The Victorian Race Walking Club

VRWC RACES, SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2008

Our last winter season races were held last Saturday with nearly 50 walkers making the most of one last opportunity for a roadwalk. We had advertised that there would be prizes for the walkers who beat their season's PB by the biggest margin in each race division so the competition was keen. Race results are listed in that order rather than in fastest time order. Our prize winners were Terry O'Neill, Heather Carr, Robin Wood, Anna Wallace, Jason Elms, Jade Sanders, Matthew Felton, Amy Ventura, Kyle Swan and Alannah Gloury.

VRWC Open 10 km         Time     Season Best Difference   
1. Terry O'Neill        58:29    58:13       +0:16
2. Clarrie Jack         58:57    N/A    -
3. Bob Gardiner         DNF (6 km in 38:19)  
4. Russ Dickenson       DNF (8 km in 46:44)  

VRWC Open 5 km
1. Heather Carr         27:13    26:51       +0:22
2. Celia Johnson        34:26    33:49       +0:37
3. Liz Feldman          29:27    28:39       +0:48
4. Gwen Steed           30:44    29:17       +1:27
5. Natalie Laurie       27:05    25:21       +1:44
6. Kirstin Shaw         28:25    26:24       +2:01
7. Janet Holmes         32:09    39:07       +3:02
8. Christine Griffiths  54:01    49:03       +4:58
9. Rebecca Campbell     32:28    N/A         -
10.Karyn O'Neill        36:12    N/A         -
   Ros Lenehan          DNF

1. Robin Wood           33:21    34:05       -0:44
2. Barrie Wicks         33:56    33:49       +0:07
3. Clyde Riddoch        26:37    26:12       +0:25
4. Ralph Bennett        27:23    26:22       +1:01
5. Alan Lucas           29:23    27:36       +1:47
   Geoff Barrow         DQ       30:54       -

VRWC Open 3 km
1. Anna Wallace         20:09    20:44       -0:39
2. Donna Elms           17:47    N/A         -

1. Jason Elms           17:44    17:07       +0:37
2. Damien Elms          19:50    19:09       +0:41
3. Aaron McDonough      19:10    N/A         -
4. John Morrison        21:14    N/A         -

VRWC under 15 3 km
1. Jade Sanders         17:45    18:33       -0:48
2. Lauren Gelov         19:05    19:49       -0:44
3. Annemaree Gerlich    19:06    18:45       +0:21
4. Caitlin Campbell     16:45    15:44       +1:01

1. Matthew Felton       15:17    15:32       -0:15
2. Ryan Antidormi       16:04    15:54       +0:10
3. Robert Walsh         16:22    15:05       +1:17

VRWC Under 12 2 km
1. Amy Ventura          12:06    12:11       -0:05
2. Beth Barbour         12:22    11:58       +0:24
3. Sophie Antidormi     12:57    12:29       +0:28
4. Carly Bertrand       11:53    11:20       +0:33
5. Stacey McLaren       12:50    12:16       +0:34
6. Bianca Attard        11:32    10:14       +1:18

1. Kyle Swan            10:57    11:10       -0:13
2. Connor McShanag      10:48    10:55       -0:07
3. Reese Walmsley       10:44    10:38       +0:06

VRWC Under 9 1 km
1. Alannah Gloury        6:30     6:34       -0:04
2. Charlee Harrison      6:45     6:40       +0:05
3. Paige DeLisen         5:31     5:21       +0:10
4. Georgia Bertrand      5:48     5:37       +0:11

VRWC RACES, SATURDAY 29 AUGUST 2008

Our second last winter season walking day was a low key affair with most walkers taking a well earned break after last weekend's championships. While we still had competitive fields, most opted for the shorter distances on offer. We tested out our 'Club Rules' and 4 walkers (those shown with the ** symbol) decided to take up the option. We will continue our trial next Saturday.

Nicholas Mirarchi was the only finisher in the 10 km distance while Natalie Laurie, Kirstin Shaw, Ralph Bennett and Hilary Brazel had a good tussle in the 6 km event with Natalie and Kirstin breaking away towards the end. Gwen Steed and Donna Elms had a good battle in the 4 km for women while Donna's son Jason took the honours ahead of his brother Damien in the men's 4 km.

10km  Open       
1. Nicholas Mirarchi       51:56
   Robin Wood **           DNF

6km  Open       
1. Natalie Laurie          33:07
2. Kirstin Shaw            33:11
3. Hilary Brazel           33:54
4. Gayle McIntyre          34:02
5. Anna Wallace            40:22
6. Celia Johnson **        40:24
       
1. Ralph Bennett           33:30
2. Russ Dickenson          34:45
3. Barrie Wicks            41:30
   
4km  Open       
1. Gwen Steed              24:30
2. Donna Elms              24:41
3. Janet Holmes            25:49
4. Margaret Beaumont       30:07
5. Christine Griffiths **  43:42
   Erin Taylor             Ab
   Caitlin Brunton         Ab
       
1. Jason Elms              23:09
2. Damien Elms             27:32
3. Ian Beaumont **         31:22

We saw small fields in our younger age groups but still had enough of a critical mass to ensure some good racing. Matthew Felton had plenty of speed with his 22:16 in the Under 15 4 km. Little separated Amy Ventura and Beth Barbour in the Under 12 3 km for girls as was the case with Reese Walmsley and Connor McShanag in the boys event. As usual, Paige DeLisen and Kyle Swan were our fastest Under 9 walkers but a special mention to Charlee Harrison and Sam Candotti for good efforts.

4km  Under 15       
1. Lauren Stadus           26:54
       
1. Matthew Felton          22:16
       
3km  Under 12       
1. Amy Ventura             19:25
2. Beth Barbour            19:26
3. Stacey McLaren          21:18
       
1. Reese Walmsley          17:21
2. Connor McShanag         17:30
3. Cody McNicol-Davidson   20:22
           
1.5km  Under 9       
1. Paige De Lisen          08:38
2. Charlee Harrison        10:20
       
1. Kyle Swan               08:28
2. Sam Candotti            10:17   

AUSTRALIAN ROADWALKING CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 24 AUGUST 2008

Even though our top walkers were still away at the Olympics, the Open 20km events were still high quality events with winners Tom Barnes and Cheryl Webb rising to the challenge and producing great times. Tom's winning time of 1:26:40 was a PB by over 1 minute and pushes him up the all time ranking lists. Ian Rayson was also in PB mood with his second place time of 1:29:27 seeing him break 90 minutes for the first time. In third place was the world's top Masters walker, Andrew Jamieson. His time of 1:35:38 broke his own M60 world record by 16 secs. In the women's 20 km event, Cheryl Webb's winning time of 1:34:58 was her best time since 2004 and shows that she is back on track and obviously chasing further international vests. Megan Szirom, although sick, toughed it out for second, also breaking 100 minutes with her time of 1:39:49. We had been expecting a great battle in the women's event with Jess Rothwell on the entry list but a niggly hamstring meant that she sat the race out. Add into the mix the great times being done by our Junior walkers and factor in our Olympic walkers and we are indeed looking good for the future.

And talking of juniors, the 10 km times were fantastic. In the Under 20 men's event, Daniel Coleman led all the way to win with 44:19 ahead of Brendon Reading  (46:31) and Daniel Payne (46:59) while in the Under 18 men's event, Dane Bird-Smith (45:00) and Sean Fitzsimons (45:10) had a great battle out front while Rhydian Cowley (48:50), busy with his Year 12 studies, had to take a back seat with his third place time of 48:50. In the women's Under 20 event, World Cup rep Nicole Fagan was the winner with 51:49 ahead of Samantha Tesch (52:38) and Natalie Laurie (53:51).
Further down the age groups, there were top times galore and the good thing from an Australian perspective was the spread of talent – just about all States and Territories had their own fair share of excellent walkers. Special mention to Caitlin Hosking of ACT (U12 Girls 2km 10:28), Amy Bettiol of NSW (U14 Girls 3km 14:39), Shannon Jennings of NSW (U16 Girls 5km 24:19), Steele Blake of SA (U16 Boys 5km 23:44) and Beth Alexander of VIC (U18 Girls 5 km 24:36) who were my picks.

VRWC dominated, as was expected. The combination of home ground advantage and sheer numbers meant that the club won 7 of the 13 perpetual Teams shields on offer and took the Brennen Shield (for the top RWA club) for the second year in a row. Congratulations on a local front to our winning VRWC teams:

Open Men 20 km   1  VRWC   Tom Barnes, Stuart Kollmorgen, Andrew Jamieson
U20 Men 10 km    1  VRWC   Daniel Payne, Shaun Burgess, Jason Elms
U12 Girls 2 km   1  VRWC   Jemima Montag, Jade Sanders, Rachael Guy
U12 Boys 2 km    1  VRWC   Reese Walmsley, Kyle Swan, Ben Green
U14 Boys 3 km    1  VRWC   Lucas Taylor, Harry Coleman, Aaron Gardner
U16 Girls 5 km   1  VRWC   Amy Burren, Rachel Tallent, Hilary Brazel
U16 Boys 5 km    1  VRWC   Brad Simpson, Lucas Clark, Matthew Felton

Phew....so much to digest. Now onto the results:

Event 1 & 2: Men Open & Masters 20k Race Walk - 9.00am
1. Barnes, Thomas          VRWC    42:52    1:26:40
2. Rayson, Ian             REGAL   43:41    1:29:27
3. Jamieson, Andrew        VRWC    47:45    1:35:38
5. Kollmorgen, Stuart      VRWC    50:46    1:45:31
6  Bennett, Ralph          VRWC    55:46    1:55:01
8. Reid, Ross              VRWC    55:47    1:57:26
9. McDonough, Aaron        VRWC             1:57:43

RWA Team Placings  1 VRWC 1 T. Barnes, S Kollmorgen, A Jamieson  16 pts
                   2 VRWC 2 R. Bennett, R. Reid, A. McDonough     6 pts

Event 3: Men Under 20 10k Race Walk - 9.00am
1. Coleman, Daniel         TRWC    44:19   
2. Reading, Brendon        ACTRWC  46:31   
3. Payne, Daniel           VRWC    46:59   
6. Burgess, Shaun          VRWC    55:31       
7. Elms, Jason             VRWC    62:49       

RWA Team Placings  1 VRWC  D. Payne, S. Burgess, J. Elms          7 pts

Event 4: Boys Under 18 10k Race Walk - 9.00am   
1. Bird-Smith, Dane        QRWC    45:00   
2. Fitzsimons, Sean        WARWC   45:10   
3. Cowley, Rhydian         VRWC    48:50       
6. Mirarchi, Nicholas      VRWC    50:23   
9. Cosic, Filip            VRWC    55:29   
11.Platt, Joshua           VRWC    58:04       
   Elms, Damien            VRWC    DQ   

RWA Team Placings  1 QRWC:  D. Bird-Smith, J. Hallam, B. Dewar   11 pts
                   2 VRWC:  R. Cowley, N. Mirarchi, F.Cosic      11 pts

Event 5: Women 20k Open Race Walk - 9.05am   
1.Webb, Cheryl             REGAL   47:19    1:34:58   
2.Szirom, Megan            VRWC    48:31    1:39:49   
3.Bannister, Lynette       VRWC    53:02    1:48:26   
  Roseman, Justijana       VRWC    -        DNF   
  Taylor, Erin             VRWC    56:22    DNF       

Event 6 & 7: Women 10k Open & Masters RWA Race Walk - 9.05am
1. Webb, Cheryl            REGAL   47:19   
2. Szirom, Megan           VRWC    48:31   
3. Hosking, Jillian        ACTRWC  48:45       
9. Bannister, Lynette      VRWC    53:02       
12.Irshad, Kylie           VRWC    53:31   
13.Carr, Heather           VRWC    54:29       
15.McIntyre, Gayle         VRWC    55:32   
16.Taylor     Erin         VRWC    56:22   
18.Adamcewicz, Erin        VRWC    57:49   
21.Elms, Donna             VRWC    64:59       
   Roseman, Justijana      VRWC    DNF           

RWA Masters Placings  1 Ventris, Lynette  WARWC   51:33   
                      2 Irshad, Kylie     VRWC    53:31   
                      3 Carr, Heather     VRWC    54:29   
   
RWA Team Placings  1  Regal 1: C. Webb, N. Saville, C. Jones      41 pts
                   2  VRWC1: M. Sziroim, L. Bannister, K. Irshad  30 pts
                   3  Regal 2: S. Knapton, V. Ebeyer, C. Ebeyer   20 pts
                   4  VRWC 2: H. Carr, G. McIntyre, E. Taylor     15 pts
                   5  SARWC: Y. Becker, T. Sinkinson, G. Holliday 15 pts

Event 8: Women Under 20 10k Race Walk - 9.05am
1. Fagan, Nicole           NSWRWC  51:49   
2. Tesch, Samantha         QLD     52:58   
3. Laurie, Natalie         VRWC    53:51   

RWA Team Placings  1  WARWC: K. Fitzsimmons, E. Clauson, K. Smith  7 pts

Event 9: Girls 2k Under 12 Race Walk RWA - 10.10am
1. Hosking, Caitlin        ACTRWC  10:28   
2. Boldiston, Zoe          BRWC    10:57   
3. Montag, Jemima          VRWC    11:09   
4. Sanders, Jade           VRWC    11:13   
5. Guy    Rachel           VRWC    11:26   
10.Campbell, Rebecca       VRWC    12:04   
11.Ventura, Amy            VRWC    12:11   
12.Antidormi, Sophie       VRWC    12:31       
   Hamilton, Emily         VRWC    DQ   

RWA Team Placings  1  VRWC1 : J. Montag, J. Sanders, R. Guy         16 pts
                   2  VRWC 2: R. Campbell, A. Ventura, S. Antidormi  6 pts

Event 10: Boys Under 12 2k Race Walk RWA - 10.10am   
1. Heiden, Dane            BRWC    10:42   
2. Walmsley, Reese         VRWC    10:55
3. Acev, Mitchell          REGAL   11:02   
4. Swan, Kyle              VRWC    11:10
5. Green, Ben              VRWC    12:46
6. McNicol-Davidson, Cody  VRWC    13:05

RWA Team Placings  1  VRWC: R. Walmsley, K. Swan, B. Green          7 pts

Event 11: Girls Under 14 3k Race Walk - 10.25am
1. Bettiol, Amy            NSWRWC  14:39   
2. Hosking, Elizabeth      ACTRWC  14:54   
3. Billington, Tayla-Paige NSWRWC  15:20       
6. Albert, Ashley          VRWC    15:56       
8. Burren, Sarah           VRWC    16:00   
9. Finnegan, Amelia        VRWC    16:01   
11.George, Stephanie       VRWC    16:30   
12.Guy, Rebecca            VRWC    16:47       
26.Gelov, Lauren           VRWC    19:56   
27.McLaren, Stacey         VRWC    21:21   
28.Ohlsen, Shae            VRWC    22:00       

RWA Team Placings  1  NSWRWC: A. Bettiol, T. Billington, J. Dighton 41 pts
                   2  VRWC1: A. Albert, S. Burren, A. Finnegin      37 pts
                   3  BRWC: E. Whiley, A. Heard, J. Wilson          35 pts
                   4  WARWC: J. Sexton, A. Sexton, K. Holt          28 pts
                   5  VRWC 2: S. George, R. Guy, L. Gelov           20 pts
                   6  TRWC: M. Guy, S. Eberhardt, M. Richards       11 pts

Event 12: Boys Under 14 3k Race Walk - 10.25am   
1. Osborne, Jesse          QLD    15:28   
2. Tesch, Benjamin         QLD    15:46   
3. Oswalds, Matthew        REGAL  16:12   
6. Taylor, Lucas           VRWC   16:37   
8. Coleman, Harry          VRWC   17:30   
9. Gardner, Aaron          VRWC   18:07   
10.McShanag, Connor        VRWC   18:40   

