The Victorian Race Walking Club

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 3 SEPTEMBER, 2005

Last Saturday, we finished the winter season with a final set of races, an inspirational talk by Simon and Alison Baker and our winter season presentations. It was a big afternoon.

VRWC 8 km Open
1. Tom Barnes              36:36
2. Chris Erickson          41:37
3. John Bunker             43:01
4. Alan Lucas              44:54
5. Tim Girgin              45:57
6. Russ Dickenson          45:58
7. Tony Johnson            47:04
8. Bob Gardiner            47:50

1. Sandra Geisler          43:01
2. Natalie Laurie          43:14
3. Alison Thompson         46:07
4. Celia Johnson           52:17

VRWC 6 km Open
1. Geoff Barrow            35:59
2. John Morrison           37:59
   Robin Wood              DNF

1. Siobhan Donovan         34:20
2. Liz Feldman             34:51
3. Fauve Jacobs            35:10
4. Janet Holmes            35:32
5. Barbara Tucker          38:11
6. Gwen Steed              38:51
   Kylie Irshad            DNF

VRWC 4 km Open and Under 15
1. Robert Walsh            23:24

1. Eda Girgin              21:54
2. Christine Griffiths     34:16

VRWC 2 km Under 12
1. Ergenekon Girgin        11:04
2. Dylan Sloan             13:13

1. Nicole Hallett          11:12
2. Amelia Finnegan         12:53

VRWC 1 km Under 9
1. Rebecca Campbell         5:52

AUSTRALIAN ROADWALKING TITLES SANTOS STADIUM, MILE END, ADELAIDE AUG 28, 2005

A small team of Victorians travelled to South Australia for the National roadwalking titles last weekend. The 2 km course around Santos Stadium was very demanding - 6 turns and 2 rises per lap with a very narrow section which restricted the walkers to single file. Combine that with a sunny warm day with a blustery wind and it was indeed a challenging day. But the Victorians rose to the challenge and won the most medals of any State (3 Golds, 4 Silvers and 2 Bronzes), just ahead of NSW. The medallists were as follows

Jared Tallent      Gold      Open Men 30 km Walk          2:12:58
Simone Wolowiec    Gold      Open Women 10 km Walk        47:27
Regan Lamble       Gold      Under 16 Girls 5 km Walk     25:40
Chris Erickson     Silver    Open Men 30 km Walk          2:15:04
Kellie Wapshott    Silver    Open Women 10 km Walk        48:17
Jess Rothwell      Silver    Under 18 Women 8 km Walk     43:27
Natalie Laurie     Silver    Under 16 Girls 5 km Walk     26:56
Siobhan Donovan    Bronze    Under 18 Women 8 km Walk     45:36
Tim Girgin         Bronze    Under 14 Boys 3 km Walk      15:41
 
Men 30k Roadwalk Championship Open
The first event to get underway was the Open 30 km championship and Jared Tallent and Chris Erickson reproduced their 1 and 2 placings from last year's Australian championship but in times which were some 10 minutes faster! Jared shot to an early lead while Chris and SA ace Darren Bown walked together further back. Jared had a big break by the 20 km mark but Chris then began the chase, closing to within a couple of minutes by race end. Chris was in fact one of the very few walkers to record a PB on the day. Darren found the last few kilometres very hard and dropped vital minutes as he struggled to the finish. Troy Sundstrom and Frank Bertei walked well to also record good times in the conditions. The only other finisher was John Leydon who worked hard to make sure he broke the 3 hour mark.

1. Jared Tallent        VIC     2:12:58
2. Chris Erickson       VIC     2:15:04 (PB)
3. Darren Bown          SA      2:23:59
4. Troy Sundstrom       NSW     2:26:35
5. Frank Bertei         VIC     2:30:34
6 .John Leydon          SA      2:57:29

Women 10k Roadwalk Championship Open
The other Open event on offer was the 10 km for women and Simone Wolowiec and Kellie Wapshott put on a great exhibiton of speed walking to take the gold and silver. For Simone, it follows on from her 2003 win in this same event and  cements her place amongst our current top women. For Kellie, it is the big breakthrough that we have been expecting and also puts other walkers on notice. Our third walker was Erin Adamcewicz who took 5th place in 56:22.

1. Simone Wolowiec      VIC     47:27
2. Kellie Wapshott      VIC     48:17
3. Claire Woods         SA      48:54
4. Lisa Grant           NSW     49:40
5. Erin Adamcewicz      VIC     56:22
6. Vanessa Ebejer       NSW     58:42
7. Claudia Mazzei       ITA X   62:54
8. Jodie Sundstrom      NSW     69:27

The next few events had no Victorian contestants and the medals were shared around amongst the various states. Perhaps the biggest surprise here was the retirement of AIS walker Adam Rutter (after 2 toilet stops) in the Under 20 mens 20 km event. That left his AIS team mate Michael McCagh to walk to an easy win.

Men 20k Roadwalk Championship Under 20
1. Michael McCagh       WA      1:32:19
2. Aaron Humphrey       TAS     1:59:43 
   Adam Rutter          NSW     DNF

Women 10k Roadwalk Championship Under 20
1. Jillian Hosking      ACT     54:05
2. Chloe Jones          NSW     54:07
3. Lynette Bannister    TAS     56:15
4. Charlene Ebejer      NSW     68:10
   Katie Ethell         NSW     DQ

Men 8k Roadwalk Championship Under 18
1. Daniel Coleman       TAS     39:22
2. Grzegorz Wolszczak   SA      41:08
3. Brendon Reading      ACT     42:34
4. Adam Dunn            SA      44:54
5. Anson Perin          NSW     47:57
6. Ben Henman           SA      48:39
   Ian Rayson           NSW     DQ

Women 8k Roadwalk Championship Under 18
Fiona Alldis was the standout walker in this event but the big news for Victorians was the form of Jess Rothwell and Siobhan Donovan. The two girls had already contested a couple of close battles in the Victorian underage titles and they were never far apart in this race. Jess, although suffering from a sprained ankle, was able to negotiate the twists and turns of the course and took silver in 43:27 while Siobhan took the bronze in 45:36. I must apologise for not having any photos from this race – so I will reproduce a good photo of the girls from earlier this season at Albert Park.

1. Fiona Alldis         NSW     41:54
2. Jess Rothwell        VIC     43:27
3. Siobhan Donovan      VIC     45:36
4. Natasha Agius        NSW     47:04
5. Brianna Hollitt      SA      47:36
6. Ellen Lingley        NSW     48:48
7. Elizabeth Malcolmson TAS     50:02
8. Emma Simmons         WA      50:45
9. Megan Huitema        SA      51:55
   Cassandra Staples    NSW     DNF

Men 5k Roadwalk Championship Under 16
We lost a probable gold medal when Rhydian Cowley, suffering with a severe head cold, was forced to retire from the event - Rhydian was the dominant walker on times. That left Daniel Payne and Nicholas Mirarchi to carry the flag for us and they did it in fine style with very good walks. In fact, Nicholas did a PB, one of the few recorded on the day.

1. Brook Keys          NSW     25:01
2. Kyle Malone         NSW     25:31
3. Chase Richardson    TAS     26:01
4. Daniel Payne        VIC     27:03
5. Derek Mulhearn      NSW     27:29
6. Nicholas Mirarchi   VIC     27:44 (PB)
7. Michael Reading     ACT     28:20
8. Douglas Mayfield    SA      28:42
9. Cash Davies         SA      29:01
   Rhydian Cowley      VIC     DNF

Women 5k Roadwalk Championship Under 16
The Under 16 Girls walk was nearly an all Victorian affair as our team of Regan Lamble. Natalie Laurie and Jessie Palfreyman finished 1st, 2nd and 4th. The girls also won the Australian Teams Event Gold medals. Regan had a huge win in the Under 14 Girls walk in the Canberra Carnival last year and she is shaping up as a big time performer! I was very excited by this result from 3 very good walkers.

1. Regan Lamble        VIC     25:40 (PB)
2. Natalie Laurie      VIC     26:56
3. Danielle Densley    WA      27:16
4. Jessie Palfreyman   VIC     27:51
5. Stephanie Stigwood  SA      28:04
6. Gabrielle D'Agnone  WA      28:26
7. Rukshani Keenawinna NSW     28:55
8. Naomi Roberts       SA      29:14
9. Jessica Bennet      NSW     29:18
10.Nicole Byrne        WA      31:22
11.Katrina Biteznik    NSW     32:08
12.Nicole McInerney    SA      32:13
   Kimberley Tillman   NSW     DNF

Men 3k Roadwalk Championship Under 14
Tim Girgin has been one of our outstanding Victorian underage walkers for a number of years and he has worked hard this year at Albert Park, recording a series of PBs. His bronze medal in this event was just reward and he was ably backed up by Jack Palfreyman.

1. Nathan Fazldad      NSW     15:14
2. Jordan Mulhearn     NSW     15:26
3. Timucin Girgin      VIC     15:41
4. Jack Palfreyman     VIC     18:06
5. Daniel Crouch       SA      18:54

Women 3k Roadwalk Championship Under 14
The final event on offer was the Girls Under 14 3 km roadwalk and Rachel Tallent and Emily Payne were our two entrants. Paige Hooper of SA produced one of the best walks of the day with a powerful display of sustained speed. Overall this event was of a very high standard and Rachel did well to finish 5th with a time of 16:57. Older brother Jared was cheering on from the sidelines.

1. Paige Hooper        SA      14:21
2. Shannon Jennings    NSW     14:45
3. Kini Chapple        NSW     15:16
4. Karla Barrett       WA      16:05
5. Rachel Tallent      VIC     16:57
6. Danielle George     NSW     17:33
7. Shennae Hartley     WA      17:42
8. Tiffany D'Agnone    WA      17:55
9. Ebony Gralton       NSW     18:06
10.Ellen Mills         SA      18:51
11.Emily Payne         VIC     20:02
12.Caragh Thomas       SA      20:42

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 27 AUGUST, 2005

While the National roadwalks were on in Adelaide on the weekend of 27-28 August, a small group of walkers enjoyed some low key events at Albert Park. Results were as follows

VRWC 10 km Open
1. Danny Hawksworth         53:06

1. Sandra Geisler           53:11

VRWC 5 km Open
1. John Bunker              26:01
2. Bill Dyer                27:25
3. Alan Lucas               27:58
4. Russ Dickenson           28:21
5. Tony Barrett             29:31
6. Geoff Barrow             29:48
7. Anthony Doran            30:34
8. John Morrison            32:31
   Gordon Onley             DQ

1. Fauve Jacobs             28:27
2. Janet Holmes             29:31
3. Kylie Irshad             29:47
4. Liz Feldman              30:06
5. Gwen Steed               31:59
6. Barbara Tucker           32:44

VRWC 3 km Open
1. Jason Elms               22:03
2. Damien Elms              22:08

VRWC 2 km Open
1. Amy Burren               10:30
2. Hilary Brazel            10:54
3. Nicole Hallett           11:11
4. Caitlin Campbell         11:20
5. Chelsea Dyer             12:26

VRWC 1 km Under 9
1. Mitchell Dyer             6:49
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson     7:38

1. Rebecca Canpbell          5:43
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    5:44
3. Sarah Burren              5:54

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 20 AUGUST 2005

We held our final points day on Saturday andf weather conditions were overcast and cool – perfect for some fast racing. The various Handicaps and Fastest Times points placegetters are published later in the newsletter.

Tom Barnes led from the front with a great time of 44:35, just a couple of seconds outside his best ever. But the handicap winner was Danny Hawksworth who smashed his best ever 10 km with 51:08. Siobhan Donovan and Nicholas Mirarchi warmed up for the Nationals next week with fast 6 km times and handicap wins. Natalie Laurie, Tim Girgin and Rhydian Cowley are also Adelaide bound next weekend and had a final warmup over the 4 km distance but the standout walker over that distance was Jason Elms who took a huge chunk of time off his best and was way out in front in the handicap event. Amy Burren and Robert Walsh both took the doubles in the Under 12 events with fastest times and handicap wins and Rebecca, Sarah and Chloe were all only a few seconds apart in the Under 9 event. All in all, it was another great day of racing.

Open 10 Km Handicap         Hcp Place
1. Tom Barnes               44:35    2
2. Colin Heywood            49:47    4
3. Danny Hawksworth         51:08    1
4. Bob Gardiner             62:50    3
   Robin Wood               DNF.

Open 6 km Handicap                   Hcp Place
1. Siobhan Donovan          32:19    1
2. Fauve Jacobs             33:32    3
3. Gwen Steed               38:11    2
   Kylie Irshad             DNF

1. John Bunker              32:36    4
2. Nicholas Mirarchi        33:32    1
3. Tony Johnson             35:41    3
4. Geoff Barrow             36:16    2
5. John Morrison            39:51    5

Open and Under 15 4 km Handicap      Hcp Place
1. Natalie Laurie           22:09    4
2. Janet Holmes             23:14    1
3. Hilary Brazel            23:54    3
4. Alicia Neylan            25:29    2
   Cassie Raselli           DNF (3 km in 16:54)
   Brittany Fenton          DNF

1. Rhydian Cowley           20:16    4
2. Tim Girgin               21:22    3
3. Ergenekon Girgin         22:54    2
4. Jason Elms               27:29    1

U12 2 km Handicap                    Hcp Place
1. Amy Burren               10:48    1
2. Caitlin Campbell         11:58    E3
3. Amelia Finnegan          12:19    E3
4. Taylor Brogan            12:21    2

1.Robert Walsh              10:30    1

U9 1 km Handicap                     Hcp Place
1. Rebecca Campbell          5:46    3
2. Sarah Burren              5:52    2
3. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    5:55    1

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 2005

It was a quieter day at Albert Park on Saturday with many walkers having a rest after the last of the Victorian championships. But those who did come enjoyed some serious racing and a number of our younger walkers produced fine PBs. Amongst the many walkers who recorded Pbs were Regan Lamble, Natalie Laurie, Amy Burren, Tim Girgin and Hilary Brazel.

