The Victorian Race Walking Club

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2007

We had our last Winter Season racing day on Saturday and it was a low key enjoyable affair with most walkers having a stroll in the park. Rhydian Cowley, fresh from his victory in Perth last weekend, was our fastest walker with a swift 39:09 for the 8 km. Pam Tindal was at top pace with her 43:46 while Natalie Laurie and Nicole Hallett had a relaxed outing over the 8 km distance. Stuart Kollmorgen walked a fast 6 km as a final preparation for his half marathon run the next day – hope you ran well Stuart! Amelia Finnegan was the best over the 4 km distance with a very fast 21:21while Aaron Gardner and Georgia Bertrand were the fastest over the 2 km and 1 km distances.

8 Km Open
1.  Rhydian Cowley         39:09
2.  Ross Reid              43:26
3.  Pam Tindal             43:46
4.  Russ Dickenson         45:58
5.  Gayle McIntyre         48:18
E6. Natalie Laurie         49:07
E6. Nicole Hallett         49:07
8.  Robin Wood             53:17

6 Km Open
1.  Stuart Kollmorgen      28:46
2.  Regan Lamble           32:35
3.  Bob Gardiner           35:23
4.  Barrie Wicks           41:21
5.  Bruce Conboy           41:40
    Jason Elms             DNF
    Alan Lucas             DNF

4 Km Open
1.  Bernie Kierl           21:21
2.  Tamara Attard          21:34
3.  Donna Elms             27:03
4.  Lindsay Harrison       27:07
5.  Kiersten Coulter       28:28
6.  Maryanne Harrison      28:39
7.  Gordon Onley           31:06
    Damien Elms            DQ

4 Km Under 15
1.  Amelia Finnegan        21:21
2.  Filip Cosic            24:10
E3. Ryan Antidormi         25:50
E3. Jacob Wright           25:50
5.  Anike Peachey          26:38
    Adrianna Crea          DNF

2 Km Under 12
1.  Aaron Gardner          11:45
2.  Matthew Felton         11:52
3.  Bianca Attard          12:22
4.  Stacey McLaren         12:53
5.  Beth Barbour           13:03
6.  Sophia Antidormi       13:19
    Reese Walmsley         DQ

1 KM Under 9
1.  Georgia Bertrand        6:04
2.  Jayde Frank             6:12
3.  Amy Ventura             6:16
E4. Paige DeLisen           7:26
E4. Charlee Harrison        7:26

AUSTRALIAN ROADWALKING CHAMPIONSHIPS, PERTH, SUNDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2007

Thanks to Victorian Team Manager Paul Rance for the following report on the Australian championships, held last weekend in Perth.

17 Victorian Walkers took part with 3  gold  medallist's and a silver and bronze. The under 14 girls also won the team's event on the quite smooth but up and down course.
I thought the best performance came from Amy Burren with victory in the under 14 girls 3km race in a brilliant time of 14.28.  I would think this would be the fastest time in this event for more than 10 years probably since the Renee McAskill- Michelle French junior days but I am still in Perth and don't have the stats with me. The under 12 & under 14 Canberra Federation Champion Amy Bettiol led the race for the first 2.5km with Amy Burren finishing strongly to claim the gold medal and she competed in the cross country titles the day before,. For Amy this was her 2nd Australian Championship win in Perth this Year having won the Australian Under 13 Little Athletics Championships back in April so she obviously enjoys the climate over here and at that Championship she also ran in a middle distance race before she walked. 11 Year old Ebony Whiley also produced an excellent personal best in this event to take the bronze medal with Amy, Ebony and Cassandra Raselli taking out the teams race which was the only teams race held on the day.
Rhydian Cowley's performance was also first class defeating two of Australia's top quality juniors in Brock Keys and Kyle Malone. The race started at an easy pace with 6-7 walkers in the main pack after the first of 4 2km laps including the leading female in Melissa Hayes, with 2km to go Rhydian began to assert his authority and he came away in the last lap to secure an outstanding victory.
Megan Szirom also produced a fine performance to comfortably claim a strong victory in the Open Women's 10km event with the other Victorian medal coming via Natalie Laurie in the under 18 8km event.
Paul     

Thanks Paul. Now onto the results. Well done to all our Victorians.

Men 30k Race Walk RR Open
1. Darren Bown             SA     2:22:18.00
   Adam Rutter             NSW    DNF
   Stephen Anthony         WA     DQ

Women 10k Race Walk RR Open
1. Megan Szirom            VIC    47:31.00
2. Fiona Alldis            NSW    50:03.32
3. Cheryl Webb             NSW    51:36.33
4. Chloe Jones             NSW    52:11.80
5. Katrina Grgurovic       WA     53:42.33
6. Cassandra Staples       NSW    54:14.13
7. Vanessa Ebejer          NSW    54:15.00
8. Lynette Bannister       TAS    54:24.40
9. Tanya-Maree Craig       WA     56:27.39
10.Claire Bock             QLD    56:52.51
11.Emma Simmons            WA     59:42.80
12.Justijana Roseman       VIC    61:42.63
13.Charlene Ebejer         NSW    65:25.34
14.Jodie Sundstrom         NSW    72:19.85

Men 20k Race Walk RR Under 20
1. Ian Rayson              NSW    1:34:35.00
2. Anson Perin             NSW    2:14:20.00

Women 10k Race Walk RR Under 20
1. Fiona Alldis            NSW    50:03.32
2. Katrina Grgurovic       WA     53:42.33
3. Cassandra Staples       NSW    54:14.13
4. Emma Simmons            WA     59:42.80

Men 8k Race Walk RR Under 18
1. Rhydian Cowley          VIC    37:56.00
2. Brook Keys              NSW    38:11.00
3. Kyle Malone             NSW    38:25.00
4. Derek Mulhearn          NSW    39:02.00
5. Daniel Payne            VIC    39:53.00
6. Tim Jenyns              WA     41:52.00
7. Nathan Jones            NSW    44:05.00
8. Bobby Malcomson         TAS    44:40.00

Women 8k Race Walk RR Under 18
1. Melissa Hayes           NSW    39:47.00
2. Natalie Laurie          VIC    42:54.00
3. Samantha Tesch          QLD    43:52.00
4. Gabrielle D'Agnone      WA     45:09.00
5. Ana Grgurovic           WA     46:09.00
6. Kimberley Smith         WA     46:24.00
7. Nicolie Byrne           WA     47:14.00

Men 5k Race Walk RR Under 16
1. Sean Fitzsimmons        WA     23:31.58
2. Jordan Mulhearn         NSW    25:18.29
3. Christopher Ninyett     WA     27:36.68
4. Harley Chapman          WA     28:24.89

Women 5k Race Walk RR Under 16
1. Paige Hooper            SA     25:23.81
2. Kate Fitzsimmons        WA     26:33.08
3. Kristie Goznik          SA     27:23.36
4. Danielle George         NSW    27:53.17
5. Ayla Collins            VIC    28:07.39
6. Shenna Hartley          WA     28:22.24
7. Ebony Gralton           NSW    29:21.23
8. Emily Payne             VIC    29:35.00
9. Kate King               WA     29:41.05
10.Jacqueline Smith        WA     29:42.04
11.Andrea Hahn             WA     30:04.82
12.Sarah Littke            WA AC  30:06.84
13.Louise Richardson       WA AC  31:00.50
14.Ashley Albert           VIC    33:47.00

Men 3k Race Walk RR Under 14
1. Samuel Dib              WA     14:37.99
2. Nathan Fazldad          NSW    15:21.55
3. Steven Washburn         NSW    15:41.87
4. Jacob Byrne             WA     16:44.93
5. Jacob Dib               WA     16:54.33
6. Peter Curtis            VIC    17:20.50
7. Jesse Osborne           QLD    17:26.82
8. Corey Littke            WA     17:43.29
9. Michael Green           VIC    18:33.52
   10.Kevin Buchanan       WA AC  18:47.25
 
Women 3k Race Walk RR Under 14
1. Amy Burren              VIC    14:27.88 1
2. Amy Bettiol             NSW    14:33.04 2
3. Ebony Whiley            VIC    15:17.51 3
4. Tiffany D'Agnone        WA     15:23.96 4
5. Krystal Leinasais       WA     15:32.22 5
6. Hannah Watson           WA     15:36.91 6
7. Cassandra Raselli       VIC    15:44.09 7
8. Amelia Finnegan         VIC    15:46.73
9. Caitlin Campbell        VIC    16:01.84
10.Nicole Hallett          VIC    16:14.14
11.Tayla Paige Billington  NSW    16:56.39 8
12.Melissa Ierace          WA     16:59.96
13.Ciara Duffy             WA     17:08.65
14.Rebecca Melville        NSW    18:02.62 9    
15.Sarah Broadhead         NSW    19:47.82
   Rebecca Campbell        VIC AC 18:55.27
   Clare Cronley           TAS    DQ
Team Scores
1. VIC     14:27.88 15:17.51 15:44.09
2. WA     15:23.96 15:32.22 15:36.91
3. NSW     14:33.04 16:56.39 18:02.62

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2007

Last Saturday, with our Masters walkers overseas in Italy and with a number of other walkers in Perth for the Nationals, it was a small turnout at Albert Park but still some interesting performances. Adrianna Crea and Donna Elms tested themselves out over the 10 km distance (the first time for Adrianna). Overall, Simon Evans won with a season's best time. Well done Simon. Billy Allamby and Lucas Taylor had a great battle in the Under 12 2 km while Reese Walmsley was very quick in the Under 9 1 km event with 5:37.

10 km Open Walk
1. Simon Evans          50:29
2. Pam Tindall          55:37
3. Alison Thompson      62:15
4. Robin Wood           65:49
5. Adrianna Crea        71:41
6. Donna Elms           74:41
   Jason Elms           DNF (5 km in 34:23)

5 km Open Walk
1. Bob Gardiner         29:43
2. Celia Johnson        32:38
3. Barrie Wicks         34:23
4. Kiersten Coulter     34:46
5. Bruce Conboy         35:27
6. Harlene Hercules     37:27

3 Km Open Walk
1. Bradley Simpson      15:50
2. Robert Walsh         16:46
1. Mylalah Gage         19:12
2. Lindsay Harrison     19:51
3. Maryanne Harrison    21:13
4. Geoff Francis        23:33
5. Christine Griffiths  27:15
   Gordon Onley         DQ
   Damien Elms          DQ

2 km Under 12 Walk
1. Billy Allamby        11:41
2. Lucas Taylor         11:42
3. Stephanie George     12:50
4. Stacey McLaren       13:25

1 km Under 9 Walk
1. Reese Walmsley        5:37
2. Amy Ventura           6:22
3. Paige DeLisen         7:28
4. Charlee Harrison      7:29

AV AND VRWC RACES, COLLINGWOOD HARRIERS TRACK, SATURDAY 25 AUGUST 2007

Rhydian Cowley and Jess Rothwell each won their first Victorian Senior title – well done to both juniors. The overall winner in the men's race was Daniel Coleman from Hobart, with a very quick 46:35.

Victorian 10,000m Championship for Men
1. Daniel Coleman      TAS     46:35
2. Rhydian Cowley      GHY     50:09    (1st Vic)
3. Stuart Kollmorgen   COL     50:43    (2nd Vic)
4. Simon Evans         BOH     51:07    (3rd Vic)
5. Nicholas Mirarchi   COR     54:00
6. Duncan Knox         ATE     55:53
7. Ross Reid           COL     56:48
   Kyle Bryant         EAG     DQ
   Paul Kennedy        MUA     DQ
   Adam Rutter         AIS/NSW DNF
   Mark Donahoo        ATE     DNF
   Robin Wood          GLG     DNF

Victorian 10,000m Championship for Women
1. Jess Rothwell       SBE     51:18
2. Regan Lamble        ANW     54:14
3. Heather Carr        EAG     55:57
4. Yolanda Russell     GLG     56:38
   Megan Szirom        RWD     DNF
   Tamara Attard       KNA     DNF

The VRWC club races were very well attended and just on 70 walkers walked overall. Results for the club walks are shown.

VRWC 5000m Open Walk
1. Ralph Bennett          26:20
2. Pam Tindal             26:38
3. Clyle Riddoch          27:40
4. Murray Dickinson       27:50
5. Russ Dickenson         28:02
6. Alison Thompson        29:15
7. Janet Holmes           30:26
8. Geoff Barrow           32:32
9. Robin Wood             32:37
10.Rudolf Skrucany        33:17
11.Barrie Wicks           33:31
   Celia Johnson          DQ

VRWC 3000m Open Walk
1. Bradley Simpson        15:37
2. Cassie Raselli         15:53
3. Nicole Hallett         16:05
4. Robert Walsh           16:18
5. Matthew Felton         16:24
6. Jacob Wright           16:27
7. Billy Allamby          17:09
8. Amy Callaway           17:12
9. Sarah Burren           17:26
10.Aaron McDonough        17:27
11.Talie Collins          17:50
12.Michael Green          18:13
13.Ashley Albert          18:33
14.Madeleine Graham       18:41
15.Jason Elms             19:33
16.Adrianna Crea          19:57
17.Donna Elms             20:03
18.Steve Jordan           20:37
19.Kiersten Coulter       20:37
20.Maryanne Harrison      20:57
21.Damien Elms            23:28
22.Christine Griffiths    26:41
   Gordon Onley           DQ
   Lindsay Harrison       DQ
   Ayla Collins           DQ

2000m Walk Under 12
1. Bianca Attard          11:58
2. Stephanie George       12:07
3. Andrew Hogan           12:10
4. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 12:15
5. Lucas Taylor           12:41
6. Beth Barbour           13:26
7. Stacey McLaren         14:01

1500m Walk Under 9
1. Cindy Collins           8:46
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson   9:22
3. Amy Ventura             9:55
4. Paige DeLisen          10:24
5. Charlee Harrison       11:34
6. Ryan Dossetor          11:59
7. Emily McDonough        15:04
8. Kristina Collins       12:56
   Reese Walmsley         DQ

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 18 AUGUST 2007

Fast times and PBs were everywhere on Saturday as our walkers took full advantage of perfect weather conditions and competitive fields. The highlight on the 10 km front was the wonderful performance of Ralph Bennett whose 51:56 took over 2 minutes off his M65 Australian record of 54:06. It's not often we see a record being shattered by that much. Many of our masters walkers are about to head off to Italy for the Worlds Masters and for those like Ralph, Heather, Russ, Murray and Mark, it was a chance for a good hitout.

