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Leith Harrier & Athletic ClubDunedin, New ZealandHarriers, Roadrunning, Track and Field,
Mountain Running, Recreational Walking
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Clubrooms:
Chingford Park, North East Valley. Postal Address: PO Box 1507 Dunedin |
Winter Harrier Reports for 2008
1. Opening Club Run, Chingford Park, Saturday 29 March, 1.45pm The Leith Winter Harrier season started on Saturday
afternoon with runs and walks from the Chingford Park Pavilion.
We welcomed new and current members to the club. 2. Club Run, Chingford Park, Saturday 5 April, 1.45pm Great cool but sunny weather greeted the runners and walkers today for the club runs and walks. Once again Andrew Lonie led the way taking the fast pack up to Mount Cargill via Bethune's Gully. Lonie did a fast time trial up the track, while Steve Skilling, Glen Ferguson and Alan Funnell set a fast pace up to the T-junction just below Mount Cargill. Funnell, Skilling, Ferguson, Ray Knox, Ron McLay-Barnes, and Lonie then ran to the top of Mount Cargill and back to the club via Cowan Road and Pinehill. The rest of the fast pack which included Marc Boulle, Brooke Carman, Sue Cuthbert, new boy Steve Murphy and Ross from Ariki decided to return back down to Bethune's Gully on the return to the club. The medium and slow packs headed down to the Woodhaugh Gardens area. The slow pack containing Christine Leith, Greg Johnston and Jim Flynn ran around that area, while the medium pack which included Peter Hughes, Grant Craig, Julian O'Hagan and Graham Anderson took a loop around Ross Creek before returning to the club up North East Valley Road. Margaret Knox took the junior runners for a short run down North East Valley. The walkers were spotted walking through Bethune's Gully. 3. Club Run and Summer Trophy Presentations, Chingford Park, Saturday 12 April, 1.45pm Once the summer trophies had been presented, the packs headed out for runs and walks from the Chingford Park clubrooms on Saturday afternoon. The weather was cool and sunny. The fast pack with Andrew Lonie to the fore and the medium fast pack headed up to the Organ Pipes via Bethune's Gully for a run back on down North Road to the club. The fast pack included Ron McLay-Barnes, Alan Funnell, Graig Grant, Neale McLanachan, Jason Palmer among others. The medium fast pack included Kirsty Morris, Megan Balchin and Sue Cuthbert. Grant McDougall led the medium pack out to Patmos Avenue to return via Pine Hill. In this pack were Graham Anderson, Jan Craig, Jill Alexander and new boy Peter Ruhen from Devon in England and Auckland. Margaret Knox took the slow pack for a run to Ross Creek and back. The walkers negotiated the Lindsay Street Track for a walk to the lower and upper Botanical Gardens before returning via Knox College. 4. Club Run, Chingford Park, Saturday 19 April, 1.45pm There was a small turnout for the club runs and walks this Saturday due to the running of the Three Peaks Mountain Race the next day, Sunday 20 April. The weather was cold and rainy with some welcome breaks of sunshine. Most of the runs were of short duration with the more adventurous heading out to Leith Valley Road. Our correspondent was unable to get a full report. This will be made available during the week. 5. Three Peaks Mountain Race, Sunday 20 April For links to reports and results on this race >> Three Peaks Home Page 6. Lovelock Relays Trials, Saturday 26 April, Chingford Park For links to reports and results of these races >> Leith Lovelock Relays Trials Home Page 7. Lovelock Relays, Saturday 3 May, University Oval, Logan Park For full report and results on the Lovelock Relays 2008 >> Leith Lovelock Relays Report 2008 8. Joe Cowie Memorial Handicap Races, Saturday 10 May, Chingford Park The Joe Cowie Memorial 3 Mile Handicap race was won by Jason Palmer finishing 25 seconds ahead of second placed finisher Ray Knox. Elliot O'Sullivan from Hill City Harriers finished third just 5 seconds adrift of Ray Knox. Andrew Lonie in running a fast 16 minutes 10 seconds, was the fastest in the Open grade, showing he is getting back to form.. The fast improving Jason Palmer had one of his best races in powering to a comfortable win over the demanding 3 mile course.in second fastest time of 16 minutes 23 seconds. This bodes well for the Ponydales Senior Men's team's chances. Guest runner from Hill City, Elliot O'Sullivan did well to finish with third fastest time of 16 minutes 53 seconds. First woman finisher was Sue Cuthbert, with Clare Pascoe second and Kirsty Morris third. Kirsty Morris maintained her good form by achieving ninth fastest time and fastest woman in 17 minutes 43 seconds. Sue Cuthbert achieved second fastest women's time of 18 minutes 30 seconds. The Joe Cowie Memorial 3 Mile Handicap is essentially an open grade handicap race with two grades: Women and Men. However, we have included the age grade finishing positions in the results for purposes of the Aggregate Points. For these details see the results link below. Caleb Bennet won the Boys 12 