10 km Open
   Name               Time     Hcp
1. Mark Donahoo       53:02    6
2. Trevor Mayhew      53:26    4
3. Duncan Knox        56:08    1
4. Alan Lucas         57:13    5
5. Daniel Lowe        57:26    3
6. Bob Gardiner       63:09    2
   John Bunker        DNF

5km Open
   Name               Time     Hcp
1. Heather Carr       27:21    1
2. Fauve Jacobs       28:07    4
3. Kylie Irshad       30:51    5
4. Janet Holmes       31:22    6
5. Gwen Steed         31:43    3
6. Barbara Tucker     36:01    7
7. Margaret Beaumont  36:07    2

1. Murray Dickinson   27:03    1
2. Shaun Burgess      27:38    2
3. Geoff Barrow       31:06    4
4. Bradley Elms       32:50    5
5. Ian Beaumont       38:26    3
   Gordon Onley       DQ

3 km Under 15
   Name               Time     Hcp
1. Regan Lamble       14:35    3 (PB)
2. Natalie Laurie     14:51    4 (PB)
3. Amy Burren         16:25    1 (PB)
4. Cassie Raselli     17:05    2
5. Brittany Fenton    17:48    6
6. Alicia Neylan      18:03    5

1. Timucin Girgin     14:57    1 (PB)
2. Robert Walsh       16:40    2
3. Jason Elms         21:12    3

2 km Under 12
   Name               Time     Hcp
1. Hilary Brazel      10:43    3 (PB)
2. Caitlin Campbell   11:53    4
3. Taylor Brogan      12:15    2
4. Tali Collins       12:22    1

1 km Under 9
   Name                    Time    Hcp
1. Rebecca Campbell        5:50    1
2. Sarah Burren            6:01    2
3. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  6:15    3

1. Corey McNicol-Davidson  8:55    1

AV  AND VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 7 AUGUST 2005

AV OPEN MEN 30 KM
The AV 30 km for Men saw Chris Erickson and Duane Cousins walk together for most of the first 25 km before Chris made the vital break and went on to win by a safe margin. This completes a near clean slate for the young Essendon walker who finishes the local season with golds in the 10 km, 15 km, 20 km and 30 km championships and a silver in the 50 km championship. Tom Barnes completed his first 30 km event to take the bronze while Frank Bertei, although relegated to 4th place, did a PB and showed his own good form. Colin Heywood did well to finish in 5th after completing the AV 16 km cross country the day before in Frankston.
                              10km     20km       30km   
1. Chris Erickson      ATE    46:18    1:33:10    2:20:14
2. Duane Cousins       BYM    46:17    1:33:10    2:21:45
3. Tom Barnes          GHY    49:27    1:37:48    2:24:26
4. Frank Bertei        ANW    49:28    1:37:48    2:25:39
5. Colin Heywood       COL    50:39    1:43:07    2:41:39
   Mark Donahoo        ATE    50:39    DNF
   Andrew Jamieson     OSC    49:56    DNF
   Daniel Lowe         MEN    DNS
   Daniel Walters      COR    DNS

AV OPEN WOMEN 20 KM    
Knox team mates Simone Wolowiec and Kellie Wapshott walked brilliant races to record Commonwealth Games B qualifiers. For Simone, it was her usual honest and high quality race but for Kellie it was a PB by over 6 minutes and catapults her into the national spotlight. She has shown good form over the shorter distances but showed with this walk that she is ready to step up to the longer distanc. Sandra Geisler was the only other finisher with a time not far outside her own best.
    10km    20km
1. Simone Wolowiec     KNA    47:38    1:36:25
2. Kellie Wapshott     KNA    49:29    1:37:46
3. Sandra Geisler      RWD    55:01    1:50:56
   Carma Watson        ATE    54:27    DNF

A full range of underage championships were conducted and the medals were spread between Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat walkers.

AV U20 MEN 20 KM              10km     20km
1. Jamie Barnes        COR    54:20    1:55:11

AV U20 WOMEN 10 KM
1. Lynette Bannister   TAS    55:34
2. Fauve Jacobs        DKN    56:04

AV U18 MEN 8 KM
1. Kyle Bryant         SBE    41:57
2. Shaun Burgess       ACW    44:45
3. Bradley Elms        PTN    51:27
   David Ranger        EKA    DNS

AV U18 WOMEN 8 KM
1. Siobhan Donovan     KNA    43:17
2. Jess Rothwell       SBE    DNS

AV U16 BOYS 5 KM
1. Rhydian Cowley      GHY    24:45
2. Daniel Payne        COR    25:31
3. John Platt          EKA    27:33
4. Nicholas Mirarchi   COR    27:57
   Jason Elms          PTN    DNS

AV U16 GIRLS 5 KM
1. Natalie Laurie      ANW    25:53
2. Regan Lamble        ANW    25:58
3. Jessie Palfreyman   SBE    28:10
4. Brittany Fenton     DAN    30:39

AV U14 BOYS 3 KM
1. Timucin Girgin      ATE    15:56
2. Ergenekon Girgin    ATE    16:47
3. Robert Walsh        ANW    17:11
4. Jack Palfreyman     SBE    17:52
   Damien Elms         PTN    DQ
   William Kennish     ANW    DNS

AV U14 GIRLS 3 KM
1. Rachel Tallent      BYC    15:48
2. Hilary Brazel       ANW    16:29
3. Beth Alexander      KNA    16:54
4. Cassie Raselli      BOH    17:16
5. Emily Payne         COR    18:22
6. Keely Trew          SBE    18:24
7. Cara Jones          SBE    22:38

Apart from the AV races, a number of Victorian Race Walking Club events were on offer and results were as follows

VRWC 20 Km Open        10km    20km
1. Murray Dickinson    58:10    2:01:19

VRWC 5 Km Open
1. Stuart Kollmorgen   24:28
2. John Bunker         26:56
3. Alan Lucas          27:38
4. Tony Johnson        28:12
5. Liz Feldman         28:30
6. Janet Holmes        29:37
7. Kylie Irshad        31:04
8. Celia Johnson       31:42
9. Robin Wood          33:45
   Claudia Mazzei      DNF

VRWC U12 BOYS 2 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Peter Curtis        12:20
2. Simeon Whiley       15:32

VRWC U12 GIRLS 2 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Nicole Hallett      10:47
2. Chelsea Dyer        11:15
3. Amelia Finnegan     11:16
4. Hilary Brazel       11:18
5. Ebony Whiley        11:34
6. Caitlin Campbell    11:49
7. Ebony Tallent       11:56
8. Taylor Brogan       12:54
9. Ebony Jones         14:58

VRWC U9 BOYS 2 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Jeremiah Jones         15:39
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson  16:50

VRWC U9 GIRLS 2 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 13:02
2. Caitlin Campbell       13:21

VRWC 5 Km FITNESS WALK
Gordon Onley              33:26

AV EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 30 JULY 2005

VMA Roadwalking Championships

This week we played host to the Victorian Masters as they hosted their annual Victorian roadwalking championships. In a day of exceptionally high standard racing, Andrew Jamieson stood out - his time of 46:32 took nearly 1 minute off his current Australian M55 record which stands at 47:30.1. As Andrew is now 59, he is actually improving with age! That's pretty fantastic.

VMA Secretary Alan Lucas has analysed the times and produced the graded percentages for each walker. This figure takes into account the walker's age and the standard expected for that age group and is a well known way of comparing performances. I reproduce the results and Alan's comments below

Below are the results from Saturday with the age graded percentages and the age graded result which is what the performance equates to for a person in their twenties.  Of course with walks you can't say that Andy would have walked 38.10 because of style and judging factors but at least in terms of effort it is equivalent to "somebody" doing that time.  As the standard to be classed as "elite" is 82% for men and 80% for women then you have to say that overall we are a very elite (elitist?) group.  Why the difference for men and women?  No one has ever given me a satisfactory answer.
 
10 km Men                  Actual      %          Adjusted
M45    Mark Donahoo        47.49       87.70      43.22
M50    Colin Heywood       47.50       90.45      42.03
M50    John Bunker         53.45       83.22      45.42
M50    Tony Doran          62.11       70.15      54.13
M55    Andrew Jamieson     46.32       99.64      38.10
M55    Alan Lucas          55.24       82.19      46.17
M55    Russ Dickenson      55.37       83.37      45.37
M55    Robin Wood          68.17       65.51      58.04
M65    Murray Dickenson    55.22       89.71      42.24
M65    Tony Johnson        57.57       84.82      44.51
M65    Ian Beaumont        DQ
 
5 km Men                   Actual      %          Adjusted
M70    Gordon Onley        DQ
M75    Gordon Gourlay      35.36       76.18      23.57
M80    Jim Sinclair        DQ

5 km Women                Actual       %          Adjusted
W40    Annette Major      26.26        83.70      24.14
W45    Carmel Drennan     30.09        75.15      27.00
W50    Alison Thompson    27.17        87.41      23.12
W50    Marlene Gourlay    28.38        84.04      24.08
W50    Janet Holmes       29.19        81.35      24.56
W55    Heather Carr       26.56        91.11      22.16
W55    Liz Feldman        28.21        87.29      23.14
W55    Celia Johnson      30.40        81.48      24.54
W60    Gwen Steed         31.36        84.08      24.07
W60    Heidi Engel        DQ
W65    Margaret Beaumont  36.31        76.08      26.40
W65    Shirley Coppock    39.18        72.38      28.01
W70    Pam Mews           48.31        59.33      34.11
 
In the above list there are 16 elite athletes (including 3 world record holders) and if we add in Trevor Mayhew and Brenda Riley and a couple of others such as Paul Kennedy, Ross Reid and Willi Sawall then the overall standard of walking in Victoria is remarkably high and must rank very close to the top of world standard for one club.

VRWC Events

Alongside the Masters championships, we conducted our usual range of VRWC club events and the standard of walking was amazing. Frank Bertei led from the front and powered to a PB of 45:22. We have already commented on Andrew's performance. Tom Barnes improved by a minute on his last outing, Mark Donahoo walked his best 10 km for some time and Colin Heywood walked a huge PB to win the handicap. Further back in the field, Murray Dickinson and Alan Lucas staged a huge battle with Murray getting the upper hand in the final sprint. Russ Dickenson took another minute off his best time (when will it all end?) while Tony Johnson is also getting back to racing fitness. Watch out! Siobhan Donovan and Megan Peters were the only two women who contested the longer distance and Siobhan took over 30 secs of her PB to take the handicap win. What performances!
       
VRWC 10 km Open                       Hcp
1. MEGAN SZIROM              53:42    2
2. SIOBHAN DONOVAN           54:13    1
           
1. FRANK BERTEI              45:22    7
2. ANDREW JAMIESON           46:32    8
3. TOM BARNES                46:42    12
4. MARK DONAHOO              47:49    4
5. COLIN HEYWOOD             47:50    1
6. JOHN BUNKER               53:45    11
7. MURRAY DICKINSON          55:22    =2
8. ALAN LUCAS                55:24    5
9. RUSS DICKENSON            55:37    6
10.DUNCAN KNOX               56:58    10
11.TONY JOHNSON              57:57    9
12.NICHOLAS MIRARCHI         67:45    13
13.ROBIN WOOD                68:07    =2
   IAN BEAUMONT              Disq   

The 5 km club races also attracted large fields. Gwen Steed walked her best time for the year to take the handicap in the women's section while Daniel Lowe, recovering from recent injuries, walked well to take the men's handicap. Special mention also to the performances of Beth Alexander, Regan Lamble and Natalie Laurie who all moved up from the U15 ranks to fight it out with our senior walkers. And a hello to Claudia Mazzei from Italy who is staying in Melbourne and keen to make the most of her time with some good walking.

VRWC 5 km Open                        Hcp
1. CARMA WATSON              25:02    9
2. REGAN LAMBLE              26:02    8
3. NATALIE LAURIE            26:38    2
4. HEATHER CARR              26:54    =4
5. ALISON THOMPSON           27:17    13
6. FAUVE JACOBS              27:42    =4
7. LIZ FELDMAN               28:21    10
8. CLAUDIA MAZZEI            29:10   
9. JANET HOLMES              29:19    11
10.BETH ALEXANDER            29:27    3
11.CARMEL DRENNAN            30:09    6
12.CELIA JOHNSON             30:40    7
13.GWEN STEED                31:36    1
14.KYLIE IRSHAD              32:41   
15.BARBARA TUCKER            32:46    14
16.MARGARET BEAUMONT         36:31    12
17.PAM MEWS                  48:41   
           
1. SHAUN BURGESS             27:09    2
2. DANIEL LOWE               27:10    1
   GORDON ONLEY              Disq   
   TRAVIS MARTIN             Ab           

The Under 15 events saw a top walk from Tim Girgin with a huge PB time of 15:06 Yet he only came 4th in the handicap - his problem was that the other boys also walked above themselves. Robert Walsh took over 1 minute from his previous 3 km best while Jason and Damien Elms also walked much faster than they have done this winter.  Not to be outdone, Hilary Brazel also walked a PB with her time of 16:51.

