Athletics New Zealand Cross Country Champs, Saturday 30, Sunday 31 July 2022

Spa Thermal Park, Taupo

Full Results >> Cross Country Results 2022

For results and race information >>  Athletics New Zealand Cross Country Champs 2022

Otago Cross Country Champs, Sunday 17 July 2022

Chisholm Links, 16 Tahuna Road, Tainui, Dunedin 9013
Cross Country race run on the tough undulating Chisholm Links Golf Course in Dunedin

Online Results are now available >>Otago XC Champs Results 2022

Staufenberg too strong over final 2km >> ODT Online Report, Tuesday, 19 July 2022 – Wayne Parsons

Janus defends his title to make it four wins in a row

Leith’s Janus Staufenberg successfully defended his Senior Men’s Otago XC Champs title to make it four wins in a row over the five-lap 10km distance.  He finished in 35 minutes 8 seconds, well ahead of the second placed Liam Chesney of Wellington Harriers who finished in 35 minutes 29 seconds.  The Leith team also secured the team title with 9th Liam Turk 43:35, 10th Casey Pearce 45:12, and 11th Bryan Staunton 45:57 making up the team (four to count). Andrew Robinson 48:23 finished twelfth. 

The Leith Senior Women of 2nd Olivia Thornbury 43:47, 3rd Florence Reynolds 46:19 and 4th Sarah Caulton 54:44 ran well in the 10km race, unfortunately this grade required four team members to count.

Leith Master Men’s 50+ runner Danny Baillie continues to dominate this grade finishing with a fine 32 minutes 8 seconds to win the Men’s 50-64 grade title held over the 8km race over 4 laps. The Leith team of Danny Baillie 32:08, 3rd Simon Leaning 34:14, 7th Lee Flowers 39:02 and 9th Donald Bate 41:49 had excellent runs with the first three team members counting for the winning team title.

In the Men’s 35-49 grade, the Leith team of 2nd Glen Chisholm 30:34, 3rd Andrew Lonie 31:13 and 4th Richard Campbell 31:27 secured the 3 member team title over the 4 lap 8km race. 

Full Leith Results

Master Men’s 65+ grade 6km race

3rd Dave McLean 34:29

Master Women’s 50+ grade 6km race

4th Rachael McKinney 34:57

Master Men’s 35-49 grade 8km race

Leith won the Team’s title

2nd Glen Chisholm 30:34
3rd Andrew Lonie 31:13
4th Richard Campbell 31:27

Master Men’s 50-64 grade 8km race

Leith won the Team’s title

1st Danny Baillie 32:08
3rd Simon Leaning 34:14
7th Lee Flowers 39:02
9th Donald Bate 41:49

Senior Men’s 20-34 grade 10km Race

Leith won the Team’s title

1st Janus Staufenberg 35:08
9th Liam Turk 43:35
10th Casey Pearce 45:12
11th Bryan Staunton 45:57
12th Andrew Robinson 48:23

Senior Women’s 20-34 grade 10km Race

2nd Olivia Thornbury 43:47 
3rd Florence Reynolds 46:19
4th Sarah Caulton 54:44

Thanks to all the helpers

Special mention must be made of all the Leith helpers, Civil Service helpers, XC Committee helpers, Ariki, Caversham and HCU helpers who pitched in on the day in setting up the course and marshalling duties.  Leith had many sick due to Covid including some key organisers and we would like to thank all these people who helped out in a time of need.  Thanks to Gaya who at short notice was asked to do Sebastian’s webscorer results on the day.  Those of us who were not able to attend due to Covid felt bad about not being able to help on the day and also missing out on all the action whether by competing, supporting, helping and taking photos.

Ariki Cross Country Handicap 5km, Saturday 9 July 2022

Rotary Park Lookout, Highcliff Road, Dunedin

This is a great undulating cross country course, ideal prep for the Otago XC Champs being held at Chisholm Golf Course the following Sunday.