and Under, 500m Handicap race. Claudia Sole won the Girls 12 and Under, 500m Handicap race. Isabella Bennett was the only competitor in the Girls 14 and Under grade. There is a plan to increase the distance of this race in the future to include an initial circuit of the two soccer fields to make the distance exactly 1 km. The 14 and Under grade may be increased to 1.5km (staying within the environs of the Chingford Park grounds for safey reasons. There was no junior 2km race due to lack of entrants. Most runners were very happy with the course, although some had misgivings before the races. The general consensus so far is that it was a great challenging course and was enjoyed by the vast majority. Professor Jim Flyn, the chief handicapper was stymied by some naughty youngsters who fiddled with the arrow at the end of Ainslee Terrace causing him to go slightly off-course before a vigilant Margaret Knox rescued him from going too far astray. He reckons he lost only 30 seconds, so no harm was done. Sorry we can't change the results Jim! Thanks go to the timers, marshalls, entry officials, runners and also to Steve Skilling who was the chief course constructer ably assisted by Marc Boulle. All runners were handicaped by Jim Flynn. 9. Leith XC Relays "Ponydales", Saturday 17 May, Dunedin Pony Club, Three Mile Hill For links to reports and results for these races >> Ponydales 2008 Homepage 10. Club run, Leith Valley Church, Saturday 24 May, 267 Malvern Street, Glenleith, Dunedin Leith members were the guests of Kevin Blair, Cliff Donaldson and co. at the Leith Valley Church. The weather was cold an ddamp but the rain held off to allow for some ideal but wet underfoot running conditions. Most of the pack headed up Malvern Street for a run up Leith Valley Road to take the track up to Nicholls Falls. This is where the pack split up with some getting totally lost. Richard Hendry, Brooke Carman and Sue Cuthbert ended up getting a mud bath and were the last to get back to the club. Margaret Knox, Christine Leith and Marc Boulle returned earlier via Islay Road and Ross Creek where they also ended up in a ded end track and had to negotiate a gorse infected hill to get back on to the road before heading back down Leith Valley Road to the club rooms. President Peter Hughes congratulated Cliff Donaldson on his 60th year with Leith and presented him with a large cake. Cliff reminisced with the club members present on his first days as a 15 year old boy with the club. 11. Barnes XC Handicap Races, Sunday 25 May, Kettle Park, Dunedin For Barnes 2008 Results >> Results Page For Barnes 2008 Photo Albums >> Photo Album Page Leith Report >> Leith competed in the Barnes Cross-Country Handicap races on Sunday. 12. Club run, combined with Civil Service Harriers, Chingford Park, Saturday 31 May, 1.45pm The children led by Margaret headed by car to Forrester Park for
their run. Starting from the car park their run took a route around
the mountain bike tracks, soccer fields and dog training area, before
heading to the Bethunes Gully car park. The group turned around
at this point, retracing their steps back to their starting point.
The really keen ones including newcomer Adrian, Isabella and Caleb
extended the length of their run by running back to the clubrooms
from Forrester Park. The others, including Erin, Natalie and Reuben,
got enthusiastic and joined them for the run home at various points
along the journey. 13. Christchurch Marathon, Leith report and results, Sunday 1 June 2008. See photo album for a small album of the Leith athletes at the event. See official website for the full results: SBS Marathon 2008 Standard Marathon (Leith report) The Leith contingent performed well at the 2008 Christchurch Marathon. Glen Ferguson ran a well judged race to win the Masters Men's Marathon title finishing 8th overall in 2 hours 31 minutes 43 seconds. Jason Palmer ran a great first marathon in 2 hours 40 minutes 41 seconds finishing 15 overall and 13th in the M20-39 grade. His conservative first half set him up perfectly for the second 21.1km race. Sue Cuthbert ran a very steady paced race to finish 2nd in the W40-49 grade and 3rd Woman overall in 3 hours 1 minute 42 seconds. Richard Hendry (3 hours 1 minute 45 seconds) did well to pace her through the race. Despite only running as a pacer he still managed to finish well up the field in 15th place in the M40-49 grade and 54th place overall. Alan Funnell was not at his best, but still held on resolutely to finish with a 2 hour 56 minute 10 second marathon. John Bayne also did not have one of his best runs but did not give up in finishing in 3 hours 10 minutes 41 seconds. Half Marathon (Leith report) Megan Belchin ran the Half in 1 hour 39 minutes 23 seconds. 