10km Open                          Hcp Place       
1. Heather Carr           54:56    4
2. Liz Feldman            57:46    2
3. Janet Holmes           61:38    3
4. Sylvia Machin          64:35    5
5. Margaret Beaumont      74:19    1

1. Ralph Bennett          51:56    1
2. Russ Dickenson         56:03    2
3. Murray Dickinson       56:35    3
4. Alan Lucas             57:41    5
5. Robin Wood             66:56    6
6. Ian Beaumont           79:01    4

The 5 km saw Natalie Laurie push through the first 1 km in 4:38 with Mark Donahoo working hard to hang in. Mark eventually found his stride and took fastest time with an impressive 24:09 while Natalie hung in for a big PB with 24:59. At only 16 years of age, she has a big future and this season has seen some great performances. Ayla Collins also did a big PB and actually took the handicap honours ahead of Natalie. She is the next age group down from Natalie and is another of our talented juniors who has shown huge improvement this winter.
In the 3 km event, Kiersten Coulter took a further 15 secs off her Australian transplantee record to take the handicap points ahead of Donna Elms whose 19:16 was also a PB. Lindsay Harrison put it all together nicely to take the men's handicap points with his 20:01, to be just a few secs outside his PB.
   
5km Open                           Hcp Place
1. Natalie Laurie         24:59    2
2. Ayla Collins           26:33    1
3. Caitlin Campbell       28:28    4
4. Celia Johnson          32:26    3
   Talie Collins          DNF (17:48 for 3 km)
   
1. Mark Donahoo           24:09    2
2. Robert Walsh           28:04    4
3. Tony Johnson           28:31    3
4. Barrie Wicks           33:17    1
5. Rudolf Skrucany        33:53    5
           
3km Open                           Hcp Place
1. Donna Elms             19:16    2
2. Kiersten Coulter       20:02    1
3. Maryanne Harrison      20:37    3
4. Harlene Hercules       21:50    4
5. Pam Mews               27:44    5

1. Aaron McDonough        17:12    2
2. Adam Patterson         18:38    4
3. Jason Elms             18:45    3
4. Lindsay Harrison       20:01    1
5. Gordon Onley           23:20    5
6. Geoff Francis          23:44   

The Under 15s are among our most competitive age groups and the big improver over that last few weeks has been Nicole Hallett. Only just turned 13, she scorched the track with her 15:41to take fastest time and handicap honours ahead of some very talented walkers. Adrianna Crea was another one to do a PB but had to be content with second in the handicaps behind Nicole. Filip Cosic, back after a couple of months overseas, took fastest time and handicap honours in the boys race with his 16:08.  
     
3km Under 15                       Hcp Place
1. Nicole Hallett         15:41    1
2. Cassandra Raselli      15:43    5
3. Amelia Finnegan        16:37    7
4. Rebecca Campbell       19:12    4
5. Adrianna Crea          19:15    2
6. Taylor Brogan          19:22    3
7. Anika Peachey          19:40    6
   Alana Green            DNF (14.58 for 2km)
   
1. Filip Cosic            16:08    1
2. Jacob Wright           16:13    2
3. Damien Elms            22:28    3
   Ryan  Antidormi        DNF (11.09 for 2km)   

The Under 12 leaders had a great race with Stephanie George, Matthew Felton and Billy Allamby (up from U9) walking stride for stride throughout the event. Not far behind, Michael Green was pulled through for his own big PB as was Lucas Taylor who walked a blinder to take 20 secs off his best 2 km time. In fact, there were PBs everwhere. Amy Ventura and Ben Green took the U9 handicap honours with huge PBs in the order of 20-30 secs each. What a day's racing!

Under 12 2 km                      Hcp Place
1. Stephanie George       11:34    1
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 12:16    2
3. Sophia Antidormi       12:53    4
4. Beth Barbour           12:56    3
5. Stacey McLaren         13:59    5

1. Matthew Felton         11:26    6
2. Billy Allamby          11:29    5
3. Michael Green          11:39    4
4. Lucas Taylor           11:44    1
5. Aaron Gardner          11:48    3
6. Cody McNicol-Davidson  12:46    2
           
Under 9 1 km                       Hcp Place
1. Cindy Collins          05:41    4
2. Amy Ventura            06:15    1
3. Charlee Harrison       07:25    2
4. Samantha Goossens      07:55    5
5. Kristina Collins       08:15    3
6. Emily McDonough        09:48    6

1. Reese Walmsley         05:42    2
2. Ben Green              05:51    1

AV AND VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 12 AUGUST 2007

The 2007 Victorian Roadwalking Championships were successfully completed on Sunday 12 August at Albert Park. The weather threatened throughout the morning but the rain held off and conditions turned out perfect for fast racing. Good fields contested most divisions and Victorian Race Walking Club events and championships were also held to round out the program.

With our top five male Victorian walkers (Nathan Deakes, Jared Tallent, Duane Cousins, Chris Erickson and Tom Barnes) all overseas competing, it was left to Andrew Jamieson to ensure that we had at least one finisher. He powered through the 20 km mark in 100:00 and held it together nicely for another 5 km before eventually hitting the wall with 5 km to go. After a few minutes break, he got back on the track and walked it out to win his second Victorian 30 km title (he won his first in 2004).

The day also saw Victorian championships contested in Under 20, Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14. The Under 16 and Under 14 events in particular saw very good sized fields.
   
AV 30 KM OPEN MEN CHAMPIONSHIP
1  JAMIESON, Andrew      SOC    2:41:23
   DONAHOO, Mark         ATE    DNF
   EVANS, Simon          BOH    DNS
   BERTEI, Frank         ANW    DNS

AV UNDER 20 MEN 20 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  BRYANT, Kyle          EAG    1:42:33
   BURGESS, Shaun        CHI    DNS
               
A.V. UNDER 20 WOMEN 10 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  BRUNTON, Caitlin      COR    58:55
   ROTHWELL, Jess        SBE    DNF
   DRENNAN, Lauren       ATE    DNS
               
A.V. UNDER 18 WOMEN 8 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  LAMBLE, Regan         ABW    40:25
2  LAURIE, Natalie       ANW    44:20
3  ATTARD, Tamara        KNA    44:47
4  PALFREYMAN, Jessie    EAG    47:39
5  GAGE, Mykaela         COR    57:11
               
A.V. UNDER 18 MEN 8 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  PAYNE, Daniel         COR    39:34
2  MIRARCHI, Nicholas    COR    40:07
   ELMS, Jason           PTN    DNS
   COWLEY, Rhydian       GHY    DNS
               
A.V. UNDER 16 GIRLS 5 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  TALLENT, Rachel       BYC    26:45
2  COLLINS, Ayla         MAL    27:35
3  BRAZEL, Hilary        ANW    28:18
4  PAYNE, Emily          COR    28:54
5  BRUNTON, Erin         COR    29:35
6  CALLAWAY, Amy         KNA    29:52
7  DAVIS, Danielle       COR    31:58
8  JONES, Cara           SBE    32:38
   ALEXANDER, Beth       KNA    DNS

A.V. UNDER 16 BOYS 5 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  SIMPSON, Brad         KNA    27:16
2  WALSH, Robert         ANW    27:39
3  COSIC, Filip          COB    28:12
   COAD, Adrian          CBE    DNS
               
A.V. UNDER 14 GIRLS 3 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  BURREN, Amy           MAL    15:20
2  FINNEGAN, Amelia      KNA    15:38
3  HALLETT, Nicole       ANW    15:47
4  TALLENT, Ebony        BYC    15:48
5  CAMPBELL, Caitlin     ATE    16:04
6  WHILEY, Ebony         EAG    17:04
7  ALBERT, Ashley        MAL    18:42
8  CAMPBELL, Rebecca     ATE    19:01
9  JONES, Katelyn        BYC    19:50
10 BROGAN, Taylor        INVIT  19:55
   RASELLI, Cassandra    BOH    DNS
               
A.V. UNDER 14 BOYS 3 KM CHAMPIONSHIP
1  ANTIDORMI, Ryan       ANW    15:53
2  WRIGHT, Jacob         ANW    15:56
3  ALLAMBY, Billy        KNA    15:59
4  CURTIS, Peter         SBE    16:12
5  GREEN, Michael        GPA    17:14
E6 JONES, Jeremiah       SBE    17:40
E6 HOGAN, Andrew         MAL    17:40
               
A number of VRWC events were also on offer with results shown below. Tasmanian walker Lynette Bannister won the Women's 10 km event with a 5 minute PB, ahead of Yolanda Russell, after the two girls had walked together most of the way. Masters walkers Ralph Bennett and Pam Tindal scorched over the 5 km distance to win their respective divisions with PBs.  The Under 12 and Under 9 club championships saw a number of the walkers who had already contested the U14 Victorian championship successfully negitiating their way through a second event. A special mention must be made for Billy Allamby who took third in the Under 14 3 km Victorian championship and then backed up and won the U9 2 km VRWC club championships, both times being PBs.

VRWC OPEN WOMEN 20 KM
1  BANNISTER, Lynette      1:49:36
2  RUSSELL, Yolanda        1:51:51
   SZIROM,  Megan          DNF    (12 km in 59:44)
   CARR, Heather           DNF    (4 km in 34:48)
               
VRWC OPEN WOMEN 5 KM
1  TINDAL, Pam             26:48
2  FELDMAN, Liz            27:48
3  ADAMCEWICZ, Erin        28:12
4  McINTYRE, Gayle         30:18
5  COLLINS, Talie          30:58
6  CREA, Adrianna          33:18
7  ELMS, Donna             33:20
8  COULTER,. Kiersten      34:31
9  GRIFFFITHS, Christine   48:30
               
VRWC OPEN MEN 5 KM
1  BENNETT, Ralph          26:02
2  DICKENSON, Russ         26:51
3  LUCAS, Alan             27:35
4  RIDDOCH, Clyde          27:44
5  WOOD, Robin             32:56
   ONLEY, Gordon           DQ
   HARRISON, Lindsay       DQ
               
VRWC UNDER 12 GIRLS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1  BURREN. Sarah           VRWC    10:53
2  ALBERT, Ashley          VRWC    11:20
3  GEORGE, Stephanie       VRWC    11:47
4  McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Chloe VRWC    12:07
5  BERTRAND, Carly         VRWC    12:27
6  ATTARD, Bianca          VRWC    12:33
7  BARBOUR, Beth           VRWC    12:37
8  McLAREN, Stacey         VRWC    13:39
               
VRWC UNDER 12 BOYS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1  FELTON, Matthew         VRWC    10:44
2  JONES, Jeremiah         BENDIGO 11:04
3  GREEN, Michael          VRWC    11:58
4  TAYLOR, Lucas           VRWC    12:04
5  McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Cody  VRWC    12:16
6  GREEN, Mitchell         VRWC    14:05
           
VRWC UNDER 9 GIRLS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1  COLLINS, Cindy          VRWC    12:17
3  ANTIDORMI, Sophia       VRWC    12:55
2  VENTURA, Amy            VRWC    12:56
4  HARRISON, Charlee       VRWC    15:52
5  COLLINS, Kristina       VRWC    17:21
               
VRWC UNDER 9 BOYS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1  ALLAMBY, Billy          VRWC    10:44
2  WALMSLEY, Reese         VRWC    10:55
3  GREEN, Ben              VRWC    14:14

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 4 AUGUST 2007

Refreshingly brisk or just plain old cold and windy – it depends on your perspective – but it didn't deter a goodly number of walkers from some solid performances this week at Albert Park.

Leading from the front was Nicholas Mirarchi whose 50:24 took over 1 minute off his best time. Simon Evans looked very sharp as he raced to his best 10 km time this winter while Ralph Bennett and Russ Dickenson were also well up with their bests with their 54+ min performances.. Who said it was windy?  Donna Elms did yet another PB in the Open 5 km while Bernie Keirl finally put that troublesome hamstring to rest with a very quick 27:13. And welcome back to Scott Murdoch who had his first walk in many years and handled the 5km distance well. Scott raced for MHSOB in the sixties and early seventies and there was an amount of reminiscing going on about past encounters!
       
Open 10 km                            Handicap       
1. Alison Thompson           59:27    2
2. Liz Feldman               59:55    3
3. Margaret Beaumont         74:38    1
       
1. Nicholas  Mirarchi        50:24    1
2. Simon  Evans              51:45    3
3. Russ  Dickenson           54:19    4
4. Ralph Bennett             54:28    6
5. Murray Dickinson          56:54    5
6. Robin Wood                64:36    2
7. Ian Beaumont              80:08    7
       
VRWC 5 km                             Handicap           
1. Heather Carr              27:13    5
3. Janet  Holmes             29:53    2
4. Gayle McIntyre            31:15    4
5. Gwen Steed                31:54    6
6. Donna Elms                33:58    1
7. Harlene  Hercules         36:55    3
       
1. Bernie Keirl              27:14    2
2. Geoff Barrow              31:32    3
3. Jason Elms                32:29    4
4. Barrie Wicks              33:13    1   
5. Scott Murdoch             34:50    Not financial
   Damien  Elms              DQ

The Under 15's were scheduled to walk 5 km this week and that meant that a number of them chose the Open 3 km by preference. Nicole Hallett won overall with a PB and, further down in the field, Kiersten Coulter broke her own Australian Record for the 3 km walk for Transplantees. Wow, what good stuff. In the Under 15 5 km, Amy Callaway and Carly Bertrand did their first ever 5 km (well done girls) while Anika Peachey and Adrianna Crea both did PBs. And finally Brad Simpson was back after a couple of months off with illness and his 28:46 was an excellent first up performance. And a special welcome back to 1950's club member Geoff Francis who confided that, since he was now 75 years old, it was time to make comeback Now I like that mindset! There is hope for me yet.
       
VRWC 3 km                             Handicap           
1. Nicole Hallett            15:53    1
2. Cassandra  Raselli        15:56    6
3. Hilary Brazel             16:54    7
4. Talie  Collins            17:27    3
5. Madeleine  Graham         18:02    5
6. Celia Johnson             19:29    8
7. Kiersten  Coulter         20:14    2
8. Maryanne Harrison         21:00    4

1. Ryan  Antidormi           16:24    2
2. Lindsay  Harrison         20:11    1
3. Jacob Wright              16:26    3
4. Geoff Francis             24:28    Not financial   
   Gordon  Onley             DQ
       
VRWC 5 km Under 15                    Handicap       
1. Ayla  Collins             27:36    1
2. Amy Callaway              32:39    4
3. Anika  Peachey            33:31    2
4. Adrianna Crea             34:35    3
5. Carly  Bertrand           35:14    5
   Taylor Brogan             DNF
       
1. Brad Simpson              28:46    No previous time recorded

The Under 12's and Under 9's walked on the 2 km course on Saturday and what a great battle it was in the Under 12 event. Amelia Finnegan led out early and looked to have an unassailable lead but Caitlin Campbell and Matthew Felton gradually bridged the gap and it ended up being a 3 way sprint at the end. Unfortunately, Matthew was DQ'd (bad luck Matthew) but Caitlin was rewarded with the win and a PB as well. The Under 9's were amazing with nearly everyone doing PBs (yes, the course was correct!). Georgia Bertrand and Amy Ventura had a really competitive encounter with Georgia finally getting the nod.
       