VRWC 3 km Under 15                   Hcp
1. HILARY BRAZEL            16:51    1

1. TIMUCIN GIRGIN           15:06    4
2. ROBERT WALSH             15:59    2
3. JASON ELMS               20:03    3
4. DAMIEN ELMS              22:14    1

Finally our Under 12 and Under 9 walkers also participated in the performance spree. Rebecca Campbell was the best of them with a big PB that got her both fastest time and handicap wins.

VRWC 2 km Under 12                  Hcp 
1.CAITLIN CAMPBELL         12:02    1
           
VRWC 1 km Under 9                   Hcp
1. REBECCA CAMPBELL         5:52    1
2. SARAH BURREN             6:07    2
3. CHLOE McNICOL-DAVIDSON   6:22    3
           
1. CODYMcNICOL-DAVIDSON    10:34    1

AV EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 23 JULY 2005 

Handicap starts were to be held but a few last minute hiccups meant that we opted instead for a massed start. Handicap winners are also shown alongside the fastest times results.

The 10 km events were well supported. Siobhan Donovan was both fastest time and handicap winner in her first outing over the longer distance – and she will improve further as her distance fitness rises. Tom Barnes put in his usual speedy effort and also cleaned up on the Style Award points also – showing that you can walk fast and still look good. Bob Gardiner is getting fit again after returning from his European trip and won the men's handicap.

Open 10 km Handicap                 Hcp
1. Siobhan Donovan         54:59    1
2. Heather Carr            57:09    2
3. Fauve Jacobs            59:24    4
4. Margaret Beaumont       74:50    3

1. Tom Barnes              47:33    5
2. John Bunker             53:53    e3
3. Tony Johnson            58:25    2
4. Robert Gardiner         62:46    1
5. Ian Beaumont            79:54    e3
   Murray Dickinson        Ab   
   Russ Dickenson          Ab   
   Robin Wood              Ab   

The 5 km events also produced some fine walking. The fastest time of the day was by Simone Wolowiec who, with 22:35, was only some 10 seconds outside her PB.    This also won her the handicap. Kelly Ruddick walked a PB to be next in with 23:58 and she is improving each time she walks. Throw in Kellie Wapshott and we can expect to see some great walking in 2 weeks time in the AV 20 km for women.

Travis Martin and Rhydian Cowley had a great battle in the men's 5 km walk with Travis doing an inspired 'Tour de France' final sprint to just pip Rhydian on the line. It was a big PB for Rhydian as both recorded 23:48. Further back in the field, old stager Stu Cooper took the handicap first place with a good time of 30:47.   

Open 5 km Handicap                 Hcp
1. Simone Wolowiec        22:35    1
2. Kelly Ruddick          23:58   
3. Regan Lamble           26:12    3
4. Natalie Laurie         28:29    7
5. Liz Feldman            28:34    4
6. Janet Holmes           30:06    6
7. Beth Alexander         30:53    8
8. Celia Johnson          31:04    5
9. Gwen Steed             32:22    2
10.Kylie Irshad           33:39    9
   Pam Mews               Disq   

1. Travis Martin          23:48    7
2. Rhydian Cowley         23:48    2
3. Mark Donahoo           24:31    5
4. Bill Dyer              26:51    6
5. Alan Lucas             27:18    3
6. Daniel Lowe            27:48    4
7. Stuart Cooper          30:47    1
   Bradley Elms           Disq   
   Gordon Onley           Disq   

The younger walkers also contested their own events. Hilary Brazel jumped up from Under 12 and tried herself out over the longer 3 km distance, walking a very good time of 17:05 to win the Under 15 girls while the two Elms brothers fought out the Under 15 boys event with Jason taking fastest time and Damien taking the handicap win.
           
Under 15 3 km Handicap             Hcp
1. Jason Elms             21:29    2
2. Damien Elms            23:09    1

1. Hilary Brazel          17:05    1
2. Ayla Collins           19:10   

In the Under 12 race, Nicole Hallett took both the fastest time and the handicap win with an excellent 10:58 for the 2 km. Overall the standard was very high with PBs to Chelsea Dyer, Caitlin Campbell and Amelia Finnegan. The Under 9 walkers also got into the action in their event – Rebecca Campbell also recording a PB to take the handicap win over the 1 km distance.

Under 12 2 km handicap              Hcp
1. Nicole Hallett         10:58    1
2. Chelsea Dyer           11:45    4
3. Caitlin Campbell       11:45    2
4. Amelia Finnegan        12:04    3
5. Tali Collins           12:24   
6. Bronte Alexander       14:07    5

Under 9 1 km handicap              Hcp
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson   9:19    1

1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  6:10    2
2. Rebecca Campbell        6:26    1

AV AND VRWC CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 17 JULY 2005 

On a cold and windy morning, good fields of walkers fronted for a variety of Victorian and VRWC championships.

20 KM OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN
Chris Erickson took yet another State title with a fine all-the-way win. His time of 1:28:22 was a PB by over 2 minutes and put him well clear of rivals Duane Cousins, Tom Barnes and Frank Bertei. Duane took second with a well judged walk while Tom had to battle hard in the final lap to hold off Frank in a sprint finish. The next 4 places were filled by Masters walkers, a reflection of the quality of our older athletes. A particular mention to Andrew Jamieson who was only just over 1 minute outside his M55+ World Record. In the accompanying teams event, the Athletics Essendon team just pipped the Collingwood team to take gold.

                      CLUB   4 K      8 K      10 K     12 K     14 K     16 K    18 K    20 K
1. ERICKSON, Chris    ATE    17:43    35:11    44:01    52:49    61:42    70:36   79:30   88:22
2. COUSINS, Duane     BYM    17:48    35:30    44:23    53:24    62:34    71:46   81:10   90:42
3. BARNES, Tom        RWD    18:37    36:43    46:07    55:27    64:50    74:13   83:44   93:13
4. BERTEI, Frank      ANW    18:27    36:54    46:15    55:34    64:58    74:25   83:54   93:14
5. JAMIESON, Andrew   OSC    19:07    38:24    48:04    57:47    67:36    77:28   87:16   96:55
6. HEYWOOD, Colin     COL    20:04    40:23    50:33    60:51    71:20    81:51   92:15   102:42
7. DONAHOO, Mark      ATE    20:19    40:56    51:07    61:32    72:12    82:48   93:30   103:47
8. MAYHEW, Trevor     COL    21:23    42:48    53:36    64:25    75:22    86:20   97:30   108:32
9. KOLLMORGEN, Stuart COL    20:48    43:57    55:27    67:14    79:17    91:30   103:40  115:04
10.KNOX, Duncan       ATE    23:26    46:46    58:44    70:49    83:20    95:30   108:02  119:47
11.ARMSTRONG, David   DIV    25:22    50:25    62:53    75:22    87:51    100:30   113:16  126:11
   GARDINER, Bob      COL    25:29    51:53    65:23    Ab.

TEAMS RACE
1.    ATE    10 points    Chris ERICKSON,  Mark DONAHOO, Duncan KNOX
2.    COL    11 points    Colin HEYWOOD, Trevor MAYHEW, Stuart KOLLMORGEN

10 KM OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN
Knox team mates Simone Wolowiec and Kellie Wapshott went immediately to the front and were never headed. Simone eventually broke away and won with a fine 46:21 and Kellie’s second place time of 47:11 was a PB by over 1 minute.  Expatriate Kiwi Carma Watson took the bronze with a good walk after losing serious training time to some niggling injuries.

1.WOLOWIEC, Simone   KNA    9:09    18:15    27:35    36:54    46:21
2.WAPSHOTT, Kellie   KNA    9:09    18:24    27:39    37:13    47:11
3.WATSON, Carma      ATE    10:09   20:09    30:35    40:59    51:45
4.SZIROM, Megan      RWD    -       20:56    31:44    42:35    53:31
5.ADAMCEWICZ, Erin   ATE    10:17   21:07    32:00    42:55    53:45
6.GEISLER, Sandra    RWD    9:47    20:04    30:52    42:57    54:50
7.MAJOR, Annette     EAG    11:01   22:17    33:49    45:48    57:40
8.DRENNAN, Carmel    KSB    12:29   25:03    37:56    51:05    64:41

AV 10 KM UNDER 20 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN   
1.BARNES, Jamie      COR    10:35   21:35    33:13    44:55    56:14
2.BURGESS, Shaun     ACW    10:50   21:50    34:30    45:44    57:26


Apart from the Victorian championships, a full range of Victorian Schools championships were held for the age groups of U14, U16, U18 and U20. There were a number of good performances but the best on paper would be

- Rhydian Cowley who moved up from the Under 16 age group to contest the longer Under 18 distance. He was rewarded with a big PB gold medal performance.
- Siobhan Donovan and Jess Rothwell who fought out the Under 18 girls event. It took a big effort in the last 1 km loop for Siobhan to pass Jess and take the gold.
- Daniel Payne who won the Under 16 boys 3 km walk with a big PB time of 14:34. In fact, all 3 placegetters in this event did PBs to gain their medals.
- Regan Lamble who led home the girls in a very strong Under 16 event. It was also a PB for Regan who ended up winning easily.
- Tim Girgin and Rachel Tallent who won their respective 3 km Under 14 events in fine fashion.

Schools results were as follows

AV 10 KM UNDER 20 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN     
1.BURGESS, Shaun      Belmont H.S.                 57:26

AV 5 KM UNDER 18 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN   
1.COWLEY, Rhydian     Melbourne H.S.                9:47    19:37    24:19   
2.BRYANT, Kyle        Bendigo Sen. S.C.             9:47    19:46    24:58   
3.RANGER, David       St Patrick’s Coll.           10:29    22:20    28:24   
4.ELMS, Bradley       Lalor North S.C.             13:44    27:37    33:35   

AV 5 KM UNDER 18 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR WOMEN   
1.DONOVAN, Siobhan    Boronia Heights College       9:59    20:35    25:46   
2.ROTHWELL, Jess      Goulburn Valley G.S.          9:59    20:29    25:49   
3.BRUNTON, Caitlin    Kardinia International Coll  11:42    24:58    31:02   
  SMITH, Emma         Cobden Tech. Sch             DNS           

AV 3 KM UNDER 16 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR BOYS   
1.PAYNE, Daniel       Kardinia Int.College          9:35    14:34   
2.PLATT,  John        Mount Clear College          10:12    15:22   
3.MIRARCHI, Nicholas  St Joseph’s College          10:42    16:05   
4.LYON, Matt          Caulfield G.S.               11:31    18:10   
5.ELMS, Jason         Lalor North S.C.             13:37    20:09   

AV 3 KM UNDER 16 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR GIRLS
1.LAMBLE, Regan       Strathcona G.G.               9:51    14:48   
2.LAURIE, Natalie     Kingswood College             9:51    15:22   
3.PALFREYMAN, Jessie  Golden Square S.C            10:36    16:07   
4.FENTON, Brittany    Gleneagles S.C.              11:13    16:56   
5.GIRGIN, Eda         Melbourne Girls College      11:23    17:33   
6.ASLANIDES, Amelia   Brentwood S.C.               11:57    18:18   
7.BODDY, Lana         Norlane H.S.                 12:17    18:48   

AV 3 KM UNDER 14 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR BOYS   
1.GIRGIN, Tim         Kew H.S.                     10:11    15:30   
2.GIRGIN, Ergenekon   Glenferrie P.C.              10:55    16:36   
3.WALSH, Robert       Mt Waverley S.C.             11:10    17:01   
4.PALFREYMAN, Jack    Golden Square S.C.           11:47    17:42    
  KENNISH, William    De La Salle College          DQ       
  ELMS, Damien        Lalor North S.C.             DNS       

AV 3 KM UNDER 14 SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR GIRLS   
1.TALLENT, Rachel     Ballarat H.S.                10:20    15:47   
2.ALEXANDER, Beth     Heany Park P.S.              10:24    16:00   
3.HALLETT, Nicole     St Michael’s School          10:51    16:12   
4.RASSELLI, Cassandra Berwick Lodge P.S            10:45    16:25   
5.BRAZEL, Hilary      Holy Saviour P.S.            11:10    16:54   
6.PAYNE, Emily        Hamlyn Banks P. S.           12:04    18:30   
7.COLLINS, Ayla       St John’s Regional College   12:13    18:49   

A number of VRWC club championship and non-championship events were also held. The Open Mens 20 km championship was for the Alf Robinson Trophy while the Open Womens 10 km championship was for the Mabel Robinson Trophy. These are two of our most prestigious club championships and Chris Erickson and Simone Wolowiec were worthy winners.

VRWC OPEN MEN 20 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Chris Erickson     88:22
2. Tom Barnes         93:13
3. Frank Bertei       93:14
4. Andrew Jamieson    96:55
5. Colin Heywood      102:42
6. Mark Donahoo       103:47
7. Trevor Mayhew      108:32
8. Murray Dickinson   118:32
9. David Armstrong    126:11
   Stuart Cooper      DNF (14 km in 92:34)

VRWC OPEN WOMEN 10 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Simone Wolowiec    46:21
2. Carma Watson       51:45
3. Sandra Geisler     54:50
4. Liz Feldman        60:21
5. Carmel Drennan     64:41
6. Sandra Howorth     70:35

I must make a special mention of the performance of Russ Dickenson in the Open 10 km event. His time was a PB by over a minute (67 sec's) and, as he is 59, it gives him an age graded percentage of about 83% which puts his performance into the elite category for Masters.   Given that he only took up walking 18 months ago it is a wonderful affort and worthy of mention.