14. Chingford Challenge, Leith XC Championships, Chingford Park, Saturday 7 June Weather: Bitterly cold and partly cloudy (4 degrees Celcius) University wins the 2008 Chingford Challenge Leith Harriers would like to thank University of Otago Harriers for having donated the Chingford Challenge Shield to this event. A logo of this shield will be placed on this page in due course once the winners from last year and this year have been added to it. The course this year was a bit shorter than last year due to the archery section of the far field being in use. Otago University has won the 2008 Chingford Challenge. The first race, over 3.6km (approx) was won by the University of Otago (17 pts) with Leith on 23 pts. The second race over 7.5km (approx) was won by the University of Otago (36 pts) with Leith on 47 pts. The combined total University (53 pts) to Leith's 70 pts. Congratulations to a great team effort by the Men and Women's University teams. Sam Kidd (OUHC) showed just how good he is over this distance and type of course by repeating his win from last year. He was in a class of his own. Andrew Lonie (Leith) finished second, Neal McLanachan (Leith) third and John Winsbury (fourth). Shane Renownden discarded his dark glasses in the glare of a cloudy day to finish strongly in fifth place. And with the next four places filled with University runners, all but sealed a well-earned win for Varsity. Kirst Morris, in a repeat of her performance from last year, again won the Women's Race. She was a convincing winner from Erin Whitla (OUHC) who is another improving runner, with new Leith member Rebecca Keat filling the third position. As in the later race, the greater depth of the University team took its toll on Leith's aspirations by filling the next three positions to win this section of the Chingford Challenge. Leith XC Championships 2008 Andew Lonie has won the Leith Cross Country Men's Championships overall in winning the Men's 35 grade. Neale McLanachan was first Senior Man across the line, and second overall. Chris Sole won the MM50 grade. Andrew Perry won the sealed handicap. Kirsty Morris won the Leith Cross Country Senior Women's championships. Jan Craig won the MW50 grade, while Clare Pascoe won the MW35 grade. Isabelle Bennett won the G14 & Under grade and Adrian Aarsen won the B14 & Under grade. Sebastian Sole (1st B12) and Claudia Sole (1st G12) finished in a deadheat in the 12 and Under 1km race. Third was Reuben Knox (2nd B12), fourth was Carl Aarsen (3rd B12) Thanks to all who helped make this a cross country day to remember, especially the officials who did the timekeeping, the people who set up the course, the marshals and the kitchen staff.
15. Edmond Cup Steeplechase, Wingatui, Saturday 14 June In the Open Men's Race over 9.2km, Andrew Lonie (4th) was the first Leith runner to finish. John Winsbury (6th) was next followed by Ray Knox (16th). Kirsty Morris finished an excellent second in the Open Women's race over 4.4km to lead the Leith women's team of Morris, Megan Balchin and Sarah Toomey to a great win in the team's competition. Graham Anderson belied his age by finishing third in the Master Men's 50+ race over 4.4km also leading his team of Anderson, John Scoones and Marc Boulle to the team title. Jan Craig ran brilliantly to seal a comfortable win the the Master Women's 50+ race. Andrew Koens (7th) was the first Leith finisher in the Boys 12 and Under 1.2km race. Sebastian Sole (9th) and Reuben Knox (10th) were next to follow. The Leith team of Koens, Sole and Knox finished fourth. Claudia Sole (4th) was the first Leith athlete to finish in the Girls 12 and Under 1.2km race leading the Leith team of Sole, Rebecca Thomans and Erin Knox to third place in the team's competition. Further results were Adrian Aarsen (7th) in the Men's 14 and Under 2.2km race and Isabella Bennett (8th) in the Women's 14 and Under 2.2km race. 16. Club Run, Chingford Park, Saturday 21 June, 1.45pm The runners and walkers set off from Chingford Park on Saturday
afternoon. 17. Club Run with Hill City, Hill City Clubroom, Saturday 28 June, 1.30pm Leith would like to thank Hill City Athletics Club for the great hospitality shown in the form of great runs and walks and a great feast of food afterwards. We have got to say, it was one of the best feeds we have ever enjoyed, especially after the cold and wet runs were over. Alan Funnell joined Andrew Pohl for a run with the fast pack, heading out to the Gardens and a loop around Ross Creek, also tackling the McGouens Creek Track. Steve Skilling, Ron McLay-Barnes, Ray Knox, Craig Grant and Graham Anderson joined Chris O'Kane, Steve Bloomfield and other Hill City runners in the medium fast pack for a run along Portsmouth Drive, Bayfield Park, Musselburgh Rise before returning via Andersons Bay Road and Anzac Avenue. Shorty Morris led the Hill City medium pack bolstered by Leith runners Kirsty Morris, Marc Boulle and Peter Hughes for a run to the Southern Cemetary and the top of High Street, before returning along Arthur Street, York Street and Cumberland Street. Liz McMeeking led the Hill City slow pack which included Mytle Rough and Tony Timperley with the Leith contingent of Margaret Knox and Valerie Ashton for a run around the Gardens area. Mohawk McEwen took the kids for a run around the Gardens area. The Leith kids in this group were Erin Knox, Anna Ashton and Stan Ashton. The walkers led by Helen Morris included the Leith walkers, Jannette Anderson and Sandra Dingwall also took in the Gardens area, which seemed to be a very popular destination. 