VRWC 3 km Under 12                     Handicap   
1. Caitlin Campbell           15:51    2
2. Amelia Finnegan            15:53    6
3. Rebecca Campbell           19:16    5
4. Beth Barbour               19:17    1
5. Bianca Attard              20:16    3
6. Stacey McLaren             20:54    4
       
1. Michael Green              18:24    1
   Matthew Felton             DQ
       
VRWC 1.5 km Under 9                    Handicap   
1. Sophia  Antidormi          09:49    5
2. Georgia Bertrand           10:14    1
3. Amy Ventura                10:15    2
4. Paige De Lisen             10:28    3
5. Samantha Goossens          11:28    Not financial
6. Charlee Harrison           11:58    4
       
1. Reese  Walmsley            09:00    2
2. Ben Green                  10:35    1

RACEWALKING AUSTRALIA CARNIVAL, ADELAIDE, SUNDAY 29 JULY 2007

A small group of VRWC walkers travelled to Adelaide last weekend for this year's second Racewalking Australia carnival. It was held on Sunday at the Warradale Army Base, south of the city, and conditions were perfect for good racing. Our aim was to accumulate sufficient points to wrest the Brennen Shield from perennial holders NSWRWC and that we did just that in fine style – our first win in a long time. Medallists were

Gold    Megan Szirom           Open Women 10 km
        Cody McNicol-Davidson  U10 Boys 1 km
        Cassie Raselli         U14 Girls 2 km
Silver  Ben Green              U10 Boys 1 km
        Chloe McNicol-Davidson U12 Girls 2 km
        Michael Green          U14 Boys 2 km
        Rachel Tallent         U16 Girls 3 km
        Natalie Laurie         U18 Girls 5 km
Bronze  Bianca Attard          U12 Girls 2 km
        Cody McNicol-Davidson  U14 Boys 2 km
        Bianca Attard          U14 Girls 2 km
        Tamara Attard          U18 Girls 5 km

On top of that, we won two Teams events – the U14 Girls (Cassie Raselli, Bianca Attard and Chloe McNicol-Davidson) and the U18 Girls (Natalie Laurie, Tamara Attard and Rachel Tallent). Well done to everyone on a great day's work and well done to SARWC on a great carnival and a lot of hard work.

My own personal highlights included

- Megan Szirom winning the Open 10 km even though she was nursing a bad cold
- Cody McNicol-Davidson and Ben Green walking toe to toe throughout the U10 event and deciding the placings with a final sprint
- Natalie Laurie chasing World Youth walker Paige Hooper all the way in the U18 event
- Cassie Raselli continuing her good form with yet another fine win in the U14 event
- Seeing Cody and Chloe McNicol-Davidson, Bianca Attard and Rachel Tallent doing second events for teams points.

Event 6  Mixed 10k Walk, SAMA INVIT.
7. Wood, Robin             57    VRWC    67:00
   Tallent, Jared                VRWC    DNF

Event 7  Women 10k Open Walk, 8.30AM
1. Szirom, Megan           30    VRWC    47:14

Event 8  Boys 1k  Under 10 Walk, 10.00AM
1. McNicol_Davidson, Cody   9    VRWC     6:05
2. Green, Ben               9    VRWC     6:06

Event 11  Girls 2k Under 12 Walk, 10.15AM
2. McNicol_Davidson, Chloe 11    VRWC    13:07
3. Attard, Bianca          12    VRWC    13:21

Event 12  Boys 2k Under 14 Walk, 10.35AM
2. Green, Michael          13    VRWC    12:04
3. McNicol_Davidson, Cody   9    VRWC    14:38
   Felton, Matthew         13    VRWC    DQ

Event 13  Girls 2k Under 14 Walk, 10.35AM
1. Rasselli, Cassandra     13    VRWC    10:45
3. Attard, Bianca          12    VRWC    13:51
4. McNicol_Davidson, Chloe 11    VRWC    13:52

Event 15  Girls 3k Under 16 Walk, 10.50AM
2. Tallent, Rachael        14    VRWC    16:06

Event 17  Women 5k Under 18 Walk, 11.15AM
2. Laurie, Natalie         16    VRWC    25:35
3. Attard, Tamara          17    VRWC    28:37
5. Tallent, Rachael        14    VRWC    29:25

VRWC AND VMA RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 28 JULY 2007

With some of our walkers in Adelaide for the Racewalking Australia carnival and a large number of our younger walkers competing in the Little Athletics State Cross Country championships, it was a quieter day at Albert Park but we still had nearly 50 walkers in attendance.

Wow, times in the 8 km event were superb. Walk of the day had to be Tom Barnes whose brillia 34:00 shows that he is in great form ahead of the World University Games. Rhydian Cowley was not far behind Tom with his PB time of 37:32. Pam Tindal and Ralph Bennett must have also done PBs while Murray Dickenson walked his best time for a while and showed that he is also approaching top form leading into the World Masters later this year in Italy. And finally, U16 Ayla Collins walked her first 8 km event and did a very good first up 46:28.
           
8km Open                            Handicap               
1. Pam Tindal              43:55    1
2. Liz Feldman             45:56    3
3. Ayla Collins            46:28   
4. Celia Johnson           54:11    4
5. Margaret Beaumont       59:12    2

1. Tom Barnes              34:00    3
2. Rhydian Cowley          37:32    2
3. Mark Donahoo            38:59    5
4. Ralph Bennett           43:09    4
5. Russ Dickenson          44:18    7
6. Murray Dickinson        44:34    1
7. Alan Lucas              45:50    6
   Ian Beaumont            Disq   

The Open 4 km was our most popular distance with Heather Carr and Clyde Riddoch taking fastest times. Maryanne Harrison continued her steady improvement to take the women's handicap while Anthony Doran showed a good turn of speed to win the men's handicap.

4km  Open                           Handicap   
1. Heather Carr            20:52    6
2. Janet Holmes            23:12    5
3. Gayle McIntyre          23:53    E3
4. Gwen Steed              24:19    8
5. Donna Elms              26:47    E3
6. Kiersten Coulter        27:24    2
7. Maryanne Harrison       28:00    1
8. Harlene Hercules        29:25    7

1. Clyde Riddoch           22:15    E5
2. Tony Johnson            22:48    7
3. Anthony Doran           23:44    1
4. Adam Patterson          24:16    4
5. Jason Elms              25:15    E5
6. Robin Wood              26:08    3
7. Barrie Wicks            26:20    2
   Bernie Keirl            Ab   
   Lindsay Harrison        Disq   

Our younger walkers also walked well with Taylor Brogan, Jacob Wright, Beth Barbour, Lucas Taylor, Amy Ventura and Paige De Lisen taking the handicap points. Amelia Finnegan walked very fast with her 4 km time of 21:21while Caitlin Campbell and Cindy Collins also stood out time wise.

4km  Under 15                       Handicap           
1. Amelia Finnegan         21:21    3
2. Nicole Hallett          22:04    2
3. Taylor Brogan           26:05    1
4. Anika Peachey           26:31    4
5. Adrianna Crea           27:38    5

1. Jacob Wright            23:01    1
   Robert Walsh            Ab   
           
Under 12 2km                        Handicap           
1. Caitlin Campbell        11:13    5
2. Ashley Albert           11:43    2
3. Rebecca Campbell        12:22    4
4. Beth Barbour            12:40    1
5. Stacey McLaren          13:46    3

1. Lucas Taylor            12:03    1
           
Under 9  1km                        Handicap           
1. Cindy Collins           05:38    3
2. Amy Ventura             06:35    E1
3. Paige De Lisen          06:38    E1
4. Annalise Harrison       07:32    4
5. Charlee Harrison        07:36    5

VRWC AND VMA RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 21 JULY 2007

It was a big day of racing as 86 walkers contested the various events in what were perfect winter conditions (as usual for Melbourne at this time of the year – but I'm not biased!). The highlight was the Victorian Masters 10 km roadwalking championship where 35 of our older walkers showed that they have lost little of their speed and racing ability. And we were privileged to see 2 World Records and one Australian Record amongst the many top performances. Andrew Jamieson (46:22) took a further 24 secs off his M60 World Record that he set last week while Heather Carr (53:41) took 14 secs of her own W55 World Record which she equalled last week. And joining the elite group of Masters record holders was Ralph Bennett whose time of 54:06 took some 10 secs off Murray Dickinson's M65 Australian Record. If you haven't heard much of Ralph before, you can be excused as he has only recently joined the walking ranks. Here is what he has to say in his profile on our newly created VRWC WIKI Site (but more about that later in the newsletter)
I am a Masters middle and long-distance runner (Mentone Venue) and racewalker. I started racewalking in April 2006, with VRWC, after three frustrating months of running that was limited by persistent hamstring injuries. That's when I found out about the technical nature of racewalking, found some relief for my hamstrings, but started to experience the soreness of some other new-found and previously under-utilised muscles and ligaments!

My other vote for top performers amongst the masters were Bendigo walkers Geoff Major (M70 – 64:34) and Barbara Bryant (W50 – 56:37) but it's really a toss of the coin in trying to pick out individuals from amongst so many wonderful walkers.

VMA 10 km Championship              VRWC Handicap Place   
35  1  Harlene Hercules    78:57    E9
40  1  Gayle McIntyre      65:40     11
45  1  Pam Tindal          55:40    4
45  2  Frances Halton      68:17   
50  1  Barbara Bryant      56:37   
50  2  Alison Thompson     58:23    5
50  3  Janet Holmes        61:17    6
55  1  Heather Carr        53:41    E2
55  2  Liz Feldman         58:06    E2   
55  3  Marlene Gourlay     58:52   
55  4  Celia Johnson       66:23    1
60  1  Valerie Millard     66:37   
65  1  Gwen Steed          63:34    E9
65  2  Sylvia Machin       64:04    8
65  3  Margaret Beaumont   75:58    7

35  1  Aaron McDonough     58:13    2
35  2  Adam Patterson      65:55   
45  1  Mark Donahoo        49:26    4
50     Ross Reid           Disq   
55  1  Alan Lucas          57:02    6
55  2  Robin Wood          63:24    1
55  3  Geoff Barrow        64:13    9
55  4  John Carter         67:13   
60  1  Andrew Jamieson     46:22    5 
60  2  Russ Dickenson      55:40    8
65  1  Ralph Bennett       54:06    3  
65  2  Murray Dickinson    57:09    7
65  3  Barry Wicks         68:17   
65  4  John Hallo          69:11   
70  1  Geoff Major         64:34   
70     Ian Beaumont        Disq   

And now onto our VRWC races. We had one club championship on offer, the Mabel Robinson Trophy, open to all the women club members walking in any of the 10 km events. Megan Szirom, Yolanda Russell and Natalie Laurie took the medals with great individual walks. A special mention for Natalie Laurie, only just 16 years of age, who took 8 minutes off her best time with a huge 52:50. She walked with Nicholas Mirarchi early on and only dropped off in the last few laps. Also of special note was the walk by Kiersten Coulter whose 3km time of 20:17 was a new Australian Transplant Record. She and fellow transplantee Christine Griffiths are regular competitors and are inspirational examples of how to challenge your problems and never say NO. Nicholas Mirarchi, also only 15 years of age, was only a couple of seconds outside his PB with his time of 51:40. Maryann Harrison walked her first ever 5 km and was rewarded with a handicap win. Rhydian Cowley, another super talented 16 year old, zoomed to a great 5km time of 23:01.And finally Ayla Collins, Nicole Hallett and Hilary Brazel, although still U15, competed well in the Open 5 km. It's great to see our young walkers challenging themselves over the longer distances and doing so well.

VRWC Open Women 10 km Championship – Mabel Robinson Trophy
1. Megan Szirom            48:16
2. Yolanda Russell         52:19
3. Natalie Laurie          52:50

VRWC 10 km                          Handicap Place
1. Megan Szirom            48:16    3
2. Yolanda Russell         52:19    E1
3. Natalie Laurie          52:50    E1

1. Nicholas Mirarchi       51:40    1

VRWC Open 5 km                      Handicap Place           
1. Tamara Attard           27:26    4
2. Ayla Collins            27:35    3
3. Nicole Hallett          28:40    2
4. Hilary Brazel           29:38    5
5. Maryanne Harrison       35:16    1

1. Rhydian Cowley          23:01    1
2. John Morrison           34:05    2

VRWC Open 3 km                     Handicap Place       
1. Donna Elms              19:44    2
2. Kiersten Coulter        20:17    1
3. Christine Griffiths     27:25    3
1. Jason Elms              19:14    2
2. Lindsay Harrison        19:58    1

Our younger walkers were not to be outdone and also produced some great walks. In particular, our U9 and U12 walkers seem to be doing PBs just about every time they toe the line. Billy Allamby was the pick of the bunch with his U9 1 km time of 5:12. He chased U12 winner Matthew Felton all the way to the 1 km line. Then Matthew powered on by himself to record an excellent 10:39 for the 2 km. Still talking U12, Michael Green, Andrew Hogan and Chloe McNicol-Davidson all did big 2 km PBs. Finally Madeleine Graham took over a minute off her best time in the U15 3k.

VRWC Under 15 3 km                  Handicap Place           
1. Amelia Finnegan         15:48    3
2. Madeleine Graham        17:24    1
3. Talie Collins           17:37    4
4. Jacinta Felton          18:16    2
5. Carly Bertrand          19:15    5
6. Caitlin Campbell        19:23    8
7. Anika Peachey           19:30    6
8. Rebecca Campbell        19:44    7
   Cassandra Raselli       Ab. 2km in 10.25min   
   Adrianna Crea           Disq   

1. Ryan Antidormi          16:16    2
2. Jacob Wright            16:26    1
   Damien Elms             Disq   

VRWC Under 12 2 km                  Handicap Place       
1. Stephanie George        11:57    4
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  12:01    1
3. Cindy Collins           12:41    5
4. Beth Barbour            13:03    3
5. Bianca Attard           13:16    2
6. Stacey McLaren          14:38    6

1. Matthew Felton          10:39    4
2. Michael Green           11:14    3
3. Andrew Hogan            11:16    1
4. Lucas Taylor            11:50    2
   Mitchell Green          Ab   

VRWC Under 9 1 km                   Handicap Place           
1. Paige De Lisen          06:26    1
2. Jayde Frank             06:29
3. Amy Ventura             06:38    E2
4. Georgia Bertrand        06:40    E2
5. Samantha Goossens       06:57   
6. Charlee Harrison        07:30    4
7. Kristina Collins        08:28    5
8. Emily McDonough         08:32    6   

1. Billy Allamby           05:12    3
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson   05:57    4
3. Ben Green               06:06    2
4. Ryan Dossetor           06:23    1

RWA STATE CHALLENGE, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 14 JULY 2007

Our annual Racewalking Australia State Challenge saw 74 VRWC and 1 TRWC (Tasmania) walker test themselves out and try to gain maximum points for their clubs in this unique competition which sees each Australian racewalking club racing the same fixture of events on the same day. Results are then forwarded to Mark Donahoo. He combines them into a single set of results, works out the points (based on the top competitor for each club in each age group) and ranks the clubs in order to find the winner. Mark will not have the results completed for a while yet so I will simply go with our VRWC results in this week's newsletter.    

And onto the raceday itself. I was sure we were going to have a dreadful afternoon weather wise, given the last few days and the Saturday morning itself but it all magically cleared and we had perfect racing conditions except for the various puddles for spectators and walkers to avoid. All monies raised from the day's proceedings were earmarked for the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation and we had Dr Kate Drummond from the RMH on hand to thank everyone for their efforts and to wish them all well in their races. I am pleased to announce that we will be forwarding a cheque for $600 to the Foundation.