Full results >> HCU Rotary Park 5km 2022 Results

The Happy Team of Bryan Staunton, Marc Boullé, Don Bate & Cliff Kelway-Pope pictured after the tough race

Leith Report

With the wind howling around some corners and around the top of the southern hills, we set out.  The course was a 1.25km x4 lap setup to give us 5km of running. Marc was first of the Leith runners to start.  He was off 10 minutes 30 seconds and while he set about catching the runners ahead of him, he also had to keep the runners behind him at bay.  Cliff was the next Leith runner off, starting at 13 minutes 30 seconds.  Bryan was the third of the Leith runners to start and was off at 15 minutes 30 seconds. Don missed his initial start and ended up having to start at 15 minutes 45 seconds, well back from his handicap.  The race was on.  There were a couple of steep downhills, one was at a camber so we had to beware we didn’t slip sideways, which some of us proceeded to do. Spikes were a necessity.  There was also one steep uphill of about 25 metres and then some other less steep uphills and one short uphill at the end of each lap.  These we had to negotiate four times. Don and Bryan made inroads into Marc’s massive lead, but in the end were unable to catch him having to settle for 14 and 17 finishing places on handicap respectively.  Cliff had a ding dong battle when Don caught him and for a while went toe to toe.  However, Don eventually drew away from Cliff who finished in 18th place.  Marc meanwhile although he caught a number of runners was himself caught by the fast ones.  His comment about being caught by one of the young guns from Hill City University, eventual winner Matthew Bolter, was “when Matthew went past me the first time, I felt like I was running backwards”.  Matthew was off the back of the field on his own at 18 minutes 15 secs and won outright and achieved fastest time of 17 minutes 57 seconds. Marc managed to finish 7th on handicap and was first Leith athlete across the line. Bryan was the fastest of the Leith runners, achieving a time of 24 minutes 27 seconds.  We all had a good time and some of us went to the Ariki clubrooms afterwards for refreshments and to socialise.  We thank Ariki for inviting us and also Hill City University for managing the results and also to Ariki’s Wayne Allen who once again spearheaded the course layout.  This was a good workout for the Otago Cross Country Champs which take place on Sunday 17 July 2022.

SOUTHLAND CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS, Saturday 2 July 2022

Waimumu Agricentre, Gore Southland

Results >> Cross Country Results 2022

Below in photo can be seen Don Bate (Leith), Stephen Bloomfield and daughter Bella (Hill City University), also some Ariki athletes.  So good to see Otago athletes supporting this great event.  Read Don Bate’s report below:

Photo credit to Ian and Bronwyn Densie

Southland Harriers invited Otago athletes to participate in the Southland Cross Country Champs.  This is a traditional Cross Country Run with flats, hills, forestry, creeks and mud! There are distances from 3km for Juniors to 9km for Open and Master Runners. 

This awesome event is one of the highlights of the cross country season.  Leith participated last year (2021) with Janus Staufenberg winning it in fine fashion

Photos above by Alan Ritchie

A Classic Cross Country Course – by Don Bate

Clear blue skies and a crisp winter breeze treated runners of all ages to the annual XC Champs at Waimumu’s iconic Feild Days site with the giant farm shed! Graham Hall again showed his expertise in marking out a classic cross country course, compensating for this year’s missing hill section (deleted due to skittery sheep) by adding an extensive tour of Waimumu Stream.. a scenic diversion punctuated by two knee-deep crossings and a length of cattle rutted grass verge to challenge our eye-foot co-ordination, or failing that, provide a thorough ankle twist resistance test.

After emerging from refreshing waters (particularly refreshing for the 1 runner who faceplanted!) we enjoyed some brief relief of level paddock, but then a tyre jump, a stoney field requiring careful foot placement, and the infamous muddy pine forest trail where spikes or very aggressive tread shoes would definitely be advantageous (mental note for next year). Last year this part included full-on quagmire but for whatever reason it wasn’t quite so intense this time. Nevertheless, there were plenty of muddy legs emerging from the trees to prove the Southland XC is the real deal.. no namby pamby mowed grass circuit here! After a gentle downhill paddock and easy running over the Feild Days entry field with a hay bale step-up jump thrown in, a sprint through the pea-gravel floored shed completed the first 3k loop.. 3 laps for Seniors, 2 laps for Masters.