VRWC OPEN 10 KM WALK
1.Travis Middlemiss   50:36
2.Russ Dickenson      56:14
3.Alan Lucas          60:04
4.Bob Gardiner        65:23

VRWC OPEN 5 KM WALK
1.Heather Carr        27:50
2.Daniel Lowe         28:53
3.Janet Holmes        29:39
4.Gwen Steed          32:18

VRWC UNDER 12 1.5 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1.Ebony Whiley         8:16
2.Caitlin Campbell     8:17
3.Ebony Tallent        8:51
4.Amelia Finnegan      9:14
5.Ebony Jones         11:02

1.Simeon Whiley       11:52

VRWC UNDER 9 1.5 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1.Chloe McNicol-Davidson   9:36
2.Rebecca Campbell        10:01

1.Jeremiah Jones          11:06
2.Cody McNicol-Davidson   12:34

RACEWALKING AUSTRALIA CHALLENGE, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 9 JULY 2005

As the temperature slowly climbed towards the 100C mark and  wind and rain swept the course, a large contingent of hardy walkers tested themselves in what could only be described as truly miserable conditions. The occasion was  the annual Racewalking Australia challenge and we, like all the other Federation clubs, competed in a common program of events. A full complement of 9 judges kept everyone honest and the walking was of a high standard, especially given the inclement weather.

There were plenty of great performances with Frank Bertei and Simone Wolowiec leading the way in great 10 km times. They were followed by Travis Middlemiss and Kellie Wapshott (another great walk) who sauntered through the first 5 km together before coming home with a scorching second half.

Amongst the many other good performers were Fauve Jacobs (PB in the U20 10 km), Shaun Burgess and Siobhan Donovan (showing plenty of form in the U18 8 km event), Rhydian Cowley (easily beating 25 mins in the U16 5 km), Regan Lamble (just over 15 mins in the U14 3 km), Cassandra Raselli and Robert Walsh (PBs to win their U12 2 km events) and Chloe McNicol-Davidson (in the U10 1.5km).

10km Walk Open
1. FRANK BERTEI             46:36
2. TRAVIS MIDDLEMISS        49:35
3. MARK DONAHOO             49:55
4. JOHN BUNKER              54:32
5. ALAN LUCAS               57:26
6. LACHLAN WILKINSON (ACT)  58:24
7. MURRAY DICKINSON         58:27
   TREVOR MAYHEW            Ab.
   RUSS DICKENSON           Ab.
 
1. SIMONE WOLOWIEC          47:55
2. KELLIE WAPSHOTT          49:35
3. ALISON THOMPSON          59:32
4. LIZ FELDMAN              60:43
5. SANDRA HOWORTH           70:52
   JANET HOLMES             Ab.
   CARMA WATSON             Ab.

10km Walk U20
1. FAUVE JACOBS             56:20
 
8km Walk U18
1. SHAUN BURGESS            43:38
2. BRADLEY ELMS             48:35
 
1. SIOBHAN DONOVAN          43:24
 
5km Walk U16
1. RHYDIAN COWLEY           24:42
2. JASON ELMS               37:22
 
1. NATALIE LAURIE           26:39
2. EDA GIRGIN               29:34

5 Km Walk Open
1. GEOFF BARROW             30:33
2. JOHN MORRISON            31:01
3. STUART COOPER            31:33
4. GWEN STEED               32:39
5. ROBIN WOOD               34:59
   GORDON ONLEY             DISQ
 
3km Walk U14
1. ERGENEKON GIRGIN         16:31
   DAMIEN ELMS              DISQ
 
1. REGAN LAMBLE             15:10
2. BETH ALEXANDER           16:48

3 km Open
1. CHRISTINE GRIFFITHS      25:34

3 km Open Fitness Walk
VICKI GRIGG                 23:22
 
2km Walk U12   
1. CASSANDRA RASSELLI       10:40
2. HILARY BRAZEL            10:56
3. NICOLE HALLETT           10:53
4. AMELIA FINNEGAN          12:36
 
1. ROBERT WALSH             10:56
 
1.5km Walk U10
1. CHLOE McNICOL-DAVIDSON   10:20
 
1. JORDAN HOWORTH           11:57
2. CODY McNICOL-DAVIDSON    12:42

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 2 JULY 2005

This week our 'Guess Your Own Time' races were held and they attracted considerable interest from our walkers. The idea is simple – nominate your expected time and the winner is the person who comes closest. No watches are worn and no lap times are called.

The human clock, Alan Lucas, won his division once again and reliable sources informed me that Alan always wins these events when held with the Veterans. Siobhan Donovan was the closest overall, being only 1 second different to her nominated time. In all cases, the winners were spot on.

8 km Open                     Time      Difference
1. Siobhan Donovan            0:43:29     1 sec   
2. Janet Holmes               0:49:28    13 sec   
3. Alison Thompson            0:47:23    78 sec   
4. Fauve Jacobs               0:48:23   136 sec   

1. Alan Lucas                 0:45:00     3 sec   
2. John Bunker                0:42:38    16 sec   
3. Bradley Elms               0:50:31    29 sec   
4. Duncan Knox                0:43:50    30 sec   
5. Mark Donahoo               0:39:57    38 sec   
6. Murray Dickinson           0:45:45    45 sec   
7. Robert Gardiner            0:52:59    59 sec   
8. Robin Wood                 0:55:39    69 sec   
9. Nicholas Mirarchi          0:48:45    75 sec   
10.Russ Dickenson             0:45:05    82 sec   

4km Open                      Time       Difference
1. Carmel Drennan             0:23:54     6 sec   
2. Gwen Steed                 0:25:44     7 sec   
3. Margaret Beaumont          0:29:05    11 sec   
4. Liz Feldman                0:23:03    13 sec   
5. Christine Griffiths        0:33:32    28 sec   
   Pam Mews                   Disq       

1. Ian Beaumont               0:31:08    38 sec   
2. Harry Summers              0:27:53   108 sec   
   Geoff Barrow               Disq       
   Gordon Onley               Disq       

4km Under 15                  Time      Difference
1. Regan Lamble               0:20:54    6 sec   
2. Nicole Hallett             0:22:52   18 sec   
3. Eda Girgin                 0:23:24   69 sec   
4. Amy Burren                 0:25:20   80 sec   

1. Jason Elms                 0:29:01   19 sec   
2. Daniel Payne               0:21:38   23 sec   
3. Rhydian Cowley             0:20:14   44 sec   
4. Timucin Girgin             0:22:40   85 sec   
   Damien Elms                Disq       

2km Under 12                  Time      Difference
1. Caitlin Campbell           0:12:13   11 sec   
2. Emily Payne                0:12:47   12 sec   
3. Hillary Brazel             0:10:53   22 sec   
4. Amelia Finnegan            0:12:46   40 sec   

1. Robert Walsh               0:11:05   10 sec   
2. Ergenekon Girgin           0:10:45   15 sec   

1km Under 9                   Time      Difference
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson      0:08:45   15 sec   

1. Rebecca Campbell           0:06:56    6 sec   
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson     0:06:19   19 sec   

VRWC AND AV RACES,ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 25 JUNE 2005

Men’s Victorian 15 km Championship

The Victorian 15 km roadwalk was expected to be a close competition between Chris Erickson and Tom Barnes. With Tom a late scratching, Chris was left to walk to a relatively easy victory to add to his recent 5000m track and 10 km road titles.  Frank Bertei and Andrew Jamieson also recorded good times in taking the minor medals.

The Collingwood Harriers team of Colin Heywood, Stuart Kollmorgen and Ross Reid took the Teams gold.

1. Chris Erickson       ATE     9:26    18:53    28:18    37:39      46:55     55:48    1:04:46    1:09:16
2. Frank Bertei         ANW     9:26    18:53    28:19    37:40      47:04     56:43    1:06:24    1:11:13
3. Andrew Jamieson      OSC     9:26    18:53    28:25    38:07      47:51     57:45    1:07:40    1:12:38
4. Colin Heywood        COL     9:49    19:39    29:25    39:15      49:11     59:12    1:09:33    1:14:44
5. Stuart Kollmorgen    COL    10:08    20:35    31:08    41:47     -        1:03:12    1:14:15    1:19:39
6. Ross Reid            COL    10:09    20:36    31:13    42:11      53:31   1:05:02    1:17:06    1:23:31
7. Duncan Knox          ATE    12:32    24:35    36:42    48:38    1:00:19   1:11:51    1:23:12    1:28:38
8. David Armstrong      DIV    11:19    23:02    34:41    46:20      58:06   1:10:11    1:22:40    1:29:19
9. Robert Gardiner      COL    12:48    25:47    38:55    52:12    1:05:26   1:18:50    1:32:26    1:39:34
   Daniel Walters       COR    DNS
   Mark Donahoo         ATE    DNS
   Tom Barnes           RWD    DNS
   Trevor Mayhew        COL    DNS
   Daniel Lowe          MEN    DNS

Teams Event

1.COL    Colin Heywood, Stuart Kollmorgen, Ross Reid

Women’s Victorian 15 km Championship

Simone Wolowiec walked to an easy victory in the women’s race after matching it with the leading men in the first few laps of the race. Ballarat walker Kelly Ruddick earned her first Victorian Open roadwalk medal to finish second ahead of Sandra Geisler after the two had staged a keenly fought race.

1. Simone Wolowiec       KNA     9:26    18:53    28:20    37:50      47:30      57:15    1:07:03    1:11:52
2. Kelly Ruddick         BHA    10:24    20:47    31:10    41:39      52:07    1:02:42    1:13:15    1:18:28
3. Sandra Geisler        RWD    10:08    20:19    30:45    41:36      52:08    1:02:52    -          1:20:55
4. Annette Major         EAG    11:18    23:18    35:31    47:57    1:00:40    1:13:48    1:27:15    1:34:02
5. Carmel Drennan        KSB    12:30    25:05    37:42    50:30    1:05:14    1:18:59    1:32:25    1:40:29
    Rachael Loone        RWD    10:24    22:34    35:02    47:31    DNF
    Megan Szirom         RWD    10:08    21:02    32:43    DNF
    Erin Adamcewicz      ATE    DQ

Apart from the Victorian championships, a number of VRWC events were keenly contested and over 60 walkers contested the various events. It was great to see so many at the start line at 2:15PM.

VRWC 15km handicap
1. Sandra Geisler             1:20:55    1 hcp
2. Carmel Drennan             1:40:29    2
3. Sandra Howorth             1:49:16   

1. Chris Erickson             1:09:16    4 hcp
2. Andrew Jamieson            1:12:38    2
3. Colin Heywood              1:14:44    1
4. David Armstrong            1:29:19    3
   Travis Middlemiss          Ab.

VRWC 10km handicap
1. Heather Carr               0:58:00    2 hcp
2. Margaret Beaumont          1:14:06    1

1. Mark Donahoo               0:51:30    6 hcp
2. John Bunker                0:53:21    1
3. Shaun Burgess              0:56:49
4. Alan Lucas                 0:57:14    5
5. Russ Dickenson             0:57:27    2
6. Murray Dickinson           0:58:20    3
7. Nicholas Mirarchi          1:05:27    4
   Robin Wood                 Ab

The best race of the day was the 5 km where our young walkers really excelled themselves. Siobhan Donovan, Natalie Laurie and Regan Lamble all recorded excellent times in the women's section while Rhydian Cowley smashed his PB with a wonderful time of 24:22. These young walkers all have excellent styles and lots of speed and we can expect to see them continuing to improve over the next few years if they keep at it.

VRWC 5km handicap
1. Siobhan Donovan            0:26:15    6 hcp
2. Natalie Laurie             0:26:25    1
3. Regan Lamble               0:26:37    4
4. Janet Holmes               0:29:28    5
5. Celia Johnson              0:30:51    3
6. Gwen Steed                 0:32:39    2

1. Rhydian Cowley             0:24:22    2 hcp
2. Bill Dyer                  0:26:51    5
3. Tony Johnson               0:29:27    7
4. Bradley Elms               0:29:38    1
5. Geoff Barrow               0:29:55    4
6. John Morrison              0:30:51    6
7. Ian Beaumont               0:37:54    3
   Gordon Onley               Disq

VRWC 3km Under 15 handicap
1. Beth Alexander             0:17:10    1 hcp
2. Christine Griffiths        0:24:24

1. William Kennish            0:16:22    1 hcp
2. Jason Elms                 0:21:21    2
   Damien Elms                Disq

Our Under 12 walkers increased their distance to 3 km this week but everyone finished strongly. Robert Walsh, in one of his first races with us, walked very well for his time of 17:12 while Nicole Hallett and Hilary Brazel staged their usual battle, with both breaking the 17 minute barrier.

VRWC 3km Under 12 handicap
1. Nicole Hallett             0:16:50    1 hcp
2. Hilary Brazel              0:16:59    2
3. Amy Burren                 0:17:54    4
4. Chelsea Dyer               0:19:05    7
5. Caitlin Campbell           0:19:54    6
6. Sarah Burren               0:20:21    3
7. Taylor Brogan              0:21:07    5

1. Robert Walsh               0:17:12    1 hcp

And finally, our Under 9 walkers were joined this week by Mitchell Dyer in his first race with the club. Welcome Mitchell!