Also, the total distance raced is being donated to the International Brain Tumour Awareness Walk Around the World and I calculate that our walkers yesterday completed a total race distance of 387 km. Well done everyone.

I jokingly advised our two top Masters walkers Heather Carr and Andrew Jamieson before their event that I was expecting huge performances but not to feel any personal pressure! Well, they must have taken me seriously as Andrew set a new Masters M60 10 km record of 46:46 and Heather equalled her own Masters W55 10 km record of 53:55. Oh, where did that extra one second go! They were ably backed up by Tom Barnes who blitzed to the fastest time of the day with 44:17 and by Stuart Kollmorgen (48:56) and Mark Donahoo (50:53). And a special mention to Harlene Hercules who walked her first ever 10 km event and helped us greatly in that she was the only Open woman to finish – all our other female 10 km finishers were Masters walkers. And how about Donna Elms who upped her distance to the 10 km event and walked excellently for her big PB of 1:12:48. Finally, has Duncan Knox been secretly training – 53:31 is a big time for the local Essendon lad these days!

RWA Challenge 10km Open                
1. Harlene Hercules      76:46           
   Sandra Geisler        Ab   
       
1. Tom Barnes            44:17           
2. Stuart Kollmorgan     48:56           
   Aaron McDonough       Ab    23.15 for 4km       
   Darius Wojcik         Disq           
                   
RWA Challenge 10km Masters               
1. Heather Carr          53:55    World Record   
2. Pam Tindal            56:15       
3. Janet Holmes          60:36       
4. Donna Elms            72:48       
   Gwen Steed            Ab    30.17 for 5km   
   Gayle McIntyre        Ab    30.17 for 5km   
   Deb Dyer              Ab    29.58 for 5km
   
1. Andrew Jamieson       46:56    World Record
2. Mark Donahoo          50:53       
3. Paul Kennedy          52:58       
4. Duncan Knox           53:31       
5. Ross Reid             53:35       
6. Bill Dyer             54:27       
7. Ralph Bennett         56:05       
8. Murray Dickinson      56:54       
9. Alan Lucas            57:55         
10.Robin Wood            66:04           
11.David Moore (Tas)     68:14       
   Russ Dickenson        Ab    45.26 for 8km   
   Geoff Barrow          Disq           

Many of our junior walkers were resting so it was a bit of a challenge to make sure we had all age groups covered but it seemed our lucky day in that at least one walker turned up for each age group – and all get past the scrutiny of the judges – phew!    Tamara Attard took over 2 minutes off her 10 km time with a big effort while Nicholas Mirarchi, Jason Elms, Natalie Laurie, Regan Lamble, Robert Walsh, Amy Burren and Matthew Felton made sure we are still in the hunt in the State Challenge by posting good fastest times of their own. And a special mention to U16 walker Anika Peachey who was hit in the eye by an errant golf ball when walking along the top section alongside the driving range. But she still finished – well done in adversity, Anika!
               
RWA Challenge 10km Un20               
1. Nicholas Mirarchi     51:50   
   
1. Tamara Attard         58:15           
                   
RWA Challenge 8km Un18               
1. Natalie Laurie        42:30   
       
1. Jason Elms            57:48           

RWA Challenge 5km Un16               
1. Regan Lamble          25:27           
2. Beth Alexander        26:05           
3. Ayla Collins          28:53           
4. Anika Peachey         34:22           
5. Adrianna Crea         34:25   

1. Robert Walsh          27:17           
   
RWA Challenge 3km Under 14               
1. Amy Burren            15:10
2. Amelia Finnegan       15:43           
3. Hilary Brazel         16:24           
4. Chelsea Dyer          17:07           
5. Madeleine Graham      18:26           
6. Ella Mason            19:05


1. Matthew Felton        16:31           
2. Ryan Antidormi        16:58           
3. Jacob Wright          17:05           

The U12 and U10 age groups were strongly contested as usual. Unfortunately there was a bit of confusion and some did not realise it was age on the day rather than VRWC age (which is taken from the start of our financial year). That means that Caitlin Campbell and Talie Collins should have actually walked in U14 on the day so the winner of the U12 was really Sarah Burren. I will still show the other girls' times in the results but without a placing. And spare a thought for Billy Allamby who thought his event started earlier and headed off with the U12 2km walkers. He eventually ran back to get to the starting line just before the U10 events got underway. And then he took a wrong turn – and he still got the U9 fastest time!
                   
RWA Challenge Under 12 2km                
   Caitlin Campbell       10:22           
   Talie Collins          11:22           
1. Sarah Burren           11:24           
2. Stephanie George       11:56           
3. Carly Bertrand         12:10           
4. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 12:39           
5. Beth Barbour           13:10           
6. Bianca Attard          13:30           
7. Stacey McLaren         13:35   

1. Andrew Hogan           12:23           
2. Lucas Taylor           12:51           
   Cody McNicol-Davidson  Ab           
   
RWA Challenge Under 10 1.5km                
1. Rebecca Campbell       09:03           
2. Cindy Collins          09:16           
3. Ali Brunton            09:26           
4. Sophia Antidormi       09:43           
5. Paige De Lisen         10:11           
e6 Amy Ventura            10:40           
e6 Jayde Frank            10:40                       
8. Charlee Harrison       12:03           
9. Kristina Collins       13:52   
   Emily McDonough        DNF
       
1. Billy Allamby          08:32           
2. Reese Walmsley         08:40           

And finally to our Open 3km event where there were some great PBs  by some of our lesser experienced walkers.

VRWC Open 3km                
1. Theodora McKenzie      20:24           
2. Kiersten Coulter       20:38           
3. Maryanne Harrison      21:51           
4. Christine Griffiths    27:28           

1. Lindsay Harrison       20:25           
2. John Morrison          20:33           
3. Damien Elms            21:38

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 7 JULY 2007

The forecast was for a bleak day but we still had 55 walkers who turned out with their fingers crossed.  Alas, the expected change came through mid race, the temperatures dropped to about 5OC and the rain came. But once you are underway, you continue on and that is what happened. Luckily the distances this week were shorter so everyone managed to finish, a little colder, but none the worse for the experience. As usual, we had our fair share of PBs and some great racing.

In the Open 8 km walk, Mark Donahoo and Regan Lamble battled it out in the front with little separating them throughout the race. It was a big PB for Regan as she finished with a great 40:54. Tamara Attard also walked fantastically, beating her previous best by nearly 2 minutes to win the women's handicap while Aaron McDonough won the men's handicap.
 
VRWC 8 km Open                     Handicap
1. Regan Lamble           40:54    2
2. Pam Tindal             44:11    4
3. Natalie Laurie         44:38    6
4. Tamara Attard          45:26    1
5. Liz Feldman            46:04    3
6. Janet Holmes           47:26    5

1. Mark Donahoo           40:36    7
2. Ralph Bennett          43:51    3
3. Bill Dyer              43:58   
4. Russ Dickenson         44:11    6
5. Murray Dickinson       44:54    2
6. Alan Lucas             45:28    4
7. Aaron McDonough        47:15    1
8. Robin Wood             53:07    5

The Dyer family were out in force with Bill doing the 8 km, Deb doing the 4 km (and doing it pretty well for someone who hasn't walked in anger for some years) and Chelsea doing the U15 4 km. It was also great to see  mums Cherylanne Campbell and Sam Bertrand enjoying their 4 km walk.

VRWC 4 km Open                     Handicap
1. Heather Carr           20:59    6
2. Deb Dyer               23:19   
3. Donna Elms             27:04    3
4. Theodora McKenzie      27:21   
5. Kiersten Coulter       27:32    2
6. Maryanne Harrison      28:52    1
7. Margaret Beaumont      29:25    5
8. Sandra Bertrand        31:57    4
9. Cherylanne Campbell    31:57    7
   Gwen Steed             DNS   

1. Adam Patterson         23:53    1
2. Jason Elms             25:37    4
3. Barry Wicks            26:29    3
4. Ian Beaumont           30:57    2
   Bernie Keirl           Ab   
   Gordon Onley           DQ   
   Lindsay Harrison       DQ   

Anika Peachey took some 30 secs off her 4 km PB with her time of 25:25 and that made her a clear handicap winner in the U15 girls' walk. Hilary Brazel and Robert Walsh were fastest overall and are both walking very consistently this winter.

VRWC 4 km Under 15                 Handicap
1. Hilary Brazel          21:58    2
2. Nicole Hallett         23:17    6
3. Chelsea Dyer           24:49    7
4. Madeleine Graham       25:17    3
5. Anika Peachey          25:25    1
6. Carly Bertrand         26:22    4
7. Adrianna Crea          27:01    5

1. Robert Walsh           21:52    1
2. Damien Elms            DQ   

The Under 12 event saw Matthew Felton and Caitlin Campbell battling out the front and they were never separated by more than a few metres. They were both worthy winners with Caitlin winning the girls' handicap as well. Andrew Hogan continues his great U12 season and was the boys' handicap winner. In the U9 races, Paige de Lisen took some 20 secs off her PB to come out an easy winner. Charlee Harrison is also a big improver this winter and walked excellently for second.

VRWC 2.5 km Under 12               Handicap
1. Caitlin Campbell       13:28    1
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 16:22    3
3. Beth Barbour           17:06    4
4. Bianca Attard          17:15    2
5. Stacey McLaren         18:58    5
6. Rebecca Campbell       DNS   

1. Matthew Felton         13:26    2
2. Andrew Hogan           15:14    1
3. Michael Green          15:34    3
4. Mitchell Green         19:39    4
   Cody McNicol-Davidson  Ab   

VRWC 1.5 km Under 9                Handicap
1. Paige De Lisen         11:08    1
2. Charlee Harrison       12:06    2
3. Georgia Bertrand       12:26    4
4. Emily McDonough        14:45    3

1. Ben Green              10:47    1

AV, VMAA AND VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 1 JULY 2007

Wow, what a day! A total of 96 walkers competed at Albert Park on Sunday and a number walked in more than 1 event – meaning we had well over 100 walking times recorded for the day. This made this our biggest domestic carnival for many years. The forecast showers did not eventuate and conditions were just about perfect for fast racing.

First to the 20 km events which the Open and Masters walkers contested. Three performances in particular deserve special attention.

Tom Barnes won the Victorian Men's 20 km title with a time of 1:27:45. This was a big PB for Tom (previous best of 1:29:05, done in Canberra in January 2007). His main aim was to beat the 1:28:00 qualifying time for the World University Games and he had received permission from AA chief selector Peter Fitzgerald to have this race considered for selection purposes. With this in mind, VRWC ensured that we used our AIMS certified 2 km loop, we had a full set of qualified judges and we started the men's and women's events started 5 minutes apart. And Tom really produced the goods with his huge walk.

Megan Szirom won the Victorian Women 20 km title in a time of 1:36:55, only 2 seconds outside her PB and a time that ranks her 4th in terms of 2008 World Cup selection rankings. She had a spirited battle with NSW walker Cheryl Webb until Cheryl retired at around the 15km mark.

Masters walker Andrew Jamieson beat his own World Masters M60 20 km world record by 19 secs with his time of 1:35:55. The paperwork will be submitted to claim this as a new Masters World record and we are confident that the time will be ratified. Andrew came second in the Victorian 20 km title with his fine effort.

AV 20 KM OPEN MEN     CLUB   10K     20K
1. BARNES, Tom        MUU    43.11   87.45
2. JAMIESON, Andrew   OSC    47.52   95.57
3. DONAHOO, Mark      ATE    51.30   103.16
4. KOLLMORGEN, Stuart COL    51.05   103.40
5. KNOX, Duncan       ATE    57.44   115.16
6. EVANS, Simon       BOH    52.28   DNF                                             

VMA 20 KM MEN                10K     20K       PLACE
PATTERSON, Adam       M35    53.21   155.43    1
DONAHOO, Mark         M45    51.30   103.16    1
EVANS, Simon          M45    52.28   DNF
LUCAS, Alan           M55    60.25   123.31    1
WOOD, Robin           M55    67.23   136.05    2
PROWSE, Frank         M55    65.58   DQ
BENNETT, Ralph        M65    57.07   115.34    1
DICKENSON, Russ       M60    57.59   115.56    2
DICKENSON, Murray     M65    58.52   121.14    3

VRWC 20 KM OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP -ALF ROBINSON TROPHY
1. BARNES, Tom        87.45
2. JAMIESON, Andrew   95.57
3. DONAHOO, Mark      103.16
4. KOLLMORGEN, Stuart 103.40
5. KNOX, Duncan       115.16
6. BENNETT, Ralph     115.34
7. DICKENSON, Russ    115.56
8. DICKENSON, Murray  121.14
9. LUCAS, Alan        123.31  
10.WOOD, Robin        136.05
11.PATTERSON, Adam    155.43
   EVANS, Simon       DNF
                                            
AV 20 KM OPEN WOMEN   CLUB   10K     20K
1. SZIROM, Megan      RWD    47.38   96.55
2. RUSSELL, Yolanda   GLG    54.51   112.33
3. BANNISTER, Lynette TAS    55.45   114.38
4. CARR, Heather      EAG    56.23   116.45
5. BRYANT, Barbara    EAG    59.23   119.58
6. MAJOR, Annette     EAG    59.23   128.45                                   

VRWC 20 KM OPEN WOMEN  
   WEBB, Cheryl       NSW    47.17   DNF

VMA 20 KM WOMEN              10 K    20 K      PLACE
MAJOR, Annette        W40    59.23   128.45    1
TINDAL, Pam           W45    60.48   122.39    1
BRYANT, Barbara       W50    59.23   119.58    1
CARR, Heather         W55    56.23   116.45    1
FELDMAN, Liz          W55    60.48   122.39    2
BEAUMONT, Margaret    W65    73.09   158.47    1

The junior walkers contested the Victorian Schools Championships and there were some great walks there also. Rhydian Cowley easily took the U20 men's 10 km event in an easy 50:05. He had hoped to battle Kyle Bryant for the title but Kyle was a DNS, leaving Rhydian way out in front. 15year olds Regan Lamble and Natalie Laurie had a terrific battle in the U18 girls' 5 km. Regan took an early lead but Natalie then gradually pegged her back to the point they were level with 1 km to go. Regan once again got the upper hand coming away to record a great win in 24.50 not far from her best of 24.32. Natalie was outstanding, taking 23 seconds of her personal best time to finish with 25.02. In the boys' U18 event, Daniel Payne went under 24 minutes for the first time. After a 9.17 first 2 km, it was virtually a lone time trial for Daniel who finished very strongly to record 23.59. 13 year old Rachel Tallent, Jared's sister, has shown some real improvement over the last few months and she continued that great form to win the U16 girls' 3 km in a terrific 15.05. Further down the age groups, Amy Burren won the U14 3 girls' km with an excellent 15:26. And there were many others as well who excelled.