RWA Team Placings  1  VRWC: L. Taylor, H. Coleman, A. Gardner        7 pts

Event 13: Girls Under 16 5k Race Walk - 10.50am   
1. Jennings, Shannon       NSWRWC 24:19   
2. Goznik, Kristie         SARWC  24:48   
3. Burren, Amy             VRWC   25:06   
4. Tallent, Rachel         VRWC   26:03   
6. Brazel, Hilary          VRWC   27:16       
9. Campbell, Caitlin       VRWC   28:02   
10.Tallent ,Ebony          VRWC   28:05       
15.McDonald, Sarah         VRWC   36:44       

RWA Team Placings  1  VRWC 1: A. Burren, R. Tallent, H. Brazel      24 pts
                   2  WARWC: H. Watson, K. Fitzsimmons, J. Smith    14 pts
                   3  VRWC 2: C. Campbell, E. Tallent, S. McDonald   8 pts

Event 14: Boys Under 16 5k Race Walk - 10.50am   
1. Steele, Blake           SARWC  23:44   
2. Washburn, Steven        NSWRWC 24:45   
3. Simpson, Brad           VRWC   24:53   
5. Clark, Lewis            VRWC   26:04       
7. Felton, Matthew         VRWC   26:51       

RWA Team Placings  1  VRWC: B. Simpson, L. Clark, M. Felton          7 pts

Event 15: Girls Under 18 5k Race Walk - 11.25am
1. Alexander, Beth         VRWC   24:36   
2. Goznik, Kristie         SARWC  26:26   
3. McInerney, Nicole       SARWC  26:45       
6. Shaw, Kirstin           VRWC   27:59   
12. Boddy, Lana            VRWC   33:02       

RWA Team Placings  1  SARWC: K. Goznik, N. McInerney, C. Xian       21 pts
                   2  VRWC: B. Alexander, K. Shaw, L. Boddy         17 pts
                   3  BRWC: K. Trew, K. Maskell, E. Jones            8 pts

Event 16: VRWC Open 5 km: 11.25am
1. Lenehan, David          30:22
2. Platt, Belinda          32:15
3. Elms, Donna             32:54
4. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe 34:32
5. Wicks, Barrie           34:51
6. Wallace, Anna           35:42
7. Beaumont, Margaret      38:02

Event 17: RWV Under 10 Boys 1 km: 11:40am
1. Walmsley, Reese         05:21
2. Swan, Kyle              05:57
3. Plummer, James          07:08
4. Deckland, Beasley       11:33

Event 17: RWV Under 10 Girls 1 km: 11:40am
1. DeLisen, Paige          05:21
2. Frank, Jayde            05:29
3. Barker, Kirsty          05:38
4. George, Hayley          06:24
5. Taylor, Lee             07:18
6. Guy, Sarah              07:20

And finally, thanks to the vast array of officials, from Athletics Australia and from our own Racewalking Australia clubs, who made the big day go so smoothly and a special special thanks to the VRWC ladies who put on a luncheon for some 300 people at the post-race presentations. That was a truly Olympian effort!

VMA AND VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 16 AUGUST 2008

It was yet another cold wintery day at Albert Park on Saturday but we still saw a good field of 62 walkers in action. The main events on offer were the Victorian Masters 10 km roadwalk championships and amongst  the many fine masters performers were Gayle McIntyre (yet another PB with 55:46), Heather Carr (awesome as usual with 54:51 in the W55 division), Russ Dickenson (56:32 for M60) and Ralph Bennett (54:04 for M65). Some big names like Andrew Jamieson and Mark Donahoo were missing but the quality was still high.s

Victorian  Masters Women 10 km Championship
1  Gayle McIntyre     W40-44    55:46
1  Pam Tindal         W45-49    59:33
2  Donna Elms         W45-49    66:19
1  Heather Carr       W55-59    54:51
2  Alison Thompson    W55-59    57:47
3  Marlene Gourlay    W55-59    59:13
4  Liz Feldman        W55-59    60:47
1  Gwen Steed         W65-69    64:57
1  Margaret Beaumont  W70-74    76:37

Victorian  Masters Men 10 km Championship
1  Stuart Kollmorgan  M35-39    50:40
2  Aaron McDonough    M35-39    55:29
1  Clyde Riddoch      M55-59    55:15
2  Robin Wood         M55-59    69:53
1  Russ Dickenson     M60-64    56:32
2  Alan Lucas         M60-64    59:08
1  Ralph Bennett      M65-69    54:04
1  Geoff Major        M70-74    68:25
2  Ian Beaumont       M70-74    79:36   

Most of the Masters 10 km walkers also contested the VRWC 10 km event, the last chance to accumulate Handicap and Fastest Time points for the winter season. We also had a number of VRWC walkers contesting 5 km and 3 km events.

10km  Open                          Hcp Place
1. Heather Carr            54:51    3
2. Gayle McIntyre          55:46    5
3. Alison Thompson         57:47    2
4. Marlene Gourlay         59:13    -
5. Pam Tindal              59:33    7
6. Liz Feldman             60:47    1
7. Gwen Steed              64:57    8
8. Donna Elms              66:19    4
9. Margaret Beaumont       76:37    6

1. Stuart Kollmorgan       50:40    7
2. Ralph Bennett           54:04    3
3. Clyde Riddoch           55:15    4
4. Aaron McDonough         55:29    1
5. Russ Dickenson          56:32    2
6. Alan Lucas              59:08    5
7. Geoff Major             68:25    -
8. Robin Wood              69:53    6
9. Ian Beaumont            79:36   

5km  Open                           Hcp Place
1. Natalie Laurie          25:42    2
2. Kylie Irshad            26:48    4
3. Hilary Brazel           28:10    3
4. Anna Wallace            33:16    1

1. Nicholas Mirarchi       24:30    1
2. Robert Walsh            27:28    3
3. Ryan Antidormi          29:27    5
4. Robert Gardiner         30:24    4
5. Lindsay Harrison        34:35    2

5km Fitness           
1. Christine Griffiths     54:30   
   
3km  Open                           Hcp Place
1. Kirstin Shaw            15:54    1
2. Lana Boddy              19:44    2
3. Adrianna Crea           22:08    3

1. Filip Cosic             15:28    4
2. Jason Elms              17:11    3
3. Harold Boddy            18:26    2
4. Damien Elms             20:28    6
5. Barrie Wicks            20:54    5
6. Gordon Onley            22:14    1
   Howard Gibson           Disq   

Our younger walkers had their last chance for a hitout before next Sunday's Australian roadwalking championships and the racing was keenly contested. We welcomed Amelia Finnegan back in the U15 3km after a long injury break and she walked a good first up 16:12 but no one could match the effort of Lauren Gelov who won the U15 handicap winner with her 19:49, a 45 sec PB.

3km  Under 15                       Hcp Place
1. Caitlin Campbell        15:46    2
2. Amelia Finnegan         16:12    4
3. Stephanie George        16:34    3
4. Lauren Gelov            19:49    1
5. Amy Ventura             19:53    5

1. Lucas Taylor            17:32    1
2. Connor McShanag         18:25    2

2km  Under 12                       Hcp Place
1. Bianca Attard           10:42    4
2. Jemima Montag           11:30    3
3. Rebecca Campbell        11:49    5
4. Jasmine Irshad          12:06   
5. Beth    Barbour         12:20    6
6. Sophia Antidormi        12:29    1
7. Jade Sanders            13:16    7
8. Stacey McLaren          13:36    2
   Chloe McNicol-Davidson  Ab   

1. Harry Coleman           11:27    -
2. Reese Walmsley          11:40    3
3. Cody McNicol-Davidson   12:48    2
4. Ben Green               13:49    1

1km  Under 9                        Hcp Place
1. Paige De Lisen          05:31    5
2. Hayley George           06:25    1
3. Gabbie Crea             06:39    2
4. Charlee Harrison        06:40    3

1. Lee Taylor              08:30    4
2. Harley McNicol-Davidson 09:00    1

AV AND VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 10 AUGUST 2008

Although I was not there, I have had a few email conversations and gather that the weather was dreadful – and I see that on Sunday in the hills surrounding Melbourne, it was snowing. I think Stu Cooper's comments summed it up: “Conditions wet, freezing cold ... so cold it hurt to hold the camera. Road flooded in parts, no hope of bailing or sweeping.”

The main events on offer were the Victorian 10 km roadwalking championships for men and women and both turned out to be very interesting races. Firstly, the entry lists were big – 14 men  and 11 women. Tom Barnes was expected to fight it out with Duane Cousins in the men's event and that is how it looked early. But it was Tom who made the decisive break  and, from then on, he was away on his own powering through to an equal PB time of 43:01 – he did the exact same time to win this event last year – now that's what I call consistency. Duane pushed on to cross the line in second place but was subsequently informed of his DQ so that meant that 18 year old Daniel Payne earned his first senior Victorian medal with a PB of 46:54 ahead of 62 year old Andrew Jamieson whose 47:39 was just as good. In fourth and fifth places were Stuart Kollmorgen (PB of 48:17) and 17 year old Nicholas Mirarchi who broke 50 mins for the first time with his own PB of 49:46. What a great series of times! Harold Boddy was determined to finish his second 10km and did so - giving Geelong a team win ahead of Collingwood.  It was a great effort in the conditions.

In the women's title, Megan Szirom had been expected to win but she was forced to retire soon after passing the 6 km mark with what may have been a hamstring issue. That left 15 year old Rachael Tallent to walk to her first ever senior Victorian title in a PB 52:06 – she may well be the youngest ever Victorian open walk title winner..  She and Natalie Laurie were together for the first couple of laps before Natalie slowed.  Amy Burren, another of our top Under 16 girls,  caught and passed her in the last lap to take second place with a PB of 53:41. Natalie held out Justi Roseman in a sprint to the line for third place with 54:17. Since both Rachel and Amy competed in the Sandown road relays the day before, it was a big double for the girls.  Overall, all three medallists are in the junior ranks, a good sign for the future

Mens 10km AV Championship & C. H. Gardiner Medal
1. Tom Barnes           MUU    43:01 (PB)
1. Daniel Payne         COR    46:54 (PB)
2. Andrew Jamieson      OSC    47:39
3. Stuart Kollmorgen    COL    48:17 (PB)
4. Nicholas Mirarchi    COR    49:46 (PB)
5. Ross Reid            COLL   54:18
6. Shaun Burgess        CHI    55:46
7. Paul Nunn            WEN    59:26
8. Robert Gardiner      COLL   60:33
9. Harold Boddy         COR    67:37
   Mark Donahoo         ATE    DNF
   Duane Cousins        EAG    DQ
   Peter Luke           WEN    DNS
   Duncan Knox          ATE    DNS
           
Team:     1st Corio, 2nd Collingwood           
           
Womens 10km AV Championship   
1. Rachel Tallent       BYC    52:06 (PB)
2. Amy Burren           MAL    53:41 (PB)
3. Natalie Laurie       ANW    54:17
4. Justijana Roseman    ATE    54:20
5. Heather Carr         EAG    56:13
6. Gayle McIntyre       VMA    57:03
   Megan Szirom         FKN    DNF
   Erin  Adamcewicz     ATE    DNS
   Regan Lamble         ANW    DNS
   Annette Major        EAG    DNS
   Jessie Palfreyman    EAG    DNS

We also hosted our own VRWC club races and most of the Victorian 10km walkers doubled up with a few others to form what was quite a large 10 km field. We also had 5 km and 3 km events on offer. Special mention to Sarah Burren and Ashley Albert, two of our quite young walkers, who walked together in the 5 km and finished together in 29:59.

VRWC Open Women 10 km Club Championship - Mabel Robinson Trophy   
1. Rachel Tallent         52:06   
2. Amy Burren             53:41   
3. Natalie Laurie         54:17   
4. Justijana Roseman      54:20   
5. Heather Carr           56:13   
6. Gayle McIntyre         57:03   
7. Alison Thompson        62:00   
8. Gwen Steed             63:03   
   Kylie Irshad           Ab   
   Lynette Bannister      Ab   
   Megan Szirom           Ab

VRWC Open 10 km - Men 
1. Tom Barnes             43:01   
2. Daniel  Payne          46:54   
3. Andrew Jamieson        47:39   
4. Stuart Kollmorgen      48:17   
5. Nicholas Mirarchi      49:46   
6. Ross Reid              54:18   
7. Shaun Burgess          55:46   
8. Aaron McDonough        57:28   
9. Russ Dickenson         57:38   
10.Paul Nunn              59:26
11.Robert Gardiner        60:33
12.Jason Elms             62:27
   Harold Boddy           67:37
   Filip Cosic            Ab   
   Mark Donahoo           Ab

5km  Open           
1. Pam Tindal             26:54   
2. Kirstin Shaw           28:09   
E3 Sarah Burren           29:59
E3 Ashley Albert          29:59
5. Donna Elms             31:54   
6. Lana Boddy             33:45   
7. Anna Wallace           34:49   
   Janet Holmes           Ab   

1. Alan Lucas             29:11   
2. Robin Wood             34:05   
   Damien Elms            Disq   

3km  Open           
1. Liz Feldman            17:12   
2. Maryanne Harrison      20:47   
   Gordon Onley           Disq   

Our youngest walkers raced over 3 km, 2 km and 1 km respectively with Lauren Gelov, Brad Simpson, Jemima Montag, Reese Walmsley and Charlee Harrison coming out as the winners. We also welcomed back Jasmine Irshad after a few years absence – and she walked well over the 3 km distance to finish with 21:00.
       
3km  Under 15           
1. Lauren Gelov           20:29   
2. Jasmine Irshad         21:00   
3. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 21:00   

1. Bradley Simpson        15:16   
2. Matthew Felton         16:22   
3. Aaron Gardner          17:39   

2km  Under 12           
1. Jemima Montag          11:47
2. Carly Bertrand         11:49   
3. Emily Hamilton         12:24   
4. Jade Sanders           12:26   
5. Amy Ventura            12:39   
6. Stacey McLaren         13:35   

1. Reese Walmsley         12:21   
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson  12:59               

1km  Under 9           
1. Charlee Harrison       07:19

Judges:   Gordon Loughnan (Chief), Ralph Bennett, Lloyd Nichols, Brian Williams,
          Peter Vysma, Judy Mason, Bill Toohey, Shane Bertrand

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 2 AUGUST 2008

With Little Athletics Cross Country championships on this weekend and with a wet and dismal day forecast, our numbers were small but those who did come were rewarded with perfect racing weather and we saw a number of PBs. 16 year old Filip Cosic walked a great first up 10 km, recording 55:15 to easily win the handicap. Others to stand out with very good 10 km walks were Clyde Riddoch and Kylie Irshad. Stuart Kollmorgen was easily fastest with his 50:01 and all he needed was someone to chase and I suspect he would have been well under 50 minutes.

10km  Open                        Hcp Place
1. Kylie Irshad          54:08    1
2. Stuart Kollmorgan     50:01    5
3. Ralph Bennett         54:03    3
4. Mark Donahoo          55:12    8
5. Filip Cosic           55:15    1
6. Clyde Riddoch         55:45    2
7. Terry O'Neill         58:13    4
8. Russ Dickenson        58:27    6
9. Bob Gardiner          64:36    7

Kirstin Shaw continues to improve every week and it was another great 5 km walk this weekend – fastest time and handicap win with 26:24. Damien Elms won the men's handicap and is another walker having a good season. Nicholas Mirarchi was fastest with his 24:58 which is pretty good considering his busy Year 12 school year.