A nice contingent of 7 runners represented Otago, myself from Leith and a couple each from Ariki, Hill City and Caversham.. all agreeing this was a worthwhile trip to an iconic event, highly recommended.

Edmond Cup, Saturday 25 June 2022

Wingatui Race Course, 285 Gladstone Road North, Mosgiel 9092

Results >> Edmond Cup 2022 Results

Run under the auspices of Athletics Otago
Organising Clubs: Hill City University and Athletics Taieri
Steeplechase style of cross country run around the Wingatui Race Course. Distances ranging up to 5km

The Leith Team

Photo: Georgy Pakehoe: Front: Riley, Claudia, Chris, Dave, Danny, Margaret (+ Izzy). Back: Marc, Richard, Bryan, Corey, Zac, Greg (Missing Lydia & Christine)

Leith Team Report

The weather was great for running with just a slight breeze from the West in the back straight of the race course and warm conditions.  The going was great too with mostly firm conditions throughout.  The normal steeple jumps were gone, replaced with barriers which we had to duck under as they were too flimsy and high to jump.  The water jump was still there and some chose to jump across it whilst the older brigade mostly chose to take the more sedate detour around it

2.5km

Twelve year old Zac Baillie got the show on the road by having a fine win in the Boys Under 14 one lapper 2.5km race.  He won the race overall as well as the Boys Under 14 title.  He ran the 2.5km in 9 minutes 54 seconds holding off Caversham’s Boys Under 14 runner Henry Hodgson, who finished in 10 minutes flat, just 6 seconds behind.

5km

Corey Lewis was the first Leith runner across the line in the 5km finishing 6th overall and 5th Senior Man in 17 minutes 10 seconds. Danny Baillie was the next Leith runner finishing 10th overall and winning the Masters Men’s 50+ title in 17 minutes 57 seconds.  Next was Richard Campbell in 12th place overall and 2nd in the Master Men’s 35-49 grade in 18 minutes 7 seconds.  Lydia Pattillo finished 3rd in the Senior Women’s grade in 22 minutes 8 seconds. Christine Montgomery had a comfortable win in the Women’s 50+ grade in the 5km race in 23 minutes 30 seconds. 

Team Points Scoring for Open 5km Race

Women: 1st HCU 24, 2nd Caversham 31, 3rd Leith 48
Men: 1st HCU 25, 2nd Leith 72, 3rd HCU 92

Kennett Cup, South Island Cross Country Champs, Saturday 25th June, 2022

Ascot Golf Course, QE2 Park, Christchurch

This event has taken place, for results and further information >> Kennett Cup South Island XC Champs 2022

Barnes Cross Country, Sunday 12 June 2022

Dunedin Rugby Football Club grounds, Victoria Road, Dunedin

Run under the auspices of Athletics Otago

Organising Clubs: Ariki and Caversham

Results available here >> Cross  Country Results 2022

Photos and Report

Leith had seven athletes competing in the 5km Handicap Race.  The weather calmed down and warmed up just as the race started, with the strong northerly wind dropping altogether as the wind started to change to a southerly.  Siobhan McKinlay and Marc Boulle were off at 3 minutes. Siobhan soon left Marc in the dust in her bid for a win.  Chris Sole (off 4:00) and daughter Claudia Sole (off 4:30), Lydia Pattillo (off 6:00), Bryan Staunton (off 7:00) and last of all Corey Lewis (off 11:00) followed in a bid to catch the field.  Bryan Staunton caught all the Leith runners who started off in front of him as well as all the rest of the field except for two as he finished strongly across the line in third place. This was a remarkable accomplishment as he had competed in the Rustic Half Marathon on the Saturday in atrociously bad weather conditions.  See the full Leith results below.  After the race Chris Sole had to leave early due to attention to a wound in his leg caused by being spiked at the finish and to attend a concert and we did not get him in the team photo above, but we have him below in the collage of photos by Riley Homan.  Thank you to all those who competed and supported.

