29th Leith Cross Country Relays

The Ponydales are organised by the Leith Harrier & Athletic Club Inc. and this year took place at the Dunedin Pony Club, Three Mile Hill, Dunedin on 16 May 2009.

Ponydales "Leith Focus" 2009 Report

The people who set up the course, did the timekeeping, processed the results, organised the food and drink, did the marshalling and then the tidying up afterwards have to be thanked here. And of course the clubs, the competitors and their supporters and not least the weather made for a great day of cross country running. Now for a summary of how the Leith teams fared.

It was a great day of cross-country running, with mostly high cloud but dry weather with a warmish NW wind and a challenging course with 100s of keen runners showing the world what genuine cross-country running is all about. You could say that this course offered something for everyone, a log jump, undulations, a small creek jump, a rickety-looking bridge to cross, . What more could you wish for?.

Race Four: Leith SM finished 5th

Leith SM - Neale McLanachan, Geof Williamson, Jason Palmer, Andrew Lonie.

While the battle for podium finishes was going on, another was unfolding for fourth place between Caversham 2 and Leith with just four seconds separating these two teams at the end.

Neale McLanachan started off proceedings for Leith matching many of the more fancied runners to keep Leith up with the top end of the field by the first changeover. Geoff Williamson started his lap 32 seconds behind the frontrunners Caversham 1 and just one second behind Caversham 2 and lying in fifth place at this point.

Despite being up against some very in-form runners, Williamson put in a solid run to keep Leith within 38 seconds of fourth placed Caversham 2 and well clear of the sixth placed Hill City 2 team.

At the changeover Jason Palmer knew he had some catching to do and he did this with great effect cutting Caversham 2's lead to 27 seconds when he handed over to Andrew Lonie for the last lap.

Andrew Lonie chased the Caversham runner Shane Renownden as if there were no tomorrow. And such was the quality of his run that there seemed a very good chance of an upset for fourth place here. At the end Lonie brought Leith to within four seconds of beating Caversham 2 for a well deserved fifth place, the highest finish for Leith for a number of years.

Race Two: Leith SW finished 3rd, Leith MW finished 2nd, Leith 1 Social finished 5th and Leith 2 Mixed finished 8th.

(course approx. 4 x 2.1km)

Senior Women
Leith SW1 - Kirsty Morris, Sue Cuthbert MW35, Rebecca Keat, Louisa Andrews MW35

The Leith Senior Women's No. 1 team (Leith White) finished third to the winning team Hill City 1 in this race in 35 minutes 12 seconds after a good all round team effort. Kirsty Morris was the fastest Leith athlete running her lap in 8 minutes 15 seconds, while Sue Cuthbert (8:45) was the fastest MW35 athlete overall. Louisa Andrews finished with third fastest MW35 time overall of 9:05 while Rebecca Keat put in a good run to help the team get a podium finish.

The Leith SW2 team (Leith Blue) of Kerri Lumb, Penny Leith, Megan Balchin and Jan Craig
finished 8th in this tough and competitive grade.

Masters Women 35+
The Leith Masters Women's team of Viv Ayers MW50, Jan Craig MW50, Jan Brosnahan MW50 and Jill Alexander MW50 showed that they can match it with the younger Master runners in finishing 2nd in this race to the very strong Caversham team.

The Caversham team of Marion Maxwell (3rd fastest MW), Claire Giles, Maria Sleeman and Christine Montgomery were the favourites in this race. The biggest threat to Caversham's title ambitions was the strong Leith MW50 team.

Maxwell got Caversham off to a very good start by ensuring a 27 second lead over second placed Ariki at the changeover. Ariki's Julie Wilson's excellent run (fastest MW50 runner) put Leith under serious threat of not placing above 3rd position, despite a stout effort by Viv Eyers on the first lap.

However, Leith's Jan Craig (2nd fastest MW50 runner) was not going to let Caversham's Claire Giles and Ariki's Michelle Bernadek-Burrows run away with it. She set about the task of bringing Leith back into contention for a win with a great run which saw Leith cut into Caversham's lead to have Leith 32 seconds behind Caversham at the changeover and a 48 second lead on third placed Ariki. Caversham's Maria Sleeman's solid run still ensured that Caversham enjoyed considerable advantage when she handed to the fast Christine Montgomery despite an excellent run by Leith's Jan Brosnahan (3rd fastest MW50 runner) who had cut into Ariki's lead somewhat by the time she handed to Jill Alexander at the last changeover.