5km  Open                         Hcp Place
1. Kirstin Shaw          26:24    1
2. Gayle McIntyre        27:53    4
3. Donna Elms            31:22    3
4. Christine Griffiths   49:38    2
5. Megan Szirom          Ab   

1. Nicholas Mirarchi     24:58    4
2. Paul Kennedy          25:49    6
3. Aaron McDonough       27:27    2
4. Alan Lucas            29:15    3
5. Damien Elms           32:46    1
6. Robin Wood            34:31    5

Roles were reversed this week with our Under 15 walkers contesting a 5 km distance while some of our senior walkers were able to stoll around over the shorter 3 km. Hilary Brazel walked strongly to take both fastest time and handicap honours with her 27:30 while Amy Callaway broke 30 mins for the first time with her 29:43. The youngest of the quartet of Under 15's, Aaron Gardner and Lauren Gelov, found the last lap or so pretty hard going but saw it out to record good finishes.

5km  Under 15                     Hcp Place
1. Hilary Brazel         27:30    1
2. Amy Callaway          29:43    3
3. Lauren Gelov          35:14    2

1. Aaron Gardner         30:15    1

3km  Open                         Hcp Place
1. Lauren Stadus         20:21    2
2. Maryanne Harrison     20:40    1

1. Jason Elms            17:07    3
2. Harold Boddy          18:01    1
3. Lindsay Harrison      19:38    2
4. Gordon Onley          23:28    4

Our Under 12's contested their longest walk for the season, a 3 km, while our Under 9's walked 1.5 km. As usual, Bianca Attard and Paige de Lisen were fastest overall in their respective divisions and all the walkers got through their longer distances well. Handicap winners were Amy Ventura, Cody McNicol-Davidson, Paige and Kyle Swan.

3km  Under 12                     Hcp Place   
1. Bianca Attard         16:57    4
2. Jade Sanders          18:33    2
3. Beth Barbour          18:56    5
4. Emily Hamilton        19:19    3
5. Amy Ventura           19:35    1
6. Stacey McLaren        22:09    6

1. Connor McShanag       18:28    2
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson 19:38    1
   Reese Walmsley        Disq   

1.5km  Under 9                    Hcp Place       
1. Paige De Lisen        08:21    1
2. Charlee Harrison      10:34    2

1. Kyle Swan             09:10    1

VICTORIAN AND VRWC CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 27 JULY 2008

Some 80 walkers braved arctic conditions on Sunday at Albert Park. It was our coldest day for the year and I saw on the news it actually snowed in Sydney. But it must have been colder in Melbourne (our weather always beats Sydney!). Well done to all the medallists and all the competitors.

Highlights included
- Tom Barnes who won the Victorian Open Men 30 km with a huge time of 2:17:00, a PB by some 4 minutes and a time that will rank him quite highly in this year's Australian rankings.
- Andrew Jamieson who finished second in the Victorian Open Men 30 km. His time of 2:29:46 bettered his own M60 World Record by nearly 1 minute. This will be duly submitted to WMA. Andrew, aged 62 years of age, owns all the M60 world records except for the 50 km mark and he is working on that one.
- Regan Lamble, fresh from her World Cup competition earlier this year, who won the Under 18 Girls 5 km walk in a PB time of 24:18.
- Daniel Payne who continued his recent great form, winning the Under 20 Mens 10 km title in a PB time of 47:15.
- Rhydian Cowley who backed up from an AV run on Saturday to win the Under 18 Mens 10 km with 48:10. Rhydian is doing Year 12 studies this year so is a little down on training but we expect to see him rev up to top speed once his final exams are finished.
- Rachel Tallent (sister of Olympian Jared) winning the Under 16 Girls 5 km in 24:50 after a great battle with Amy Burren. Amy, who had run AV Cross Country the day before, finished second in 24:55, only 5 seconds in arrears. This was definitely the race of the meet. These girls are treating us to some great one on one races this year.
- Bendigo walkers to the fore in the Under 14 Boys 3 km walk and only one second separating Dane Heiden (16:14) and Jeremiah Jones (16:15) at the end. Another healthy rivalry and another great race with the boys neck and neck the whole way.
- The Under 14 Girls championship which was a dramatic event with Stephanie George storming home to what she thought was a win but finding out too late that she still had 500m to go. To her credit she kept walking but had to surrender the lead to Ebony Whiley and Sarah Burren (younger sister to Amy). When the red cards were counted, Ebony had received 3 so was disqualified, promoting Sarah to gold and Stephanie to silver.

All in all, some great times in spite of the weather and a very successful walks championship meet. Now walkers will focus on the Australian Roadwalking championships which will be held at Albert Park on Sunday 24 August.

AV Open Men 30 km Road Walk Championship
1. Barnes, Tom          MUA    44:47    1:30:57    2:17:00
2. Jamieson, Andrew     OSC    49:46    1:39:43    2:29:46
   Donahoo, Mark        ATE    57:56    DNF

AV U/20 Boys 10 km Road Walk Championship   
1. Payne, Daniel        COR    47:15
2. Burgess, Shaun       CHI    56:00
3. Elms, Jason          PTN    62:50

AV U/20 Girls 10 km Road Walk Championship
1. Laurie, Natalie      ANW    53:29
2. Attard, Tamara       KNA    56:44
3. Palfreyman, Jessie   EAG    DNS
               
AV U/18 Boys 10 km Road Walk Championship
1. Cowley, Rhydian      GHY    48:10
2. Mirarchi, Nicholas   COR    50:29
3. Cosic, Filip         INV    DNS
               
AV U/18 Girls 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. Lamble, Regan        ANW    24:18
2. Alexander, Beth      KNA    25:29
3. Shaw. Kirstin        WES    27:41
4. Maskell, Katrina     SBE    30:59
5. Boddy, Lana          COR    33:48

AV U/16 Boys 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. Simpson, Brad        KNA    26:12
2. Clark, Lewis         CHI    26:47
3. Walsh, Robert        ANW    26:57
4. Felton. Matthew      KNA    27:38
5. Curtis, Peter        SBE    30:31
               
AV U/16 Girls 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. Tallent Rachel       BYC    24:50
2. Burren, Amy          MAL    24:55
3. Brazel, Hilary       ANW    26:55
4. Tallent, Ebony       BYC    26:57
5. Campbell, Caitlin    ATE    27:55
6. Payne, Emily         COR    28:53
7. Callaway, Amy        KNA    32:05
8. Jones, Ebony-Jade    EAG    36:08
               
AV U/14 Boys 3 km Road Walk Championship
1. Heiden, Dane         BEU    16:14
2. Jones, Jeremiah      EAG    16:15
3. Taylor, Lucas        SCA    16:52
4. Maskell, Ben         EAG    16:57
5. Coleman, Harry       RIC    17:35
6. McShanag, Connor     ATE    17:38
7. Gardner, Aaron       PTN    18:09
   Green, Mitchell      SCA    DNS
               
AV U/14 Girls 3 km Road Walk Championship
1. Burren, Sarah        MAL    15:52
2. George, Stephanie    SCA    15:57
3. Guy, Rebecca         SCA    16:11
4. Heard, Amanda        EAG    16:13
5. Albert, Ashley       MAL    16:16
6. Attard, Bianca       KNA    16:40
7. Hockley-Samon, Jmara CHI    18:41
8. Campbell, Rebecca    ATE    18:49
   Whiley, Ebony        EAG    DQ
   Guy, Rachael         SCA    DNS
   Wilson, Jessey       EAG    DNS

We also featured our final set of VRWC club championships for our Under 12 and Under 9 walkers. Some like Jeremiah Jones and Connor McShanag had already contested the Under 14 Victorian championships but came back for some more punishment with a second race. Times were excellent, especially with the Under 9's who mixed it well with their older club mates.

VRWC U/12 Boys 2 km Road Walk Championship           
1. Walmsley, Reese        10:38
2. Jones, Jeremiah        10:41
3. McShanag, Connor       11:32
4. McNicol-Davidson, Cody 12:51
           
VRWC U/12 Girls 2 km Road Walk Championship           
1. Bertrand, Carly        11:29
2. Boldiston, Zoe         11:32
3. Hamilton, Emily        12:27
4. Barbour, Beth          12:32
5. Ventura, Amy           12:34
E6 Sanders, Jade          13:20
E6 McLaren, Stacey        13:20
8. Harrison, Annalise     14:50
           
VRWC U/9 Boys 2 km Road Walk Championship           
1. Swan, Kyle             11:53
2. Candotti, Sam          13:10
   McShanag, Ethan        DQ
             
VRWC U/9 Girls 2 km Road Walk Championship             
1. De Lisen, Paige        11:52
2. Guy, Rachael           12:01
3. George, Hayley         13:06
4. Harrison, Charlee      14:12
5. Taylor, Lee            16:35

Finally we had our usual club events with 20 km and 5 km on offer. Megan Szirom was the standout with her 1:41:40 for 20 km (Megan actually continued on for another few laps to make it a decent day's workout!). Kylie Irshad and Ross Reid led the 5 km walkers home – in fact, with Ross's uniform, he could have been mistaken for the pied piper!
           
VRWC Open 20 km Walk           
1. Szirom, Megan          1:41:40
2. Bannister, Lynette     1:53:19
           
VRWC Open 5 km Walk           
1. Irshad, Kylie          25:56
2. Reid. Ross             26:12
3. McDonough, Aaron       27:21
4. Dickenson, Russ        28:00
5. McIntyre, Gayle        28:15
6. Lenehan, David         30:36
7. Elms, Donna            31:58
8. Boddy, Harold          33:48
9. Harrison, Maryanne     35:08
10.Lenehan, Deb           44:41
11.Griffiths, Christine   49:03
   Elms, Damien           DNF
   Cosic, Filip           DNF
   Wood, Robin            DNS

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 19 JULY 2008

Once again, walkers had to contend with blustery cold winds but, like previous weeks, times were still good. We ran 'yacht handicaps'  this week with the slower walkers starting first and the faster walkers giving them a head start. Mark Donahoo's handicapping was spot on as, in most events, the fields came together in the final stages and we saw some exciting finishes.

The 8 km races saw Gayle McIntyre and Clyde Riddoch cross the finishing line first, thus winning their respective handicap events. Gayle was also the fastest of the women with her time of 44:27 while Stuart Kollmorgen was the fastest male walker with a big PB time of 38:32. Stuart is indeed having a good winter season.

8km  Open Yacht Handicap  Start    Finish   Actual   Act place
1. McIntyre, Gayle        07:53    52:20    44:27    1
2. Thompson, Alison       06:24    52:35    46:11    3
3. Steed, Gwen            05:31    53:52    48:21    5
4. Holmes, Janet          06:06    54:14    48:08    4
5. Russell, Yolanda       09:01    54:25    45:24    2
                       
1. Riddoch, Clyde         08:25    51:59    43:34    4
2. Mirarchi, Nicholas     11:43    52:52    41:09    3
3. Donahoo, Mark          12:40    53:01    40:21    2
4. Kollmorgan, Stuart     14:49    53:21    38:32    1
5. Gardiner, Robert       04:32    53:46    49:14    6
6. Bennett, Ralph         10:44    54:22    43:38    5
7. Wicks, Barrie          00:00    55:57    55:57    7
8. Walsh, Robert          09:55    DNF

In the 4 km events, Kirsten Shaw and Harold Boddy won but not by much. Kirsten came from well back to overtake Lana Boddy in the final 200m while Harold Boddy just stayed ahead of a fast finishing Filip Cosic. There were certainly some good times here – special mentions to Natalie Laurie (20:09) and Heather Carr (21:01). This sort of event always brings out the best in the walkers.
 
4km  Open Yacht Handicap  Start    Finish   Actual   Act place
1. Shaw, Kirsten          15:21    37:21    22:00    4
2. Boddy, Lana            11:09    37:34    26:25    6
3. Laurie, Natalie        17:30    37:39    20:09    1
4. Beaumont, Margaret     08:52    38:04    29:12    9
5. Harrison, Maryanne     10:24    38:21    27:57    7
6. Carr, Heather          17:24    38:25    21:01    3
7. Elms, Donna            13:32    38:30    24:58    5
8. Irshad, Kylie          18:03    38:57    20:54    2
9. Mews, Pam              00:00    39:17    39:17    10
10.Crea, Adrianna         11:28    39:44    28:16    8
   
1. Boddy, Harold          12:34    37:59    25:25    6
2. Cosic, Filip           16:54    38:07    21:13    1
3. Keirl, Bernie          16:50    38:09    21:19    2
4. Elms, Jason            14:29    38:29    24:00    4
5. Harrison, Lindsay      11:00    38:36    27:36    8
6. Elms, Damien           11:50    38:50    27:00    7
7. Dickenson, Russ        16:52    39:11    22:19    3
8. Wood, Robin            11:40    39:58    28:18    9
9. Lucas, Alan            16:32    41:03    24:31    5
10.Barrow, Geoff          13:43    43:38    29:55    10
   Beaumont, Ian          05:34    Disq
   Onley, Gordon          08:29    Disq

4km Under 15 Yacht H'cap  Start    Finish   Actual   Act place
1. Gelov, Lauren          00:00    27:11    27:11    4
2. Brazel, Hilary         06:01    27:43    21:42    1
3. Gerlich, Annemaree     02:15    28:15    26:00    3
4. Campbell, Caitlin      06:10    29:15    23:05    2

1. Antidormi, Ryan        05:54    27:23    21:29    1
2. Felton, Matthew        06:39    28:32    21:53    2   

Our youngest walkers were also striving to better their handicaps and Emily Hamilton, Reese Walmsley, Paige De Lisen and Kyle Swan were the winners.  Fastest overall were Bianca Attard (U12) and Paige (U9).

2km Under 12 Handicap     Time     Place
1. Emily, Hamilton        11:44    2
2. Stacey, McLaren        13:51    7
3. Annaliese, Harrison    15:16    8   
4. Amy, Ventura           13:09    6
5. Rebecca, Campbell      11:52    4
E6.Jmara, Hockley Samon   11:48    3
E6.Beth, Barbour          12:27    5
8. Bianca, Attard         10:47    1

1. Reese, Walmsley        10:55    1
2. Connor, McShanag       11:46    2
3. Cody, McNicol-Davidson 13:40    3
   Jack, Hockley Samon    Disq

1km  Under 9 Handicap     Time    Place   
1. Paige, De Lisen        05:42    1
2. Charlee, Harrison      07:08    3
3. Gabriella, Crea        06:56    2

1. Kyle, Swan             06:41    1
   Harry, Hockley Samon   Disq   

RACEWALKING AUSTRALIA STATE CHALLENGE, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 12 JULY 2008

VRWC participated in the Racewalking Australia State Challenge last Saturday. The idea is a simple one – each racewalking club races the same fixture on the same weekend (give or take a week or so) and then forwards their club results to Mark Donahoo for processing. The top finisher in each event is ranked against the top finisher from each of the other walking clubs and points are allocated accordingly. Finally, some fancy weighting procedures are used to give the smaller clubs more of a chance and a winning club is announced.
It will take a couple of weeks for all results to come in and for Mark to work out the results so stay tuned. But with at least one finisher in ever category, we are competitively placed.

We chose this day to participate in the International Brain Tumour Alliance 2008 aim to 'Walk Three Times Around the World' and donated all the kilometres walked to this worthy cause. Our walkers walked 397.5 km and a small group of non-race-walkers walked 40 km – a total of 437.5 km. We donated all monies raised on the day (via race fees, donations and canteen takings) to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation. Dr Kate Drummond from the Royal Melbourne Hospital welcomed the walkers at the start line and thanked them for their contribution to the Neuroscience Foundation. I am pleased to announce that we are forwarding a cheque for $750 to Kate.

And now onto the day's racing. It was yet another windy day so conditions were tough for the walkers but we still saw quite a number of PBs. Of the 71 walkers, 24 walkers chose the 10 km distance and we saw some fantastic efforts, led by Daniel Payne (yet another PB for the talented 18 year old – 47:14), Andrew Jamieson (47:25 as an M60 walker!) and Heather Carr (54:28 as a W55 walker).