 

Full Leith Results

Bib Name Gender Time Start Finish
3rd Bryan Staunton, Male 21:15.3  across the line in 28:15.3
16th Siobhan McKinlay, Female 26:08.0  across the line in 29:01.0
24th Chris Sole, Male 25:28.0 across the line in 29:28.0
26th Lydia Pattillo, Female 23:41.0 across the line in 29:41.0
28th Claudia Sole, Female 25:16.0 across the line in 29:46.0
31st Corey Lewis, Male 18:53.0 across the line in 29:53.0
38th Marc Boulle, Male 27:30.0 across the line in 30:29.0

Joe Cowie Memorial 5km Handicap, 1.30pm Saturday 28 May 2022

Bayfield Sports Fields, Guthrie Pavilion, Bayfield Park

Full results >> Cross Country Results 2022

See map of course further below the race report

We thank Ariki for inviting us to join them in a 5km handicap race.   Ariki and Hill City – University did a 3 x lap (5km) course around the Anderson’s Bay inlet on the gravel footpath and side path on the road surrounding the inlet. While Leith ran on an almost flat cross country grass course of 5 x 1000m

The weather was great. Sunny and cool with little wind, as predicted. Thank you to those who helped put this race on – the course constructors, the timekeepers, the marshals etc

Valerie Cleverley (MW60+) was off go with a start of 2 minutes on Luna Grey and Masha Toorchi the second batch of runners to start.  The task of these runners was to stay in front of the chasing pack over the 5 x 1000m circuits of the Bayfield Park football and rugby fields.

This both Valerie and Luna managed to do.  Luna couldn’t quite catch Valerie who crossed the line at  31:21.9.  Luna finished second across the line at 33:20.9 having held off third placed Adelaide Roper (off 14:00 minutes) who finished across the line at 35:36.9. 

Fastest time of 17:41.2 went to Corey Lewis (off 20:45.0) who was placed 18th. Although he was the fastest runner, his tough handicap made it difficult for him to make any impression on the field.  Second fastest time was Master Men’s 35+ runner Simon Leaning who ran it in 19:44.1. Third fastest was Senior Men’s runner Bryan Staunton who ran it in 20:02.7.  The fastest women was Junior runner Adelaide Roper in 21:36.9 who also finished third on handicap

See map below:

 

The 40th Leith Cross Country Relays & 3rd Ponydale Challenge, Saturday 21 May 2022

Dunedin Pony Club “The Ponydales”, 50 Three Mile Hill Road, Halfway Bush, Dunedin

For all the results and full reports on this event >> Leith Cross Country Relays & Ponydale Challenge

Even though the weather did not look very promising Chris Sole and the organising team were optimistic that this would be an event to remember.  On Friday they went out there and set the course up finishing off the last of the clearing, preparing for the big day.  Finally, Saturday arrived and the weather was not nearly as bad as predicted with little rain and squally cold blustery southwesters throwing in some cold moments.  A full report and all the results are available on the race website >> Leith Cross Country Relays & Ponydale Challenge

Leith in the 4 x 4km Race

 

The Leith Senior Men’s No 1 Team

The 13 Leith teams ran their hearts out resulting in excellent outcomes.  The resurgent Leith Senior Men’s No. 1 team of Janus Staufenberg (13:58 second fastest time), Corey Lewis (15:44), Hamish McKinlay (16:08) and Liam Chesney (13:53 fastest time) won convincingly in 59:43 in a race where they were in the lead from the first leg to the final leg. Check the full report on this win in the Leith Cross Country Relays Website >> Leith Cross Country Relays 2022 Reports

The Leith Senior Men’s No 2 Team

The Leith Senior Men’s No 2 Team of Harjinder Singh Chander (20:50), Casey Pearce (16:59),  Lars Winther (16:54) and Sandor Toth (19:18) battled gamely against some pretty tough opposing teams in both the senior and master men’s grades. With a never day die attitude they gave their all in what was a fine team effort that brought them home in fourth place in the Senior Men’s grade in 1 hour 14 minutes 1 second.  The highlights here were Casey and Lars running really fast times on their legs of the relay.