AV 10 KM U20 MEN     
1. MIRARCHI, Nicholas      COR                    52.02
2. BURGESS, Shaun          CHI                    55.26            

AV SCHOOLS 10 KM U20 MEN  
1. COWLEY , Rhydian        Melbourne H.S          50.05
2. MIRARCHI, Nicholas      St Joseph’s            52.02

AV SCHOOLS 10 KM U20 WOMEN 
1. BRUNTON, Caitlin        Kardinia Int.          55.43

AV SCHOOLS 5 KM U18 MEN K
1. PAYNE, Daniel           Kardinia Inter.        23.59
2. LYON, Matt              Caulfield Gramm.       33.19
3. ELMS, Jason             Lalor North            34.26

AV SCHOOLS 5 KM U18    
1. LAMBLE, Regan           Strathcona. B.G.G.     24.50
2. LAURIE, Natalie         Kingswood. Coll.       25.05
3. ATTARD, Tamara          Aquinas Coll.          27.15
4. PALFREYMAN, Jessie      Bendigo. Sen.Coll.     27.23
5. BODDY, Lana             Corio Bay Coll.        34.12
6. GAGE, Mykaela           Sacred Heart Coll.     36.19

AV SCHOOLS 3 KM U16 BOYS
1. SIMPSON, Bradley        Yarra Valley Gram.     15.35
2. WALSH, Robert           Mt Waverley S.C.       15.58
3. GREEN, Michael          Mary McKillop          17.30

AV SCHOOLS 3 KM U16 GIRLS 
1. TALLENT, Rachel         Ballarat. H. S.        15.05
2. COLLINS, Ayla           St John’s College      15.45
3. DYER, Chelsea           Strathcona B.G.G.      15.52
4. PAYNE, Emily            Kardinia Internat.     16.02
5. BRAZEL, Hilary          Emmaus College         16.31
6. BRUNTON, Erin           Kardinia Internat.     16.44
7. CALLAWAY, Amy           Mater Christie         16.53
8. MASKELL, Katrina        Shepparton H.S.        17.11
9. FELTON, Jacinta         Mater Christie         17.52
10.DAVIS, Danielle         Matthew Flinders       18.06
11.TREW, Keely             Eaglehawk S.C.         18.25
12.PEACHEY, Anika          Maribyrnong S. C.      18.50
13.LYON, Kelly             Caulfield Grammar      19.27

AV SCHOOLS 3 KM U14 BOYS 
1. FELTON, Matthew         Aquinas College        15.50
2. WRIGHT, Jacob           Emmaus College         16.35
3. ALLAMBY, Billy          Karoo P.S.             16.50
4. CURTIS, Peter           Flora Hill S.C.        16.51
5. JONES, Jeremiah         Spring Gully P.S.      18.18
6. GARDNER, Aaron          Thomastown East P.S.   18.59
7. McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Cody  Karingal Heights P.S.  19.14

AV SCHOOLS 3 KM U14 GIRLS 
1. BURREN, Amy             Killester College      15.26
2. WHILEY, Ebony           St Joseph’s P.S.       15.44
3. FINNEGAN, Amelia        Mater Christie         15.52
4. CAMPBELL, Caitlin       Copperfield S.C.       15.54
5. TALLENT, Ebony          Ballarat H.S.          15.56
6. HALLETT, Nicole         St Francis Xavier      16.47
7. BURREN, Sarah           St Mark’s P.S.         17.12
8. ALBERT, Ashley          St Mark’s P.S.         18.15
9. McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Chloe Karingal Heights P.S.  19.02
10.CAMPBELL, Rebecca       Sydenham Hillside P.S. 19.47
   COLLINS, Talie          St Johns College       DNF   

And for the youngest age groups, we had 1500m club championships which were also fiercely contested. Anyone who got in the way at the start was going to be steamrollered!

VRWC U12 1500M CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Dane HEIDEN (BGO)       7.59
2. Andrew HOGAN            8.02
3. Jeremiah JONES (BGO)    8.10
4. Aaron GARDNER           8.49
5. Lucas TAYLOR            9.02
6. Ben MASKELL             9.36

1. Sarah BURREN            8.19
2. Carly BERTRAND          8.25
3. Stephanie GEORGE        8.33
4. Bianca ATTARD           9.15
5. Briggette BROCKENSHIRE  9.20
6. Stacey McLAREN          9.36
7. Bethanie BARBOUR        9.37

VRWC U9 1500M CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Billy ALLAMBY           8.00
2. Ryan DOSSETOR           9.38
3. Bryce BROCENSHIRE       9.39
4. Ben GREEN              10.09

1.Cindy COLLINS            9.10
2.Amy VENTURA              9.55
3.Emily McDONOUGH         13.31

And finally we had our usual open distance event for anyone else who wanted a fitness workout! Welcome back to Erin Adamcewicz after an overseas stint – and not a bad first up time of 30:16 at that.

VRWC 5 KM OPEN
1. Janet HOLMES           29.37
2. Erin ADAMCEWICZ        30.16
3. Anthony DORAN          31.05
4. Celia JOHNSON          33.20
5. Donna ELMS             34.26
6. Adrianna CREA          35.10
7. Christine GRIFFITHS    46.26
   Ian BEAUMONT           DNF
   Theodora McKENZIE      DQ

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 23 JUNE 2007

After a dreadful cold and wet week, the weather was perfect for fast racing on Saturday and there were PBs everywhere. In fact, the performances were so good that I got on the bike and did a quick ride around the course just to ensure that all the course markers were correctly set – and they were.

In the open divisions, there were many commendable performances but the pick had to be those of Megan Szirom, Tom Barnes, Rhydian Cowley, Gayle McIntyre and Donna Elms. Megan recorded a blistering 22:08 to head the Australian rankings list for 2007. It was a PB by some 20+ secs and she looked fantastic. Tom's 10 km time of 43:01 was a 1 min PB and also puts him ahead of everyone except for the small and select AIS group. Rhydian's 10 km time of 47:55 was a 20+ sec PB and, for a 16 year old walker, is huge. He has recently been selected in the U17 National Development Squad, will be attending the AIS in August for a training camp and is looking towards the 2008 World Junior Champs. Gayle had set herself the challenging target of breaking 60 mins for the 10 km this winter. On Saturday she did it in style with her time of 58:56 and wasn't she as pleased as punch! And finally to Donna who only started racewalking because her boys were competing. Over the last 12 months, she has reduced her times by so much and on Saturday she took a further minute off her 5 km time with 19:37.

10km Open       
1. Yolanda Russell         53:19    5
2. Pam Tindal              57:39    6
3. Alison Thompson         58:44    3
4. Gayle McIntyre          58:56(PB)4
5. Gwen Steed              61:23    1
6. Sylvia Machin           63:03    No previous time
7. Margaret Beaumont       74:13    2
           
1. Tom Barnes              43:01(PB)2
2. Rhydian Cowley          47:55(PB)9
3. Nicholas Mirarchi       51:53    3
4. Ross Reid               52:50    4
5. Russ Dickenson          54:43    8
6. Ralph Bennett           55:36(PB)6
7. Murray Dickinson        56:18    1
8. Aaron McDonough         60:54(PB)7
9. Robin Wood              67:41    10
10.Ian Beaumont            79:06    5

5km Open                            H'cap     
1. Megan Szirom            22:08    7
2. Regan Lamble            25:21    10
3. Natalie Laurie          26:11    3
4. Heather Carr            26:22    8
5. Sandra Geisler          26:27    9
6. Ayla Collins            26:58    1
7. Tamara Attard           27:11    2
8. Liz Feldman             28:02    6
9. Janet Holmes            29:12    4
10.Jan Morrey              34:15    5
           
1. Mark Donahoo            24:50    5
2. Bernie Keirl            27:11    2
3. Alan Lucas              27:56    3
4. Geoff Barrow            30:56    1
5. Barry Wicks             34:15    4
           
3km  Open                           H'cap    
1. Donna Elms              19:37    1
2. Kiersten Coulter        20:39    2
3. Maryanne Harrison       22:20    3
4. Christine Griffiths     26:51    4
           
1. Jason Elms              17:35    1
2. Lindsay Harrison        22:16    2
   Gordon Onley            Disq   

Our juniors were also on fire with some very competitive racing. PBs were recorded by walkers including Amelia Finnegan, Carly Bertrand (jumping up to U15), Jacinta Felton, Robert Walsh, Jacob Wright, Ryan Antidormi, Stacey McLaren, Sophia Antidormi, Lucas Taylor, Michael and Mitchell Green and Amy Ventura.

3km  Under 15                       H'cap       
1. Amelia Finnegan         15:34    5
2. Caitlin Campbell        16:06    6
3. Nicole Hallett          17:13    9
4. Talie Collins           17:16    4
5. Amy Callaway            17:34    3
6. Jacinta Felton          17:55    2
7. Carly Bertrand          19:01    1
8. Rebecca Campbell        19:14    No previous time    
9. Anika Peachey           19:17    7
10. Adrianna Crea          19:36    8
           
1. Robert Walsh            15:36    2
2. Jacob Wright            16:13    1
3. Ryan Antidormi          16:42    3
4. Aaron Gardner           18:47    No previous time
5. Damien Elms             22:49    4
                       
Under 12 2km                        H'cap       
1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  12:29    4
2. Stacey McLaren          12:33    1
3. Beth Barbour            12:40    5
4. Bianca Attard           12:44    2
5. Sophia Antidormi        12:48    3
6. Cindy Collins           13:03    7
7. Briggette Brockenshire  13:32    6
           
1. Matthew Felton          10:43    5
2. Michael Green           11:24    3
3. Lucas Taylor            12:07    2
4. Mitchell Green          13:02    1
5. Cody McNicol-Davidson   13:19    4
           
Under 9 1km                        H'cap     
1. Amy Ventura             06:50    2
2. Charlee Harrison        07:52    1
3. Kristina Collins        09:32    3
           
1. Ben Green               06:49    1

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 16 JUNE 2007

It was a quieter day at Albert Park on Saturday after the big weekend in Canberra but we still had 65 walkers come along to try their luck in our annual “Guess Your Time” races. The idea is that you you nominate your expected time and then walk without watches or laptimes and try to judge your pace accordingly. Prizes were awarded to the winners of each division and the best were spot on.

The Under 9's were first to finish with Emily McDonough only 1 second out and Billy Allamby only 2 secs out.  The Under 12's were girls were also very close with Carly Bertrand winning with a time only 2 seconds different to her guess. The Under 12 boys were a bit more wayward but Aaron Gardner was the best and won the prize ahead of the other boys.

Under 9 1 km Walk                   Guess Plc           
1. Sophia Antidormi         6:13    2
2. Georgia Bertrand         6:55    5
3. Amy Ventura              7:02    7
4. Paige De Lisen           7:05    4
5. Charlee Harrison         7:33    6
6. Kristina Collins         8:21    3
7. Emily McDonough          8:31    1 (1 sec)

1. Billy Allamby            5:34    1 (2 secs)
2. Reese Walmsley           5:45    2           

Under 12 2 km Walk                  Guess Plc           
1. Caitlin Campbell        10:45    3
2. Carly Bertrand          11:48    1 (2 secs)
3. Ashley Albert           11:59    8
4. Cindy Collins           12:24    6
5. Rebecca Campbell        12:32    2
6. Beth Barbour            12:37    6
7. Stephanie George        12:54    9
8. Bianca Attard           13:11    4
9. Stacey McLaren          13:42    5

1. Matthew Felton          10:40    3
2. Ryan Antidormi          10:52    2
3. Andrew Hogan            11:45    6
4. Michael Green           11:54    4
5. Aaron Gardner           12:06    1 (54 secs)
6. Lucas Taylor            12:19    5

The Under 15's are a very talented group and their times continue to improve each week. Amelia Finnegan and Robert Walsh won the 'Guess Your Time” prizes with well judged performances.
   
Under 15 4 km Walk                  Guess Plc
1. Amy Burren              21:14    5
2. Hilary Brazel           21:42    6
3. Amelia Finnegan         21:46    1 (29 secs)
4. Ayla Collins            22:44    7
5. Sarah Burren            24:12    3
6. Talie Collins           24:12    4
7. Madeleine Graham        24:25    2
8. Anika Peachey           25:49    8

1. Robert Walsh            21:18    1 (92 secs)
2. Jacob Wright            22:56    2
   Damien Elms             Disq

The Open events are normally closely contested as the walkers have had many years to hone their skills in walking to a set schedule. In particular, the 8 km for men saw Murray Dickinson (2 secs) finish just ahead of Alan Lucas (3 secs) and Duncan Knox (4 secs). Alan and Duncan always excel in this sort of event but Murray had their measure on Saturday.

Open 4 km Walk                      Guess Plc           
1. Gwen Steed              23:23    1 (2 secs)
2. Celia Johnson           26:23    4
3. Donna Elms              27:07    3
4. Theodora McKenzie       27:33   
5. Jan Morrey              27:59    6
6. Kiersten Coulter        28:10    2
7. Maryanne Harrison       28:45    5
   Sandra Bertrand         DNF   
   Cherylanne Campbell     DNF
   
1. Geoff Barrow            25:41    3
2. Jason Elms              26:15    4
3. Barry Wicks             26:56    1 (4 secs)
4. Ian Beaumont            31:27    2
   Gordon Onley            Disq   

Open 8 km Walk                      Guess Plc           
1. Gayle McIntyre          47:42    2
2. Janet Holmes            47:55    3
3. Tamara Attard           49:00    4
4. Margaret Beaumont       60:03    1 (27 secs)

1. Stuart Kollmorgan       39:58    4
2. Nicholas Mirarchi       42:32    12
3. Ross Reid               42:42    5
4. Paul Kennedy            42:55    6
5. Russ Dickenson          43:10    9 (2 secs)
6. Duncan Knox             43:16    3 (4 secs)
7. Ralph Bennett           44:47    8
8. Murray Dickinson        45:02    1
9. Alan Lucas              45:07    2 (3 secs)
10.Aaron McDonough         49:04    10
11.Bob Gardiner            50:32    7
12.Robin Wood              52:26    10

41ST LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN CARNIVAL, CANBERRA, SUNDAY 10 JUNE 2007

These results do not as yet include Teams results, handicap winners or Perpetual Trophy winners. These will be added as soon as possible.