10km Open State Challenge   
1. Kylie Irshad          54:12
2. Justijana Roseman     54:19
3. Sylvia Machin         66:58

1. Mark Donahoo          52:35
2. Aaron McDonough       56:07
       
10km Masters State Challenge       
1. Heather Carr          54:28
2. Gayle McIntyre        56:07
3. Alison Thompson       57:30
4. Pam Tindal            59:01
5. Janet Holmes          59:52
6. Gwen Steed            61:06
7. Donna Elms            65:48
8. Margaret Beaumont     74:37
   Celia Johnson         Disq

1. Andrew Jamieson       47:25
2. Ralph Bennett         53:42
3. Bernie Keirl          56:00
4. Russ Dickenson        59:01
5. Bob Gardiner          59:53
6. Ian Beaumont          78:17

10km Under 20 State Challenge   
1. Natalie Laurie        54:09
2. Tamara Attard         58:57

1. Daniel Payne          47:14
2. Jason Elms            63:46

Our younger walkers had to race over 8 km, 5 km, 3 km, 2 km and 1.5 km. For some of our Under 18 walkers, it was the first time they had contested a long distance like 8 km but, to their credit, all finished. The best performer was Regan Lamble whose time of 39:37 was terrific. I am sure that if it had been a 10 km distance, she would have been well under the 50 min mark again, as she was in the recent World Cup event in Russia. In the Under 16 event, Beth Alexander and Brad Simpson had a great battle with Robert Walsh not far behind – all three did excellent times well under 26 mins. In the Under 14 Girls event, Stephanie George and Bianca Attard came up from the Under 12 (age on the day meant they had to go up an age group) and were both in the low 16's. In the Under 14 Boys event, Matthew Felton and Ryan Antidormi also had a good battle and also produced top times. In fact, we had PBs all over the place in the Under 14 events.
       
8km Under 18 State Challenge
1. Regan Lamble          39:37
2. Kirsten Shaw          45:15
3. Caitlin Campbell      45:53

1. Filip Cosic           45:47
   Damien Elms           Disq

5km Under 16 State Challenge   
1. Beth Alexander        25:24
2. Hilary Brazel         27:38
3. Emily Payne           29:07
4. Amy Callaway          30:00

1. Bradley Simpson       25:26
2. Robert Walsh          25:38

3km Under 14 State Challenge
1. Stephanie George      16:09
2. Bianca Attard         16:26
3. Rebecca Guy           16:52
4. Jessica Callaway      17:27
5. Lauren Stadus         19:39
6. Annemaree Gerleich    19:39
7. Lauren Gelov          20:13
   Adrianna Crea         DNF

1. Matthew Felton        15:59
2. Ryan Antidormi        16:07
3. Lucas Taylor          17:06
4. Connor McShanag       18:26

Our Under 12 and Under 10 walkers were also able to earn valuable points towards the State Challenge with their walks, especially Cody McNicol-Davidson who was our only Under 12 boy. Feeling pretty crook after having done Cross Country that morning, he saw it out and finished – well done Cody! Other winners were Jemima Montag, Paige DeLisen and Reese Walmsley but all did their bit.
       
2km Under 12 State Challenge
1. Jemima Montag         11:33
2. Carly Bertrand        11:42
3. Rebecca Campbell      12:23
4. Emily Hamilton        12:29
5. Sophia Antidormi      12:59
6. Amy Ventura           13:04
7. Stacey McLaren        13:56
8. Annaliese Harrison    15:45

1. Cody McNicol-Davidson 13:27

1.5km Under 10 State Challenge   
1. Paige De Lisen        08:27
2. Georgia Bertrand      09:12
3. Rachael Guy           09:13
4. Hayley George         09:51
5. Charlee Harrison      10:57
6. Lee Taylor            12:44

1. Reese Walmsley        08:13
2. Kyle Swan             08:39
3. Sam Candotti          09:59

And finally, we had our usual mix of walkers who just wanted a hitout over a shorter distance – so we accommodated with 5 km and 3 km club races.

5km Open       
1. Christine Griffiths   50:58

3km Open         
1. Maryanne Harrison     20:41
2. Pam Mews              28:07

1. Barrie Wicks          19:59
2. Lindsay Harrison      20:16
   Gordon Onley          Disq

VRWC EVENTS, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 5 JULY 2008

Another cold Saturday but it did not deter our walkers. Daniel Payne led from the front and recorded yet another PB, this time with 37:41 for the 8 km distance. Stuart Kollmorgen also broke the 40 minute barrier with his time of 39:24. Kylie Irshad continues to improve and her time of 42:43 was her best for some years. Who said you can't come back after giving birth to twins – we just never said it would be easy!       
Open 8 km Walk                     Handicap     
1. Payne, Daniel          37:41    4
2. Kollmorgen, Stuart     39:24    6
3. Riddoch, Clyde         44:09    3
4. Bennett, Ralph         44:41    8
5. Lucas, Alan            45:58    5
6. O'Neill, Terry         46:43    7
7. Dickenson, Russ        47:11    9
8. Gardiner, Bob          48:30    2
9. Elms, Jason            51:22    1
10.Lenehan, David         51:34    -
   Barrow, Geoff          DQ
       
1.Irshad, Kylie           42:43    1
2.Tindal, Pam             46:06    5   
3.Thompson, Alison        46:59    2
4.Holmes, Janet           48:01    3
5.Steed, Gwen             48:47    4
6.Johnson, Celia          55:20    6
7.Lenehan, Deb            73:45    -
 
The big improver in the 4 km event was Kirsten Shaw who just gets faster every week. This shorter distance event sees our older walkers walking alongside our younger Under 15 walkers and I think everyone benefits from the competition. Shaun Burgess and Natalie Laurie, both juniors, were our fastest walkers.
       
Open 4 km Walk                     Handicap
1. Burgess, Shaun         21:37    4
2. Elms, Damien           26:49    2
3. Wicks, Barrie          26:49    3
4. Harrison, Lindsay      27:07    1
   Beamont, Ian           DQ   
   Onley, Gordon          DQ
       
1. Laurie, Natalie        21:01    6
2. Shaw, Kirsten          21:55    2
3. McIntyre, Gayle        22:02    7
4. Payne, Emily           23:37    9
5. Elms, Donna            24:42    5
6. Wallace, Anna          27:34    3
7. Harrison, Maryanne     28:21    8
8. Lenehan, Rosaleen      29:05    10
9. Beaumont, Margaret     29:12    4
10.Griffiths, Christine   37:44    1
   Mews, Pam              DQ
       
Under 15 4 km Walk                 Handicap
1. Felton, Matthew        22:07    2
2. Antidormi, Ryan        22:35    1
3. Clark, Lewis           23:12    3

1. Stadus, Lauren         27:25    2
2. Gelov, Lauren          28:20    1

Our youngest walkers upped their distances this week and handled it well. Sisters Rebecca and Rachael Guy won the girls' events while Reese Walmsley and Kyle Swan were the fastest of the boys.

Under 12 2.5 km Walk               Handicap
1. Walmsley, Reese        14:04    2
2. McShanag, Connor       14:55    3
3. McNicol_Davidson, Cory 16:16    1
   
1. Guy, Rebecca           14:40    3
2. Antidormi, Sophie      17:03    4
3. McLaren, Stacey        17:52    1
4. Harrison, Annalise     19:26    2      
 
Under 9 1.5 km Walk                Handicap
1. Swan, Kyle             09:05    3
2. Candotti, Sam          10:04    2
3. McShanag, Ethan        10:23    1
4. Candotti, Noah         14:42    -
       
1. Guy, Rachael           08:59    2
2. Gloury, Alannah        10:31    3
3. Harrison, Charlee      10:38    1

VRWC, VMA AND AV CHAMPIONSHIPS, ALBERT PARK, SUNDAY 29 JUNE 2008

It was a big day of racing at Albert Park on Sunday with around 100 walkers contesting a wide variety of events. For our younger walkers, it was the Victorian Schools Roadwalking Championships and we had our biggest field for many years – 59 entries in all. Although conditions were cold and very windy, top performance were still the order of the day and lots of the younger walkers managed good PBs.

We saw two great contests – Rachel Tallent and Amy Burren in the Under 16 Girls 3 km and Ryan Antidormi and Jeremiah Jones in the Under 14 Boys 3 km – and were very excited to see our 2008 World Cup reps Rhydian Cowley and Regan Lamble leading from the front in the Under 18 Boys and Girls 5 km walks.

Congratulations to all our contestants and well done to our medallists.

U/20 Boys 10 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. MIRARCHI, NICHOLAS    ST JOSEPH'S COLLEGE GEELONG    51:20
2. ELMS, JASON           LALOR NORTH SECONDARY COLLEGE  65:03

U/20 Girls 10 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. ATTARD, TAMARA        AQUINAS    57:36
2. COLLINS, TALIE        ST JOHNS REGIONAL COLLEGE      63:01
   PALFREYMAN, JESSIE    BENDIGO SENIOR SECONDARY       DNS

U/18 Boys 5 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. COWLEY, RHYDIAN       MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL          24:02
2. PLATT, JOSHUA         MOUNT CLEAR COLLEGE            27:04
3. COSIC, FILIP          MELBOURNE HIGH SCHOOL          28:21
   ELMS, DAMIEN          LALOR NORTH SECONDARY COLLEGE  DNS

U/18 Girls 5 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. LAMBLE, REGAN         STRATHCONA GIRLS GRAMMAR       24:15
2. LAURIE, NATALIE       KINGSWOOD COLLEGE              25:21
3. ALEXANDER, BETH       BRENTWOOD SECONDARY COLLEGE    26:28
4. COLLINS, AYLA         ST JOHNS REGIONAL COLLEGE      28:23
5. SHAW, KIRSTIN         WESTBOURNE GRAMMAR             28:30
6. MASKELL, KATRINA      SHEPPARTON HIGH SCHOOL         29:56
7. TREW, KEELY           EAGLEHAWK SECONDARY COLLEGE    30:47
8. GAGE, MYKAELA         SACRED HEART COLLEGE GEELONG   33:35
9. BODDY, LANA           CORIO BAY SENIOR COLLEGE       34:25
10.CREA, ADRIANNA        ACADEMY OF MARY IMMACULATE     35:55
   CAMPBELL, CAITLIN     COPPERFIELD SECONDARY COLLEGE  DNS

U/16 Boys 3 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. SIMPSON, BRAD         YARRA VALLEY GRAMMAR           14:52
2. CLARK, LEWIS          GROVEDALE COLLEGE              15:10
3. WALSH, ROBERT         MT WAVERLEY SECONDARY COLLEGE  15:50
4. CURTIS, PETER         BENDIGO SOUTH EAST             16:57
5. WRIGHT, JACOB         EMMAUS COLLEGE                 18:03
   FELTON, MATTHEW       AQUINAS                        DQ

U/16 Girls 3 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. TALLENT, RACHEL       BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOL           14:35
2. BURREN, AMY           KILLESTER COLLEGE              14:43
3. BRAZEL, HILARY        EMMAUS COLLEGE                 15:41
4. CAMPBELL, CAITLIN     COPPERFIELD SECONDARY COLLEGE  15:51
5. TALLENT, EBONY        BALLARAT HIGH SCHOOL           16:17
6. PAYNE, EMILY          KARDINIA INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE 16:21
7. CALLAWAY, AMY         MATER CHRISTIE COLLEGE         17:14
8. JONES, EBONY-JADE     CREEK ST CHRISTIAN COLLEGE     20:01
9. DELANEY, EMMA         SACRED HEART COLLEGE GEELONG   20:57
   DUVAL, SAMANTHA       MOOROOLBARK COLLEGE            DNS

U/14 Boys 3 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. ANTIDORMI, RYAN       EMMAUS COLLEGE                 15:54
2. JONES, JEREMIAH       ST THERESE'S                   15:55
3. HEIDEN, DANE          ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL     16:06
4. GARDNER, AARON        MARIBYRNONG COLLEGE            16:51
5. TAYLOR, LUCAS         MT EVELYN PRIMARY SCHOOL       16:53
6. MCSHANAG, CONNOR      ST CHRISTOPHERS SCHOOL         17:26
7. MASKELL, BENJAMIN     BOUCHIER ST PRIMARY SCHOOL     17:41
   ALLAMBY, BILLY        KAROO PRIMARY SCHOOL           DNS

U/14 Girls 3 km Schools Road Walk Championship
1. WHILEY, EBONY         CATHOLIC COLLEGE BENDIGO       15:50
2. BURREN, SARAH         ST MARKS PRIMARY SCHOOL        16:04
3. GEORGE, STEPHANIE     KILSYTH PRIMARY SCHOOL         16:16
4. CALLAWAY, JESSICA     MATER CHRISTIE COLLEGE         16:27
5. HEARD, AMANDA         GOULBURN VALLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL 16:32
6. ALBERT, ASHLEY        KILLESTER COLLEGE              16:37
7. HOCKLEY-SAMON, JMARA  CLONARD COLLEGE                16:55
8. ATTARD, BIANCA        AQUINAS                        17:11
9. WILSON, JESSEY        ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL     17:48
10.BERTRAND, CARLY       KILLARA PRIMARY SCHOOL         17:56
11.CAMPBELL, REBECCA     SYDENHAM HILLSIDE PRIMARY SCH  18:22
12.BARBOUR, BETH         BELL PRIMARY SCHOOL            18:27
13.GELOV, LAUREN         NIDDRIE SECONDARY COLLEGE      20:26
14.MCLAREN, STACEY       TULLAMARINE PRIMARY SCHOOL     21:32
   GUY, REBECCA          BERWICK PRIMARY SCHOOL         DNS

Our older walkers contested a series of different 20 km events – the Victorian Open championships, the Victorian Masters championships and our own VRWC men's championship for the Alf Robinson Trophy. Tom Barnes (1:29:07) and Megan Szirom (1:38:10) led from the front in the windy conditions, recording excellent times. Other top performances included Ralph Bennett (M65 – 1:56:43) and Heather Carr (W55 – 1:55:50).  We also welcomed Brendan Hyde from NSW who completed the M60 20 km walk.

Open Men Victorian 20 km Championship
1. BARNES, TOM           MUU    1:29:27
2. KOLLMORGEN, STUART    COL    1:46:55
3. DONAHOO, MARK         ATE    1:56:09
   JAMIESON, ANDREW      OSC    DNS

Open Women Victorian 20 km Championship
1. SZIROM, MEGAN         FKN    1:38:10
2. CARR, HEATHER         EAG     1:55:50
3. ROSEMAN, JUSTIJANA    ATE    1:58:59
4. ELMS, DONNA           PTN    2:24:17
   ADAMCEWICZ, ERIN      ATE    DNS

VMA 20 km Championship for Men
1  MCDONOUGH, AARON      M35    2:05:26
1  REID, ROSS            M50    1:55:10
2  DONAHOO, MARK         M50    1:56:10
   PROWSE, FRANK         M55    DQ
1  LUCAS, ALAN           M60    2:04:35
2  HYDE, BRENDAN         M60    2:44:56
1  BENNETT, RALPH        M65    1:56:43

VMA 20 km Championship for Women
1  ROSEMAN, JUSTIJANA    W30    1:58:59
   IRSHAD, KYLIE         W35    DNF
1  MCINTYRE, GAYLE       W40    1:58:24
1  ELMS, DONNA           W45    2:24:17
1  BRYANT, BARBARA       W50    1:56:20
1  CARR, HEATHER         W55    1:55:50
2  THOMPSON, ALISON      W55    2:04:02
3  FELDMAN, LIZ          W55    2:09:39

VRWC Open 20k  Championship - Alf Robinson Trophy   
1. BARNES, TOM           1:29:27
2. KOLLMORGEN, STUART    1:46:55
3. REID, ROSS            1:55:10
4. DONAHOO, MARK         1:56:09
5. BENNETT, RALPH        1:56:43
6. O'NEILL, TERRY        1:57:30
7. LUCAS, ALAN           2:04:35
8. MCDONOUGH, AARON      2:05:26
   BURGESS, SHAUN        DNF

Our youngest walkers contested 1.5 km club championships and managed to stay upright in the big winds. Bendigo visitor Jeremiah Jones won the Under 12 Boys championship to go with his second place in the Under 14 Boys Schools medal – a top performance. Connor McShanag who was second, had also contested the Under 14 event.  Other winners were Rebecca Guy, Kyle Swan and Paige DeLisen. The Under 9 Girls event was very closely contested with only a few seconds separating the first 3 – Paige, Georgia Bertrand and Rachel Guy.