Sandor Toth had this to say about the event:

It was a bitterly cold afternoon at the Ponydales Cross Country Relay on Saturday. Dunedin’s hardiest runners and supporters braved the freezing conditions to take part, and the event had a wonderfully inclusive, grassroots atmosphere, complemented by the slick and professional standard of preparation and coordination from the organisation team and volunteers. One of the highlights for me was watching everyone pushing hard, pursuing their personal best, trying to hang on for dear life, regretting running their first lap too fast, pacing a strategic Ponydale Challenge, and enjoying the ‘perfect conditions’. Thanks to everyone for the good chats, encouragement, and great sense of humour that makes the sidelines a great place to be no matter the weather. Thanks to my teammates Lars and Harrie for putting in a good kick, and special thanks to Casey for being an excellent team captain – calm, organised, running strong, and there cheering us on until the very end of the race. I wasn’t surprised that Chris Sole once again situated himself in the most excellent spot for uplifting morale, and as genuine and fierce as ever helped me (and I’m sure others) to go that little bit faster, kick a little bit harder, stride a little bit further. It was an excellent run, with even better company. Highly recommended!

The Leith Senior Men’s No 3 Team

If ever we talk about a team that is full of heart then this would be the team. The Leith Senior Men’s team of Josue Munro (19:47), Bryan Staunton (18:15), Clifford Kelway-Pope (20:22) and Josue Munro / Bryan Staunton (23:28) had only three runners in its team, but it’s members used their ingenuity and found a way finishing fifth in the Senior Men’s grade in 1 hour 21 minutes 52 seconds.  Bryan Staunton threw in an impressive time of 18:15 on the second leg with Josue Munro’s 19:47 putting the team ahead of the Leith SM 2 team at the end of the first leg.  Well done guys, we hope to see you competing during the winter harriers season and also at next year’s 41st Leith Cross Country Relays

The Leith Master Men’s 35+ No 1 Team

The experienced Leith MM35+ team of Danny Baillie (MM50+) 16:09 second fastest time, Neale McLanachan (16:52), Gallien Chanalet-Quercy (17:18) and Andrew Lonie (16:05 fastest time) had a bit of a scare when the Cavy Stallions after a blinder by their leg 1 runner Aaron Eyles (16:10 third fastest time) and leg 2 runner Jono Ryan (16:41) surged into a narrow lead by the end of the second leg.  However Leith had too much depth overall and by the end of the third leg had over two minutes on the threatening Cavy Stallions team and won going away by over five minutes in 1:06:23 from both the Leith MM2 team (2nd) and Cavy Stallions (3rd).  The Leith MM1 team also finished third overall in Race 4 consigning the Cavy SM to fourth place overall. Check the full report on this win in the Leith Cross Country Relays Website >> Leith Cross Country Relays 2022 Reports

The Leith Master Men’s 35+ No 2 Team

The Leith MM2 team of Mark O Neill, Andrew Wilson (17:07 fastest Leith MM2), Marco Kleinlangevelsloo and Danny Baille had quietly set about its task and passed the flagging Cavy Stallions on the last leg with that man again, Danny Baillie (17:48 second fastest Leith MM2) providing it with a fantastic finish for second place in 1:11:52 to the third placed Cavy Stallions who ran it in 1:12:40.  

Leith Senior Women in the 4 x 2km Race 

 

The Leith Senior Women’s No 1 Team

Leith had an unprecedented four teams in the Senior Women’s feature race in Race 1.  The Leith Senior Women’s No.1 team of Florence Reynolds (8:37), Ange Wright (9:04), Mandy Lowther and Anna O’Byrne (MW35+) worked hard for a possible podium in this extremely strong and competitive grade.  By the end of the 2nd leg they were lying in 3rd place, but such was the quality of the other contenders, they were unable to challenge for a possible podium finish, eventually finishing fourth in 37:17 just a minute adrift of the third placed team.  

