The 2023 Nowra Show 1km handicap race was an exciting part of the Nowra ring events on Saturday night.
There were 6 scratchings before the race got underway but 9 enthusiastic runners still managed to make it to the start line.
First out of the starting gates was Tom Smart and Kai Thirlwall. Evie Smart followed 10 seconds later, then Lily Sproule at 15 seconds. Hugh Thirwall took off at 20 seconds then the first masters athlete, Scott Martin started at 40 seconds. Hamish McLaren had a 45 second handicap start followed by Mark Thirwall at 50 seconds. Back marker Brad Sawyers had a minute handicap.
Tom and Kai led for the first ¾ of the race, and were caught by Evie, Lily and Hugh with about 200m to go.
Hamish started strong and passed Scott with 250m to go.
Brad worked hard throughout the race and caught Mark and Scott just after the halfway mark. He put in an enormous effort trying to get to the leaders and just narrowly missed the podium.
150m before the finish line, Hugh found another gear and took off, passing the 4 runners in front of him who had bunched up. Kai chased but Hamish was closing fast and went past Kai with 50 to go.
Only metres separated the top four in the end with Hugh taking the win, followed by Hamish, then Kai then Brad. In fact, you could have thrown a blanket over the whole field at the finish. The race was super exciting and provided plenty of entertainment for the crowd.
Well done to all competitors.