VRWC 1km Under 9 handicap

1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson     0:06:23    1 hcp
2. Rebecca Campbell           0:07:50    2

1. Mitchell Dyer              0:06:44
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson      0:09:23    1 hcp

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 18 JUNE 2005

We had a few people taking well earned rests after the Canberra carnival last weekend but we still saw a good turnout for our club races on Saturday. The big performance came from Ballarat walker Kelly Ruddick who showed lots of strength and a great style in recording 39:44 for the 8 km distance. Kelly, who won the Victorian Country Track walk last summer,  will be a serious contender in next week's Victorian 15 km championship. She had a good battle early on with Ross Reid but drew away as the race progressed. A special mention also to Natalie Laurie who walked an excellent 8 km and is improving quickly over the longer distances.

VRWC 8 Km Handicap Men        Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Ross Reid                   15    40:14    4
2. John Bunker                 45    42:50    3
3. Duncan Knox                  6    44:55    2
4. Murray Dickinson            18    45:30    1
5. Geoff Barrow                59    51:49    -
6. Robin Wood                1221    55:49    5
   Ian Beaumont                16    DQ
   Mark Donahoo                14    DNF

VRWC 8 Km Handicap Women      Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Kelly Ruddick              273    39:44    -
2. Erin Adamcewicz              1    43:14    2
3. Natalie Laurie              85    44:22    1
4. Margaret Beaumont           17    59:07    3

The 4 km events were the most popular and Travis Martin showed everyone a clean pair of heels to win with a fast 19:21.

The Under 15 4 km events saw some very good performances, especially from Tim Girgin (21:04) and Regan Lamble (21:00) who walked PBs and took fastest times. Also I must give a special mention to Amy Burren who moved up from the Under 12 division and walked a brisk 24:27 to win the Under 15 girls' handicap.

VRWC 4 Km Handicap Men        Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Travis Martin              146    19:21    3
2. David Armstrong             44    21:04    -
3. Russ Dickenson            3684    22:43    2
4. Bob Gardiner                30    24:11    1
5. John Morrison              121    24:49    4
6. Bradley Elms               102    27:32    5
   Gordon Onley               135    DQ

VRWC 4 Km Handicap Women      Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Fauve Jacobs               182    22:14    3
2. Janet Holmes                 2    23:12    5
3. Celia Johnson               34    24:33    4
4. Barbara Tucker             179    24:55    2
5. Gwen Steed                  60    26:05    1
6. Christine Griffiths       3879    34:26    6

VRWC 4 Km Handicap U15 Boys   Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Tim Girgin                  27    21:04    2
2. William Kennish            164    22:40    3
3. Ergenekon Girgin           232    23:01    1
4. Jason Elms                 105    29:07    4
   Damien Elms                115    DNF

VRWC 4 Km Handicap U15 Girls  Num    Time    Hcp   
1. Regan Lamble               122    21:00    2
2. Eda Girgin                1791    22:32    4
3. Amy Burren                 143    24:27    1
4 .Brittany Fenton            176    24:32    3

VRWC 4 Km Fitness Walk       Time   
Vicki Grigg                  30:05

The young walkers contested 2 km and 1 km events and Nicole Hallett and Sarah Burren not only took fastest times but  won the handicaps as well.

VRWC 2 Km Handicap U12 Girls  Num    Time    Hcp
1. Nicole Hallett             119    11:15    1
2. Hilary Brazel              150    11:39    5
3. Amelia Finnegan            181    12:10    3
4. Caitlin Campbell           168    12:18    2
5. Taylor Brogan              151    13:31    4   

VRWC 1 Km Handicap U9 Girls   Num    Time    Hcp
1. Sarah Burren               142    6:07    1
2. Rebecca Campbell           172    6:56    2

RACEWALKING AUSTRALIA CARNIVAL, CANBERRA, SUNDAY 12 JUNE 2005

The 39th edition of the Canberra Racewalking Carnival was better than ever. With race numbers up (towards 300 overall) and the best weather we have seen for many a year, the ACT Race and Fitness Walking Club did its usual wonderful performance in professionally running this huge event.

The first events to start at 8AM were the 10 mile and 20 mile events and it was exciting to see a field of some 60 walkers toe the line. We were looking forward to seeing Nathan Deakes in action in the longer race but unfortunately he was a late withdrawal. That left Jared Tallent and Craig Barrett to take the mantle as race favorites. 

Jared, after 3 years as the leading junior walker and contesting his first senior 20 mile event, walked confidently alongside Craig and quickly left the other walkers behind, passing the first 5 miles in 35:35. To the surprise of many people, he subsequently broke away from Craig at the 8 mile mark and actually increased his pace over the next 10 miles, recording further 5 mile splits of 35:23 and 34:36. By the 15 mile mark, he had a lead of over 4 minutes and had the event all but won. The only other 20 year old to do so well on debut was Nathan Deakes in 1998 when he took second place in 2:21:50. At the 18 mile mark, Jared was on target to match Nathan’s time but he slowed a little in the last few miles to record a winning time of 2:22:39.

Chris Erickson, walking a very evenly paced race, broke away from the chasing pack at the 8 mile mark, passed Craig Barrett at the 13 mile mark and came home strongly to take second place for the second year in a row – but with a time some 10 minutes faster than last year. Craig Barrett medalled yet again, making a total of 4 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze from 7 attempts. Duane Cousins came in next, completing the powerful VRWC team which took the Teams Trophy for the 10th time in the last 12 years.

Jared and Chris enter the “Who’s Who” of walkers who have broken 2:30 for this 20 mile event.

1.  Willi Sawall     1980   VIC   2:16:48
2.  Craig Barrett    1998   NZ    2:19:37
3.  Dion Russell     2000   VIC   2:21:35
4.  Nathan Deakes    1998   VIC   2:21:50
5.  Nick A'Hern      1997   NSW   2:22:19
6.  Jared Tallent    2005   VIC   2:22:39
7.  Duane Cousins    1996   VIC   2:24:39
8.  Simon Baker      1987   VIC   2:25:18
9.  Michael Harvey   1994   VIC   2:25:55
10. Chris Erickson   2005   VIC   2:27:04
11. Andrew Jachno    1989   VIC   2:27:19
12. Tim Erickson     1981   VIC   2:27:23
13. Scott Nelson     1995   NZ    2:28:45
14. Paul Copeland    1993   VIC   2:29:13

The 10 mile events were run concurrently and NSW walker Cheryl Webb was a clear winner in the prestigious women’s event with 78:10. She returned to the road in the afternoon to win the women’s 5 km roadwalk in a time around 22:40. It was an impressive double and omens well for the IAAF Worlds where she will contest the 20 km alongside Jane Saville.

The carnival also hosts the Australian Junior Men’s 10 km roadwalk title and WA’s Micheal McCagh led from the start to win with a PB time of 42:38. McCagh, an AIS athlete, was pushed by fellow AIS walker and training partner Adam Rutter until Rutter was disqualified for contact with less than 2 kilometres to go. In fairness, Adam had been sick this last week and was below his best.

Apart from Frank and Jared, there were a number of other fine Victorian performances and the majority of the VRWC competitors achieved PBs in their races. It is always hard to pick out particular walks for special mention but my picks were as follows

• Jared Tallent and Chris Erickson for their outstanding walks in the Open 20 Mile and the associated ACT 30 km championship.
  
• Andrew Jamieson who, the day before his 59th birthday, did a PB for the Open 20 Mile and finished in a fine 8th  place in 2:48:24.
  
• Nicholas Mirarchi who came 2nd in the Under 14 2km race in a PB time of 10:56 and then backed up in the Under 16 3km to make up a team and came 8th in an even faster time of 16:16 and another big PB.
  
• Daniel Payne who battled out the Under 16 3km walk with NSW walker James Pisani and only just lost out in a final sprint. His time of 14:45 was a huge PB and a wonderful exhibition of walking.
  
• Natalie Laurie who was in perhaps the highest standard race of all. She walked an excellent 10:34 in the Under 14 Girls 2km but had to settle for 5th place.
  

I have yet to see the final official results but I was able to confirm a number of placings from the sheets that were posted during the day. More comprehensive results will be available in next week’s newsletter. Here is the news on the Victorian performances at this stage.

OPEN 20M   
1  TALLENT, Jared         2:22:39
2  ERICKSON, Chris        2:27:04
4  COUSINS, Duane         2:37:20
7  BERTEI, Frank          2:45:50
8  JAMIESON, Andrew       2:48:24
11 KNOX, Duncan           3:34:10

ACT 30 KM CHAMP   
1  TALLENT, Jared         2:12:33
2  ERICKSON, Chris        2:16:55
3  COUSINS, Duane         2:25:59
5  BERTEI, Frank          2:34:41
6  JAMIESON, Andrew       2:36:59

OPEN/VET WOMEN 10M   
6  SZIROM, Megan          1:26:01
7  WATSON, Carma          1:29:48
14 FELDMAN, Elizabeth     1:45:19

OPEN/VET MEN 10M   
3  HAWKSWORTH, Danny      1:25:15
5  LUCAS, Alan            1:38:12

BOYS U10 1000M   
4  McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Cody    8:01

GIRLS U10 1000M   
7  McNICOL- DAVIDSON, Chloe  6:32
9  HEALEY, Mikaela           6:51

BOYS U12 2000M   
4  POLMEAR, Luke            12:21

GIRLS U12 2000M   
5  HALLETT, Nicole          11:14
7  BRAZEL, Hilary           11:31
12 TALLENT, Ebony           12:04
13 FINNEGAN, Amelia         12:06

GIRLS U14 2000M   
   LAURIE, Natalie          10:34
   TALLENT, Rachel          10:48
   PAYNE, Emily             12:20
   ALEXANDER, Beth          11:33

BOYS U16 3000M   
2  PAYNE, Daniel            14:45
7  PLATT, John              15:44
8  MIRARCHI, Nicholas       16:16

GIRLS U16 3000M   
11 BRUNTON, Caitlin         18:34
12 POLMEAR, Jacinta         19:36
13 BODDY, Lana              19:55

BOYS U18 5000M   
   BURGESS, Shaun           27:37

GIRLS U18 5000M   
   LAURIE, Natalie          27:35
   JACOBS, Fauve            27:39

WOMEN 5000M   
   SZIROM, Megan            25:20
   PLATT, Belinda           33:28
  

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 4 JUNE 2005

Our races were held as handicap starts on Saturday and a very strong turnout supported the day. This sort of race normally brings out the best in our walkers and this week was no exception. Race results are listed in order of handicap finish.

Duncan  Knox and Sandra Geisler won the 10 km Open handicap events but with very different walks. Sandra was off scratch and had to catch and pass the other women contesting the distance.  By way of comparison, Duncan was off a good mark and had to hold out a rampaging Tom Barnes who stormed through the field from scratch and recorded a big PB and an excellent time of 44:32. But he could not catch Duncan who was still over 10 secs in front at the finish.

10 km Handicap Open Women    Time     F/T
1. SANDRA GEISLER            52:19    1
2. MARGARET BEAUMONT         73:15    5
3. CARMA WATSON              55:14    2
4. CARMEL DRENNAN            64:45    4
5. LIZ FELDMAN               61:26    3

10 km Handicap Open Men      Time     F/T
1. DUNCAN KNOX               56:55    4
2. TOM BARNES                44:32    1
3. FRANK BERTEI              47:24    2
4. ALAN LUCAS                56:41    3
5. MURRAY DICKINSON          60:04    5
6. IAN BEAUMONT              80:18    6
   MARK DONAHOO              Ab.
   TRAVIS MIDDLEMISS         Ab.
   RUSS DICKENSON            Ab.   


The 5 km events were the most popular with 23 entrants. The scratch walkers walked terrific races (Megan Szirom with 24:26 and John Bunker with a PB 24:46) but they could not bridge the gaps to those who had departed ahead of them. Gwen Steed and Bruce Conboy both walked strongly to hold out the various chasers and both recorded good wins. 

5 km Handicap Open Women     Time     F/T
1. GWEN STEED                33:42    9
2. RACHAEL LOONE             26:28    3
3. SHIRLEY COPPOCK           38:54    11
4. MEGAN SZIROM              24:26    1
5. BARBARA TUCKER            32:06    8
6. FAUVE JACOBS              27:48    6
7. SANDRA HOWORTH            34:03    10
8. HEATHER CARR              27:06    5
9. CELIA JOHNSON             31:02    7
10. ERIN ADAMCEWICZ          26:21    2
11. CHRISTINE GRIFFITHS      42:45    12
12. REGAN LAMBLE             26:51    4

5 km Handicap Open Men       Time     F/T
1. BRUCE CONBOY              30:48    9
2. GEOFF BARROW              29:35    7
3. ANTHONY DORAN             29:36    8
=4 JOHN BUNKER               24:46    1
=4 BRADLEY ELMS              29:11    6
6. TREVOR MAYHEW             25:37    2
7. SHAUN BURGESS             27:49    4
8. BILL DYER                 27:03    3
9. TONY JOHNSON              28:41    5
10. BOB GARDINER             31:44    10
    GORDON ONLEY             DQ       
                        
In the Under 15 events, Natalie Laurie came through from scratch to win while Jason Elms went off first and outlasted his rivals to win from the front.