19. Leith performances at the Rosebank Lodge Balclutha Half-Marathon, 29 June 2008 In the Rosebank Lodge Half-Marathon in Balclutha on Sunday 29 June 2008, Kirsty Morris (1hr 24min 34sec) won the Senior Women's title from second placed women and first Master Woman Sue Cuthbert (1hr 25min 9sec), Glen Ferguson (1hr 12min 12sec) finished second overall after having fought out a classic duel with Hill City's Mike Wakelin. He was also the first Senior Man, although he was eligible to run as a Master Man. Mike Wakelin ran as a Master Men's runner. Richard Hendry (1hr 18min 53sec) was sixth overall and second Master Man. Alice Barach (1hr 37min 33sec) finished fourth in the Senior Women's grade. Other Leith Athletes to compete were Sonja Cameron and Bianca Parry. 20. Club run with Caversham Harriers, Caversham Clubrooms, Middleton Road, Sat 12 July 1.30pm Leith would like to thank Caversham Harriers for the great hospitality shown at the combined runs and walks and refreshments afterwards. The packs set out in perfect weather conditions. Geoff Anderson took the fast pack which included Leith runners Andrew Lonie, Alan Funnell, Dave Sharp, Ron McLay-Barnes, Ray Knox and Brian Pascoe to Green Island, Bush Road for some real cross-country running and testing the patience of a local farmer before heading back via Blackhead Road. Christine Montgomery, with Leith runners Grant McDougal and Graham Anderson, led the medium fast pack out to Mornington before returning via Caversham. Murray Reynolds took the medium slow pack which included Leith runners Peter Hughes and Sue Cuthbert down to St Clair, Victoria Street, Kettle Park area and then returning via the imposing Jacobs Ladder stairway and Corstaphine. John Landreth, Marc Boulle, Margaret Knox and Monica Aarsen took the young junior runners for a 30 minute run around the St Clair golf course area taking in some of the new sub divisions. The walkers split up into two groups, with Kieran Columb, Janette Anderson, Kevin Blair, Edith Mercier and Sandra Dingwall taking in the South Dunedin and Caversham Valley areas. Len Martin took the second group which included Cliff Donaldson along Blackhead Road and Green Island Bush. 21. Otago Cross Country Championships, Wakouaiti Race Course, Sat 19 July For full results >> Leith results page In soggy and cold conditions the runners set off on their respective races. John Winsbury finshed fourth in the small but highly competitive Senior Men's 12km Race. Mark O'Donnell, although well off his best, still managed a solid 13th placing. John's effort earned him a place in the Otago Senior Men's team for the ANZ Cross-Country Championships. Andrew Lonie had a magnificent run when he won the 8km Master Men's 35 race footing it with the younger Men 19 runners and finishing second overall. All that perseverence is beginning to pay off for him as he emerged as an Otago hope for a podium finish in the ANZ Cross-Country championships. Richard Hendry also had a great run finishing second in the MM35 with the never-say-die Alan Funnell finishing third to make up the winning team for the MM35 grade. Ray Knox finished fourth in this grade to cap a great performance by Leith in this grade. In the Senior Women's 8km race, Kirsty Morris rounded off her preparations for the Athletics NZ Union Cross-Country Championships with another excellent run to finish second. only 11 seconds adrift of the winner and 2008 Gold Coast Marathon Champion, Shireen Crumpton. She led the Leith team of Rebecca Keat (8th) and Alison Winsbury (9th) to second place. Brian Pascoe, on his first run as an over 50 athlete showed he is going to be a force to be reckoned with in this grade, when he finished second in the 8km Master Men's 50 race, bringing home the winning Leith team of Chris Sole (4th) and Graham Anderson (6th). Leith also attained second team place (Ed Stevens 10th, John Scoones 11th, Marc Boulle 12th). Graham Anderson continues to amaze as an over 60 athlete competing on even terms with the younger over 50s. Ed Stevens showed a welcome return to form at the right time in preparation for a place in the competitive over 50s men's team for the National Road Relays. Sue Cuthbert underlined her dominance in the Women's 35 grade by winning the 6km race while Jan Craig showed a welcome return to form by winning the Women's 50 race. Sue Cuthbert is also off to the ANZ Cross-Country Championships next week to represent Otago. Ron McLay-Barnes (4th) and Steve Skilling (5th) were Leith's top finishers in the Open Grade 4000m Race. The kids had a great time too. Claudia Sole (4th) was the first Leith runner in the Girls 12 and Under 1500m race. The Leith team of Sole, Erin Knox and Anna Ashton finished third in this grade. Andrew Koens (7th) was the first Leith runner in the Boys 12 and Under 1500m race. The Leith team of Koens, Reuben Knox and Sebastian Sole finished third in this grade.