Montgomery knew that she had to run to her ability to ensure victory for Caversham, and she did not disappoint in bringing the Caversham team home in a well earned first place with 41 seconds to spare from Leith's Jill Alexander who had battled gamely to keep in touch. Ariki's Carol Chettleburgh was unable to make any impression on Leith's lead and had to settle for a creditible third place.

Social/Composite/Mixed

The Leith 1 social team of Peter Green SM, Steve Prescott MM50, Ed Stevens MM50 and Murray McCloy SM finished fifth in 38 minutes 26 seconds in this increasingly popular race which has now being moved to race 2 with the Women's grades due to sheer size of numbers. Peter Green showed that he is starting to get back into form with a solid first lap in 9 minutes 9 seconds.

The Leith 2 mixed team of Alison Perry MW35, Janice Ashton MW35, Lil Clearwater W19 and Peter Hughes MM35 finished 8th in 40 minutes 25 seconds with Peter Hughes matching Leith 1's Peter Green's lap time of 9:09 and Lil Clearwater just one second slower in 9:10 on her lap.

Race One: Leith MM35-1 finished 2nd, Leith MM35-2 finished third, Leith MM35-3 finished 7th, Leith MM50 finished 2nd

(course approx. 4 x 2.1km)

Master Men's 35

The Leith MM35 No. 1 team of Glen Ferguson, David Rush, John Bayne and Alan Funnell finished a brave second in this increasingly competitive grade having to contend with a blistering record breaking run from Hill City's Mike Wakelin which gave his team a distinct advantage with three laps to go.

Hill City, Ariki or Leith? This was always going to be a tough one to predict and it took an outstanding first lap run by Mike Wakelin (fastest MM35 and new lap record of 7:00) to tip the scales in favour of Hill City's No. 1 team of Mike Wakelin, Alex McEwan, Andrew Hall and Richard Murphy, which won an exciting battle with Leith's No. 1 team for supremacy in this grade. By beating Leith by the narrow margin of 12 seconds, Hill City also set a new course record of 30:19 smashing the old one set by Leith in 2007 by nine seconds.

Mike Wakelin wasted no time in stamping his authority on first lap proceedings. Leith's Glen Ferguson and Ariki's Stewart Paul tried gamely to maintain contact but in the end were left to ensure that either Ariki or Leith would be the first to chase after Hill City at the changeover.

With a hefty 43 second start on Leith and 45 seconds on Ariki, Alex McEwan knew that he would be under extreme pressure from the experienced David Rush of Leith and Brent Halley of Ariki. The Mohawk man was equal to the task and kept a "level" head as he headed up the first hill. Although Rush and Halley made up a fair bit of ground on him, he nevertheless kept Hill City in the front by 19 seconds at the changeover.

This advantage was to prove decisive as Leith's John Bayne set about reducing the lead even further. The similarity to the Lovelocks was apparent at this stage as Leith tried desperately to get back into contention. Bayne's effort against the in-form Andrew Hall was awesome as he made more inroads into Hill City's lead to leave Leith 13 seconds off the pace at the last changeover. The depth of Leith's Master Men's talent began to show here as the Leith No. 2 team threatened the third placed Ariki team. Julian O'Hagen of Leith 2 made a serious dent into Ariki's podium ambitions by bring Leith 2 to within 13 seconds of Ariki.

Hill City's Richard Murphy (3rd Fastest MM35) thought he was going to have it all his own way on the last lap, but Leith's Alan Funnell (2nd Fastest MM35 and record holder) had other ideas as he chased after the younger master runner and in a never-say-die effort maintained the pressure that brought Leith to within 12 seconds of victory. This was a great victory indeed for the quality Hill City team over a Leith team that fought until the end.

The Leith MM35 No. 2 team of Ray Knox Richard Hendry Julian O'Hagan and Paul Beauvais were not to be outdone and finished third in this grade. The battle for the last podium position unfolded between Ariki and Leith 2, with Leith's Paul Beauvais increasing the lead even further with a quality run of his own to bring Leith 2 home comfortably by 24 seconds over the fourth placed Ariki 1 team and one minute behind the Leith 1 team. This effort showed Leith's enormous depth in the MM35 grade.

The Leith MM35 No. 3 team of David Sharp, Andrew Perry, Grant McDougall and Patrick Manning finished seventh in 34 minutes 44 seconds just 11 seconds behind the Ariki 3 team with Andrew Perry putting in a great run to almost crack the 8 minute barrier in his 8:04 for his lap.