OPEN 20 MILES     
1  Tallent, Jared          VRWC   2:15:43 (Race Record)
2  Erickson, Chris         VRWC   2:24:18
4  Barnes, Tom             VRWC   2:33:17
8  Jamieson, Andrew  V     VRWC   2:42:27
9  Szirom, Megan (f)       VRWC   2:53:01
11 Knox, Duncan  V         VRWC   3:21:09

ACTA MENS 30K CHAMPIONSHIP
Unfortunately the 30km mark was incorrectly placed. The actual 30 km splits were some 40-50 secs faster than that recorded.
1  Tallent, Jared          VRWC   2:07:14
2  Erickson, Chris         VRWC   2:14:41
6  Jamieson, Andrew  V     VRWC   2:32:27

OPEN WOMENS 10 MILES
6  Russell, Yolanda        VRWC   1:30:32
7  Lamble, Regan           VRWC   1:30:51
16 Roseman, Justijana      VRWC   1:51:21
 
OPEN MENS 10 MILES
5  Baker, Simon  V         VRWC   1:34:23
31 Erickson, Tim  V        VRWC   DNF
 
FITNESS 10 MILES
1  Wood, Robin             VIC    1:47:36
2  Onley, Gordon           VIC    1:49:22
 
BOYS U10 1,000 METRES
1  Allamby, Billy          VRWC    5:22
5  McNicol-Davidson, Cody  VRWC    5:53
6  Walmsley, Reese         VRWC    5:54
8. Green, Ben              VRWC    6:19

GIRLS U10 1,000 METRES
3  Brunton, Ali            VRWC    5:47
7  Campbell, Rebecca       VRWC    6:03
12 Bertrand, Georgia       VRWC    6:41
 
BOYS U12 2,000  METRES
2  Allamby, Billy          VRWC   11:09
3  Walmsley, Reese         VRWC   12:42
4  McNicol-Davidson, Cody  VRWC   13:50
 
GIRLS U12 2,000 METRES
10 Bertrand, Carly         VRWC   11:52
15 Attard, Bianca          VRWC   12:44
17 McNicol-Davidson, Chloe VRWC   12:46
19 Jones, Madison          VRWC   13:38
21 Ohlsen, Shae            VRWC   13:59
22 Brunton, Ali            VRWC   14:18
39 Campbell, Rebecca       VRWC   DNS

BOYS U14 2,000 METRES
3  Felton, Matthew         VRWC   10:07
6  Wright, Jacob           VRWC   10:53
7  Brunton, Chris          VRWC   11:08
10 Green, Michael          VRWC   11:34
 
GIRLS U14 2,000 METRES
2  Raselli, Cassandra      VRWC    9:56
6  Campbell, Caitlin       VRWC   10:19
9  Tallent, Ebony          VRWC   10:27
12 Hallett, Nicole         VRWC   10:49
13 Brunton, Erin           VRWC   10:57
22 Bertrand, Carly         VRWC   12:57
25 Lacey, Shannen          VRWC   14:57
26 Jones, Staci            VRWC   16:15
49 Brazel, Hilary          VRWC   DQ
 
BOYS U16 3,000 METRES
3  Mirarchi, Nicholas      VRWC   15:06
7  Simpson, Bradley        VRWC   15:57
8  Walsh, Robert           VRWC   16:05
 
GIRLS U16 3,000 METRES
2  Tallent, Rachel         VRWC   15:06
3  Laurie, Natalie         VRWC   15:19
9  Payne, Emily            VRWC   16:40
10 Brunton, Erin           VRWC   16:51
12 Brazel, Hilary          VRWC   16:53
13 Watt, Taylah            VRWC   16:55
15 Callaway, Amy           VRWC   17:04
19 Davis, Danielle         VRWC   17:39
24 Graham, Madeleine       VRWC   18:35
25 Felton, Jacinta         VRWC   18:41
 
BOYS U18 5,000 METRES
2  Payne, Daniel           VRWC   24:02

GIRLS U18 5,000 METRES
3  Brunton, Caitlin        VRWC   26:13
4  Attard, Tamara          VRWC   26:36
7  Campbell, Caitlin       VRWC   28:24
9  Hallett, Nicole         VRWC   30:09
13 Boddy, Lana             VRWC   35:12
 
WOMENS 5,000 METRES
1  Wapshott, Kellie        VRWC   22:59
10 Laurie, Natalie         VRWC   26:40
11 Boddy, Tyne             VRWC   26:54
15 Brunton, Caitlin        VRWC   28:56

MENS U20 10,000 METRES
7  Payne, Daniel           VRWC   52:52
8  Mirarchi, Nicholas      VRWC   53:22
7  Burgess, Shaun          VRWC   DQ
 
AUSTRALIAN MENS U20 10,000 METRES
5  Payne, Daniel           VRWC   52:52
6  Mirarchi, Nicholas      VRWC   53:22
7  Burgess, Shaun          VRWC   DQ

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 2 JUNE 2007

Just under 90 walkers made the most of perfect conditions (typical Melbourne for those interstate or overseas readers who don't know about our wonderful climate) in this week's VRWC club races. The stars were definitely Megan Szirom and Rhydian Cowley. Megan improved her PB by some 20 secs to walk a fantastic 46:30 while Rhydian did exactly the same time as 2 weeks ago, namely 48:17. Overall, PBs were everywhere in the 10 km events as you can see from the listing below. It is good to see Murray Dickinson coming back into good shape once again – 57:32 for the M65 division is some performance!

10 km Open                Handicap
1. Megan Szirom           46:30    1 (PB)
2. Yolanda Russell        54:36    4
3. Pam Tindal             56:48    3 (PB)
4. Liz Feldman            59:40    2 (PB)
5. Margaret Beaumont      85:38    5
           
1. Rhydian Cowley         48:17    5 (=PB)
2. Paul Kennedy           52:37    6
3. Shaun Burgess          54:21    4 (PB)
4. Russ Dickenson         54:51    3
5. Murray Dickinson       57:32    1
6. Tim Erickson           58:41   
7. Robin Wood             65:29    2
   Ralph Bennett          Ab   
   Aaron McDonough        Ab   
   Gordon Onley           Disq   

Regan Lamble warmed up for Canberra next week with a fine 24:32 in the 5 km race which was also hotly contested. The handicap winners were Gayle McIntyre (one of this year's big improvers) and Tony Doran. Special mention to Gwen Steed who has really come back into good form this winter and who broke 30 mins yet again.
           
5 km Open                          Handicap
1. Regan Lamble           24:32    3
2. Heather Carr           26:22    8
3. Caitlin Brunton        26:38    9
4. Tamara Attard          28:11    5
5. Nicole Hallett         29:07    10
6. Natalie Laurie         29:08    11
7. Janet Holmes           29:14    2
8. Gayle McIntyre         29:25    1
9. Gwen Steed             29:56    4
10.Celia Johnson          32:08    7
11.Donna Elms             35:23    6
           
1. Bernie Keirl           27:12    5
2. Tony Johnson           27:50    2
3. Geoff Barrow           30:48    3
4. Anthony Doran          30:57    1
5. Bruce Conboy           34:19    4
   Ian Beaumont           Disq   

Chris Brunton not only won the boy's Under 15 3 km event, he also took handicap honours in a very impressive time of 15:59. Amelia Finnegan was just behind him with her winning time of 16:05 while Ella Mason took handicap honours with her time of 18:05. First year walkers Adrianna Crea and Anika Peachey had their usual competitive race and a great sprint finish saw them both cross the line together (Adrianna got the nod from the finishing judges).
           
5 km Under 15             Handicap
1. Amelia Finnegan        16:05    2
2. Hilary Brazel          16:31    6
3. Erin Brunton           17:04    7
4. Ella Mason             18:05    1
5. Adrianna Crea          19:18    5
6. Anika Peachey          19:18    e3
7. Amy Callaway           20:47    8
8. Natalie King           22:25    e3
   Cassandra Raselli      Ab   
   Jacinta Felton         Ab   
           
1. Chris Brunton          15:59    1
2. Ryan Antidormi         17:00    2
3. Damien Elms            23:18    4
   Robert Walsh           Disq   

The 3 km event is seeing some good walking this year. First year walker Theodora McKenzie did a big PB to take overall honours in the women's section but handicap honours went to Danielle Amore, having only her second walk. Kiersten Coulter and Maryanne Harrison also did big walks and are improving every week. Adam Patterson did a blinder in the men's 3 km as did John Morrison.
           
3 km Open                 Handicap
1. Theodora McKenzie      20:22   
2. Kiersten Coulter       21:09    4
3. Maryanne Harrison      21:24    3
4. Jean Knox              24:05   
5. Danielle Amore         24:29    1
6. Pam Mews               25:44    2
           
1. Adam Patterson         17:18    1
2. John Morrison          19:01    2
3. Jason Elms             19:18    3
4. Lindsay Harrison       Disq   

Matthew Felton and Sarah Burren had a great race out front in the Under 12 division and they were both rewarded with sub-11 times. But it was Bianca Attard and Michael Green who took handicap honours. Sarah and Ashley Albert also caught the judges' eyes and earned Style Award points (see details below).
           
2 km Under 12             Handicap
1. SarahBurren            10:56    8
2. Caitlin Campbell       11:10    9
3. Ashley Albert          11:43    2
4. Carly Bertrand         11:55    6
5. Rebecca Campbell       12:17    4
6. Stephanie George       12:36    10
7. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 12:58    3
8. Beth Barbour           13:01    7
9. Bianca Attard          13:23    1
10.Stacey McLaren         13:59    5
           
1. Matthew Felton         10:51    3
2. Michael Green          11:54    1
3. Aaron Gardner          12:21    2
4. Lucas Taylor           12:52    4
5. AndrewHogan            13:16    5

The Under 9's are proving a very competitive age group and the times are coming down each week. Cody McNicol-Davidson was the fastest while Charlee Harrison and Ryan Dossetor took the handicap honours.
       
1 km Under 9                       Handicap
1. Sophia Antidormi        6:24    5
2. Georgia Bertrand        6:48    4
3. Amy Ventura             7:33    2
4. Annalise Harrison       7:34    6
5. Charlee Harrison        7:52    1
6. Emily McDonough         8:38    3
7. Kyla Green              9:09    7
           
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson   6:06    3
2. Reese Walmsley          6:09    4
3. Ryan Dossetor           6:36    1
4. Ben Green               7:01    2

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 26 MAY 2007

The weather was kind to us once again and we saw large fields at Albert Park. Our longest event on offer was the 8 km where Paul Kennedy was quick out of the blocks and off to a handy lead. He was soon roped in by Daniel Payne who then broke away himself and the stage looked set for an interesting second half. When Daniel retired, Paul was left to take the honours in comfortable fashion as did Natalie Laurie in the women's section. Pam Tindal and Robin Wood took handicap honours with very good walks. Pam also got lots of points in the Style award competition to complete a great day.
                   
8 km Open                          Handicap
1. Natalie Laurie         42:54    2
2. Heather Carr           43:31    E4
3. Pam Tindal             44:39    1
4. Alison Thompson        48:09    E4
5. Janet Holmes           49:09    6
6. Gwen Steed             50:28    3
7. Celia Johnson          53:58    7
8. Margaret Beaumont      61:20    8
           
1. Paul Kennedy           41:19    3
2. Ralph Bennett          45:13    2
3. Alan Lucas             46:16    4
4. Robin Wood             52:19    1
   Bruce Conboy           Ab   
   Daniel Payne           Ab   
   Ian Beaumont           Disq   
   Gordon Onley           Disq

The Open 4 km events also saw some fast walking. Sandra Geisler sizzled in her first race for a few weeks while Liz Feldman did a great PB to take second. Not to be outdone, Kiersten Coulter, Maryanne Harrison and Donna Elms also did PBs. Performances were just as good in the men's section with John Bunker, Russ Dickenson, Bernie Keirl and Graeme Davis all impressing.

4km Open                           Handicap       
1. Sandra Geisler         21:04    10
2. Liz Feldman            22:40    1
3. Tamara Attard          24:44    9
4. Danielle Davis         25:40    7
5. Gayle McIntyre         25:52    11
6. Lana Boddy             27:32    8
7. Donna Elms             27:58    5
8. Kiersten Coulter       28:27    2
9. Harlene Hercules       29:18    6
10.Maryanne Harrison      29:20    4
11.Danielle Amore         34:46   
12.Pam Mews               35:08    3
           
1. JohnBunker             21:16    3
2. Russ Dickenson         21:25    4
3. Bernie Keirl           21:45    2
4. Graeme Davis           22:54    1
5. Geoff Barrow           25:03    6
6. Adam Patterson         26:46    7
7. Barry Wicks            27:18    5
   Jason Elms             Disq   
   Lindsay Harrison       Disq   

The standout performance in the Under 15 section was by Hilary Brazel whose 22:12 must have been a big PB. Regan Lamble had a relaxed stroll with Amy Callaway back in the field while Caitlin Campbell and Anika Peachey both also did good PBs.
           
4 km Under 15                      Handicap
1. Hilary Brazel          22:12    1
2. Caitlin Campbell       22:56    2
3. Emily Payne            23:51    4
4. Amy  Callaway          24:43    6
5. Regan Lamble           24:45    9
6. Madeleine Graham       26:41    8
7. Anika Peachey          26:53    3
8. Adrianna Crea          27:17    5
9. Carly Bertrand         28:14    7
   Cassandra Raselli      Ab   
   Beth Alexander         Ab   
           
1. Filip Cosic            22:09    3
2. Jacob Wright           23:18    2
3. Damien Elms            30:26    1   

The Under 12s and Under 9s upped their distances this week to race 2.5km and 1.5km respectively. In the Under 12 division, Amelia Finnegan shot to the lead but was overhauled eventually by Matthew Felton in a very interesting race. Further back, Michael Green and Aaron Gardner had a great battle throughout the event with Michael taking out the final sprint. Billy Allamby, Reece Walmsley and Sophia Antidormi all did very fast 1.5km times in the Under 9 event while Amy Ventura and Ben Green took out the handicaps.

2.5 km Under 12                    Handicap       
1. Amelia Finnegan        13:30    2
2. Rebecca Campbell       15:48    4
3. Beth Barbour           16:40    3
4. Bianca Attard          17:32    1
           
1. Matthew Felton         13:15    3
2. Michael Green          14:46    1
3. Aaron Gardner          14:49    2
4. Lucas Taylor           16:38    4

1.5 km Under 9           
1. Sophia Antidormi       10:13    4
2. Georgia Bertrand       11:25    5
3. Paige De Lisen         11:29    2
4. Amy Ventura            11:33    1
5. Annalise Harrison      11:33    3
6. Charlee Harrison       19:50    6
   Kyla Green             DNS   
           
1. Billy Allamby          08:50    3
2. Reese Walmsley         09:13    2
3. Ben Green              11:00    1

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 20 MAY 2007

Sunday saw the first of our championship days at Albert Park and a total of 89 walkers competed in just about perfect conditions.

The first event to get underway was the Open Men's 35 km championship for the Ray Smith trophy and Tom Barnes made it back to back victories after a spirited battle with Andrew Jamieson. Tom eventually broke away near the 20 km mark, passed the 30 km mark in 2:26:52 and powered home in a PB time of 2:51:48. Andrew powered through the 30 km mark in a new Masters M60 World Record of 2:30:57 and then took it easy over the last bit of the race to finish with 3:02:32.

Not to be outdone, Megan Szirom walked fantastically to win the 15 km Elsie Jacobson Trophy. Her time of 1:12:47 was only 1 second slower than her time in Geelong 3 weeks ago but on this occasion it was only part of the job done and she continued on to win the 20 km walk in 1:37:48, a time that ranks her 4th in the 2007 Australian ranking list.