22. Club run with Ariki, Chingford Park, Saturday 26 July, 1.45pm Leith hosted the Ariki Harriers on Saturday and the runs and walks
and refreshments were enjoyed by all. 23. ANZ Union Cross-Country Championships, Wellington, Saturday 2 August Leith athletes performed well at the National Cross Country Champs
held in Wellington on Saturday. 24. Club Run, Chingford Park, Saturday 2 August Leith enjoyed club runs and walks from Chingford Park on a perfect
Saturday afternoon. The fast pack with Brian Pascoe to the fore,
headed to the Organ Pipes via North Road returning via Bethune's
Gully. The walkers took in the quarry area and the slow pack which
included Christine Leith, Renee Aarsen, Adriaan Aarsen, Marc Boulle
and Clare Pascoe negotiated the gardens area before returning via
Opoho and Black's Road. Margaret Knox and Brooke Carman took the
juniors for a short run around the Quarry area near Chingford Park. 25. Peninsula Relay, Saturday 9 August Report summary from Star Midweek (full team captain reports will be available here by evening Tuesday 12 August - sorry but webmaster is very busy at the moment) - an ODT news item will also be available here during the week. Leith teams achieved first, second and third place in the Peninsula
Relay on Saturday. Leith Men's 2 Peninsula Relay Report - Marc Boullé Our team had a team change in the lead up to the start, with Chris Sole moving up to replace Brian Pascoe in the Leith Men's 1 team. John Scoones came to the rescue and his run up the hill on the tough leg 2 from the Shiel Hill pub was a real revelation. Marc Boullé had started the race off for Leith Men 2 off a handicap of 39 minutes. Although Boullé kept a steady pace to the first hill, he faded somewhat from there onwards, but managed to find enough energy for a fast finish eventually running not far off his expected time for the first leg. Scoones took off from there, being initially passed by the Caversham runner, Christine Montgomery. There ensured a thrilling battle between these two, with Scoones eventually regaining the lead by the changeover at Centre Road, where he handed to Patrick Manning for the start of the 4.7km leg 3 to Pukehiki. Manning kept up an amazingly steady pace throughout, on a relentless run to the next changeover at Pukehiki. He resisted the temptation to up the pace, knowing that this was no easy leg, with its undulating and steady uphill nature. Waiting at the start of the 7.1km leg 4 changover was teacher, farmer and mountain man Grant Koedyk, a dowhill specialist if ever there was one. Koedyk hurled himself down the predominantly downhill leg 4 that transverses the top of the Peninsula and ends in Portobello village. He had a ding dong battle with Glen Sutton of Caversham and can be proud of keeping in contact with the younger athlete. Grant McDougall, having just recovered from a bout of flu, took over at the Portobello changeover and ran above himself to help the team to come into serious race winning contention as he completed the 3.2 leg 5 to Broad Bay. The ageless Graham Anderson took over from McDougall and his determination was visible on his face as he set into the strong windy 4.9km leg 6 to Macandrew Bay. His run was one of the race defining runs for the team, as the pressure was starting to build up, but he kept his head and ran a fine leg to hand to John Bayne at Macandrew Bay for the start of the long and tough 8.4km leg 7. The head wind was a real factor, and although the tough and marathon trained Bayne start a little too fast, his experience kicked in midway and he eased off a bit knowing that a good finish on this leg was essential in putting the other teams under real pressure. Despite the headwind Bayne ran close to his handicap in rapidly catching the two teams that were ahead of us. The Caversham courtesy of a fast leg 6 by young Royce Madigan had managed to get a huge lead on our team while the Leith Womens' team was almost two minutes ahead of us at the Teviot Street changeover. Steve "Skillo" Skilling was waiting to pounce. The Leith Men's 1 team was also catching up, with Andrew Lonie having run a trademark fast time in tough conditions on leg 6. Skillo took off to catch Caversham and Leith Women, while being aware of not starting of too fast knowing that Ray Knox of Leith Men's 1 was not too far behind. With about 1km to go, Skillo had brought our team into the lead and now it was a matter of consolidating that lead. Skillo brought our team across the line first, with the fast finishing Ray Knox (Leith Men 1) finishing second and the Leith Women's Alice Barach holding on for third place. A truely exceptional result for the Leith teams considering that most ran to their handicaps. The essential difference we believe was getting the runners to be on legs that suited them the most. Well done, team! A great performance from a great bunch of guys.