VRWC Under 12 1.5 km Championship
1. JONES , JEREMIAH      BGO      8:44
2. MCSHANAG, CONNOR      VRWC     9:28

1. GUY, REBECCCA         VRWC     8:15
2. COLLINS, CINDY        VRWC     8:44
3. VENTURA, AMY          VRWC     9:23
4. MCLAREN, STACEY       VRWC    10:26
5. HARRISON, ANNALISE    VRWC    11:49

VRWC Under 9 1.5 km Championship   
1. SWAN, KYLE            VRWC    10:07

1. DE LISEN , PAIGE      VRWC     8:47
2. BERTRAND, GEORGIA     VRWC     8:50
3. GUY, RACHEL           VRWC     8:51
4. GEORGE, HAYLEY        VRWC    10:03
5. COLLINS, KRISTINA     VRWC    10:51
6. HARRISON, CHARLEE     VRWC    10:52
7. TAYLOR, LEE           VRWC    10:57

Finally, we had our usual club races on for anyone else who wanted a hitout.

VRWC Open 20 km
   JOHNSON, CELIA        DQ   

VRWC Open 5 km   
1. DICKENSON, RUSS       29:03
2. TINDAL, PAM           29:04
3. STEED, GWEN           29:17
4. HOLMES, JANET         30:12
5. PLATT, BELINDA        32:46
6. WICKS, BARRIE         33:54
7. STADUS, LAUREN        34:20
8. GRIFFITHS, CHRISTINE  48:58
   HERCULES, HARLENE     DQ   

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 21 JUNE 2008

Last Saturday saw another bumper crowd of walkers descend on Albert Park and race in perfect Melbourne winter weather – but it was a different sort of racing day. Our annual 'Guess Your Time' races saw walkers predict their finish time and then race without watches or lap times being called. The winners are those who get closest to their estimated times – and some were spot on. We had prizes for the winners in each division with a large number of walkers staying on to see who were the lucky walkers.

Only a small group chose the 10 km distance and, as discussed on the previous page, Daniel Payne was the outstanding walker over that distance and Nicholas Mirarchi also showed that he is getting fitter again with his 51:57. Most walkers chose the 5 km distance and Kylie Irshad produced her best walk for some years with her 25:54. Super vet Heather Carr was also to the for with 26:51. It was also good to see new walkers David and Deb Lenehan successfully test themselves over the 5 km distance. But of course the winners were those closest to their predicted times and you can see the results below.

10 km  Open             Time     Difference
1. Gwen Steed           60:49    0:26
2. Alison Thompson      60:24    1:14
   Janet Holmes         Disq   

1. Bob Gardiner         63:18    0:42
2. Daniel Payne         47:38    1:22
3. Nicholas Mirarchi    51:57    1:33
4. Ross Reid            53:57   
           
5 km  Open              Time     Difference
1. Celia Johnson        33:49    0:09
2. Christine Griffiths  49:47    0:13
3. Heather Carr         26:51    0:16
4. Donna Elms           30:37    0:16
5. Gayle McIntyre       27:49    0:19
6. Margaret Beaumont    36:55    0:20
7. Kylie Irshad         25:54    0:24
8. Kirstan Shaw         28:55    0:35
9. Lana Boddy           34:03    0:57
10.Deb Lenehan          45:38    4:37
   Harlene Hercules     Disq   

1. Barrie Wicks         33:53    0:07
2. Ralph Bennett        26:37    0:07
3. Alan Lucas           28:17    0:07
4. Clyde Riddoch        27:02    0:08
5. Mark Donahoo         28:50    0:20
6. Jason Elms           29:50    0:35
7. Harold Boddy         32:46    0:51
8. Lewis Clark          27:50    1:20
9. David Lenehan        30:47
   Ian Beaumont         Disq   
   Geoff Barrow         Disq   
   Filip Cosic          DNF       

The walkers in the 3 km races were spot on with a number within seconds of their predicted times, but none closer than Adrianna Crea who was only 1 second out. Unfortunately I could not get the camera going until after the 3 km event had finished (thanks to Robert Walsh who was put to work once his event finished) so we have no photos of any 3km walkers this week.

3 km  Open              Time     Difference
1. Adrianna Crea        19:19    0:01
2. Anna Wallace         20:44    0:22
3. Maryanne Harrison    20:42    0:22
4. Emily Payne          17:05    0:35
   Rosaleen Lenehan     Ab   

1. Lindsay Harrison     20:10    0:10
2. Damien Elms          19:09    0:11
   Gordon Onley         Disq   

3 km  Under 15          Time     Difference
1. Lauren Stadus        19:13    0:02
2. Jmara Hockley Samon  18:22    0:03
3. Jemima Montag        18:30    0:05
4. Hilary Brazel        15:53    0:07
5. Rebecca Campbell     18:48    0:14
6. Lauren Gelov         21:34    0:19
7. Annemaree Gerleich   18:19    0:32
8. Caitlin Campbell     16:23    0:43

1. Robert Walsh         15:22    0:02
2. Matthew Felton       15:40    0:05
3. Connor McShanag      18:12    0:10
4. Aaron Gardner        16:57    0:11

There were some great walks and some great guesstimates, especially in the Under 12 Girls division where the first 4 walkers were all within 7 seconds of their predicted times. 
               
2 km  Under 12          Time     Difference
1. Carly Bertrand       11:20    0:01
2. Beth Barbour         11:58    0:05
3. Bianca Attard        10:24    0:05
4. Georgia Bertrand     13:20    0:07
5. Stacey McLaren       13:12    0:15
6. Emily Hamilton       11:53    0:19
7. Amy Ventura          12:48    0:52
1. Reese Walmsley       11:00    0:02
2. Jack Hockley Samon   Disq   
           
1 km  Under 9           Time     Difference
1. Paige De Lisen       05:39    0:01
2. Charlee Harrison     06:48    0:12
3. Alannah Gloury       06:52    0:43
4. Gabriella Crea       06:43   

1. Ethan McShanag       05:59    0:35
2. Sam Candotti         06:04    0:36
3. Noah Candotti        09:28   
   Kyle Swan            Disq   

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 14 JUNE 2008

If we thought it would be a quiet day at Albert Park the week after the Canberra Carnival, we were mistaken – 73 walkers took the opportunity to race and there were some great results.

In the Open 8 km event, Daniel Payne surged through the 5 km mark in a PB 23:30 and continued on to a huge PB time of 37:58. The way he is going, he looks ready for a great 10 km and is now well and truly amongst the strong group of Junior male walkers who are pushing times down across Australia. Under 16 walker Robert Walsh walked his first 8 km event and his 44:18 was a great first up. Clyde Riddoch had his first race after being hospitalised with pneumonia and did pretty well considering his recent health setback. Natalie Laurie was dominant in the women's event and her time of 40:49 was another big PB and signals that she will be pushing the other top junior girls at the Nationals later this year. Kylie Irshad was next in with 41:58, her best time in a number of years. Hilary Brazel walked her first 8 km and finished strongly with a promising 46:06.

Open 8 km                           Handicaps       
1.Laurie, Natalie          40:49    2
2.Irshad, Kylie            41:58    1
3.Carr, Heather            44:18    6
4.Brazel, Hilary           46:06   
5.Thompson, Alison         46:55    E4
6.Holmes, Janet            47:17    E4
7.Steed, Gwen              47:55    3
8.Machin, Sylvia           52:53    7
       
1. Payne, Daniel           37:58    1
2. Kollmorgen, Stuart      39:40    5
3. Mirarchi, Nicholas      43:05    7
4. Bennett, Ralph          43:55    6
5. Walsh, Robert           44:18   
6. O'Neill, Terry          45:07    2
7. Riddoch, Clyde          45:39    3
8. McDonough, Aaron        45:48    4
9. Gardiner, Bob           52:24    9
10.Wood, Robin             54:23    8

Bernie Keirl (21:25) and Gayle McIntyre (22:22) lead the way in the Open 4 km events while handicap honours went to first year walker Kirstin Shaw (23:01) and septuagenarian Ian Beaumont (30:37). Anna Wallace had her first walk with the club (28:12) and enjoyed it so much she promised to be back again!
       
Open 4 km                           Handicaps       
1. McIntyre, Gayle         22:22    9
2. Payne, Emily            22:43    4
3. Feldman, Liz            22:47    8
4. Shaw, Kirstin           23:01    1
5. Elms, Donna             24:45    2
6. Johnson, Celia          26:47    10
7. Crea, Adrianna          26:54    5
8. Boddy, Lana             27:31    6
9. Harrison, Maryanne      27:43    3
10.Wallace, Anna           28:12   
11.Beaumont, Margaret      29:44    7
12.Hercules, Harlene       30:39    12
13.Griffiths, Christine    40:45    11
   Harrison, Annalise      DNF
       
1. Keirl, Bernie           21:25    3
2. Dickenson, Russ         22:14    9
3. Elms, Jason             24:44    8
4. Barrow, Geoff           24:54    6
5. Boddy, Harold           25:14    2
6. Damien Elms             26:43    4
7. Wicks, Barrie           27:14    7
8. Harrison, Lindsay       27:36    5
9. Morrison, John          28:01    10
10.Beaumont, Ian           30:37    1
   Onley, Gordon           DQ

The Under 15 events saw battles between Caitlin Campbell and Stephanie George (up from U12) in the girls and between Lewis Clark and Matthew Felton in the boys. Stephanie and Lucas Taylor, another U12 walker, took the handicap honours – it's good to see our younger walkers upping the distances now and then.

Under 15 4 km                       Handicaps       
1. Campbell, Caitlin       22:06    6
2. George, Stephanie       22:31    1
3. Hockley Samon, Jmara    25:06    3
4. Gerlich, Annemaree      25:37    2
5. Bertrand, Carly         25:58    E4
6. Stadus, Lauren          27:05    7
7. Gelov, Lauren           28:03    E4
       
1. Clark, Lewis            21:11    4
2. Felton, Matthew         21:18    3
3. Gardner, Aaron          23:10    2
4. Taylor, Lucas           23:11    1

The U12's and U9's had a spirited sprint over 1 km, sharing the main track with the older walkers for a change – and the times were hot!
On the U12 front, Reese Walmsley (5:02) and Connor McShanag (5:03) were hard to separate in the boys race while Emily Hamilton (5:35) and Beth Barbour (5:36) were just as close in the girls race. While Connor won the boy's handicap, Stacey McLaren was the girl's handicap winner with her time of 6:20.
On the U9 front, Kyle Swan (a very fast 5:13) and Paige DeLisen (5:41) were the quickest while Ethan McShanag (6:38) and Lee Taylor (7:34) took handicap honours. We also welcomed first timer Sam Candotti.
       
Under 12 1 km                       Handicaps       
1. Walmsley, Reese         05:02    3
2. McShanag, Connor        05:03    1
3. Hockley Samon, Jack     06:06    2
4. McNicol-Davidson, Cody  06:07    4
       
1. Hamilton, Emily         05:35    3
2. Barbour, Beth           05:36    2
3. Campbell, Rebecca       05:42    5
4. Ventura, Amy            06:03    4
5. Mclaren, Stacey         06:20    1
       
Under 9 1 km                      Handicaps       
1. Swan, Kyle              05:13    3
2. McShanag, Ethan         06:38    1
3. Candotti, Sam           06:43   
4. Hockley Samon, Harry    06:45    2
       
1. DeLisen, Paige          05:41    5
2. Bertrand, Georgia       05:48    2
1. George, Hayley          06:26    4
2. Gloury, Alannah         06:34    7
3. Crea, Gabriella         06:43    6
4. Harrison, Charlee       06:45    3
5. Taylor, Lee             07:34    1

RWA CARNIVAL, CANBERRA, SUNDAY 8 JUNE 2008

The 42nd Canberra Carnival was the biggest ever with 335 entries overall. Weather conditions were mild and sunny for the second year in a row and walkers made the most of the occasion with lots of big performances. The presence of 4 of our 2008 Olympic walkers (Jared Tallent, Adam Rutter, Chris Erickson and Claire Woods) gave the event a high profile and these walkers all performed brilliantly, as expected.

VRWC results were outstanding with a whole host of individual and Teams medals – a quick summary follows:

Individual Gold (5)    Open Men 20 Miles       Jared Tallent   
                       Veteran Men 20 Miles    Andrew Jamieson
                       Veteran Men 10 Miles    Mark Donahoo
                       U10 Boys 1 km           Reese Walmsley
                       U16 Girls 3 km          Rachel Tallent
Individual Silver (2)  Veteran Men 10 Miles    Maurice Prendergast
                       U14 Girls 2 km          Caitlin Campbell
Individual Bronze (4)  Open Men 20 Miles       Chris Erickson
                       Open Women 10 Miles     Regan Lamble   
                       U12 Boys 2 km           Billy Allamby
                       U18 Girls 5 km          Natalie Laurie

Team Gold (6)   Open Men 20 Mile Jared Tallent, Chris Erickson, Tom Barnes   
                Open Women 10 M  Regan Lamble, Lynnette Bannister, Justijana Roseman
                U10 Boys 1 km    Reese Walmsley, Ben Green, Ethan McShanag
                U12 Boys 2 km    Billy Allamby, Reese Walmsley, Lucas Taylor
                U14 Girls 2 km   Caitlin Campbell, Bianca Attard, Ebony Tallent
                U16 Girls 3 km   Rachel Tallent, Hilary Brazel, Amy Callaway
Team Silver (4) U10 Girls 1 km   Georgia Bertrand, Rachael Guy, Hayley George
                U14 Boys 2 km    Aaron Gardner, Michael Green, Cody McNicol-Davidson
                U16 Boys 3 km    Bradley Simpson, Robert Walsh, Matthew Felton
                U18 Girls 5 km   Natalie Laurie, Rachel Tallent, Caitlin Campbell
Team Bronze (4) Open Men 20 Mile Andrew Jamieson, Stuart Kollmorgen, Duncan Knox
                U12 Girls 2 km   Rebecca Guy, Carly Bertrand, Emily Hamilton
                U18 Boys 5 km    Joshua Platt, Bradley Simpson, Filip Cosic
                Open Women 5 km  Lynnette Bannister, Belinda Platt, Natalie Laurie

Event 1:     OPEN 20 MILES
1  TALLENT, JARED         VRWC    2:20:31
3  ERICKSON, CHRIS        VRWC    2:27:08
5  BARNES, TOM            VRWC    2:32:32
8  JAMIESON, ANDREW       VRWC    2:54:04
12 KOLLMORGEN, STUART     VRWC    3:18:09
15 KNOX, DUNCAN           VRWC    3:46:46

Event 3: AACT WOMENS & MENS 30K CHAMPIONSHIP
1  TALLENT, JARED         VRWC    2:10:00
3  ERICKSON, CHRIS        VRWC    2:16:28
5  BARNES, TOM            VRWC    2:21:30
8  JAMIESON, ANDREW       VRWC    2:40:12

Event 4: OPEN WOMENS 10 MILES
3  LAMBLE, REGAN          VRWC    1:24:11
7  BANNISTER, LYNNETTE    VRWC    1:26:23
9  ROSEMAN, JUSTIJANA     VRWC    1:32:45
11 RUSSELL, YOLANDA       VRWC    1:34:18
14 ATTARD, TAMARA         VRWC    1:36:12
15 ADAMCEWICZ, ERIN       VRWC    1:37:48
16 MCINTYRE, GAYLE        VRWC    1:40:13
19 ELMS, DONNA MARIE      VRWC    1:52:33