35km Open Men Club Championship – Ray Smith Trophy   
1. Tom Barnes             2:51:48
2. Andrew Jamieson        3:02:32

Open 20km       
1. Megan Szirom           1:37:58       
2. Simon Evans            1:47:24
3. Tony Johnson           1:59:28
4. David Smyth            2:02:58
5. Rudolf Skrucany        2:29:40
6. Duncan Knox            AB
7. Mark Donahoo           AB

15km  Open Women Club Championship – Elsie Jacobson Trophy   
1. Megan Szirom           1:12:47
2. Yolanda Russell        1:22:12
3. Heather Carr           1:23:40
4. Liz Feldman            1:32:38
5. Gayle McIntyre         1:34:13
6. Alison Thompson        1:35:52
7. Carmel Drennan         1:42:55

Our juniors had to contend with longer distances than normal but they handled it well, with Lauren Drennan and Shaun Burgess taking the top honours in the Under 20 15 km championships. In the last of the longer events, over 10 km, young Rhydian Cowley blitzed the field with a huge 48:17 in his first effort over the distance. Just turning 16, Rhydian continues to improve with every race.

15km  Under 20 Club Championship       
1. Lauren Drennan         1:27:19
2. Caitlin Brunton        1:28:35
3. Tamara Attard          1:30:53

1. Shaun Burgess          1:23:00

10km Open       
1. Pam Tindal             57:10
   Celia Johnson          DQ

1. Rhydian Cowley         48:17
2. Stuart Kollmorgan      49:51
3. Russ Dickenson         56:30
4. Ralph Bennett          56:48
5. Alan Lucas             57:42
6. Murray Dickinson       59:02
7. Simon Baker            1:01:04
8. Aaron McDonough        61:12
9. Graeme Davis           65:15
10.Robin Wood             66:26

Our Under 16 walkers contested a 5 km championship alongside their senior counterparts and Regan Lamble and Natalie Laurie had their usual close contest, with Regan taking the honours on this occasion. Filip Cosic, in his first season of walking, won the boys championship with his first ever 5 km walk.

5km Under 16 Club Championship       
1. Regan Lamble           25:06
2. Natalie Laurie         25:25
3. Rachel Tallent         28:00
4. Emily Payne            28:59
5. Jacinta Felton         32:09
6. Danielle Davis         32:40
7. Lana Boddy             34:06
8. Anika Peachey          34:25
9. Mykalah Gage           34:49
   Taylah Watt            DNF

1. Filip Cosic            28:39
   Damien Elms            DQ

5km Open       
1. Gwen Steed             29:59
2. Janet Holmes           32:04
3. Donna Elms             35:02
4. Kiersten Coulter       35:59
5. Harlene Hercules       36:09
6. Christine Griffiths    43:11
   Theodora McKenzie      DQ

1. Jason Elms             34:14
   Lindsay Harrison       DQ

5km Fitness Walk
   Gordon Onley           33:27

Our Under 14 walkers raced over 3 km while our Under 12 walkers had the rare chance to race over 1 km, alongside the Under 9's. The fields were large and the races were keenly contested. Beth Alexander, Robert Walsh, Sarah Burren, Matthew Felton, Cindy Collins and Billy Allamby won their respective events.
   
3km  Under 14 Club Championship       
1. Beth Alexander         15:41
2. Ayla Collins           15:51
3. Nicole Hallett         16:03
4. Amelia Finnegan        16:09
5. Caitlin Campbell       16:25
6. Ebony Tallent          16:53
7. Hilary Brazel          16:55
8. Erin Brunton           17:04
9. Amy Callaway           17:25
10.Ella Mason             18:44
11.Carly Bertrand         19:48
   Hannah Irvine          DNF

1. Robert Walsh           15:55
2. Bradley Simpson        16:40
3. Jacob Wright           16:58

Under 12  1km Club Championship       
1. Sarah Burren           05:11
2. Talie Collins          05:17
3. Carly Bertrand         05:19
4. Stephanie George       05:19
5. Rebecca Campbell       05:52
6. Beth Barbour           06:06
7. Stacey McLaren         06:12
8. Briggette Brockenshire 06:16
9. Amber Duncan           06:32

1. Matthew Felton         05:03
2. Michael Green          05:41
3. Aaron Gardner          05:43
4. Lucas Taylor           05:51

Under 9  1km Club Championship       
1. Cindy Collins          05:50
2. Sophia Antidormi       06:05
3. Georgia Bertrand       06:32
4. Charlee Harrison       08:03
5. Christina Collins      08:14
6. Emily McDonough        08:32

1. Billy Allamby          05:19
2. Ryan Dossetor          07:01
3. Ben Green              07:19

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 12 MAY 2007

Last Saturday was a perfect day for racing and over 80 walkers made the most of the conditions with some fine racing.  The longest event on offer was the 10 km and Yolanda Russell and Nicholas Mirarchi walked superbly to win the handicaps and easily better their expected times. In particular, 15 year old Nicholas took nearly 3 minutes off his best time and his final 2 km lap was under 10 mins. But spare a thought for club coach and handicapper Mark Donahoo who rushed to the start line after entering all the race numbers into the computer and then had to stop twice during the early part of the race to fulfil the role of first aid officer. Who said life was meant to be easy!

10km Open                          Handicap        
1. Yolanda Russell        53:08    1
2. Heather Carr           54:37    4
3. Pam Tindal             56:35    2
4. Alison Thompson        59:05    3

1. Mark Donahoo           49:54    6
2. Nicholas Mirarchi      51:38    1
3. Ross Reid              54:30    8
4. Russ Dickenson         55:33    5
5. Ralph Bennett          56:08    2
6. Tony Johnson           57:43    3
7. Graeme Davis           59:30    4
8. Robin Wood             66:37    7
   Murray Dickinson       Ab   

The 5 km and 3 km events were also big affairs and you have to hand it to the lapscorers and timekeepers who somehow manage to keep tabs on everyone and get their finish times as they cross the line at the end of their respective events. Stuart Kollmorgen and Rhydian Cowley had a great battle in the Open Men's 5 km and  in the Open Women's 5 km, 14 year old Ayla Collins and 12 year old Nicole Hallett upped their distances and walked great races to finish second and third behind winner Tamara Attard.

5km Open                           Handicap
1. Tamara Attard          27:40    5
2. Ayla Collins           28:26    1
3. Nicole Hallett         28:33    4
4. Liz Feldman            28:37    8
5. Gayle McIntyre         29:14    4
6. Janet Holmes           29:46    3
7. Gwen Steed             30:19    7
8. Carmel Drennan         30:45    10
9. Natalie Laurie         31:23    11
10.Celia Johnson          32:23    9
11.Donna Elms             35:18    2
   Beth Alexander         Ab   
   Harlene Hercules       Ab   

1. Stuart Kollmorgan      23:20   
2. Rhydian Cowley         23:26    1
3. John Bunker            27:06    5
4. Bernie Keirl           27:28    2
5. Simon Baker            27:40   
6. Geoff Barrow           31:09    4
7. John Morrison          32:13    6
8. Barry Wicks            34:01    3           
   Bob Gardiner           Ab   
   Gordon Onley           Disq   

3km  Open                          Handicap   
1. Theodora McKenzie      21:07   
2. Kiersten Coulter       21:33    2
3. Maryanne Harrison      22:12    5
4. Natalie King           22:27    1
5. Christine Griffiths    24:52    4
6. Pam Mews               26:10    3

   Jason Elms             Disq   
   Lindsay Harrison       Disq   

3km  Under 15                      Handicap       
1. Amelia Finnegan        16:17    3
2. Hilary Brazel          16:26    4
3. Amy Burren             16:57    5
4. Amy Callaway           17:33    1
5. Jacinta Felton         18:27   
6. Madeleine Graham       18:32    6
7. Anika Peachey          19:43    2
8. Adrianna Crea          19:54    7
9. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 20:56   
10.Cassandra Raselli      Ab   

1. Filip Cosic            16:24    5
2. Jacob Wright           16:29    2
3. Ryan Antidormi         16:51    1
4. Chris Brunton          17:16    3
5. Damien Elms            22:56    4

The Under 12 and Under 9 walkers walked on a 1 km loop and it all seemed to go well. Fast times were everywhere and the racing was fiercely contested.
                                   
Under 12  2km                      Handicap          
1. Sarah Burren           10:57    2
2. Talie Collins          11:38    8
3. Stephanie George       12:08    4
4. Carly Bertrand         12:15    7
5. Ali Brunton            12:44    9
6. Stacey McLaren         12:56    1
7. Beth Barbour           12:58    5
8. Bianca Attard          13:45    3
9. Amber Duncan           14:25    6

1. Matthew Felton         10:52    4
2. Aaron Gardner          12:04    1
3. Lucas Taylor           12:24    3
4. Cody McNicol-Davidson  13:33    2
   Michael Green          Disq   
           
Under 9  1km                       Handicap        
1. Cindy Collins           6:04    2
2. Sophia Antidormi        6:29    3
3. Georgia Bertrand        6:47    1
4. Annalise Harrison       7:37    4
5. Charlee Harrison        8:26    5
6. Christina Collins       9:01    7
7. Kyla Green              9:06    6

1. Reese Walmsley          5:53    2
2. Billy Allamby           5:57   
3. Bryce Brockenshire      6:35    1
4. Ryan Dossetor           6:41    3
5. Ben Green               8:02    4

VICTORIAN COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS, GEELONG. SUNDAY 6 MAY 2007

The Victorian Country championships were held on Sunday 6 May alongside the Barwon River in Geelong. The 2 km out and back course tested competitors due to a stiff breeze but at least the sun was out and the day was otherwise fine. The Victorian Open 15 km championships were also held, as were Racewalking Victoria Under 10 and Under 12 championships. The 47 walkers in attendance made a grand total of 110 walkers in action for the weekend in Victoria. Now that's depth! From a personal viewpoint, the highlight of the meet was the great performance of 71 year old Eaglehawk walker Geoff Major who completed the 15 km Open Championship to help team mates Duane Cousins and Kyle Bryant win the AV Teams Race. I first raced against Geoff in 1969 when I was briefly stationed in Bendigo as a young bloke and I thought he was old then! Well done Geoff.

Victorian Open 15 km Championship for Men
1. Duane Cousins           EAG      66:30
2. Tom Barnes              MUU      68:22
3. Frank Bertei            ANW      71:31
4. Andrew Jamieson         OSC      77:48
5. Stuart Kollmorgen       COL      78:09
6. Kyle Bryant             EAG      79:03
7. Simon Evans             BOH      81:26
8. Ross Reid               COL      83:27
9. Duncan Knox             ATE      86:02
10.Geoff Major             EAG     105:16

Teams Race    1    EAG    (Duane Cousins, Kyle Bryant, Geoff Major)

Victorian Country Open 10 km Championship for Men
1. Duane Cousins           EAG      44:00
2. Kyle Bryant             EAG      50:42
3. Robin Wood              GLG      67:57
4. Geoff Major             EAG      70:06

Victorian Country U20 5 km Championship for Men
1. Shaun Burgess           CHI      26:44

Victorian Country U18 5 km Championship for Boys
1. Daniel Payne            COR      24:47
2. Nicholas Mirarchi       COR      24:59

Victorian Country U16 3 km Championship for Boys
1. Adrian Coad             SBE      17:06

Victorian Country U14 3 km Championship for Boys
1. Michael Green           CBE      20:23

Racewalking Victoria U12 2 km Championship for Boys
1. Daniel Blair            Bendigo  13:20

Racewalking Victoria U10 1km Championship for Boys
1. Dane Heiden             Ballarat  5:45
2. Jarrod Coad             Bendigo   6:17
3. Bryce Brockenshire      Geelong   6:38
4. Ben Green               VRWC      7:18

Victorian Open 15 km Championship for Women
1. Megan Szirom            RWD      72:46
2. Yolanda Russell         GLG      84:05
3. Heather Carr            EAG      85:05
4. Barbara Bryant          EAG      92:22
5. Annette Major           EAG      95:56
6. Carmel Drennan          KSB     102:54

Victorian Country Open 10 km Championship for Women
1. Jess Rothwell           SBE      51:47
2. Yolanda Russell         GLG      54:39
3. Tyne Boddy              COR      58:59
4. Barbara Bryant          EAG      59:12
5. Annette Major           EAG      61:44

Victorian Country U20 5 km Championship for Women
1. Caitlin Brunton         COR      27:18

Victorian Country U18 5 km Championship for Girls
1. Jessie Palfreyman       EAG      29:16
2. Mykaela Gage            COR      35:39
3. Lana Boddy              COR      35:58

Victorian Country U16 3 km Championship for Girls
1. Rachel Tallent          BYC      15:41
2. Emily Payne             COR      16:44
3. Erin Brunton            COR      17:19
4. Danielle Davis          COR      17:40
5. Keely Trew              SBE      18:45
   Beth Alexander          KNA      16:01 (Invit)

Victorian Country U14 3 km Championship for Girls
1. Ebony Whiley            EAG      16:31
2. Ebony Tallent           BYC      17:00

Racewalking Victoria U12 2 km Championship for Girls
1. Caitlin Campbell        VRWC     13:20
2. Briggette Brockenshire  Geelong  13:30
3. Madison Jones           Bendigo  13:58
4. Shea Ohlsen             Ballarat 14:04
5. Amber Duncan            Geelong  14:15

Racewalking Victoria U10 1 km Championship for Girls
1. Rebecca Campbell        VRWC      5:46

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 5 MAY 2007

We thought it would be a quiet day at Albert Park with various championships on at Geelong the next day but we still had 63 walkers competing in ideal conditions. We had our new tent in use at the start/finish line and used a new course for our Under 12 and U10 walkers. We walked the course first with them and all successfully found their way around!

8km Open                           Handicap   
1. Regan Lamble           44:01    4
2. Pam Tindal             45:36    3
3. Liz Feldman            47:34    2
4. Alison Thompson        48:39    5
5. Gayle McIntyre         49:20    1
6. Tamara Attard          Ab
   
1. Paul Kennedy           40:51    1
2. Mark Donahoo           44:08    7
3. Russ Dickenson         44:11    4
4. Ralph Bennett          45:02    3
5. Alan Lucas             46:34    6
6. Murray Dickinson       46:48    2
7. Graeme Davis           47:57    5

4km Open                           Handicap   
1. Lauren Drennan         20:37    7
2. Heather Carr           21:22    8
3. Janet Holmes           23:55    1
4. Gwen Steed             24:17    5
5. Donna  Elms            28:29    4
6. Harlene Hercules       28:37    3
7. Kiersten Coulter       29:26    1
8. Maryanne Harrison      30:48    9
9. Christine Griffiths    33:54    6

1. Bernie Keirl           21:57    2
2. Aaron McDonough        23:52   
3. Jason Elms             24:16    1
4. Geoff Barrow           24:52    4
5. John Morrison          26:02    5
6. Barry Wicks            27:05    3
7. Robin Wood             27:38    6
8. Gordon Onley           29:12   
   Lindsay Harrison       Disq   
           
4km  Under 15                      Handicap   
1. Hilary Brazel          23:46   
2. Amelia Finnegan        24:04   
3. Jacinta Felton         26:28   
4. Ella Mason             26:33   
5. Adrianna Crea          27:39   
6. Anika Peachey          28:13   
7. Taylor Brogan          28:15   
   Madeleine Graham       Ab   
   Taylah Watt            Ab   

1. Robert Walsh           23:25    3
2. Jacob Wright           24:49    2
3. Damien Elms            31:14    1
   Matthew Felton         Ab.   
   