Leith Men's One Peninsula Relay Report - Andrew Lonie Despite last minute team changes, heavy snow on the hills and a captain missing in action until found marshalling on Lap 1, Leith Men #1 all managed to be in the right place at the right time for the 59th Peninsula Relay. The team's token senior man, John Winsbury, started the team off from John Wilson Drive on a handicap of 58 minutes. Although not yet back to top form, John posted a good time of 15:40 up to the Shiel Hill tavern. Chris Sole then took over, displaying his typical strength uphill until very unfortunately tearing his achilles tendon 200m before the end of the lap - could not have happened to anyone less deserving and was definitely the low point of the day. However as the rules allow Dave Rush(ed) back to the scene and completed Chris's lap before tacking the deceptively difficult Lap 3. Against some very strong runners (James List, Tom Hunt and Bevan Stevens), Dave posted 4th fastest time on this leg, 17:05. Downhill specialist Richard Hendry took over and seemed to show no signs of fatigue from the previous week's National Cross Country champs, striding to 3rd fastest time of 21:38. Lap 5 from Portobello to Broad Bay saw a fired up Mark O'Donnell and his trademark turnover rate propelling him to another 3rd fastest lap time, 10:53. This was very encouraging performance after having struggled with injury for most of the winter season. Alan Funnell also had a good run on the next lap, charging into the strong southerly, which was whipping around the points between Broad and MacAndrew Bays (yet another 3rd fastest lap time, 17:07). Andrew Lonie tackled the long leg back to the head of the harbour. Ably supported by his team mates and other teams, who were all beginning by now to converge, he posted a reasonable time of 28:55. Realising that there were very few teams ahead now, Ray Knox was fired up for the final burst. In the long finishing straight he passed (among others) club mate Alice Barach to move the team into 2nd place, but had started too far behind Leith Men #2's finisher Steve Skilling to overhaul him. The team's total time was 2:17:08, third fastest and only a minute
slower than the talented Hill City #1 team. Leith Women's Peninsula Report - Kirsty Morris Without a doubt, every member of the Leith Women's team ran amazingly. Heading into the race, University Women's were the favourites for fastest female time. However, Leith managed to steal this honour off them, with members of our team running the strongest I have ever seen them run. After a break from racing, Sarah Bryant made a strong come back on the first leg. Proving that hills do not faze her in the slightest, she maintained a steady pace for the entire leg, being rewarded with fastest female time on leg 1. Sarah Toomey took over to complete lap 2, a short but extremely demanding leg. She too ran solidly from start to finish and only narrowly missed fastest time for her leg. I was next to run, and was happy to finish my leg after nearly been hit by a car as the driver spoke on his cell phone. Jan finished off the high road for the team, running a huge 68 seconds quicker than last year. Knowing we weren't far from the front, Alison Winsbury put her
speed work to good use, running a quick lap 5 into a head wind.