5 km Handicap U15 Girls      Time     F/T
1. NATALIE LAURIE            16:24    1
2. EDA GIRGIN                16:32    2
3. BETH ALEXANDER            18:15    3

5 km Handicap U15 Boys       Time     F/T
1. JASON ELMS                19:58    3
2. DANIEL PAYNE              15:26    2
3. TIMUCIN GIRGIN            15:14    1
   DAMIEN ELMS               DQ       
 
The Under 12 and Under 9 walkers headed off with a mass start rather than with a staggered handicap start but the final results are still recorded in order of handicap finish. Chelsea Dyer walked a very improved race to be the first Under 12 girl with 11:36, almost matching the times of Nicole Hallett and Hilary Brazel who walked their normally impressive races. Our sole Under 12 boy, Robert Walsh, walked with Hilary and his final time of 11:22 indicates that he is a talented walker also and has a big future if he sets his mind to it.

2 km Handicap U12 Girls      Time     F/T
1. CHELSEA DYER              11:36    3
=2 EMILY PAYNE               12:21    5
=2 KIARA DUNN                12:48    6
4. NICOLE HALLETT            11:30    2
5. AMELIA FINNEGAN           12:07    4
6. HILARY BRAZEL             11:21    1
7. CAITLIN CAMPBELL          13:00    7

2 km Handicap U12 Boys       Time     F/T
1. ROBERT WALSH              11:22    1       

Our Under 9 walkers are always great to watch – how do those little legs go so fast! It was a McNicol-Davidson day with Chloe and Cody winning their respective handicaps.
       
1 km Handicap U9 Girls       Time    F/T
1. CHLOE McNICOL-DAVIDSON    6:17    1
2. REBECCA CAMPBELL          6:49    2

1 km Handicap U9 Boys        Time    F/T
1. CODY McNICOL-DAVIDSON     9:01    1

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 28 MAY 2005

It’s been a busy season so far at Albert Park so it was a pleasant change to have a simple day of club races on offer. The 8 km events saw Chris Erickson and Frank Bertei lead from the front in what was obviously a friendly training session. Sandra Geisler and Rachael Loone had a good battle in the women’s 8 km event with Sandra getting the upper hand. It was good to see Natalie Laurie walk her first 8 km event and she handled it comfortably and looked good.

8km Handicap Women                   Hcp
1. Sandra Geisler           41:31    2
2. Rachael Loone            41:54    1
3. Fauve Jacobs             44:44    4
4. Heather Carr             45:16    3
5. Eda Girgin               47:30    6
6. Natalie Laurie           48:48    -
7. Margaret Beaumont        58:29    5

8km Handicap Men                     Hcp
1. Frank Bertei             38:38    -
2. Chris Erickson           38:38    6
3. Timucin Girgin           44:36    2
4. Russ Dickenson           45:24    3
5. Nicholas Mirarchi        47:07    1
6. Murray Dickinson         47:37    5
7. Robert Gardiner          51:44    7
8. Robin Wood               55:43    4
 
There were a number of good performances but none better than Rhydian Cowley who recorded a big PB to win the men’s 4 km event with 19:37. Rhydian has a big future if he keeps at it.  Interestingly, he could not win the handicap as Bradley Elms beat his PB by even more and is also another improving walker.
Regan Lamble had no trouble winning the women’s 4 km event and also took the handicap points as well. It was a case of our young walkers leading from the front.

4km Handicap Women                   Hcp
1. Regan Lamble             20:37    1
2. Janet Holmes             23:21    2
3. Celia Johnson            25:01    3
4. Gwen Steed               27:15    5
5. Christine Griffiths      35:48    4

4km Handicap Men                     Hcp
1. Rhydian Cowley           19:37    2
2. John Bunker              20:31    3
3. Shaun Burgess            22:21    6
4. Bradley Elms             22:39    1
5. Geoff Barrow             24:33    5
6. Jason Elms               28:32    4
7. Gordon Onley             30:04    8
8. Ian Beaumont             30:55    7

Our youngest walkers were untroubled by the slightly longer distances this week. Nicole Hallett took the honours against Hilary Brazel in the 2500m but both had to lower their colours to Ergenekon Girgin who had the fastest time overall. Caitlin Campbell won the Girls Under 12 handicap with a very good walk. The Under 9’s make up for their small numbers with their enthusiastic approach to walking and Chloe McNicol-Davidson is the big improver this season.

2500m Under 12 Handicap Girls         Hcp
1. Nicole Hallett            14:17    2
2. Hilary Brazel             14:30    5
3. Caitlin Campbell          15:42    1
4. Kiara Dunn                16:17    3
5. Taylor Brogan             16:40    4

2500m Under 12 Handicap Boys          Hcp
1. Ergenekon Girgin          14:07    1

1500m Under 9 Handicap Girls          Hcp
1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson     9:35    1
2. Rebecca Campbell          10:15    2

1500m Under 9 Handicap Boys           Hcp
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson     14:23    1

VRWC AND VMA CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 22 MAY 2005

Last weekend we welcomed the Victorian Masters walkers to Albert Park for the first of their Victorian roadwalk championships. The younger men contested a 20 km walk while the older walkers (M70+ and upwards) and the women contested 10 km.

VMA 20 Km Championship – Men    
Andrew Jamieson was too good for his fellow competitors in the 20km and his time of 99:23 was excellent in the warm conditions. Andrew holds the Masters World Record for the M55 20km distance, having recorded 95:21 in 2001. Now at the top of the age group, he has slowed only a little. Mark Donahoo was expected to provide some opposition but he was off colour and retired after only a couple of laps. Colin Haywood, Ross Reid and Trevor Mayhew also recorded times well under the 2 hour mark while Ian Beaumont, as the oldest competitor, did very well to complete what was for him a very long distance!

M45    -    Mark Donahoo        DNF
M50    1    Colin Haywood       51:18    106:47
       2    Ross Reid           53:23    109:56
       -    Stuart Cooper       DNF
M55    1    Andrew Jamieson     49:47     99:23
       2    Trevor Mayhew       54:36    109:49
       3    Alan Lucas          59:32    124:29
       4    Russ Dickenson      59:41    126:29
M65    1    Ian Beaumont        79:51    165:03
       -    Murray Dickinson    DNF

VMA 10 km Championship – Men
The two Gordons contested the 10km championship distance for the M70+ and upwards and each was rewarded with a gold medal. I never cease to admire the oldest of our walkers, both men and women. Their efforts show us just what a lifetime sport walking can be.

M70    1    Gordon Onley        82:32
M75    1    Gordon Gourlay      73:27

VMA 10 km Championship – Women
The highlight of this race was definitely the performance of Heather Carr who broke her current Australian Age record of 57:20 with a wonderful time of 56:42. Heather holds so many Masters records that I don’t have enough room to list them all – 1 World, 5 Australian and 19 Victorian and counting!

W40    1    Annette Major       58:16
       2    Sandra Howorth      71:43
W45    1    Carmel Drennan      62:58
W50    1    Alison Thompson     60:28
       2    Janet Holmes        61:39
W55    1    Heather Carr        56:42 (Australian Record)
       2    Liz Feldman         63:25
W60    1    Sylvia Machin       68:02
W65    1    Margaret Beaumont   78:02
       2    Shirley Coppock     81:01

A number of our senior walkers walked alongside the Masters with their own races over 10km, 15km and 20km. While there were no finishers over the 20km distance, we did see a keenly contested race for the Elsie Jacobson Memorial Trophy which was won by Sandra Geisler. Sandra is getting back into good racing form now and she and Megan Szirom were never separated by much throughout the race.

Tom Barnes and Kellie Wapshott both recorded 10 km times (45:33 and 48:48 respectively) that will put them well up in the 2005 Australian ranking lists. Kellie in particular recorded a big PB (first time under 50 km, I think). Both these young walkers are capable of matching it with our top walkers if they stick at it.

VRWC 20 km Open
   Kim Mottram            51:20    DNF (retired at 14 km mark)
   Carma Watson           55:30    DNF (retired at 10 km mark)
   Sandy Brunner          59:31    DNF (retired at 10 km mark)

VRWC 15km Open Women Championship – Elsie Jacobson Memorial Trophy
1. Sandra Geisler         51:15    79:43
2. Megan sZirom           53:29    82:04
   Rachel Loone           59:02    DNF

VRWC 10km Open
1. Tom Barnes             45:33
2. Kellie Wapshott        48:48
3. Stuart Kollmorgen      52:48
4. Nicholas Mirarchi      63:46
5. Ron Bilston            66:32

VRWC 5km Open
1. Bradley Elms           33:05
2. Gwen Steed             34:31
3. Christine Griffiths    41:53

Our underage walkers also contested club championships in U20, U16, U14, U12 and U9 divisions and most of the competitors won medals. Fauve Jacobs and Shaun Burgess walked their first ever 15km events and finished strongly. Rhydian Cowley took the honours with the fastest time for the 5km – a PB of 26:06. The Girgins took 3 golds with wins to Eda, Tim and Ergenekon, all with very good times. Regan Lamble was well ahead of her rivals in the girls Under 16 walk. Hilary Brazel and Nicole Hallett staged a great battle in the Under 12 girls with Hilary just edging Nicole out Then Nicole took a second silver with a great walk in the Under 14 championship a little later. And finally Chloe and Cody Mc-Nicol-Davidson took golds in the Under 9 events in another family affair.

Well done to everyone!

VRWC 15km Under 20 Championship - Women
1. Fauve Jacobs          59:28    91:13

VRWC 15km Under 20 Championship - Men
1. Shaun Burgess         59:32    90:41

VRWC 5km Under 16 Championship - Girls
1. Eda Girgin            28:27
2. Brittany Fenton       30:17
3. Caitlin Brunton       30:48

VRWC 5km Under 16 Championship - Boys
1. Rhydian Cowley        26:06
2. Daniel Payne          27:52
3. Jason Elms            38:28

VRWC 3km Under 14 Championship - Girls
1. Regan Lamble          16:03
2. Nicole Hallett        17:06
3. Beth Alexander        17:56
4. Alana Boddy           18:55
5. Emily Payne           19:06
   Hilary Brazel         DNF
VRWC 3km Under 14 Championship – Boys
1. Tim Girgin            15:29
2. William Kennish       16:45
3. Damien Elms           26:32

VRWC 1km Under 12 Championship - Girls
1. Hilary Brazel          5:10
2. Nicole Hallett         5:11
3. Caitlin Campbell       5:25
4. Chelsea Dyer           5:36
5. Amelia Finnegan        5:49
6. Taylor Brogan          6:12  

VRWC 1km Under 12 Championship - Boys
1. Ergenekon Girgin       5:02

VRWC 1km Under 9 Championship - Girls
1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 6:01
2. Rebecca Campbell       6:33   


VRWC 1km Under 9 Championship - Boys
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson  8:40

VRWC RELAY RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 14 MAY 2005

Our annual relay race day was keenly contested as usual with 3x4 km relays for our older walkers and 1x3 km relays for our younger walkers.

3x4km Relay
This turned out to be an easy win for John Bunker, Natalie Laurie and Nicholas Mirarchi after they all turned in excellent performances. There were plenty of other good walks from people like Rhydian Cowley, Carma Watson, Brittany Fenton, Heather Carr and Mark Donahoo but no one could bridge the gap.

1  John Bunker       Natalie Laurie      Nicholas Mirarchi   
   10:10    10:13    11:17    11:06      11:18    11:24    65:28
2  Watson Carma      Jason Elms          Carma Watson    
    9:33    10:11    13:44    13:39       9:55     9:49    66:51
3  Geoff Barrow      Rhydian Cowley      Brittany Fenton    
   11:54    12:22    9:57    10:15       10:52    11:34    66:54
4  Russ Dickenson    Bradley Elms        Russ Dickenson    
   10:49    11:19    11:06    11:59      11:27    11:24    68:04
5  Murray Dickinson  Regan Lamble        Murray Dickinson    
   11:47    11:49    10:31    11:08      11:54    11:59    69:08
6  Heather Carr      Barbara Tucker      Heather Carr    
   20:36    11:10    12:45    12:39      11:01    11:11    69:22
7  John Morrison     Anthony Barrett     Janet Holmes    
   11:34    12:23    11:43    11:58      11:39    11:39    70:56
8  Mark Donahoo      Christine Griffiths Mark Donahoo    
    9:32     9:54    16:10    16:05       9:31     9:54    71:06
9  Alan Lucas        Gwen Steed          Alan Lucas    
   11:00    11:11    13:53    14:01      11:14    11:35    72:54
 
3x1km Under 12 Relay   
Nicole Hallett’s partner did not turn up so she had to cool her heels for 6:40 between her two laps. She need not have worried as she powered to an easy win. There were some sparking walks from the other young walkers, especially Amy Burren, Hilary Brazel and Chloe McNicol-Davidson but the day belonged to Nicole.

1  Nicole Hallett    No walker, hold 6m 40s   Nicole Hallett   
   5:25              6:40                     5:15             17:20
1  Amelia Finnegan   Chloe McNicol-Davidson   Amelia Finnegan   
   5:47              5:55                     6:01             17:43
3  Amy Burren        Josephine Mirarchi       Amy Burren   
   5:18              7:14                     5:33             18:05
4  Hilary Brazel     Cody McNicol-Davidson    Hilary Brazel   
   5:15              8:44                     5:22             19:21
                   
Other walkers had the chance to walk as individuals and a few turned up to avail themselves of the opportunity, choosing various distances.

