Longreach Road was the venue for Round 4 of the Nowra Athletics Club Winter Cross Country Competition on Saturday 23rd April 2016.
The overall number of runners were down yet again perhaps due to people getting away for the long weekend however the running spirit of the participating Club members remains strong.
In the 1 kilometre event Callula Norwood was the first across the line for the second week in a row. Tynan Caswell was second and Amba Florance was third.
In the 2 kilometre event in Division 1 Cameron Harrison took line honours. Darcy Arnold was second and Kate Leung once again recorded the fastest female time as she crossed for third place in 10.17 minutes.
Division 2 saw Roxi Florance finish first for the second week running followed by Levi Wallis and third was Kelly Norwood, also backing up her podium finish from last week.
Chelsea Pascoe was the fastest female over 3 kilometres this week; crossing the line first in Division 1 in 13.00 minutes. Scott Delo ran in second and Jake Babian was the fastest male on the day, finishing third in 12.36 minutes.
In Division 2 Samantha Boyd was first home; followed by Lyn Baker. Determined long-term runner Andrew Havadjia pushed hard for third.
The number of medium course participants has certainly dropped from previous years but those running are striding out and clocking some good times. Martin Tomasini was first home this week, followed closely by young Kieran Harrison. Third place was Stephen Grant with the fastest time of 20.03 minutes. Cristine Suffolk clocked the fastest female time of 25.03 minutes, as she finished in ninth place.
Rod Rose was first across the line in Division 2 whilst Matt Florance and Kyra Florance were second and third respectively.
Division 3 was contested by just 5 competitors again this week, all jostling for top position. John Price was the eventual victor this week with Donna Johnson second and Alex Arnold third.
Long course Division 1 was claimed by Graeme Pepper with Bill Broughton second and Martin Bell third. Leith Babian clocked the fastest time of 35.59 minutes as he crossed the line in fifth place and the fastest female was once again Elisha Bell in 40.37 minutes.
Division 2 was well-contested with Kim Waters taking first place. Barefoot runner Kevyn Davis ran in for second and always-smiling Sky Martin crossed in third.
Next week cross country will be held at Willandra. This will be an open day match with Kembla Joggers Club for the McCaffrey Challenge. This is a shield named in honour of Frank McCaffrey who was instrumental in founding the Nowra club in 1960. The Challenge doubles as Round 5 of the Nowra Athletics Winter Pointscore Program however for the McCaffrey Challenge a point score system is in place to match the two clubs against each other in the five distances; the better the finish position, the better the Club does. We would love to see as many Nowra athletes there as possible. It is always a great social day and a golden opportunity to test yourselves against other like-minded runners.
Looking forward in the race calendar, May is a busy month for cross country. There are a number of ANSW events throughout May including the Greater Sydney 10 on Saturday 7th May, King of the Mountain Running Festival on 22nd May and State Cross Country Relays at Miranda on 28th May.
The Greater Sydney:10 is a race for everyone! It is part of Athletics NSW expanding RunNSW series which features iconic Fun Runs across NSW. The Sydney 10 will be a flat fast course finishing in the brand new athletics track at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre. All races will feature NSW Championship categories and are also open to anyone to compete. See the Athletics NSW website for more information.
The King of the Mountain Running Festival is now a running festival for the whole family to enjoy. The run will once again commence at Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Resort and offers 4 great distances to all ages and ability (2km, 5km – Greater Fun Run, 10km, 25km – King of the Mountain). Entry details can be found at the KOM website.
Finally, the State Relays are a 4 person team event held annually at Miranda. Start thinking about if you keen to run as part of a team and let a committee member know. This is a great social event as well as a great opportunity for experiencing some more running at a different course against other NSW Clubs.