Rebecca Keat pulled the team even closer to the front, and gained
fastest female lap time for leg 6. Sue Cuthbert showed her strength
on the long lap 8, drawing us even closer to the front. Running
the final lap for us was the ever-improving Alice Barach. Under
a lot of pressure, she ran an amazingly quick last lap, taking Leith
Women's team into 3rd place overall and fastest women's team. Wayne Parson's ODT media release article - Monday Edition 11 August 2008 Leith No 2 turned in a solid all-round team performance to win the Peninsula Relay on Saturday. In a keenly contested event, the lead chopped and changed numerous times over the final three legs of the 39.8km course. Barnes cross-country open women's champion Angela McIntee got Civil Service away to a flying start, and it held the lead until early in the sixth leg, but such was the competitive nature of the race over the final legs, her team slipped to finish 19th. But it was the Leith No 2 team of Marc Boulle, John Scoones, Patrick Manning, Grant Koedyk, Grant McDougall, Graham Anderson, John Bayne and Steve Skilling that best handled the pressure and took the win in the 59th annual relay around Otago Peninsula in 2hr 35min 10sec. After starting mid-field from a handicap of 39min, the team made steady progress on the hilly first four legs over Highcliff to Portobello, where it first began to feature. Anderson, Bayne and Skilling all did the business over the final three stages, and Skilling was full of praise for Anderson and Bayne after he crossed the finish line. "John just ran out of his skin on that seventh leg," he said. "And Graham, too, was outstanding from Broad Bay." While the Leith club took overall line honours, filling the first three places, fastest time honours went to Caversham, for the first time since 1977, with a time of 2hr 11min 5sec. Caversham added to an already successful record in the category, winning the trophy for the 24th time in the event's 59-year history. However, 23 of these wins came in the first 28 years the event was contested. The year Caversham last won the trophy, it went on to finish second in the national road relay on the Akaroa course later in the season. That 1977 team included a young Geoff Anderson, as well as Alan Thurlow and Stuart Melville. Anderson was in Saturday's team, which included seven of Otago's up-and-coming distance runners: Daniel Balchin, Robert Brown, Bevan Stevens, Lyndon Brown, Will Buchanan, Tony Payne and Scott Sidon. The Leith Men's No 1 team, which finished second from a handicap of 58min, almost did not make it past the second leg - Shiel Hill to Centre Rd - after Chris Sole tore his Achilles tendon. Sole had to wait on the side of the road for third-leg member Dave Rush, who had to run back to Sole then start his journey back up the hill towards Pukehiki, before the injured man could be taken to hospital. Such are the rules governing road relay racing, but the incident almost served to inspire the team to victory. 26. Club run with Civil Service Harriers, Tahuna Park, Saturday 22 August, 1.45pm Leith Harriers enjoyed runs and walks as guests of Civil Service
Harriers from their Tahuna Park clubrooms on Saturday, which ended
with a great banquet. 27. Clyde Alexandra Road Races, Saturday 23 August Glen Ferguson spearheaded the Leith effort in the Clyde Alexandra 10km Road Race on Saturday. For the third time he was the first Leith finisher, taking out the Master Men's 35 title in a fast time of 32 minutes 22 seconds to also be fifth overall. Andrew Lonie (32:59) finished second MM35 while Richard Hendry (34:39) third MM35, David Rush (34:58) fourth MM35 and Mark O'Donnell (35:05) fifth MM35 completed a truimphant first 5 places in this grade. Ray Knox (35:49) was not far behind in ninth place. Jason Palmer was our lone flag bearer in the Senior Men's grade finishing 8th in this grade in a personal best of 33 minutes 36 seconds. Megan Balchin despite recovering from a bad bout of flu, put in a gutsy effort to finish fifth in the Senior Women's grade in a time of 42 minutes 28 seconds to be the first Leith woman to finish. Sue Cuthbert finished second in the Master Women's 35 grade in a time of 38 minutes 21 seconds. Ed Stevens was the first Leith MM50 to finish in 8th position in this grade. His time was 40 minutes 26 seconds. Reuben Knox finished second in the Junior Boys 12 and Under 2km race in the good time of 8 minutes 46 seconds. Alice Cuthbert was the first Leith finisher in the Junior Girls 12 and Under 2km race in a fine 9 minutes 10 seconds. Undie 500 - Lawrence On the way back to Dunedin, the Leith contingent in the Civil Service Bus kept up the Undie 500 tradition - an annual footrace down the main street of Lawrence (Distance around 500m and attire described amply in its name). Here Glen Ferguson was a DNS, so Andrew Lonie made the most of his absence by winning this race overall and taking out the MM35 title. Jason Palmer was second but finished as first Open Man. Megan Balchin shrugged off the effects of flu and some other stuff and showed she was back to her brilliant best by winning the Open Women's category in this prestigious race. Marc Boulle found some seemingly lost form to comfortably win the Master Men's 50 title. This race will be used as a form guide for the National Road Relays later this year. 28. Hughes Memorial Handicap Races, Saturday 30 August Grant McDougall off a handicap of 17min 15sec won
the Hughes Memorial 10.24km Handicap Race on Saturday. Second was
Patrick Manning off a handicap of 19:00 and third was Sue Cuthbert
off a handicap of 19:30. McDougall managed to secure a 58 second
win over Manning who held out a fast finishing Cuthbert by 23 seconds.
From then on, it was a steady procession with most finishing within
three minutes of each other. 29. Port Chalmers to Dunedin Road Races, Saturday 6 September Kirsty Morris (46min 40sec) who finished third overall
also won the Bevan Richmond Memorial Cup for first Woman to finish
and the Hill City Plate for fastest Women in the Port Chalmers -
Dunedin 12.3 km Handicap Race on Saturday. Andrew Perry (48min 4sec)
finished second overall to help the team of Perry, Morris, John
Bayne, Andrew Lonie (third fastest overall in 42min 30sec), Patrick
Manning and Grant Koedyk (Civil Service Centenary Trophy for first
MM50) to win the Frank Perry Trophy for the winning 6-member team.