The Leith Senior Women’s No 2 Team

The Leith Senior Women’s No 2 team of Mia Pugh (9:11), Eva De Jong (9:11), Claudia Sole (10:12) and Adelaide Roper (9:35) had a lot of fun out there judging by the smiles on their faces. The sun was not needed as their smiles lit up the whole area.  Remarkably Mia and Eva had the same times.  This team was steadiness personified staying in fifth position the entire race to finish in yes, fifth place, in 38 minutes 10 seconds.

Leith Senior Women’s No 3 Team

The Leith Senior Women’s No 3 team of Nina Batucan (9:41), Manya Sabherwal (10:41), Riley Homan (10:38) and Kate Roberts (12:06) stuck to the task and were not in the least bit overawed by the quality of runners out there.  The enjoyed themselves tackling the tough course and the elements.  A great team effort saw them finish in seventh place in 43 minutes 7 minutes.  We are sure they will be back next year too for another crack at the course. Well done team!

Leith Senior Women’s No 4 Team

All wrapped up and ready to go home after an immensely satisfying afternoon of cross country running. The Leith Senior Women’s No 4 team of Cass Hart (11:55), Maren Richter (13:32), Tash Hewson (9:24) and Mia Pugh (9:54) made sure that they were warm after their great team showing out on the paddocks.  They knew that they did not have a chance of winning this one, but they had the Leith Senior Women No 3 team as a target.  In the end they finished in eighth place in 44 minutes 44 seconds.  Well done team, see you at the 41st Leith Cross Country Relays

Leith Masters Grades in the 4 x 2km Race 

 

Leith Master Men’s 50+ Team

The Leith Master Men’s 50+ team of Croydon Paton, Don Bate (M60+), Steve Stewart and the amazing Peter Ford (MM70+ fastest team time of 10:16) put in a fantastic team effort to finish second in 43:12 to the very strong Ariki MM50+ team which won convincingly in 36:47

Leith Master Women’s 35+ Team

The Leith Master Women’s 35+ team of Anna O’Byrn (9:26 third fastest in race grade), Gaya Gnanalingam, Siobhan McKinlay and Christine Montgomery ( MW50+) fought gamely against the very strong Hill City-University MW1 team finishing second in 41:46 to the HCU’s team’s 38:52

Leith Master Men’s 60+ Team

The Leith MM60+ team of Chris Sole (10:02 fastest team time and 3rd fastest in race grade), Peter Hughes (11:09), Dave McLean (11:26) and Marc Boulle (10:39) while looking like a steady team, had its work cut out against the Cavy Speckle Grays which had a couple of quality younger 60+ runners in its ranks.  Leith had a healthy lead of about 30 seconds by the end of the third leg, but Cavy’s Dave Sharp (fastest race time of 9:07) put in a blinder to overhaul Leith’s leg 4 runner Marc Boulle.  Cavy won in 42:14 with Leith coming home in 43:15.  This team came close to beating the Leith Master Men’s 50+ team which had a 60+ and a 70+ runner in it, but were beaten to the finish line by just 3 seconds after Peter Ford overhauled Marc Boulle at the top of the last downhill.

Leith Master Women’s 50+ Team

The Leith Master Women’s 50+ team of Debbie Telfer (MW60+ fastest team and race time of 10:17), Christine Montgomery (10:27 second fastest race time), Susan Craig and Val Cleverley (MW60+) with the incomparable Master 60s runner Debbie Telfer and Christine Montgomery to the fore were still in it until the end of the third leg. However, the Cavy Appaloosa team members were steadiness personified as their last runner brought them home in first place in 47:30 to Leith’s 51:45.  Unfortunately, we did not get a photo of MW60+ runner Val Cleverley.

