Yesterday when people drove into the parking area they received a program which stated among other things “Welcome to Willandra 2014 Country Classic”
Classic indeed would be my opinion of the day of high quality running, organisation, enthusiasm and Club spirit.
It was 1990 when this Club conducted its’ first State Championship and every year since we have hosted a State event, most of which have been the cross country championships.
It may be that my memory could be fading but I reckon that this was an absolute Classic in every sense of the word.
Congratulations to the 90 or more who entered the championship events. Many more went in the fun runs, many went in both!!
Thanks to the army of volunteers who carried out the many jobs that a host Club is responsible for.
I received comments from my long time friends and others from the various visiting Clubs, all were positive and expressed congratulations to the Club for another great day. I received an email to the same effect from some one who had never been to Willandra before and today some Randwick Botany folk came to have another run, they enjoyed the championships so much.
Because I had no specific job I was able to wander around talking to people and even better I watched the running and this was something to see.
From our youngest to oldest all gave their very best effort and though I may not mention you personally I know many of you ran well above your best and in some cases ran to a standstill.
Well above their best certainly applies to Arron Spiessberger-Parker who improved his PB at Willandra by 30 seconds. He was the silver medalist in the under 20 8k battling it out with Charlie Hunter from Asics Wests in a tremendous struggle.
He and Jason Huntsman, Jake Myors and Tim O’Shae won the team Gold medal. The under 18 boys also won the Team Gold, great work Jye, Harry, Gus and Jed.
Jye also won Silver after working his way through some of the Sydney runners in the second lap.
The under 14 Boys and under 16 Girls Teams won bronze medals.
The under 12 Girls nearly had a Bronze but a technical hitch caused the final placings to favour another Club. Do not be disappointed girls we are proud of you.
There will be a possibility of more team medals when the senior age group results are processed by Athletics NSW in the next few days.
These Senior and Masters 8 and 12k races also provided highlights that I was fortunate to see.
Mitch Hudson at 18th kept pace with the hot shots in the 12k.
Crissy Suffolk won Bronze in the 40 plus Womens 8k.
Leith Babian was sensational in winning the Gold medal in the 45 plus group. He gave away two years in age to the others and beat them home by two minutes!
Damian Smith had a tremendous battle with ‘Big Jim’ Dawes from Randwick Botany who eventually beat him home but the racing was something out of the box. The Bronze was a just reward for Damo.
Former Club member Michaela Quinn absolutely blitzed the field in the Open Womens 8k. Now running with Kembla Joggers Club, Michaela won by a minute twenty seconds.
That was really something.
Of the many highlights I close this report on the “Classic” with a couple more.
Thanks to Bronwyn Jeffrey for her delightful rendition of the National Anthem, it stopped the traffic.
Thanks also to Faye Suffolk for producing the Willandra Classic plates which are awarded to the Open Female and Male championship winners.
After all that what is next you may ask. Round 12 of the winter pointscore next Saturday at Longreach is the first thing. Sunday July 6th is the KING OF THE MOUNTAIN. This will be number 40 ‘KING’ and much organisation has gone into this annual event. If you can help for a few hours on the day ‘phone Kevyn Davis 44478309. July 12 the State Road Relays will be at Ourimbah on the Central Coast. Ourimbah is about three and a half hours drive from Nowra. As usual with our relay squads our selectors need to know if you are available and want to be in a team. More details at Longreach on Saturday.
Rod Gibb