Event 5: OPEN MENS 10 MILES
2  DONAHOO, MARK          VRWC    1:29:36
3  PRENDAGAST, MAURICE    VRWC    1:39:00
6  LUKE, PETER            VRWC    1:48:02
   NUNN, PAUL             VRWC    DQ
   BLOOD, ANDREW          VRWC    DQ

Event 6: FITNESS 10 MILES
5  WOOD, ROBIN            VRWC    1:51:2

Event 7: FITNESS 5 MILES
2  ELMS, DAMIEN           VRWC    57:31

Event 8: BOYS U10 1,000 METRES
1  WALMSLEY, REECE        VRWC    5:33
4  GREEN, BEN             VRWC    5:56
8  MCSHANAG, ETHEN        VRWC    7:35
9  MCNICOL-DAVIDSON,      VRWC    9:42

Event 9: GIRLS U10 1,000 METRES
2  BERTRAND, GEORGIA      VRWC    5:37
9  GUY, RACHAEL           VRWC    5:56
11 GEORGE, HAYLEY         VRWC    6:18

Event 10: BOYS U12 2,000  METRES
3  ALLAMBY, BILLY         VRWC    10:29
5  WALMSLEY, REECE        VRWC    10:48
6  TAYLOR, LUCAS          VRWC    10:50
8  MCSHANAG, CONNOR       VRWC    10:55
12 MCNICOL-DAVIDSON, CODY VRWC    13:32

Event 11: GIRLS U12 2,000 METRES
6  Guy, Rebecca           VRWC    11:18
11 BERTRAND, CARLY        VRWC    11:37
13 HAMILTON, EMILY        VRWC    11:43
14 CAMPBELL, REBECCA      VRWC    11:45
16 BARBOUR, BETH          VRWC    12:02
17 MCNICOL-DAVIDSON,      VRWC    12:26
18 MCLAREN, STACEY        VRWC    13:08
19 OHLSEN, SHAE           VRWC    13:09

Event 12: BOYS U14 2,000 METRES
6  GARDENER, AARON        VRWC    11:20
10 GREEN, MICHAEL         VRWC    12:49
11 MCNICOL-DAVIDSON, CODY VRWC    14:19
   FELTON, MATTHEW        VRWC    DQ

Event 13: GIRLS U14 2,000 METRES
2  CAMPBELL, CAITLIN      VRWC    9:52
6  ATTARD, BIANCA         VRWC    10:14
8  TALLENT, EBONY         VRWC    10:22
9  GEORGE, STEPHANIE      VRWC    10:30
22 JONES, MADISON         VRWC    12:31

Event 14: BOYS U16 3,000 METRES
5  SIMPSON, BRAD          VRWC    15:09
6  WALSH, ROBERT          VRWC    15:31
10 FELTON, MATTHEW        VRWC    17:23
12 GARDENER, AARON        VRWC    18:26
   MCSHANAG, CONNOR       VRWC    DQ

Event 15: GIRLS U16 3,000 METRES
1  TALLENT, RACHEL        VRWC    14:35
5  BRAZEL, HILARY         VRWC    16:22
6  CALLAWAY, AMY          VRWC    16:31
10 PAYNE, EMILY           VRWC    17:04
14 ATTARD, BIANCA         VRWC    18:23
15 CAMPBELL, REBECCA      VRWC    19:35
16 BERTRAND, CARLY        VRWC    19:51

Event 16: MENS U20 10,000 METRES
4  PAYNE, DANIEL          VRWC    51:50
6  ELMS, JASON            VRWC    1:03:53
   BURGESS, SHAUN         VRWC    DQ

Event 17: AACT MENS U20 10,000 METRES CHAMPIONSHIP
4  PAYNE, DANIEL          VRWC    51:50
5  ELMS, JASON            VRWC    1:03:53
   BURGESS, SHAUN         VRWC    DQ

Event 19: BOYS U18 5,000 METRES
8  PLATT, JOSHUA          VRWC    26:07
9  SIMPSON, BRAD          VRWC    26:24
11 COSIC, FILIP           VRWC    26:31
12 WALSH, ROBERT          VRWC    26:36

Event 20: GIRLS U18 5,000 METRES
3  LAURIE, NATALIE        VRWC    25:56
4  TALLENT, RACHEL        VRWC    26:52
5  CAMPBELL, CAITLIN      VRWC    27:16
11 BRAZEL, HILARY         VRWC    28:24
13 PAYNE, EMILY           VRWC    30:19
19 GAGE, MYKAELA          VRWC    35:13

Event 21: WOMENS 5,000 METRES
4  BANNISTER, LYNNETTE    VRWC    25:32
12 LAURIE, NATALIE        VRWC    28:16
20 PLATT, BELINDA         VRWC    32:45
26 ELMS, DONNA MARIE      VRWC    34:45
34 STEPHENS-JONES, JOY    VRWC    42:11

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 31 MAY 2008

We had our biggest turnout of the year so far on Saturday with 93 walkers  The big number who zoomed through the first 1 km in well under 5 minutes was a sign of things to come and PBs were everywhere in this, the final club hitout before the Canberra Carnival next weekend.

Daniel Payne led the way with a great 23:57 for the 5 km, followed by Paul Kennedy with 25:03. Gayle McIntyre with 27:41 and Kirstin Shaw with 29:56 produced big PBs while Erin Adamcewicz (27:39) looks to be getting fitter with a few races under her belt. David Armstrong had his best race for the season with his 27:39 and it was good to see John Morrison back walking and not far behind his training partner Geoff Barrow.

Sisters Ayla and Talie Collins tested themselves out over the longer 10 km distance and both walked excellently, Talie doing a 1 min PB to win the handicap with her time of 61:16. Ross Reid did not finish but his alternate flourescent club uniform always ensures he stands out from the crowd!

10km  Open                            Hcp Place
1. Heather Carr              55:26    2
2. Yolanda Russell           57:43    5
3. Ayla Collins              58:23    4
4. Talie Collins             61:16    1
5. Gwen Steed                61:35    3
6. Alison Thompson           62:29    6
   Megan Szirom              Ab   

1. Ralph Bennett             55:22    1
2. Robin Wood                69:12    2
   Ross Reid                 Ab   
   Terry O'Neill             Disq

5km  Open                             Hcp Place
1. Erin Adamcewicz           27:39    3
2. Gayle McIntyre            27:41    4
3. Hilary Brazel             27:53    5
4. Natalie Laurie            27:53    8
5. Liz Feldman               28:39    6
6. Janet Holmes              29:07    2
7. Kirstin Shaw              29:56    1
8. Sylvia Machin             33:00   
9. Celia Johnson             33:53    7

1. Daniel Payne              23:57    2
2. Paul Kennedy              25:03   
3. Mark Donahoo              26:15    10
4. Filip Cosic               27:09    3
5. David Armstrong           27:39    1
6. Bernie Keirl              27:43    7
7. Russ Dickenson            28:02    9
8. Andrew Blood              28:08   
9. Alan Lucas                28:13    8
10.Murray Dickinson          28:56    4
11.Lewis Clarke              29:28    12
12.Geoff Barrow              33:23    11
13.John Morrison             33:37    6
14.Barrie Wicks              33:52    5   

We had prizes on offer for everyone in the Under 15 3 km walk and that meant that the 3 km numbers (Open and Under 15) were very big and the race recorders were kept busy. Robert Walsh was the fastest with a big PB time of 15:05 and he was one of many of the younger walkers who did likewise. Caitlin Campbell also walked a great race with 15:44 while 12 year old Bianca Attard walked her first ever 3 km with a wonderful 16:28. In the Open 3 km, David Lenehan joined Deb and Rosaleen in his first walk with us and his time of 19:43 was pretty good.

3km  Open                             Hcp Place
1. Tamara Attard             16:28    7
2. Emily Payne               16:39    2
3. Donna Elms                18:24    e4
4. Adrianna Crea             19:38    e4
5. Lana Boddy                19:53    1
6. Rosaleen Lenehan          20:30    3
7. Maryanne Harrison         20:45    6
8. Margaret Beaumont         22:23    9
9. Christine Griffiths       29:48    8
   Deb Lenehan               Ab   

1. Jason Elms                17:27    2
2. Harold Boddy              18:47    1
3. David Lenehan             19:43   
4. Lindsay Harrison          20:27    3
5. Damien Elms               20:49    e4
6. Gordon Onley              23:17    e4
   Ian Beaumont              Disq   

3km  Under 15                         Hcp Place
1. Caitlin Campbell          15:44    5
2. Bianca Attard             16:28    1
3. Jessica Callaway          18:14    8
4. Cindy Collins             18:33    4
5. Carly Bertrand            18:36    3
6. Jmara Hockley Samon       18:38   
7. Annemaree Gerlich         18:45    2
8. Lauren Stadus             19:32    7
9. Lauren Gelov              20:16    6
10.Annalise Harrison         23:23   

1. Robert Walsh              15:05    e2
2. Matthew Felton            15:43    5
3. Ryan Antidormi            16:05    e2
4. Dylan Sloan               17:14    1
5. Jacob Wright              17:24    6
6. Aaron Gardner             17:27    4

The Under 12 and Under 9 events were run separately and it turned out badly when the Under 9 walkers all turned early and did a short course. We will have to make sure that we have the bike leading the event when we do this in future. Shane Bertrand has volunteered to test out his bike riding skills! Anyway, the Under 9 distance was probably about 150m short and the times accordingly effected.

Stephanie George is having a great season and did yet another PB to win overall and win the girls' handicap in the Under 12 2 km event. Lucas Taylor and Connor McShanag had a great battle in the boys event with Lucas getting up by 2 secs with his 11:10. Paige De Lisen was the best of the Under 9 walkers and it was a shame that the course was short as our youngest walkers really walked well.

2km  Under 12                         Hcp Place
1. Stephanie George          10:48    1
2. Rebecca Guy               11:21    6
3. Emily Hamilton            12:01    3
4. Beth Barbour              12:04    2
5. Jade Sanders              12:06    e4
6. Rebecca Campbell          12:11    e7
7. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    12:48    e7
8. Stacey McLaren            14:03    e4

1. Lucas Taylor              11:10    1
2. Connor McShanag           11:12    2
3. Kyle Swan                 11:27    3
   Jack Allamby              Ab   
   Reese Walmsley            Disq   
   Jack Hockley Samon        Disq   

1 km (actually about 850m)  Under 9   Hcp Place
1. Paige De Lisen            04:22    4
2. Rachel Guy                04:32    6
3. Georgia Bertrand          04:45    1
4. Alannah Gloury            05:00    5
5. Hayley George             05:08    3
6. Charlee Harrison          05:30    2
7. Gabriella Crea            05:52    8
8. Kristina Collins          05:53    7

1. Ben Green                 04:59   
2. Ethan McShanag            06:20    2
3. Harley McNicol-Davidson   06:47    1

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 24 MAY 2008

Canberra is not far away and 88 walkers took the opportunity to hone their racing skills at Albert Park last Saturday in perfect Melbourne weather. Daniel Payne led from the front and was rewarded with an excellent 49:49 for the 10 km. In the women's 10 km, Kylie Irshad, only weeks after saying she was going to restrict herself to the shorter races, took fastest time and a handicap win with her 55:46. Other 10 km wakers who caught my attention were Shaun Burgess, Aaron McDonough and Donna Elms.

10km  Open                            Hcp Place
1. Kylie Irshad              55:46    1
2. Heather Carr              56:16    5
3. Gayle McIntyre            58:37    4
4. Tamara Attard             61:57    6
5. Gwen Steed                62:19    3
6. Donna Elms                67:48    2
7. Margaret Beaumont         76:57    7

1. Daniel Payne              49:49    no previous time
2. Ralph Bennett             55:17    3
3. Shaun Burgess             55:59    4
4. Russ Dickenson            56:07    2
5. Aaron McDonough           57:49    1
6. Alan Lucas                59:41    5

As usual, lots of walkers contested the shorter events. Natalie Laurie (Open 5 km) and Amy Burren (U15 3 km) led from the front  in the girls' sections while Nicholas Mirarchi (Open 5 km) was the fastest of the men. Amy was one of 15 walkers who contested the Under 15 events – that is a fantastic depth. While Amy and Matthew Felton took fastest times, Ashley Albert and Dylan Sloan were the handicap winners.

5km  Open                             Hcp Place
1. Natalie Laurie            26:14    4
2. Hilary Brazel             28:02    3
3. Talie Collins             28:59    1
4. Liz Feldman               29:06    7
5. Janet Holmes              29:17    2
6. Kirstin Shaw              31:36    5
7. Christine Griffiths       50:32    6
8. Beth Alexander            Ab   

1. Nicholas Mirarchi         24:54    2
2. Mark Donahoo              26:31    8
3. Robert Walsh              26:37    4
4. Filip Cosic               26:54    1
5. Robert Gardiner           29:32    5
6. Jason Elms                30:22    3
7. John Morrison             34:05    7
8. Barrie Wicks              34:11    6
9. Geoff Barrow              Disq   
10.Ian Beaumont              Disq

3km  Open                             Hcp Place
1. Lana Boddy                20:04    2
2. Maryanne Harrison         20:16    1
3. Adrianna Crea             20:22    3
4. Tracey McGougan           20:23   
 
1. Harold Boddy              19:19    1
2. Gordon Onley              22:47    2
3. Damien Elms               Disq   

3km  Under 15                         Hcp Place
1. Amy Burren                15:06    3
2. Caitlin Campbell          16:13    e6
3. Sarah Burren              16:30    2
4. Ashley Albert             16:52    1
5. Amy Callaway              16:58    e6
6. Cindy Collins             19:14    no previous time
7. Annemaree Gerlich         19:44    4
8. Lauren Stadus             20:07    no previous time
9. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    20:33    5
10.Lauren Gelov              21:31    8

1. Matthew Felton            16:10    4
2. Dylan Sloan               17:20    1
3. Lucas Taylor              17:46    2
4. Aaron Gardner             17:50    3
5. Cody McNicol-Davidson     20:58    no previous time

We also had lots of Under 12 and Under 9 walkers – 31 in fact – and it was a great race to watch. The U9's did one lap with Paige DeLisen and Ethan McShanag winning their respective divisions. The U12's did 2 laps and there was no one who could go with Bianca Attard. She just gets better every time she races and her 10:33 was very impressive. Billy Allamby the fastest of the boys with 10:51 so he was not too far behind and a short distance ahead of Stephanie George who was next in with 11:02 and won the girls' handicap. Kyle Swan moved up from U9 and his 11:19 won him the boys' handicap – a great walk.