The Leith team of Morris, Megan Balchin and Jan Craig also won the
3-member women's teams title and the team of Perry, Bayne and Lonie
won the 3-member men's teams title. 30. National Road Championships, Hamilton, Saturday 6 September At the National Road Championships in Hamilton, Sue Cuthbert (19:22) finished second in the Women's 40-44 grade 5 km race, Richard Hendry (36:01) finished tenth in the MM40-44 grade 10 km race, John Winsbury (33:14) finished 18th in the large and competitive Senior Men's 10km race. 31. Club run combined with Hill City, Chingford Park, Saturday 13 September There was a good turnout for the combined runs and walks with Hill
City at Chingford Park on Saturday. 32. Moro Marathon and Half-Marathon Dunedin, Otago Marathon Champs, Sunday 14 September Leith did well in the 2008 Moro Marathon held in Dunedin on Sunday 14 September 2008. This included the Otago Standard Marathon Championships: Running in perfect sunny and cool weather conditions, Richard Hendry finished fifth overall in 2 hours 53 minutes 55 seconds in winning the Master Men's 35+ Otago Marathon Championships title. Sue Cuthbert finished 16th overall in 3 hours 6 minutes 1 second to finish second overall among the women and second in the Masters Women's 35+ grade. Dave McLean finished 48th overall and 14th in the Masters Men's 35+ grade in 3 hours 29 minutes 15 seconds. He also finished second in the MM50-54 age group. Ron on the Lighter Side: After a search through the Standard Marathon results we found that Ron McLay-Barnes, a long time Leith athlete, had also competed, but not officially as a Leith athlete. Our cutting-edge auto search facility did not initally pick up his entry as he did not have Leith opposite his name. However, he ran well to finish 30th overall, 7th overall in the Masters Men, and second in the MM45-49 age group. To make it easier for our time-contrained systems to keep track of his running, he has promised to wear his Leith singlet and put the name "Leith Harrier and Athletic Club" in the club name box in the official entry form next time he runs. And he also reminded us that he beat Dave McLean too by over ten minutes in the goodly time of 3 hours 18 minutes 24. The associated Half-Marathon also had Leith athletes strutting their stuff: Glen Ferguson finished 5th overall and second in the Masters Men's grade in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes 57 seconds. Andrew Lonie finished 6th overall and third in the Masters Men's grade in a time of 1 hour 16 minutes 9 seconds. Neale McLanachan making a return after a long layoff, finished in 1 hour 18 minutes 45 seconds to finish ninth overall and sixth in the Open Men's grade. Brian Pascoe finished 14th overall and 6th in the Masters Mens grade in 1 hour 22 minutes 29 seconds. Sarah Bryant finished in 1 hour 26 minutes 58 seconds to finish as first Open Woman and 27th overall. For the full results and more Leith finishes please go to the Leith results page 33. Otago Road Championships, Wharf Circuit Dunedin, Saturday 20 September Leith athletes made their mark in the Athletics Otago 10km Road
Championships on Saturday. Glen Ferguson, who is in great form,
finished second in the Master Men's 10km race whilst also posting
4th fastest time of 32min 53sec in the Open Grade. David Rush (35:13)
finished 3rd in this tough grade. The team of Ferguson, Rush and
Ray Knox (4th) won the team's title. For the full results and more Leith finishes please go to the Leith
results page 34. Winter Windup, Patrons' run and trophy presentations The club winter windup took place after the club Patrons' runs and walks on Saturday 27 September 2008. The presentations of the trophies won during the 2008 Winter Harrier season also took place with Patron Doug Milne in attendence. The following trophies were presented: Club Mile Races Lovelock Relays Cowie Three Mile Races Club Cross Country (Competed for at the Otago Cross country
Championships) Hughes Road Races Otago Road Championships Port Road Race Club Aggregate Trophies Club Winter Aggregate Trophies Most Consistent Winter Harrier Most Provincial Potential 35. National Road Relay Championships, Dunedin, Saturday 4 October For results and full team reports check >> Leith NRR 2008 Feature Page Report summary as sent to Star Midweek The Leith Master Men's 40 team of Richard Hendry, Ray Knox, Steve
Skilling, Andrew Perry, Glen Ferguson (fastest MM40 on leg 5), John
Bayne and David Rush won the bronze medal in its grade at the National
Road Relays Championships in Dunedin on Saturday. |