Nowra Athletics Cross Country Competition took place last week at Longreach. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, perfect for running! Numbers overall were slightly down on Saturday – there were just a total of 85 competitors including some visitors!! Perhaps this was due to the start of the school holidays but nonetheless the runners who did turn up, turned up full of their usual enthusiasm and energy.
In the shortest distance there were 7 youngsters running the 1kilometre course. First across the finish line was Brodie Wilson, followed by Charlie Braddick, then Katie Martin. Running in fourth was Levi Wallis, then next was Connor Martin, then Will Anderson & Miller Bell rounded out the placings.
In the 2km event there were just 4 competitors in Division 1. Zac Peters ran home first, Scott Delo ran the fastest time and finished second; Matthew Higham was third and Darcy Arnold fourth. In Division 2 siblings Harriet Urquart and Alastair Urquart took out first and second position respectively and Kate Leung was the fastest female over 2 kilometres, finishing in 3rd place.
There were just a handful of runners in the 3 kilometre event this week. Georgia Richards and Jasper Arnold were the only two takers for Division 1 and took out first and second place in that order. In Division 2 Max Hyam was first, Richard Murphy second and Andrew Havadjia third.
The Medium Course had a few more competitors. Darcy Hopkins took line honours from a Go marker position; Paul Duncan ran in second; Erin Smart was third and Kristina O’Shea fourth. Dave Tuckerman was the fastest male over the course in a time of 23.16 while Cristine Suffolk was the fastest female (23.52). Medium Course Division 2 saw Megan Fitt take line honours, followed by Gavin Urquart and Graham Smith. Whilst Division 3 was won by Angela Edwards; Chris Russell was second and Eva Moeller-Duhme, with clean shoes this week, ran in third.
Once again it was the long course that saw the most amount of competitors. Steve McCullough was first home, followed by a succession of teenage boys. Bradley Sawyers took second place, Jye Edwards was third, also recording the fastest male time of 31.02, followed closely by Arron Spiessberger-Parker with 31.13 and Harry McGill in 31.55. Troy Whittington was 6th in this line up with a time of 38.30. Division 2 was won by Sue Anfruns this week who is showing great consistency at the moment. Eric Moeller-Duhme was second and Paul Jennings third.
Next week there will be no Saturday cross country competition. Instead Nowra Athletics Club invite all Club members and running enthusiasts to join them on Sunday 5th July at the King of the Mountain Running Festival. This is a running festival for the whole family to enjoy. There is a distance on offer for everyone from a 2km run or walk and talk, a testing 5km run around the golf course or if you’re looking for more of a challenge enter the 10 or 25km event. Whether you’re a marathon specialist, a half marathon enthusiast or simply like running over mountains – then why not give it a go, you’ll enjoy the experience. The “King” (25km) as it’s known locally, will start and finish at the Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Resort, with rolling hills, unspoilt bushland and glorious views of sheer cliff faces, valleys and ravines. The highest point of the race is Mount Scanzi – approx 360m above sea level. The course takes you down a steep descent, on a fire trail and back up over the Mountain.
You can enter the 2km on the day, as this is not a timed event. Unfortunately all other events are pre-registration online, as we are using a chip timing system and the details need to be finalised prior to the event. Nowra Athletics would love to see everyone there, if not running, then cheering on the runners as they tackle the course.