2km  Under 12                          Hcp Place
1. Bianca Attard              10:33    6
2. Stephanie George           11:02    1
3. Jemima Montag              11:49    8
4. Carly Bertrand             11:52    10
5. Jade Sanders               12:05    3
6. Rebecca Campbell           12:08    9
7. Beth Barbour               12:13    2
8. Emily Hamilton             12:31    5
9. Amy Ventura                13:13    4
10.Stacey McLaren             14:22    7

1. Billy Allamby              10:51    2
2. Kyle Swan                  11:19    1
3. Connor McShanag            11:52    3
4. Michael Green              15:06    Invitation
5. Ben Green                  15:07    4
6. Mitchell Green             18:18    5
7. Reese Walmsley             Disq   
8. Jack Allamby               DNF

1km  Under 9                          Hcp Place
1. Paige De Lisen             5:48    e4
2. Georgia Bertrand           6:16    e4
3. Hayley George              6:33    1
4. Alannah Gloury             6:35    7
5. Kristina Collins           6:36    2
6. Charlee Harrison           6:56    3
7. Annalise Harrison          7:16    Invitation
8. Emily McDonough            8:36    6
9. Lee Taylor                 9:10    8

1. Ethan McShanag             8:00    1
2. Harley McNicol-Davidson    9:58    no previous time

VRWC VICTORIAN COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, SUNDAY 18 MAY 2008

The Victorian Country Roadwalking Championships were held in Victoria Park in Ballarat on Sunday morning with the weather still at its wintery best with low temperatures and a freezing wind but that did not deter the 58 walkers in attendance and some very competitive racing was seen. The day also featured the Victorian Open 15 km championships and these events were won by super veteran Andrew Jamieson and World Cup Rep Megan Szirom respectively. Presentations were made by World Cup reps Jared Tallent and Claire Woods and they were in demand after the events, signing everything from tee shirts to shoes! Daryl Biggin of Ballarat Walkers Club did a great job to bring it all together and the morning progressed without any issues. A BBQ was held after the carnival to complete the day's activities. Gordon Loughnan (Chief), Peter Vysma, Ken Hall, Ralph Bennett and Shane Bertrand made up the judging panel. The standard of walking was good and there were no disqualifications. Results were as follows

Victorian Open Men 15 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Andrew Jamieson             OSC    1:16:33
2. Stuart Kollmorgen           COL    1:23:37
3. Mark Donahoo                ATE    1:26:19
   Ross Reid                   COL    DNS

Victorian Open Women 15 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Megan Szirom                FKN    1:19:50
2. Justijana Roseman           ATE    1:31:54
3. Erin Adamcewicz             ATE    1:35:44
   Lynnette Bannister          DKN    DNF

Victorian Country Open Men 10 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Paul Nunn                   WEN    1:02:02
2. Peter Luke                  WEN    1:11:11
   Harold Boddy                COR    DNF
   Maurice Prendergast (INVIT) BALL   1:05:46

Victorian Country Open Women 10 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Yolanda Russell             GLG    0:59:02
2. Heather Carr                EAG    0:59:23
3. Barbara Bryant              EAG    1:00:41
4. Tyne Boddy                  COR    1:13:45

Victorian Country Under 20 Men 5 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Daniel Payne                COR    25:52
2. Shaun Burgess               CHI    28:26

Victorian Country Under 20 Women 5 km Roadwalking Championship
   Jessie Palfreyman           EAG    DNS

Victorian Country Under 18 Men 5 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Nicholas Mirarchi           COR    26:02
   Josh Platt (INVIT)          BALL   31:02

Victorian Country Under 18 Women 5 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Katrina Maskell             SBE    32:36
2. Keely Trew                  SBE    34:32
3. Mykaela Gage                COR    36:06
4. Lana Boddy                  COR    37:17

Victorian Country Under 16 Men 3 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Lewis Clark                 CHI    16:52
2. Peter Curtis                SBE    17:11
3. Michael Green               SCA    21:42

Victorian Country Under 16 Women 3 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Rachel Tallent              BYC    15:43
2. Ebony Tallent               BYC    17:05
3. Emily Payne                 COR    17:30
4. Ebony-Jade Jones            EAG    21:50
 Caitlin Campbell (INVIT)      ATE    17:00

Victorian Country Under 14 Men 3 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Dane Heiden                 BEU    17:29
2. Jeremiah Jones              EAG    18:15
3. Lucas Taylor                SCA    18:18
4. Ben Maskell                 EAG    18:47
5. Mitchell Green              SCA    26:10

Victorian Country Under 14 Women 3 km Roadwalking Championship
1. Ebony Whiley                EAG    17:41
2. Amanda Heard                EAG    17:45
3. Stephanie George            SCA    17:54
   Madi Jones (INVIT)          BALL   21:47
   Rebecca Guy                 SCA    DNS
   Rachel Guy                  SCA    DNS
   Jmara Hockley Samon         CHI    DNS
   Jessie Wilson               EAG    DNS

Racewalking Victoria Under 12 2 km Roadwalking Championships
1. Jeremiah Jones              BGO    13:05
2. Connor McShanag             VRWC   15:46

1. Carly Bertrand              VRWC   11:58
2. Rebecca Campbell            VRWC   12:32
3. Lauren Stadus               VRWC   13:23
4. Shae Ohlsen                 BALL   14:16

Racewalking Victoria Under 10 1 km Roadwalking Championships
1. Ben Green                   VRWC    6:39

1. Rachel Guy                  VRWC    5:59
2. Georgia Bertrand            VRWC    6:05
3. Amy Ventura                 VRWC    6:21
4. Hayley George               VRWC    7:51
5. Lee Taylor                  VRWC    8:12
   Kyla Green                  VRWC    DNF

Open 5 km Racewalk
1. Belinda Platt               BALL   35:40
2. Joy Stephen-Jones           BALL   43:18
3. Mary Lorensini              BALL   61:27

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 17 MAY 2008

Melbourne turned on its wintery best on Saturday with cold cold weather and continuous rain but we still had over 40 hardy walkers who challenged the elements at Albert Park. Interestingly, a number of walkers did quite good PBs so the weather might not have been quite so bad for walking as we thought.  In the 8 km walk, Donna Elms took a couple of minutes off her best time with 52:50 while Style Award leaders Kylie Irshad and Ross Dickenson were fastest overall.

8km  Open                        Hcp Place
1. Kylie Irshad         43:57    2
2. Liz Feldman          48:43    3
3. Janet Holmes         49:04    4
4. Donna Elms           52:50    1
   Celia Johnson        Disq   

1. Russ Dickenson       44:12    1
2. Alan Lucas           46:27    2
3. Robin Wood           55:49    3
   Ralph Bennett        Disq   

The 4 km distance was the most popular with most walkers opting to be out in the rain for as little time as possible! Natalie Laurie is approaching top form and her 20:35 was not far off her best. Heather Carr warmed up for the Country Champs on Sunday with 21:29. Maryanne and Lindsay Harrison both did PBs to win the handicaps while Aaron McDonough was the fastest of the men.
               
4km  Open                        Hcp Place
1. Natalie Laurie       20:35    2
2. Heather Carr         21:29    8
3. Gayle McIntyre       22:17    4
4. Gwen Steed           23:31    5
5. Adrianna Crea        26:20    3
6. Maryanne Harrison    27:26    1
7. Margaret Beaumont    29:49    6
8. Christine Griffiths  40:03    7

1. Aaron McDonough      22:09    2
2. Jason Elms           24:59    4
3. Barrie Wicks         27:03    3
4. Lindsay Harrison     27:32    1
   Damien Elms          Disq   
   Ian Beaumont         Disq   
   Gordon Onley         Disq   

Our Under 15 walkers were obviously in warmup mode and thinking of Canberra so were out in force. Aaron Gardiner did a big PB  while Bradley Simpson and Robert Walsh were also in great form out the front. Amy Callaway was the fastest of the girls but it was Lauren Gelov who took handicap honours, being another walker to do a big PB.

4km  Under 15                    Hcp Place
1. Amy Callaway         23:20    2
2. Lauren Gelov         27:58    1

1. Bradley Simpson      21:14    1
2. Robert Walsh         21:35    2
3. Ryan Antidormi       23:13    4
4. Aaron Gardner        24:19    3           

The Under 12 and Under 9 walkers had the worst of it with their section of course just about under water in places but they saw it out, albeit finishing rather cold and wet. Bianca Attard continues to lead from the front and her 11:04 was excellent in the conditions. Stacey McLaren won the handicap in the very competitive Under 12 Girls section while Rebecca and Rachel Guy and Lauren Stadus all warmed up for their competition in Ballarat the next day with good walks.

2km  Under 12                    Hcp Place
1. Bianca Attard        11:04    5
2. Rebecca Guy          11:59    6
3. Beth Barbour         12:24    2
4. Jade Sanders         12:24    3
5. Lauren Stadus        12:48    4
6. Stacey McLaren       13:52    1
7. Sophia Antidormi     14:05    7

1. Reese Walmsley       11:41    1
       
1km  Under 9                     Hcp Place
1. Rachael Guy          05:58    1
2. Alannah Gloury       06:50    2
3. Charlee Harrison     07:05    3
4. Annaliese Harrison   07:20    Invitation

1. Kyle Swan            05:37   

VRWC RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 10 MAY 2008

Nearly 90 walkers turned up on Saturday and had perfect racing conditions at their disposal. It was great to see a couple of our younger walkers, Beth Alexander and Talie Collins, test themselves out over the 10 km distance – and their times of 57:43 and 62:35 were excellent first ups. Ralph Bennett and Yolanda Russell were fastest over the 10 km distance while Russ Dickenson had a good day, getting second in the men's walk, winning the handicap and cleaning up on the style award!

10km  Open                         Hcp Place
1. Yolanda Russell        56:33    1
2. Beth Alexander         57:43    No previous time
3. Talie Collins          62:35    No previous time

1. Ralph Bennett          54:58    2
2. Russ Dickenson         56:35    1
3. Terry O'Neill          58:23    No previous time
4. Robin Wood             67:44    3
5. Rudolf Skrucany        69:27    4
   Mark Donahoo           Ab   

The 5 km distance was the most popular and Daniel Payne and Kylie Irshad both showed a clean pair of heels to the fellow competitors. Natalie Laurie improved by over a minute on her last walk and is quickly regaining race fitness after a layoff. Similarly, Fiip Cosic had a great walk in the men's division, taking over a minute of his last 5 km time. Both Natalie and Filip won their handicap events convincingly.

5km  Open                          Hcp Place
1. Kylie Irshad           25:44    7
2. Natalie Laurie         26:03    1
3. Heather Carr           26:48    8
4. Ayla Collins           27:10    6
5. Caitlin Campbell       27:48    2
6. Gayle McIntyre         28:08    3
7. Alison Thompson        28:29    9
8. Emily Payne            28:59    5
9. Gwen Steed             29:17    4
10.Liz Feldman            29:37    11
11.Janet Holmes           30:18    10
12.Kirstin Shaw           31:51    No previous time
13.Celia Johnson          35:04    12
   Lana Boddy             Ab   

1. Daniel Payne           24:08    2
2. Nicholas Mirarchi      25:22    No previous time
3. Filip Cosic            26:23    1
4. Bernie Keirl           27:34    9
5. Aaron McDonough        27:50    6
6. Alan Lucas             27:55    10
7. Murray Dickinson       28:42    4
8. Jason Elms             30:52    3
9. Geoff Barrow           31:16    7
10.Harold Boddy           33:08    5
11.Barrie Wicks           33:49    7

We also had lots of walkers in our 3 km events. Fastest overall was Barwon Walkers Club speedster Lewis Clark (15:21) who had a great battle in the Under 15 event with Robert Walsh (15:22) and Matthew Felton (15:32). Even though Robert and Matthew did PBs, they could not beat Aaron Gardiner in the handicap competition as his 17:16 was also a big PB. Amy Callaway (16:33) finished second to winner Hilary Brazel (16:27) in the Under 15 Girls and also won the handicap with her fine walk. And a special mention to Lindsay Harrison who is starting to look pretty good in the Open division.

3km  Open                          Hcp Place
1. Donna Elms             18:50    2
2. Maryanne Harrison      20:39    1
3. Margaret Beaumont      21:57    3
4. Shirley Coppock        23:44    4
5. Christine Griffiths    29:06    5

1. Lindsay Harrison       20:22    1
2. Gordon Onley           23:31    2
3. Ian Beaumont           27:51    3
   Damien Elms            Disq   

3km  Under 15                      Hcp Place
1. Hilary Brazel          16:27    5
2. Amy Callaway           16:33    1
3. Stephanie George       17:37    6
4. Rebecca Campbell       18:35    3
5. Jessica Callaway       19:02    7
6. Annemaree Gerleich     19:09    2
7. Lauren Gelov           21:03    4
   Carly Bertrand         Ab   

1. Lewis Clark            15:21    No previous time
2. Robert Walsh           15:22    4
3. Matthew Felton         15:32    3
4. Ryan Antidormi         16:08    2
5. Bradley Simpson        16:26    5
6. Aaron Gardner          17:16    1

Because of the large number of Under 9 and Under 12 walkers in attendance and because of the slightly tricky course being used, we split the event into 2 separate races, Under 9 first followed by Under 12. Next week we will be back to normal with a single event. The Under 9's were first up and Paige De Lisen lead from the front as usual to record 8:53. Georgia Bertrand also had a great race and is looking vastly improved since last winter. Her time time of 9:16 was good enough to win the handicap. And a special mention to first year boys Harry Hockley Samon and Ethan McShanag who both walked very well in their first ever 1500m walk.  Sorry to say we have no photos of our Under 9 walkers this week as our intrepid cameraman Stu Cooper was busy doing 3 km lapscoring at that time. Next week!

1.5km  Under 9                     Hcp Place
1. Paige De Lisen         08:53    4
2. Georgia Bertrand       09:16    1
3. Charlee Harrison       10:35    2
4. Hayley George          10:59    3
5. Kristina Collins       11:09    6
6. Emily McDonough        13:14    5
7. Lee Taylor             13:25    No recorded time

1. Harry Hockley Samon    11:52    1
2. Ethan McShanag         12:16    No recorded time

The Under 12's were our last event to get underway and what a great event it was. Bianca Attard and Billy Allamby had a great battle out front with Bianca recording 14:03 and Billy 13:56, while Beth Barbour (15:49) and Lucas Taylor (15:00) were our handicap winners. Since we did have a few DQ's it is time for a general comment. A DQ is not the end of the world – rather it is a call to the walker to review his/her technique and make changes for the better. Remember it takes reports from 3 separate judges before a walker is disqualified so it is not a once off view of one judge alone. If you are disqualified, it means that a significant number of judges have seen something amiss in your technique. Talk to chief judge Peter Vysma and find out if the reports were for contact or bent knees. Talk to our club coach Mark Donahoo if you would like him to have a look at you racing and suggest a plan of action Talk to your own coach if you have a coach. Remember, we are all here to help and we don't really want to see anyone disqualified – a DQ is a call to improve and everyone can do that!
                                   
2.5km  Under 12                    Hcp Place
1. Bianca Attard          14:03    7
2. Jmara Hockley Samon    15:22    6
3. Jade Sanders           15:36    2
4. Beth Barbour           15:49    1
5. Emily Hamilton         16:16    4
6. Lauren Stadus          16:18    5
7. Stacey McLaren         17:52    3

1. Billy Allamby          13:56    3
2. Lucas Taylor           15:00    1
3. Ben Green              17:55    2
   Reese Walmsley         Disq   
   Connor McShanag        Disq   
   Jack Hockley Samon     Disq   
   Jack Allamby           DNS   
           

VRWC AND VMA RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 3 MAY 2008

Our first club championships for the winter season were held in perfect Melbourne weather on Saturday afternoon and some 70 walkers were in attendance.  We started off with a coaching seminar, run by club coach Mark Donahoo and then onto the races.

The Open walkers were racing over 15 km and it was great to see 11 club members attack this longer distance. Lynnette Bannister, Kylie Irshad and Gayle McIntyre were our club medallists in the Elsie Jacobson Club Championship and Gayle, in particular, walked a huge PB to break 90 minutes.  A number of the men also chose to walk the 15 km club event to get times on the board for the newly announced Australian Masters record distance. The best of them was, as usual, Andrew Jamieson. His 1:11:43 will take some beating in the M60 level! Mark Donahoo put his credentials forward in the M45 with his 1:19:32 (Mark turns 50 in the next few weeks!) and Ralph Bennett will be hard to beat with his M65 time of 1:21:45. Tamara Attard won the Under 20 club championship with 1:40:21 – her first time beyond 10 km – a great effort!

