wilson (Ariki) and also up with the winners of the MW35 race. Cate Shields put in a determined run to finish 6th in MW35 in 28:11.
Next was the 8000m race which was a combined field of Senior Women, Masters Men 40 and Masters Men 50 (Men U19 also ran in this field). In the women’s race Sarah Bryant had a very gutsy run, leading Shireen Crumpton for the first 2km and keeping touch throughout the race to finish in 31:10, only 21 seconds behind Crumpton. Meredith Molloy was 11th in 37:30
The Masters Men 40 was fiercely contested. Richard Hendry (4th, 30:23), Brian Pascoe (5th, 30:34) and Chris Sole (6th, 30:37) all ran outstandingly to claim the teams race, and were only 30-60 seconds behind the imposing trio of Geoff Anderson, Brent Halley and Graham Sinnamon. In the MM50, Steve Smith (4th, 33:10) and Ed Stevens (6th, 34:58) showed why they are such good off-road runners and were unlucky not to have the numbers for a teams place.
The final event of the day was the 12000m Senior Men’s race.
Allan Carman showed typical courage in going out hard with leaders, finishing 4th in 41 minutes flat. Neale McLanachan (11th, 42:46), Andrew Lonie (12th, 43:10) and Conor Delahunty (15th, 44:14) made up the rest of the Leith team which finished third behind Ariki and Otago Uni. Alan Funnell (17th, 45:16) had an epic sprint finish, managing to hold out Greg Hannah (Taieri) in the final straight. Mark O’Donnell (21st, 48:59) was the 6th Leith man home
Kennett Cup (incorporating SI Cross Country Champs), 2nd July 2005
QE2 Park, Christchurch
Report by Kirsty Morris
Christchurch’s annual Kennett Cup Steeple Champs was held on a sunny but crisp winter’s morning on 2nd July at QE2 Park. This year the race also incorporated the South Island Cross Country Championships. The course was made up of a bendy 2.5km loop with two steeples and a couple of lumps in it which the Christchurch athletes refer to as hills. The ground was dry and firm and the wind was ever so slight, so conditions were set for a series of fast races. The men’s race consisted of a large field of 115
runners. There were some extremely fast times recorded over the 9km course, with the overall winner of the men’s race, Mark Bailey (New Brighton), clocking 26:55. Allan Carman ran strongly throughout the whole race to be placed 8th male overall and 3rd in the Masters Men 35-49 age group.
In the women’s race Leith had two members entered, Brooke Carman and Kirsty Morris. Brooke continued her unbeatable form winning the women’s race and taking the senior women’s title. She completed the 5140m course in 16:50 with her closest rival being a huge 40 seconds behind her! Kirsty was placed sixth overall and 2nd in the U19 age group in a time of 18:33.
As a whole, Dunedin athletes shone over the weekend and showed Christchurch why Otago is one of the strongest centres for distance running.
Here are some results of other Dunedin athletes:
Senior Men (9km)
3rd Andrew Davidson 27:33:00
4th Stafford Thompson 27:45:00
7th Xaviour Walker 28:52:00
13th Richard Murphy 29:35:00
18th Elliott O’Sullivan 30:34:00
19th Andrew More 31:01:00
Master Mens (9km)
3rd Allan Carman 28:28:00
26th Allan Williment 33:35:00
Men 17 -19 (6km)
1st Oliver O’Sullivan18:52
2nd Caden Shields19:57
Senior Women (6km)
1st Brooke Carman 16:50
2nd Clare Goodwin 18:07
3rd Bridget Thompson 18:16
8th Hayley Burtt 20:10
9th Tania Smellie 20:16
Women 17-19 (6km)
2nd Kirsty Morris 18:33
3rd Cindy Lowe 19:53
5th Jane Soper 24:05:00
Women 15-16 (6km)
3rd Romana Salis 19:24
Edmond Cup, Saturday 18 June 2005
Wingatui Race Course, Dunedin
Report by Conor Delahunty
The Edmond Cup Cross Country Steeplechase was held 3 days prior to winter’s shortest day, following a spell of seasonal wet and cold weather. Athletes could hardly believe their luck, as the day dawned sunny and exceptionally mild.
The race followed the outer perimeter of the mostly flat horse race course, with a lap distance of something over 2km. Each lap included one ditch, two high steeples, and a “water” jump. Underfoot conditions did not match the weather of the day, rather reflecting the rain that fell in the days prior. The ground was soft for almost the entire lap, and ruts caused by horses were common. These were truly testing cross-country running conditions.
Leith runners took part in 5 of 12 age group races, and enjoyed a very successful day for the club overall. Deborah Lambie (10:57) was a runaway winner of the women’s 16 and under race, held over one lap of the course. Leith runners dominated the women’s 19 and under race, held over two laps. Kirsty Morris (21:15) won easily, whilst Laura Scoones, Natalie Cobby and Emily Scoones finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Leith won the team’s prize.
William Hyndman was the lone Leith runner in the men’s 19 and under race. He ran a great race to finish 4th.
Brooke Carman was the only Leith entrant in the Senior Women’s race, help over 2 laps. She continued her excellent form, and won comfortably in a time of 19:22.
The other success of the day came in the Senior Men’s race, where Leith had 11 runners (The Senior Men’s race included all men under 50). Allan Carman ran an excellent race, over approx. 4 laps, to finish 3rd overall in a time of 37:15. He was followed by Neale McLanachan (7th), Conor Delahunty (9th), Ian Thomas (10th), Brian Pascoe (12th) and Alan Funnell (13th), who together won the team prize. The team win was made certain by Luke Kendrick, Andrew Perry, Ray Knox, Richard Hendry and Mark O’Donnell, who most importantly held off the opposing teams scoring runners.
