It was a picture-perfect afternoon with warm Winter sunshine on Saturday 13th June…just perfect for running the hills of Willandra!
We had 14 keen and eager competitors line up for the 1km event. First to finish the 1km loop was Clayton Hudson, followed by Heidi Piert and Aimee Coulson-Knight. It was great to see young Will Anderson back at cross country after quite a few weeks absence and despite a fall during the race, he finished with arms pumping and a big smile (as well as grazed knees)!
In the 2km event there were 13 competitors in Division 1 with Joseph Piert taking 1st place, Zac Peters second and Matthew Higham 3rd. The fastest male runner across 2kms was Jake Babian who started at the back of the pack, and managed to finish 5th across the line. Just behind him was Bethany Dobson in 6th place with the fastest female time.
In Division 2 the first three athletes across the line ran from back handicaps. Roxi Florance started on a 1 minute handicap and finished in first place. Brae Hudson started on 1minute 50 to place second and Tom Fraser starting off 1 minute 20 crossed the line in 3rd place. Great running and determination was shown!
The 3km Division 1 event had just 11 competitors this week. Jasper Arnold claimed line honours. Mikayla Check, a track sprinter showed she has endurance as a cross country runner too, with a second place and Alec Dobson ran from back marker position to finish 3rd with the fastest time of 12.14minutes. Sister Leah Dobson was not far behind in 5th position, and was the fastest female on the day over 3kms. The Dobson family is certainly making a name for themselves in cross country running!
Division 2 of the 3km event had 10 enthusiastic competitors. Rebecca Lancaster claimed 1st place followed by Julie Harrison and William Pratt. Back marker Max Buckham ran in 4th.
In the Medium Course Division 1 Jesse Buckham was the event winner, followed by go marker Michael Duncan. Steve Grant once again displayed his speed to finish 3rd from a handicap of 5 minutes with the fastest time of 14.15 minutes. Cristine Suffolk was once again the fastest female over this distance.
Division 2 was taken out by Erin Smart who made her way from back marker to front of the pack! Megan Fitt finished 2nd and Alex Arnold was 3rd.
In Division 3 there were just 6 competitors this week. Girl power shone through to take the first 3 places with Angela Edwards finishing 1st, followed by Donna Johnson in 2nd and Chris Russell 3rd. Trish Bird returned to the course after a few weeks break and put in a solid performance to finish 5th.
Long course had the most number of competitors of the day – it seems the majority of runners enjoy running the hills of Willandra twice! Twice the fun it seems! Bill Broughton was first home this week, followed by Annette Sampson. In third place was Graham Anderson, making a triumphant return after several weeks’ absence, as well as backing up from the 1km with son Will. Jye Edwards continues to impress with another strong run. Jye started on back marker position to finish in 9th position with the fastest time over the 8km distance in a time of 27 minutes. He just edged out Arron Spiessberger-Parker who clocked 27.01 minutes.
In Division 2 another large field looped around the course with Martin Bell taking first place. Angela Bond was second; Geoff Crook ran in third and Kevyn Davis was 4th. Don’t forget next Saturday is the 2015 NSW Cross-Country Championships which is being run this year at the Kembla Joggers XC venue for the very first time. This is a great opportunity for Nowra athletes to compete on a different course and hit it out against some of the best athletes in the country. But don’t think that you need to be super fast to compete! Entry is open to all abilities. Country medals are up for grabs too so don’t hold back, have a go – you might surprise yourself. There’s an all-ages fun run at 1.40pm too so everyone can certainly have a run! Online entry for the event is available at the Athletics NSW Website and close Wednesday 17th June 2015. Entry is also available on the day; however an additional charge is incurred. The timetable of events can be found on the website or at Nowra Athletics facebook page. It is a compulsory requirement that all competitors are to wear their full Nowra Athletics uniform so wear the gold and black with pride! We look forward to seeing you there.