 

Full Leith Teams positional results

RACE 1  4x2km

Leith SW1 4th, SW2 5th, SW3 7th, SW4 8th

Leith MW35+ 2nd

Leith MW50+ 2nd

Leith MM50+ 2nd

Leith MM60+ 2nd

Race 4  4x4km

Leith SM1 1st, SM2 4th, SM3 5th

Leith MM35+1 1st, MM35+ 2nd

Thanks from Chris Sole for all those involved

Thank you, Team Captains, for accepting the Leadership responsibility, for easing my role, for entering/editing your Teams, Team order discussions, caring for each person, ensuring transport, Leith singlets, supporting on the course, and the fabulous Team Photographs: Mandy, Claudia, Cass, Riley, Corey, Casey, Bryan, Jason/Danny/Andrew, Mark, Don, Marc, Gaya, Siobhan and Susan. 

Thank you Alan, Greg, Kevin, Dave, Marc, Margaret, Sebastian, Danny, Don, Caitlin, Christine, Gaya, Mark, Siobhan, Susan, Owen, Val, Peter, Peter, Gavin, Gisela, Lydia, Steve for Advertising, Booking and Keys, Course Set-up, Deconstruct, Toilets, AO Trailer, All Equipment, Track clearing, Start/Finish, On-line Entries and Results, Timekeeping, Recording, Tents, Leith Singlets/clothing, Ribbons, Photographs, Reports…and to any I have inadvertently left out. This Event could not proceed without you. I owe you all.

Lovelock Relays, Saturday 7 May 2022

University Oval, Logan Park, Dunedin

This iconic event to honour Jack Lovelock winner of the 1500m gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is organised by Hill City University Harriers Club. 

Preliminary Results are out >> Lovelock Relays 2022 Preliminary Results

Leith Athletics put in a a fine effort today and we would love to thank all the athletes, the helpers, timekeepers, captains, Hill City University, Athletics Otago officials and everyone else involved for a great afternoon of fun athletic endeavour.  The weather was sublime – nice warm conditions with little wind, a bit of sun and no rain.  Check the great stories below:

Leith Masters Men’s No.1 Team takes it home

 

Leith the perennial and defending champions in the Master Men’s grade kept up the tradition of winning this grade and breaking the 20 minute barrier such is the quality lineup that Leith continually is able to produce for this iconic event.  The Leith’s Master Men’s No. 1 team of Danny Baillie, Neale McLanachan, Gallien Chanalet-Quercy and Richard Campbell finished first in 19 minutes 36 seconds after a tough close battle with the very strong Hill City University Blue team which finished in 19 minutes 52 seconds.  Premier Otago Men’s 50+ athlete Danny Baillie had an awesome run in edging the HCU athlete Elliot O’Sullivan on the first leg setting the tone for the rest of the race as he ran 4 minutes 50 seconds.  In a magnificent team effort Richard Campbell closed with a 4 minute 46 second leg to take the team home. 

Leith Master Men’s No. 2 Team finish third

The Leith Master Men’s No 2 team of Hayden Scorringe, Mark O’Neill, Marko Draganoff, Nolan Hill had a fantastic race to finish third in its grade in 21 minutes 43 seconds. It was good to see the experienced Marko Draganoff back in Leith colours after over 10 years away from running competitively.  An old stalwart of Leith’s Lovelock Relays teams of the past he has obviously kept himself in great shape as he enters the 60+ age grade as his impressive time of 5 minutes 19 seconds shows.  All team members were below the 5 minute 31 second mark which was amazingly consistent.

Leith Master Men’s No 3 team put in a great effort

The Leith Master Men’s No 3 team of Mark Kleinlangevelsloo, Luke McKinlay, Steve Stewart and Peter Ford put in a great team effort to finish in a time of 25 minutes 4 seconds.  Mark ran a superb first leg with fastest team time of 5 minutes 25 seconds. Master Men’s 70+ runner Peter Ford continues to amaze as he refuses to slow down and puts in excellent performances time after time.  He just never “lets the old man in”. 