Master Men's 50

The Leith MM50 team of Lachie Ashton, Marc Boulle, Graham Anderson and Brian Pascoe finished second by the narrowest of margins in losing its title to the strong Ariki No. 1 team. Read below how the drama unfolded as Brian Pascoe put in the run of his life to crack the MM50 lap record and nearly win the race for Leith after having to make up what seemed an impossible amount of ground on the last lap.

The Ariki No. 1 team of Phil Napper, Mike Wilson, Gene Sanderson and Alan Nichols (3rd fastest MM50) arrived at the Ponydales with all the intentions of living up to its status as slight favourites over defending champions Leith in what was going to be an amazingly close encounter of the muddy kind. The surviving members of Leith's 2008 team, Graham Anderson and Marc Boulle, knew that this was going to be a tough day at the office.

Phil Napper, fresh from a good summer track season, began proceedings with a steady run up the first hill with Leith's Lachie Ashton close by. Ashton who is making a comeback to competitive running decided that reputations meant nothing on this tough course and he provided Leith with a welcome lead of 8 seconds at the first changeover by breaking away from the tough Napper. This run by Ashton had helped set Leith up with the chance of victory.

It was left to Marc Boulle (still lap record holder from 2007 at that stage) to defend this lead against the improved Mike Wilson, a man who had had the better of Boulle on the track during the 2008/9 summer season. Wilson set about the task of overhauling Boulle and although he made serious inroads into Leith's lead, he was unable to bring Ariki into the lead by the second changeover with Leith still holding a slight advantage of 2 seconds. The battle between Boulle and Wilson was also mixed with a bit of humour as the diminutive M14 runner, Oliver Chignell of Hill City who started the lap at the same time as Boulle, decided that he was not going to let these giants of the dales run away from him. With legs pumping away faster than Usain Bolt's, he outsprinted both Boulle and Wilson down the last hill to pip both master 50 runners at the post. Watch out Bolt, there is a new kid on the block, and he's got tons of heart to mix with his stamina and speed.

Now it was "Anderson against Sanderson". Leith's over 60 runner Graham Anderson knew that it would be a tough ask to maintain the slender lead against the redoubtable Gene Sanderson who also had had a good track season. However, as always in his unflappable way, Anderson proved that age for age he is one of the most well performed runners in Otago at present. He did not panic but set about his task with vigour keeping a steady pace throughout even when Sanderson took Ariki into the lead. Sanderson knew that he had to build up a big buffer for the last leg because Leith's fastest runner, Brian Pascoe (fastest MM50 and new 8:05 record holder) loomed ever large as the biggest threat to his team's victory aspirations.

Sanderson did what was asked of him by providing Ariki's Alan Nichols (3rd fastest MM50) with a lead of 25 seconds at the last changeover. Leith's Pascoe knew that his team's aspirations now lay solely with him and as always he put everything into what appeared to be an impossible task. Not allowing himself to panic he set a steady pace up the first hill already beginning to make inroads into Nichol's lead. Nichol's knew that he was unlikely to match Pascoe on this course but he kept a level head and ran to his current strength. As Pascoe inched ever closer Nichol's hoped that he could hold on for his team. Down the last hill to the finish it was neck and neck with Pascoe emerging slightly in front at the last turn into the 40 metre straight. With the screams of the spectators ringing in their ears, these two sprinted for the line, and with Nichol's putting in a supreme effort and looking to edge in front again, Pascoe's legs gave out and he fell as he crossed the line in a finish so close that both teams were given the same time. However, Nichol's had done enough to ensure that Ariki claimed a well deserved victory in the most exciting finish of the day and arguably of the relay's history.

In the battle for third spot, a solid all round team effort and an excellent run by the Ariki 2 team's Phil Dowsett won the day, despite the presence of Ian McDonald in the Caversham team.

What a race and what great running from guys who just never seem to lose much of their youth and competitive spirit. This was a great advertisement for what over 50 running is all about.

Race Three:

(course approx. 4 x 500m)

Leith were well represented with four teams in this race. All had a good run and enjoyed themselves immensely.

The Leith Boys team of Sebastian Sole, Reuben Knox, Daniel Ashton and Mica Goldsmith-Lonie finished 8th in 9 minutes 54 seconds.

The Leith Girls team of Claudia Sole, Natalie Pascoe, Melorie Levings and Erin Scott finished 9th in 10 minutes.

The Leith Blue Mixed team of Alice Cuthbert, Erin Knox, Sam Cuthbert and Heidi Arsen finished 12th in 11 minutes 1 second.

The Leith White Mixed team of Anna Ashton, Bruce Knox, Alice Cuthbert and Reuben Knox
finished 13th in 12 minutes 29 seconds.