Open Race        2km      4km      6km      8km      10km   
Ross Reid         9.32    19.34    29.58    40.32    51.00   
Trevor Mayhew    10.37    21.46    32.18           
Shirley Coppock  15.47    31.45               
Gordon Onley     DQ                   
Damien Elms      DQ      

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 7 MAY 2005

We had our first handicap day for the winter season. Our slower walkers started first and our fastest walkers had to cool their toes before they started their chase. In a perfect world, everyone would cross the finish line together but this never happens – although we do get some close results and some exciting races.

In the 10 km event, Carma Watson had the fastest time overall (a very speedy 51:31) and also won the women’s handicap. Stuart Cooper, enjoying his first season for some years, won the men’s handicap with his own very solid walk.

10 km Open Handicap      Time     F/T Place
1.  Stuart COOPER         62:36    7
2.  Nicholas MIRARCHI     68:36    8
3.  John BUNKER           54:27    1
4.  Russ DICKENSON        58:09    4
5.  Ian BEAUMONT          79:40    10
6.  Alan LUCAS            57:51    3
7.  Trevor MAYHEW         54:58    2
8.  Robin WOOD            70:48    9
9.  Murray DICKINSON      59:27    5
10. Duncan KNOX           60:04    6
    Mark DONAHOO          Ab.

1.  Carma WATSON          51:31    1
2.  Janet HOLMES          62:14    3
3.  Margaret BEAUMONT     74:53    4
4.  Alison THOMPSON       59:54    2
5.  Megan SZIROM       

Some walkers chose the shorter 5 km distances and Sandra Geisler and Bradley Elms won the associated handicaps. Marlaine Stanway suffered a bad fall on one of the bollard covers that has been recently repaired by Parks Victoria. It now sticks out slightly above ground level so we will have to leave that particular bollard cover in place for future racing. I hope you have recovered ok Marlaine!
   
5 km Open Handicap       Time     F/T Place
1.  Sandra GEISLER       23:44    1
2.  Carmel DRENNAN       29:36    6
3.  Fauve JACOBS         27:35    2
4.  Sandra HOWORTH       34:14    9
5.  Eda GIRGIN           28:05    4
6.  Celia JOHNSON        30:37    7
7.  Marlene GOURLAY      28:46    5
8.  Heather CARR         27:43    3
9.  Barbara TUCKER       33:55    8
10. Gwen STEED           36:40    10
    Marlaine STANWAY     Ab.

1.  Bradley ELMS         29:25    3
2.  Geoff BARROW         30:43    4
3.  Travis MARTIN        23:26    1
4.  Stuart KOLLMORGAN    24:38    2
5.  Harold SUMMERS       34:46    5
    Gordon ONLEY         Disq   

The Under 15 walkers are setting a high standard each week and once again we had keenly contested events. Natalie Laurie and Jason Elms won their 3 km handicap events with good walks. It was obviously a good week for the Elms family!

3 km U15/Open Handicap   Time     F/T Place
1.  Natalie LAURIE       16:23    2
2.  Brittany FENTON      18:25    4
3.  Regan LAMBLE         15:58    1
4.  Beth ALEXANDER       17:27    3
5.  Jade FINNEGAN        19:39    5

1.  Jason ELMS           20:03    3
2.  Tim GIRGIN           15:23    1
3.  Ergenekon GIRGIN     17:42    2
4.  Damien ELMS          25:24    4

VRWC 3km Under 14 Championship - Girls
Our U9 and U12 walkers did not have a handicap start but we conducted handicaps just the same. The results are shown in order of handicap places. Caitlin and Rebecca Campbell took the handicap doubles – I must get a photo of the girls for next week’s newsletter. They are amongst the keen group of young walkers being coached by Mark Donahoo at Aberfeldie.
                               
Under 12 2000m Handicap  Time     F/T Place
1. Caitlin CAMPBELL      12:34    1
2. Hilary BRAZIL         11:04    2
3. Nicole HALLETT        11:08    3
4. Taylor BROGAN         13:49    4
5. Amelia FINNEGAN       12:25         

Under 9 1000m Handicap   Time    F/T Place
1. Rebecca CAMPBELL       6:34    1
2. Sarah BURREN           6:01    2
3. Chloe McNICOL-DAVIDSON 6:18    3
4. Jasminea IRSHAD        7:07    4

1. Cody McNICOL-DAVIDSON  8:43    1
2. Jordan HOWORTH         8:23    2

AA, AV AND VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 1 MAY 2005

The feature event of the day was the Australian 50 km championship and it did not disappoint. Nathan Deakes, Craig Barrett and Duane Cousins lead early from Chris Erickson and Daniel Walters. By the 22 km mark, Nathan had made his break and went on to win comfortably in 3:47:51. His last 20 km was the fastest of the race – 88:39 – and he finished fresh only a week’s after his fabulous 20 km victory in China.

Craig broke away from Duane around the 30 km mark and went on to record 3:58:39, a time which guarantees him selection for New Zealand in this year’s World Championships. As Duane faded, Chris Erickson and then Darren Bown caught and passed him and it looked like Chris and Darren would fight out third spot. When Darren, with only a very limited preparation, faded at around the 40 km mark, Chris was left on his own to bring it home with 4:03:42, a PB by over 10 minutes and a time that pushes him well up the ranking lists. Duane held on for 4:04:35. Nathan, Chris and Duane all broke the 4:05:00 Commonwealth Games A standard so have put themselves in serious contention for next year’s Games in Melbourne.

Darren held on for a good 4:07:22 (what would he do with a proper preparation) while Troy Sundstrom, in his first 50 km event, walked a sensible race and finished with a very creditable 4:18:28. Daniel Walters, in his first 50 km, walked with Chris Erickson until the 32 km mark before slowing and then receiving his third red card. But he showed that he has the maturity to go the distance and we can expect him to improve on this first effort.

Men's 50km AA  Championship         10km     20km       30km       40km       50km   
1. NATHAN DEAKES              VIC   47.06    1.33.36    2.19.11    3.03.45    3.47.51
2. CRAIG BARRETT              NZ    47.06    1.33.42    2.20.50    3.09.00    3.58.39
3. CHRIS ERICKSON             VIC   47.33    1.34.59    2.22.23    3.10.23    4.03.42 (PB)
4. DUANE COUSINS              VIC   47.06    1.33.36    2.20.55    3.11.01    4.04.35
5. DARREN BOWN                SA    48.34    1.36.35    2.23.02    3.10.11    4.07.22
6. TROY SUNDSTROM             NSW   50.01    1.42.20    2.33.26    3.24.28    4.18.28 (PB)
   WALTERS DANIEL             VIC   DQ   
   FRANK BERTIE               VIC   DNS   

There were a number of other events run concurrently with the Australian 50 km, the main one being the Victorian 50 kmchampionship. Interestingly, this was Nathan’s first Victorian Open championship since winning the 15 km event in 1997!
                               
Men's 50km AV Championship          10km     20km       30km       40km       50km   
1. NATHAN DEAKES             VIC    47.06    1.33.36    2.19.11    3.03.45    3.47.51
2. CHRIS ERICKSON            VIC    47.33    1.34.59    2.22.23    3.10.23    4.03.42
3. DUANE COUSINS             VIC    47.06    1.33.36    2.20.55    3.11.01    4.04.35
   WALTERS DANIEL            VIC    DQ   
   FRANK BERTIE              VIC    DNS   

VRWC 50km Open Club Championship   10km     20km       30km       40km       50km       
1. CHRIS ERICKSON            M     47.33    1.34.59    2.22.23    3.10.23    4.03.42
2. TROY SUNDSTROM            M     50.01    1.42.20    2.33.26    3.24.28    4.18.28
   TRAVIS MARTIN             M     54.29    1.48.38    2.52.14    DNF   
   RACHAEL LOONE             F     54.26    1.50.54    DNF   
 
VRWC 35km Open Club Championship   10km     20km       30km       35km       
1. CHRIS ERICKSON            M     47.33    1.34.59    2.22.23    2.46.04   
2. TROY SUNDSTROM            M     50.01    1.42.20    2.33.26    2.59.05   
   TRAVIS MARTIN             M     54.29    1.48.38    2.52.14    DNF   
   RACHAEL LOONE             F     54.26    1.50.54    DNF       

The Victorian Country Walking Championships were also held and a small group of our country walkers entertained with some spirited walking. Walk of the day in the Country Championships was by Kelly Ruddick who walked her first 10 km with an excellent time of 51:36.

AV Open 10KM Country Men               
1. ANDREW BLOOD         BYC    57.40   

AV Open 10 km Country Women           
1. KELLY RUDDICK        BHA    51.36   
2. ANNETTE MAJOR        EAG    58.08   

AV Under 20 5km Country Men       
1. JAMIE BARNES         COR    25.56   

AV Under 20 5km Country Women   
1.    FAUVE JACOBS      DKN    27.42   

AV Under 18 5km Country Men       
1. DAVID RANGER         EKA    27.33   
2. SHAUN BURGESS        ACW    27.58   

AV Under 18 5km Country Women       
LEAH MONEGHETTI         BAW    DNS   

AV Under 16 3km Country Men                   
1. DANIEL PAYNE         COR    15.38   
2. JOHN PLATT           EKA    16.19   
3. NICHOLAS MIRARCHI    COR    16.24   

AV Under 16 3km Country Women   
1. LANA BODDY           COR    20.12   

AV Under 14 3km Country Men       
1. ADRIAN COAD          SBE    18.26   

AV Under 14 3km Country Women           
1. RACHEL TALLENT       BYC    16.14   
2. KEELY TREW           SBE    18.33   

Inaugural Racewalking Victoria championships were held for all young walkers from the 5 Victorian racewalking clubs and it was good to see representatives from Melbourne, Geelong , Bendigo and Ballarat in attendance. Nicole Hallett and Sarah Burren won the girls’ walks while Cody  McNicol-Davidson was the sole boy to wave the flag!

Racewalking Victoria Under 12 2km Girls           
1. NICOLE HALLETT          VRWC    11.04   
2. HILARY BRAZEL           VRWC    11.45   
3. ERIN BRUNTON            GEEL    12.17   
4. EBONY TALLENT           VRWC    12.29.1
5. CAITLIN CAMPBELL        VRWC    12.29.5
6. KIARA DUNN              VRWC    12.48   
7. BRONTE ALEXANDER        VRWC    12.56   

Racewalking Victoria Under 10 1km Girls   
1. SARAH BURREN            VRWC     5.52.1
2. EBONY WHILEY            BEND     5.52.6
3. CHLOE McNICOL-DAVIDSON  VRWC     6.03   
4. JASMINE IRSHAD          VRWC     6.21   
5. REBECCA CAMPBELL        VRWC     6.48   
6. MADISON JONES           BALL     6.54   

Racewalking Victoria Under 10 1km Boys           
1. CODY McNICOL-DAVIDSON    VRWC    10.19
  
There were a variety of VRWC club events on offer, with the main features being the 20 km events starting at 9:30AM.

The women’s event saw a head-to-head between all the main girls except for Jane Saville. Simone Wolowiec went to an early lead and held it until caught be Cheryl Webb soon after the 10 km mark. Cheryl then powered home to take first with a fine 1:33:42 while Simone took second with 1:34:48, only 4 seconds outside her PB. Natalie Saville and Claire Woods were next to finish, also with good walks. 

Tom Barnes took the men’s event with a good 1:36:04.
       
VRWC Open 20km Women             10km     20km           
1. CHERYL WEBB            NSW    47.03    1:33.42
2. SIMONE WOLOWIEC        VRWC   46.37    1:34.48
3. NATALIE SAVILLE        NSW    46.49    1:39.25   
4. CLAIRE WOODS           SA     48.49    1:41.05   
5. KELLIE WAPSHOTT        VRWC   51.58    1:44.04   
6. MEGAN SZIROM           VRWC   52.19    1:46.28   
7. CARMA WATSON           VRWC   53.23    1:50.18   
8. SANDRA GEISLER         VRWC   53.57    1:51.33 
 
VRWC Open 20km Men               10km     20km           
1. TOM BARNES             VRWC   46.54    1:36.04   
2. MARK DONAHOO           VRWC   51.33    1:44.31   
3. ROSS REID              VRWC   52.24    1:49.21   
4. ADAM PATTERSON         VIC    58.17    2:00.39   
5. JOHN BUNKER            VRWC   56.26    DNF   

VRWC Open 10km Women           
1. HEATHER CARR           VRWC    58.26   
2. CELIA JOHNSON          VRWC    63.05   

VRWC Open 10km Men           
1. RUSS DICKENSON         VRWC    58.28   
ALAN LUCAS                VRWC    DNF   

VRWC Open 5km Men               
1. RHYDIAN COWLEY         VRWC    26.29   
2. TIMUCIN GIRGIN         VRWC    26.57   
3. BRADLEY ELMS           VRWC    33.59   
4. ROBIN WOOD             VRWC    35.33   

VRWC Open 5km Women       
1. JANET HOLMES           VRWC    29.41   
2. EDA GIRGIN             VRWC    29.55   
3. CARMEL DRENNAN         VRWC    30.04   
4. BRITANY FENTON         VRWC    30.57   
5. SANDRA HOWORTH         VRWC    34.46   
6. SHIRLEY COPPOCK        VRWC    39.47   
7. CHRISTINE GRIFFITHS    VRWC    42.06   

VRWC Open 3km Men           
1. ERGENEKON GIRGIN       VRWC    17.14   
2. JASON ELMS             VRWC    20.43   

VRWC Open 3km Women       
1. CAITLIN BRUNTON        GEEL    17.17   

A total of 71 walkers participated in what was a great day’s walking.