Leith Masters Men’s No 4 team – “Don’t Let the Old Man In”

Chris Sole, fresh from receiving the Sport Otago Trophy for contribution to athletics in 2021/22, put in a magnificent run to post best team time of 6 minutes 16 seconds and set a target for the rest of the grey gurus who made up this team.  Following his example the rest of the team of Marc Boullé, Peter Hughes and Dave McLean put in a huge effort for the team to finish in 27 minutes 11 seconds.  They all tried their best to make it look like this was a walk in the park.  Peter Hughes had a smile on his face, or was it a grimace?  We all had the same motto borrowed from the title of Clint Eastwood’s song (written by Toby Keith) – “Don’t let the old man in”

Leith’s Senior Women’s No. 1 Team takes third place

The Leith Senior Women’s No 1 team had an awesome run to take home third place in this tough grade.  The team of Florence Reynolds, Caitlin O’Donnnell, Ange Wright and Mandy Lowther finished in 23 minutes 2 seconds with Florence Reynolds 5 minutes 15 seconds the highlight of the Leith team effort. Both the Senior Women’s No 2 and No 3 teams had a great time out there judging by the relaxed smiles on their faces.

Fantastic team effort from the Leith Senior Women’s No 2 Team

The Senior Women’s No 2 team of Claudia Sole, Riley Homan, Nina Balucan and Eva de Jong ran 24 minutes 54 seconds.  Their love of running can clearly be seen in their faces as they glided effortlessly around the Oval.  We are sure that they will be back next year for another go at this iconic event. We also hope to see their smiling faces at the Leith Cross Country Relays on Sat 21 May 2022

Leith Senior Women No 3 team shows the team spirit

The Leith Senior Women No. 3 team of Mia Pugh, Adelaide Roper, Kate Roberts and Maren Richter ran it in 27 minutes 34 seconds.  Emulating the enthusiasm of the other Leith teams they too looked like they were enjoying the occasion immensely despite the tough task of each making it around the 375m track four times each at quite a hectic pace. They are going to enjoy doing the Leith Cross Country Relays in two weeks time (Sat 21 May 2022)

Leith’s Senior Men No.1 team finished third in a quality field

The Leith Senior Men’s No 1 team of Janus Staufenberg, Corey Lewis, Liam Chesney, Hamish McKinlay, Casey Pearce and Danny Baillie (MM50+) had to contend with the lethal new top dogs on the block, the Whippets team from Christchurch and the quality Hill City University Blue Team.  Janus took up the challenge and beat the Whippet runner to the first changeover by 4 seconds for a time of 4 minutes 6 seconds.  He was unable to match the excellent time of HCUs Ben Wall who ran a fantastic 3 minutes 59 seconds which was second fastest on the day.  The Whippets soon took control of the race though with five of their runners being 4 minutes 10 seconds and under and their fastest runner and fastest of the day, David Lee running an awesome 3 minutes 57 seconds for fastest time of the day.  The Whippets won in a quality time of 24 minutes 37 seconds (the record is 24 minutes 12 seconds)  Leith put in a tremendous team effort but the HCU Blue Team was just too strong and outlasted the Leith team to finish second in 26 minutes 39 seconds.  Leith finished third in 27 minutes 48 seconds. 

The Leith Senior Men’s No. 2 team had a great deal of fun out there

You could see that by the smiles on their faces throughout that they were out there to enjoy themselves whilst putting in a fantastic effort. The team consisted of Harjinder Singh Chander, Andrew Robinson, Ashim GC, Clifford Kelway-Pope, Bryan Staunton and Liam Turk.  They knew that they were unlikely to win the race, but why not try anyway.  With the help of Marc’s dubious photo shop skills we added Cliff to the photo or maybe he thought he was still running, hence the baton in his hand

The Leith Master Women’s Team finished second

Going by the photos this team was a happy bunch of keen runners. The Leith Master Women’s team of Christine Montgomery, Gaya Gnanalingam, Lucy Marr and Siobhan McKinlay finished second to the historically strong Hill City University Master Women’s team in 26 minutes 16 seconds.  Christine Montgomery set the tone for the team, whipping around the Oval in 6 minutes 10 seconds for fastest team time.