2km  Under 12                      Handicap   
1. Stephanie George       12:38    3
2. Carly Bertrand         12:48    6
3. Beth Barbour           13:03    1
4. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 14:07    7
5. Stacey McLaren         14:39    4
6. Bianca Attard          14:40    2
7. Annalise Harrison      16:06    5

1. Ryan Antidormi         11:24    2
2. Aaron Garner           12:45    1
3. Lucas Taylor           13:03    3
4. Andrew Hogan           14:37    4

1km  Under 9                       Handicap   
1. Sophia Antidormi       06:38    4
2. Georgia Bertrand       07:23    5
3. Paige De Lisen         07:23    1
4. Amy Ventura            07:57    2
5. Charlee Harrison       08:07    3

1. Reese Walmsley         06:12    1
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson  06:42    2
3. Ryan Dossetor          08:57    3

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 28 APRIL 2007

Last Saturday we saw another bumper crowd (77 in all) racing at Albert Park even though we were without a lot of our Geelong based walkers and without a number of regulars who were running in the Athletics Victoria cross county relays. I think a full crowd this year is going to see us top the 100 mark. Club coach Mark Donahoo ran a coaching clinic before the races and it was well attended. Thanks Mark. Then at the start line, we presented the Duncan Knox and Wendy Muldoon trophies to our leading Summer Season walkers, Chris Erickson and Megan Szirom.  After that, it was on with the races.

A small group of enthusiasts chose to test themselves out over the longest distance of the day – 12 km. Tom Barnes sped over 10 km in a very fast 45:30 before retiring, leaving 15 year old Nicholas Mirarchi to take fastest with a good 65:16. Similarly, Megan Szirom did a very quick 6 km before retiring, leaving Yolanda Russell to take line honours.

VRWC 12 km Handicap Open           Hcp Place
1  Yolanda Russell        66:02    2
2  Heather Carr           67:09    3
3  Gayle McIntyre         76:49    1
   Megan Szirom           Ab (6km 28.16)

1  Nicholas Mirarchi      65:16    2
2  Graeme Davis           75:57    3
3  Robin Wood             80:28    1
   Tom Barnes             Ab (10km 45.30)

Our biggest fields were in the 6 km and 4 km distances and juniors, seniors and masters walkers battled side in both events. We have extended the points awards to now include the shortest open distance each week and therefore this week's 4 km Open event also accumulated Handicap and Fastest Times points.

VRWC 6 km Handicap Open            Hcp Place
1  Regan Lamble           31:23    6
2  Tamara Attard          33:43    2
3  Natalie Laurie         34:35    11
4  Eda Girgin             34:46    7
5  Liz Feldman            34:47    6
6  Alison Thompson        35:34    10
7  Ayla Collins           36:09    8
8  Janet Holmes           36:43    5
9  Gwen Steed             37:26    4
10 Celia Johnson          40:13    9
11 Donna Elms             44:19    1
12 Harlene Hercules       44:59    3
13 Margaret Beaumont      45:33    7
   Sandra Geisler         Ab   

1  Russ Dickenson         32:18    3
2  Ralph Bennett          33:08    1
3  John Bunker            33:29    6
4  Bernie Keirl           33:49   
5  Alan Lucas             34:18    5
6  Murray Dickinson       34:36    4
7  Tony Johnson           35:13   
8  Bruce Conboy           42:08    2
   Ian Beaumont           Disq   
   Jason Elms             Disq   

VRWC 4 km Handicap Open            Hcp Place
1  Kiersten Coulter       29:42    2
2  Natalie King           32:19   
3  Christine Griffiths    34:00    1
   Maryanne Harrison      Ab   

1  John Morrison          25:04    2
2  Barry Wicks            26:56    1
   Gordon Onley           Disq   
   Lindsay Harrison       Disq   
           
VRWC 4 km Handicap Under 15        Hcp Place
1  Beth Alexander         21:54    3
2  Taylah Watt            22:27    2
3  Nicole Hallett         23:36    5
4  Hilary Brazel          24:47    6
5  Madelene Graham        25:22   
6  Amy Callaway           25:32    1
7  Adrianna Crea          28:34    7
8  Anika Peachey          28:42    4

1  Filip Cosic            21:59    3
2  Robert Walsh           22:09    1
3  Damien Elms            30:52    2

Once again, big fields contested the Under 12 and Under 9 events and the walkers had to attack longer distances this week. Next week we will be back to shorter races and hopefully a new course.

VRWC 2.5 km Handicap Under 12      Hcp Place
1  Amelia Finnegan        14:04    2
2  Caitlin Campbell       15:00    3
3  Stephanie George       15:43   
4  Carly Bertrand         16:02    1
5  Briggette Brockenshire 17:41    4
6  Bianca Attard          18:40    5
7  Stacey McLaren         19:26    6
   Rebecca Campbell       Ab   

1  Lucas Taylor           15:32   
2  Michael Green          15:41    2
3  Aaron Gardner          15:44    1
4  Mitchell Green         20:56    3

VRWC 1.5 km Under 9 Handicap       Hcp Place
1  Cindy Collins (adj.)    9:40    3
2  Sophia Antidormi        9:41   
3  Amber Duncan           10:31    4
4  Georgia Bertrand       10:59    1
5  Paige De Lisen         11:55    8
6  Annaliese Harrison     11:56    5
7  Amy Ventura            12:35    7
8  Charlee Harrison       12:40    6
9  Christine Collins      12:51    2
10 Kyla Green             13:30   

1  Cody McNicol-Davidson   9:36    2
2  Reese Walmsley         11:10    1
3  Ben Green              12:58    3
4  Bryce Brockenshire     13:35   

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 21 APRIL 2007

Our first day at Albert Park was one which will be remembered for some time. 88 walkers turned up to compete, a record for a club day and a number which is usually only seen on major championship or carnival days. This, combined with large numbers renewing or taking out inaugural club memberships, meant long lines at the tables. On top of that, the Geelong walkers were caught in traffic on the West Gate Freeway and arrived at the last minute. And it was raining! It was little wonder that the club creaked under the strain.

This week we will be putting some changes into place to ensure that the races get underway at the published times of 2:15PM and 2:30PM so bear with us while we tweak our processes. We will also be sourcing an additional large canopy to put near the start finish line for rainy days like last week.

Today was the first point scoring day in our Fastest Times and Handicap Competitions so Handicap placings are also shown where appropriate. To be awarded Handicap points, you must have a prior race result that club handicapper Mark Donahoo can check against. That is why some people have not scored any handicap points this week. We had 6 judges in attendance to ensure that the racing was fair for everyone. Thanks to Ray Smith and Stuart Cooper for the various photos reproduced here.

Anyway, with that out of the way, it was a huge day of racing with some great performances. The longest event on offer was the 10 km and Stuart Kollmorgen and Megan Szirom had a great battle out front, Stuart finishing in a PB time of 48:01, just ahead of Megan with 48:06. Nicholas Mirarchi also came off a good break to record an excellent 53:42.

VRWC Open 10 km Women              Hcp Place
1. Megan Szirom           48:06    2
2. Yolanda Russell        54:08    
3. Pam Tindal             57:58   
4. Liz Feldman            59:59    
5. Gayle McIntyre         64:06    1

VRWC Open 10 km Men
1. Stuart Kollmorgan      48:01    2
2. Nicholas Mirarchi      53:42    1
3. Russ Dickenson         55:19    3
4. Duncan Knox            57:24    7
5. Alan Lucas             57:55    6
6. Graeme Davis           58:09   
7. Tony Johnson           59:37    5
8. Murray Dickinson       61:12    8
9. Robin Wood             67:50    4

The 5 km events were the most popular and Daniel Payne, Shaun Burgess and Regan Lamble showed the flag for our juniors, taking the 3 fastest times. Of course, the handicap placings give their own perspective on who walked best relative to the handicapper's expectations and top points went to Donna Elms and Shaun Burgess.

VRWC Open 5 km Women               Hcp Place
1. Regan Lamble           25:20    6
2. Heather Carr           26:16    8
3. Natalie Laurie         26:31    10
4. Caitlin Brunton        26:42    3
5. Tamara Attard          27:24    4
6. Alya Collins           28:19    2
7. Janet Holmes           29:59    7
8. Emily Payne            30:07    5
9. Gwen Steed             31:03    8
10.Donna Elms             36:41    1
11.Mykaela Gage           36:47   
12.Harlene Hercules       36:50    14
13.Margaret Beaumont      37:42    11
14.Kiersten Coulter       39:16    13
15.Christine Griffiths    45:04    12

VRWC Open 5 km Men
1. Daniel Payne           24:53    5
2. Shaun Burgess          26:07    4
3. Ralph Bennett          27:32    3
4. Adam Patterson         31:00    6
5. Jason Elms             32:23    1
6. Geoff Barrow           32:29    7
7. Bruce Conboy           35:14    2
   Clyde Riddoch          Ab       
   Ian Beaumont           Disq       
   Gordon Onley           Disq   
   
The 3 km events also saw good fields with a few seniors and lots of Under 15 walkers in action. With a lot of the young walkers under 17 minutes, the standard was indeed high.

VRWC Open 3 km                     Hcp Place  
1. Maryanne Harrison      22:32    1
2. Natalie King           23:30    2
3. Lindsay Harrison       21:38    3

VWRC Unjudged 3 Km
Damien Elms               23:40    1  

VRWC Under 15 3 km Girls           Hcp Place
1. Beth Alexander         16:00    6
2. Taylah Watt            16:36    3
3. Jacinta Felton         16:36   
4. Hilary Brazel          16:49    2
5. Amelia Finnegan        16:52    4
6. Nicole Hallett         17:16    7
7. Erin Brunton           17:30    1
8. Danielle Davis         17:53
9. Talie Collins          18:16    5
10.Anika Peachey          20:45   

VRWC Under 15 3 km Boys
1. Robert Walsh           16:09    1
2. Filip Cosic            16:43   
3. Matthew Felton         16:49   
4. Aaron Fiddes           16:59   
5. Jacob Wright           17:33    2
6. Ryan Antidormi         18:27    3

And finally to our Under 12 and Under 9 divisions. These are the biggest fields we have seen in these age groups for a long time, especially in the Under 9 area. Georgia and Carly Bertrand won the handicaps in the girls' divisions and look to be benefiting from a very active summer season of racing. Nearly all the boys were new to the club so it will be interesting to see how their times develop over the season.

VRWC Under 12 2 km Girls           Hcp Place
1. Carly Bertrand         12:30    1
2. Ashley Albert          12:53    4
3. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 13:27    7
4. Beth Barbour           13:45    3
5. Stacey McLaren         14:30    2
6. Bianca Attard          15:10    6
7. Annaliese Harrison     16:14    5

VRWC Under 12 2 km Boys
1. Andrew Hogan           11:51     
2. Michael Green          12:41   
3. Aaron Gardner          12:42   
4. Mitchell Green         15:10   

VRWC Under 9 1 km GirlS            
1. Cindy Collins           6:06    2
2. Sophia Antidormi        6:15   
3. Georgia Bertrand        6:50    1
4. Amber Duncan            7:09    3
5. Paige De Lisen          7:18   
6. Charlee Harrison        7:29   
7. Amy Ventura             7:58   
8. Amber Delosa            8:36   

VRWC Under 9 1 km Boys
1. Cody McNicol-Davidson   6:13    1
2. Reese Walmsley          6:17   
3. Ben Green               7:53   
4. Corey Fiddes            7:56   

VRWC EVENTS, EAST BURWOOD ATHLETICS TRACK, SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2007

Our first winter season day saw us join with the Victorian Masters Association for a series of track walks at the East Burwood Athletics Track. It was a big day with 60 competitors racing in pretty well perfect conditions. The first events on the program were the VMA 5000m championship for women followed by the VMA 5000m championship for men. Numbers were slightly down as some competitors had already left for Hobart where the Australian Masters championships are to be held next weekend. Heather Carr and Mark Donahoo were fastest but performances are ranked relative to age and the standard was indeed high.

VMA 5000m Championship for Women
W35 1  Harlene Hercules    37:36
W40 1  Gayle McIntyre      30:11
W50 1  Alison Thompson     27:45
    2  Janet Holmes        30:25
W55 1  Heather Carr        26:18
    2  Liz Feldman         28:21
    3  Marlene Gourlay     29:24
    4  Celia Johnson       32:22
    5  Christine Griffiths 45:55
W60 1  Gwen Steed          30:22
W65 1  Bev Hugo            38:11

VMA 5000m Championship for Men
M30 1  Adam Patterson      30:25
M45 1  Mark Donahoo        24:32
       Simon Evans         24:45 (no uniform)
M50 1  Ross Reid           24:42
    2  Clyde Riddoch       28:40
    3  Rudolf Skrucany     32:44
M55 1  Alan Lucas          27:47
    2  Frank Prowse        28:45
    3  Robin Wood          32:14
       Graeme Davis        DQ
       Geoff Barrow        DQ
M60 1  Russ Dickenson      25:48
    2  Ron Bilston         32:05
    3  John Hallo          33:28
       Andrew Jamieson     DQ
M65 1  Ralph Bennett       27:23
    2  Terry Dunn          31:57
    3  Barry Wicks         34:14
M70 1  Bob Gardiner        29:43
M80    Syd Elks            DQ

We put on our own races after the VMA championships and we were very surprised to see all the young walkers who turned up and competed. This is a great sign for the winter season and we can expect to see lots more of the same over the next few months leading up to the major championships.

VRWC Open 5000m Walk
1. Regan Lamble            26:35
2. Natalie Laurie          28:05
3. Robin Wood              33:06
4. Rudolf Skrucany         34:58
   Tamara Attard           DNF
   Kylie Irshad            DNF

VRWC Open 3000m Walk
   Gordon Onley            DQ

VRWC Under 15 3000m Walk
1. Beth Alexander          16:17
2. Taylah Watt             16:39
3. Bradley Simpson         16:51
4. Nicole Hallett          17:02
5. Hilary Brazel           17:34
6. Ayla Collins            17:49
7. Chris Brunton           17:37
8. Jacob Wright            18:10
9. Brooke Simpson          18:43
10.Talie Collins           19:22
11.Taylor Brogan           19:53
12.Amy Callaway            21:41
   Madeleine Graham        DNF

VRWC Under 12 1500m Walk
1. Amelia Finnegan          7:45
2. Aaron Fiddes             8:06
3. Ryan Antidormi           8:09
4. Ali Brunton              9:12
5. Cindy Collins            9:37
6. Bethanie Barbour         9:53
7. Bianca Attard           10:29

VRWC Under 9 1100m Walk
1. Sophie Antidormi         6:55
2. Christina Collins        9:24