VRWC RACES, SATURDAY 23 APRIL

Another bumper day of racing at Albert Park with walkers trying themselves out over slightly longer distances this week.

Open 12km Handicap Women              Hcp
1. Carma WATSON              64:34    1
2. Megan SZIROM              64:44    2
3. Sandra GEISLER            67:07    3

Open 12km Handicap Men                Hcp
1. Chris ERICKSON            59:41    6
2. Ross REID                 62:13    4
3. Jamie BARNES              63:53    2
4. John BUNKER               66:39    3
5. Colin HEYWOOD             67:11    5
6. David ARMSTRONG           69:37    1

Open 6km Handicap Women               Hcp
1. Heather CARR              33:48    4
2. Fauve JACOBS              34:13    1
3. Janet HOLMES              35:52    5
4. Carmel DRENNAN            36:26    3
5. Celia JOHNSON             37:09    2
6. Barbara TUCKER            40:32   
7. Marlaine STANWAY          43:03    7
8. Margaret BEAUMONT         45:10    6

Open 6km Handicap Men                 Hcp
1. Mark DONAHOO              30:14    4
2. Tim GIRGIN                32:33    1
3. Alan LUCAS                33:54    9
4. Russ DICKENSON            34:14    3
5. Tony JOHNSON              34:52    7
6. Murray DICKINSON          35:15    5
7. Anthony BARRETT           35:31    6
8. Shaun BURGESS             35:43    10
9. John MORRISON             36:58    8
10. Geoff BARROW             37:20    2
11. Bradley ELMS             40:05    12
12. Mark TUCKER              43:08   
13. Robin WOOD               43:28    11
    Ian BEAUMONT             DQ

Open 4km Women
1. Shirley COPPOCK           32:09   
2. Christine GRIFFITHS       35:49   
Open 4km  Men
1. Anthony DORAN             24:19   
2. Bruce CONBOY              26:23   
   Gordon ONLEY              DQ

Under 15 4km Handicap Girls           Hcp
1. Eda GIRGIN                23:03    2
2. Brittany FENTON           24:53    1

Under 15 4km Handicap Boys            Hcp
1. Daniel PAYNE              21:33    4
2. Nicholas MIRARCHI         23:03    1
3. Ergenekon GIRGIN          23:42    2
4. Jason ELMS                29:39    3
   Damien ELMS               DQ

Under 12 2500m Handicap Girls         Hcp
1. Nicole HALLETT            14:20    1
2. Amy BURREN                15:23    4
3. Hilary BRAZEL             15:48    8
4. Emily PAYNE               16:45    6
5. Kiara DUNN                16:59    5
6. Taylor ROGAN              17:08    3
7. Caitlin CAMPBELL          17:46    2
8. Josephine MIRARCHI        21:36    7

Under 12 2500m Handicap Boys          Hcp
1. Dylan SLOAN               16:49    -

Under 9 1500m Handicap Girls          Hcp
1. Sarah BURREN               9:44    1
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    10:17    3
3. Rebecca CAMPBELL          11:09    2

Under 9 1500m Handicap Boys           Hcp
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson     13:19    1

Open 1500m
1. Pam MEWS                  13:19

VRWC RACES, SATURDAY 16 APRIL

I was not at Albert Park on Saturday and I certainly missed some great walking. Chris Erickson stormed over the 10 km to break his PB by 34 seconds and record a great 43:46. Travis Martin finally put it together and recorded an excellent 50:06 for second, after a series of DNF’s. Nicholas Mirarchi contested the 10 km, a long distance for someone so young, and his effort won him the Handicap first place. Megan Szirom won the women’s 10 km with an excellent 51:53. She is another walker who is improving each week.

10km Open Women                    Hcp
1.  Megan Szirom          51.53    1
2.  Sandra Geisler        53.28    2
    Fauve Jacobs          Ab (29.12 for 5km)

10km Open Men                      Hcp
1.  Chris Erickson        43.46    3
2.  Travis Martin         50.06
3.  Mark Donahoo          50.50    6
4.  Colin Heywood         52.50    9
5.  Jamie Barnes          53.53    4
6.  Trevor Mayhew         54.05    8
7.  Daniel Lowe           55.02    2
8.  John Bunker           55.38    5
9.  Alan Lucas            58.17    7
10. Stuart Cooper         64.53   
11. Nicholas Mirarchi     67.42    1
12. Robin Wood            71.04    10

The 5 km events saw Kellie Wapshott recording the fastest time of 24:24 ahead of the ever consistent Heather Carr. We had a good number of our younger walkers also contesting the 5 km and Daniel Payne showed speed and endurance with his time of 26:42.

5km Open Women                     Hcp
1. Kellie Wapshott        24.24    4
2. Heather Carr           27.35    1
3. Janet Holmes           29.28    3
4. Liz Feldman            29.46    6
5. Carmel Drennan         30.36    2
6. Margaret Beaumont      37.11    5

5km Open Men                       Hcp
1. Russ Dickenson         28.17    5
2. Robert Gardiner        29.04    7
3. Murray Dickinson       29.17    8
4. John Morrison          19.51    4
5. Bradley Elms           30.24    1
6. Anthony Doran          30.28    2
7. Geoff Barrow           31.11    3
8. Ian Beaumont           39.46    6

5km Under 15 Girls                 Hcp
1. Natalie Laurie         29.03    1
2. Eda Girgin             29.29    2
3. Britany Fenton         30.59    NRT

5km Under 15 Boys                  Hcp
1. Daniel Payne           26.42    1
2. Timucin Girgin         27.01    2
3. Jason Elms             38.57    3
The Under 12 and Under 9 age groups are very competitive this year. Amy and Sarah Burren each won her respective race this week and there are a lot of walkers close behind them. A special mention for Chloe McNicol-Davidson and Jasmine Irshad who have improved so much since last winter in the Under 9 division. Cody McNicol-Davidson and Ergenekon Girgin were our only two boys racing so we need to recruite some more male talent for these age groups.

2km Under 12 Girls                 Hcp
1. Amy Burren             11.56    4
2. Nicole Hallett         12.17    5
3. Emily Payne            12.48    3
4. Kiara Dunn             13.01    1
5. Taylor Brogan          13.11    2
6. Bronte Alexander       13.34   
7. Josephine Mirarchi     16.36    6

2km Under 12 Boys                  Hcp
1. Ergenekon Girgin       11.17    1

1km Under 9 Girls                  Hcp
1. Sarah Burren            6.04    2
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  6.06    1
3. Jasmine Irshad          6.39    3

1km Under 9 Boys                   Hcp
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson   9.39    1

VRWC RACES, SATURDAY 9 APRIL

VICTORIAN 10 KM ROADWALK TITLE
The Victorian Men’s 10 km roadwalk championship was held on Saturday 9th April at Albert Park. Weather conditions were severe – a cloudless 320C and a blustery northerly wind – precluding any fast times.
Defending champion Tom Barnes and current Victorian 5000m walk champion Chris Erickson took the lead immediately, passing the 1 km mark in a very fast 4 mins 17 secs. Chris was able to break away soon after and was never headed, winning by nearly 2 minutes.
Tom Barnes was a clear second, matching his silver medal in the recent Victorian 5000m walk title. A very good battle for third place was contested between Danny Hawksworth, Mark Donahoo and Colin Heywood with the young Essendon walker holding out his older rivals. Danny also took bronze in the Victorian 5000k walk title, ensuring that the medal placings were identical to those earned at the Track and Field titles in February.

1.  Chris Erickson       ATE    47:24
2.  Tom Barnes           RWD    49:23
3.  Danny Hawksworth     ATE    53:23
4.  Mark Donahoo         ATE    53:26
5.  Colin Heywood        DIV    53:29
6.  Ross Reid            COL    55:47
7.  Stuart Kollmorgen    COL    57:34
8.  Daniel Lowe          MEN    59:11
9.  David Armstrong      DIV    62:01
10. Duncan Knox          ATE    62:09
11. Adam Patterson       RWD    67:58
12. Bob Gardiner         COL    69:22
    Andrew Jamieson      OSC    DNF
    Trevor Mayhew        COL    DQ
    Jared Tallent        BYC    DNS
    Frank Bertei         ANW    DNS
    Duane Cousins        BYM    DNS
    Daniel Walters       COR    DNS

A Teams Event was also contested and Athletics Essendon took gold ahead of Collingwood Harriers.

1.  ATE    Chris Erickson, Danny Hawksworth, Colin Heywood
2.  COL    Ross Reid, Stuart Kollmorgen, Bob Gardiner

Apart from the Victorian championship, the normal range of VRWC club events was on offer and there were a number of good performances. Leading the way was Simone Wolowiec who finished second overall and did what I can only describe as a world class walk in the awful conditions. Her 10 km time of 47:41 was second only to Chris and not far behind at that. We also welcomed back former New Zealand Olympic walker (1996 20 km representative) Scott Nelson, having his first race in some years. Scott breezed through the 10 km in 51:50 and showed that he is not too much the worse for wear after his time away from the sport.

Open 10 km
1. Simone WOLOWIEC        47.41   
2. Megan SZIROM           56.02   
3. Sandra GEISLER         60.47   
4. Carma WATSON           Ab   

1. Chris ERICKSON         47.24   
2. Tom BARNES             49.23   
3. Scott NELSON           51.50   
4. Mark DONAHOO           53.26
5. Colin HEYWOOD          53.29
6. Ross REID              55.47
7. Daniel LOWE            59.11
8. Alan LUCAS             61.14
9. David ARMSTRONG        62.01   
10. Bob GARDINER          69.22
    Adam BARNES           Ab
    Jamie BARNES          Ab
    Andrew JAMIESON       Ab
    Nicholas MIRARCHI     Ab

Open 5 km
1. Siobhan DONOVAN        28.33
2. Heather CARR           29.59
3. Janet HOLMES           31.12
4. Celia JOHNSON          32.09
5. Liz    FELDMAN         33.34
6. Carmel DRENNAN         33.40
7. Margaret BEAUMONT      38.49
8. Christine GRIFFITHS    42.04

1. John BUNKER            28.05   
2. Tony BARRETT           29.37
3. Murray DICKINSON       29.41
4. John MORRISON          32.06
5. Geoff BARROW           32.31
6. Russ DICKENSON         33.33
7. Stuart COOPER          39.40   

Open 3 km
1. Bradley ELMS           18.37
2. Harold BODDY           20.33
   Lana BODDY             Ab

Under 15 3 km
1. Eda GIRGIN             17.44
   Alicia NEYLAN          Ab

1. Timucin GIRGIN         17.01
2. Corryn GROCOTT         23.33   
3. Jason ELMS             24.25

Under 12 2 km
1. Amy BURREN             11.36
E2   Hilary BRAZEL        11.42
E2   Nicole HALLETT       11.42
4. Taylor BROGAN          13.55
5. Caitlin CAMPBELL       14.34

Under 9 1 km
1. Chloe McNICOL-DAVIDSON  6.09
2. Sarah BURREN            6.10
3. Jasmine IRSHAD          6.55
Rebecca CAMPBELL           7.11

VRWC WINTER SEASON OPENING DAY – SATURDAY 2 APRIL

It was so hot and windy on Saturday that it seemed more like mid summer than mid autumn. But that did not daunt the many walkers who attended our Winter Season opening races. Colin Heywood and Sandra Geisler worked hard in the heat to win the 8 km events while Heather Carr and Mark Donahoo took the honours in the 4 km events.

8 km Open Women                    Hcp
1. Sandra GEISLER         43.10    1

8 km Open Men                      Hcp
1. Colin HEYWOOD          40.45    2
2. Jamie BARNES           45.03
3. Daniel LOWE            45.27    1
4. Alan  LUCAS            46.47    3
5. John BUNKER            46.47    4
6. Nicholas MIRARCHI      57.49
   Stuart COOPER          Ab.
   Robin WOOD             Ab.
   Bob GARDINER           Ab.
   Trevor MAYHEW          Ab.
   Ross REID              Ab.

4 km Open Women
1. Heather CARR           22.38    3
2. Fauve JACOBS           23.39
3. Celia JOHNSON          25.00    2
4. Carmel DRENNAN         25.15    4
5. Margaret BEAUMONT      30.26    5
6. Christine GRIFFITHS    32.24    1
   Maurea BINYON          27.15 (Invitation)
   Viki GRIGG             31.11 (Invitation)
   Marlaine STANWAY       Ab.

4 km Open Men
1. Mark DONAHOO           21.01    5
2. Tony BARRETT           23.41    2
3. John MORRISON          24.41    3
4. Geoff BARROW           24.55       
5. Bruce CONBOY           27.23    1
6. Ian BEAUMONT           31.33    4
   Bradley ELMS           Ab.       

4 km U15 Girls
1. Regan LAMBLE           Ab.

4 km Under 15 Boys
1. Jason ELMS             32.09    1
2. Damian ELMS            32.18   

We had a good turnout in the younger age groups, given that the Little Athletics summer season has only just finished. We can expect the numbers to build further over the next few weeks. A special welcome to Caitlin Campbell who had her first walk with the club.

2 km Under 12 Girls                Hcp
1. Amy BURREN             11.37    2
2. Hilary BRAZEL          11.42    3
3. Nicole HALLETT         11.44    1
4. Caitlin CAMPBELL       14.21       
5. Josephine MIRARCHI     16.52    4
   
1 km Under 9 Girls
1. Sarah BURREN            6.10    2
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  6.13    1

1 km Under 9 Boys
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson  10.15