15 KM OPEN WOMEN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - ELSIE JACOBSON TROPHY       
1. Lynnette Bannister     1:21:29
2. Kylie Irshad           1:27:30
3. Gayle McIntyre         1:29:07
4. Alison Thompson        1:34:13
5. Liz Feldman            1:38:22
6. Donna Elms             1:44:29
7. Margaret Beaumont      1:55:38
       
15 KM OPEN MEN       
1. Andrew Jamieson        1:10:43
2. Mark Donahoo           1:19:32
3. Ralph Bennett          1:21:45
4. Duncan Knox            1:28:32
       
15 KM UNDER 20 WOMEN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP       
1. Tamara Attard          1:40:21       

10 KM OPEN         
1. Robin Wood             1:08:30

Our 5 km and 3 km walkers started separately at 2:30PM and Beth Alexander walked a real beauty with her 25:10. Beth, who is only 14 years of age, easily won the Under 16 club championship for girls while Robert Walsh, with 26:30, won the boy's championship. In the open event, it was good to see Lindsay and Maryann Harrison testing themselves out over the 5 km distance and both walking very well. In the Under 14 championships, Caitlin Campbell and Hilary Brazel walked side by side the whole way and sprinted to the line, unable to be separated by the judges, their time 16:09. The Under 14 boys club championship was won by Matthew Felton with 15:47 in another very good performance.
       
5 KM OPEN        
1. Heather Carr           26:49
2. Erin Adamcewicz        28:09
3. Gwen Steed             29:19
4. Janet Holmes           30:47
5. Lana Boddy             34:30
6. Maryann Harrison       35:09
       
1. Alan Lucas             27:36
2. Bernie Keirl           27:56
3. Russ Dickenson         28:05
4. Murray DickInson       28:22
5. Jason Elms             30:28
6. Geoff Barrow           30:54
7. Harold Boddy           33:12
8. Barrie Wicks           34:12
9. Lindsay Harrison       35:00
10.Ian Beaumont           38:36
       
3 KM OPEN       
1. Ron Hugo               22:00
2. Christine Griffiths    29:47
       
VRWC UNDER 16 5 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS       
1. Beth Alexander         25:10
       
1. Robert Walsh           26:30
2. Filip Cosic            27:25
3. Damiel Elms            33:16
       
VRWC UNDER 14 3 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS       
E1 Hilary Brazel          16:09
E1 Caitlin Campbell       16:09
3. Jessica Callaway       17:16
4. Stephanie George       17:23
5. Carly Bertrand         18:55
6. Annemaree Gerlich      20:23
7. Lauren Gelov           21:13
   
1. Matthew Felton         15:47
2. Ryan Antidormi         16:11
3. Jacob Wright           16:40
4. Dylan Sloane           17:18
5. Aaron Gardner          18:28
6. Lucas Taylor           18:30

Our Under 12 and Under 9 walkers raced over a 1 km distance – the Under 12's must have found it a very short race indeed – our youngest members will also contest club championships over 1500m and 2 km later in the winter. Bianca Attard walked fantastically in the Under 12 Girls championship event to record the fastest time of 5:02 while first time walker Jemima Montag took silver just ahead of Rebecca Campbell with bronze. In the Under 12 boys event, Billy Allamby and Reese Walsmley had a great battle with Billy winning by 4 secs with 5:04 as against 5:08.  Jack Allamby walked well to take the final Under 12 medal with a time of  8:05. In the Under 9 events, Kyle Swann was fastest boy with 5:27 and Paige DeLisen was fastest girl with 5:57. The silver and bronze medals in the girls were fought out between Harley George and Alannah Gloury with only 1 sec between them at the end – 6:42 against 6:43. Apart from the club championship medals, we also awarded prizes to all other finishers in the Under 9 and Under 12 events.
       
VRWC UNDER 12 1 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP       
1. Bianca Attard          05:02
2. Jemima Montag          05:29
3. Rebecca Campbell       05:33
4. Emily Hamilton         05:56
5. Lauren Stadus          06:06
6. Jade Sanders           06:16
7. Amy Ventura            06:24
8. Stacey McLaren         06:34
9. Annalise Harrison      07:26
       
1. Billy Allamby          05:04
2. Reese Walmsley         05:08
3. Jack Allamby           08:05
   Connor McShannag       DQ       
       
VRWC UNDER 9 1 KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP       
1. Paige DeLisen          05:57
2. Hayley George          06:42
3. Alannah Gloury         06:43
4. Charlee Harrison       07:18
5. Lee Taylor             07:54
       
1. Kyle Swann             05:27

VRWC AND VMA RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 26 APRIL 2008

A bumper crop of 82 walkers turned up at Albert Park on Saturday for our scheduled club races. While conditions were cold and windy, the rain stayed away and the racing was keenly contested. Thanks to Mark Donahoo for the race results and thanks to Stu Cooper for the superb race photos.

The longest event on offer was 10 km and Megan Szirom and Rhydian Cowley, having final hitouts before their trip to the World Cup, led from the front with 47:04 and 47:21 respectively. The biggest mover of the day was definitely Rudolf Skrucany who took over 5 minutes off his best time with 64:16 – Rudolf is improving at such a fast rate that he will soon have quite a few of our better masters walkers looking over their shoulders. Clyde Riddoch was another to venture into the longer distances after swearing some years ago that he was going to restrict his activities to the shorter distances – and he walked pretty well with 58:50.

10km Open                          Hcp Place
1. Megan Szirom           47:21    1
2. Pam Tindal             57:45    3
3. Alison Thompson        60:12    2

1. Rhydian Cowley         47:04    2
2. Nicholas Mirarchi      53:20    3
3. Russ Dickenson         57:45    4
4. Clyde Riddoch          58:50    No recorded time
5. Rudolf Skrucany        64:16    1
6. Robin Wood             67:51    5
   Shaun Burgess          Disq   
   Ralph Bennett          Disq   

Our biggest fields were seen in the 5 km events which traditionally attract our older Juniors alongside our Open and Masters walkers. In the women's event Beth Alexander and Kylie Irshad took handicap honours as well as fastest times with 25:35 and 25:54, showing that it is possible for backmarkers to win the handicap if they walk well enough. In the men's event, Mark Donahoo took fastest with 24:57 but it was Aaron McDonough who took handicap honours with his 27:42.

5km Open                           Hcp Place
1. Beth Alexander         25:35    1
2. Kylie Irshad           25:54    2
3. Lynette Bannister      26:34    No recorded time
4. Heather Carr           27:16    11
5. Ayla Collins           27:52    10
6. Tamara Attard          28:33    12
7. Gayle McIntyre         28:39    4
8. Erin Adamcewicz        28:57    No recorded time
9. Janet Holmes           29:31    8
10.Gwen Steed             29:49    6
11.Talie Collins          30:09    3
12.Donna Elms             31:55    5
13.Lana Boddy             34:47    7
14.Mykalah Gage           35:31    9
   Celia Johnson          Disq   

1. Mark Donahoo           24:57    6
2. Daniel Payne           25:35    9
3. Aaron McDonough        27:42    1
4. Alan Lucas             27:59    5
5. David Armstrong        28:10    No recorded time
6. Murray Dickinson       29:35    No recorded time
7. Bob Gardiner           29:46    No recorded time
8. Geoff Barrow           31:08    3
9. Jason Elms             32:33    8
10.John Morrison          33:03    2
11.Harold Boddy           33:58    4
12.Barrie Wicks           34:09    7
   Ian Beaumont           Disq   

The 3 km distance was contested by a mixture of Under 15 and older walkers. Adrianna Crea, who has now moved out of the U15 age group, was both fastest time and handicap winner in the Open 3 km for women while Damien Elms, enjoying a good start to his season, did the same with the Open Men's event (but what happened to John Bunker?). Jessica Callaway and Lauren Gelov, both first year walkers with us, fought out the U15 girls event while the U15 boys event was a high quality affair with Brad Simpson taking fastest time just ahead of Matthew Felton while Aaron Gardner took the handicap honours. It is also good to see Dylan Sloane back after an absence of a couple of years and walking well.

3km Open                           Hcp Place
1. Adrianna Crea          19:45    1
2. Maryanne Harrison      21:36    2
3. Harlene Hercules       22:01    3
4. Margaret Beaumont      22:27    5
5. Pam Mews               28:51    4
6. Christine Griffiths    29:01    6

1. Damien Elms            19:33    1
   John Bunker            Ab   
   Gordon Onley           Disq   
 
3km Under 15                       Hcp Place
1. Jessica Callaway       17:55    2
2. Lauren Gelov           22:05    1

1. Bradley Simpson        15:51    No recorded time
2. Matthew Felton         15:56    2
3. Aaron Gardner          17:53    1
4. Dylan Sloane           17:58    3

And finally to our youngest walkers who were there in big numbers. Following on from our first time walkers last week, we welcomed a whole swag of new walkers to the club again this week – Jmara, Jack and Harry Hockley Samon, Rebecca and Rachel Guy, Jemima Montag and Gabriella Crea. In the Under 12 girls event, Bianca Attard took both fastest time and handicap honours with her 10:54 while Stacey McLaren is coming back well after her appendix operation last year and her time of 13:56 earned her second place in the handicap. In the Under 12 boys event, Billy Allamby took fastest time with 10:52 but there were some quality walks behind him with Reese Walmsley (11:02) and Conor McShanag (11:11).
   
2km Under 12                       Hcp Place
1. Bianca Attard          10:54    1
2. Stephanie George       11:33    5
3. Rebecca Guy            11:58    No recorded time
4. Jmara Hockley Samon    12:06    No recorded time
5. Jemima Montag          12:09    No recorded time
6. Jade Sanders           12:32    7
7. Beth Barbour           12:34    3
8. Cindy Collins          12:40    9
9. Lauren Stadus          12:45    6
10.Emily Hamilton         13:17    8
11.Amy Ventura            13:22    4
12.Stacey McLaren         13:56    2

1. Billy Allamby          10:52    4
2. Reese Walmsley         11:02    1
3. Conor McShanag         11:11    3
4. Jack Hockley Samon     14:11    No recorded time
5. Jack Allamby           17:27    2

The Under 9 walkers also raced well. Kyle Swan and Jayde Frank were the fastest once again but the cool windy conditions obviously made it tough going for our youngest contingent and their times were down on last week. We had a great race between Charlee Harrison, Kristina Collins and Gabriella Crea with all three girls crossing the line together in 7 minutes.
           
1km Under 9                        Hcp Place
1. Jayde Frank            05:59    3
2. Paige De Lisen         06:22    5
3. Rachael Guy            06:26    No recorded time
4. Alannah Gloury         06:56    4
E5 Charlee Harrison       07:00    1
E5 Kristina Collins       07:00    2
E5 Gabriella Crea         07:00    No recorded time
8. Hayley George          07:46    No recorded time
9. Amber Paton            11:38    6

1. Kyle Swan              05:41    1
2. Harry Hockley Samon    06:56    No recorded time

VRWC AND VMA RACES, ALBERT PARK, SATURDAY 19 APRIL 2008

Our first races back at Albert Park saw 72 walkers in action in warm and sunny conditions. Although I could not be there, feedback from various people indicates that it was a great day of racing.  You will see that the results contain one additional column – that of Handicap Place. Club handicapper Mark Donahoo keeps tabs on all VRWC races and allocates handicaps based on your past performances. That means that the first time you race a particular distance, Mark can't actually allocate you a handicap and hence you will not be scored in this competition. For that reason, a number of competitors have that particular field blank this week. That is a once off situation. We also started our Style Award competition and the results for that competition are included further down. Thanks to Stu Cooper for all the photos (and the ones last week also!).

We saw a large number of senior walkers in attendance and it was great to see many of them testing themselves over the longer 8 km distance. Rhydian Cowley led from the front with a fine 37:39 and my old sparring partner John Bunker was back in action, setting the pace in the 4 km event. Rudolf Skrucany and Donna Elms continued their good form from last week's track races and walked excellently once again.

8km Open                            Hcp Place
1.  Kylie Irshad           44:21    
2.  Yolanda Russell        45:03    6
3.  Pam Tindal             45:25    3
4.  Heather Carr           45:41    5
5.  Gayle McIntyre         46:41    2
6.  Alison Thompson        47:36    4
7.  Donna Elms             54:15    1
    Liz Feldman            Ab    24.20min for 4km
    Lynne Bannister        Ab    
              
1.  Rhydian Cowley         37:39    3
2.  Mark Donahoo           42:36    7
3.  Ralph Bennett          43:05    2
4.  Alan Lucas             47:02    4
5.  Russ Dickenson         47:15    6
6.  Murray Dickinson       48:38    5
7.  Paul Nunn              49:30    
8.  Rudolf Skrucany        53:35    1
            
4km Open                            Hcp Place
1.  Natalie Laurie         22:52    4
2.  Janet Holmes           23:51    3
3.  Gwen Steed             23:56    1
4.  Adrianna Crea          28:30    6
5.  Lana Boddy             28:50    7
6.  Margaret Beaumont      29:43    2
7.  Maryanne Harrison      29:52    5
8.  Harlene Hercules       30:36    8
9.  Shirley Coppock        32:12    
            
1.  John Bunker            21:45    8
2.  Filip Cosic            21:59    6
3.  Bernie Keirl           22:14    9
4.  Aaron McDonough        22:37    2
5.  Geoff Barrow           24:35    5
6.  John Morrison          25:50    3
7.  Jason Elms             25:54    10
8.  Harold Boddy           26:52    
9.  Damien Elms            27:11    1
10. Robin Wood             27:12    7
11. Barrie Wicks           27:34    12
12. Lindsay Harrison       29:41    11
13. Ian Beaumont           30:24    4
    Gordon Onley           Disq    
            
4km Open Fitness Walk        
1. Christine Griffiths    45:19    

Our Under 15s contested 4 km with Amelia Finnegan and Aaron Gardner taking the handicap honours. Amelia was also the fastest overall ahead of Jacob Wright. Lauren Gelov had her first walk at Albert Park – welcome Lauren.
        
4km Under 15                        Hcp Place
1.  Amelia Finnegan        22:13    1
2.  Nicole Hallett         24:28    2
3.  Caitlin Campbell       25:28    3
4.  Lauren Gelov           32:16    
            
1.  Jacob Wright           23:49    2
2.  Ryan Antidormi         24:03    3
3.  Dylan Sloan            25:16    
4.  Aaron Gardner          26:25    1

Our Under 12 and Under 9 walkers were present in large numbers – 23 in total! And we had plenty of first timers in action as well – Emily Hamilton, Jade Sanders, Jacob Richardson, Alannah Gloury and Amber Paton.  Billy Allamby and Reese Walmsley had a great battle and Conor McShanag was not far behind in the boy's Under 12. Rebecca Campbell not only won the Under 12 girls event but she was also the handicap winner.  Kyle Swan, who had his first walk with the club last week, was quickest in the Under 9 division while Jade Frank was almost as fast in winning the Under 9 girls event. Our youngest walkers have certainly got a fair bit faster since last winter and I am looking forward to some great racing this winter.
            
Under 12 2km                        Hcp Place
1.  Rebecca Campbell       11:57    1
2.  Cindy Collins          12:21    2
3.  Jade Sanders           12:37    
4.  Lauren Stadus          12:44    4
5.  Emily Hamilton         13:13    
6.  Chloe McNicol-Davidson 13:17    6
7.  Amy Ventura            14:03    3
8.  Stacey McLaren         14:36    5
        
1.  Billy Allamby          11:04    3
2.  Reese Walmsley         11:05    1
3.  Conor McShanag         11:22    2
4.  Jacob Richardson       13:12    
5.  Cody McNicol-Davidson  14:39    4
6.  Jack Allamby           19:14    5
            
Under 9 1km                         Hcp Place
1.  Jade Frank             05:38    
2.  Paige De Lisen         06:24    2
3.  Kristina Collins       06:55    1
4.  Alannah Gloury         07:02    
5.  Annaliese Harrison     07:16    4
6.  Charlee Harrison       07:20    3
7.  Emily McDonough        09:39    5
8.  Amber Paton            09:42    
            
1.  Kyle Swan              05:28    

VRWC AND VMA RACES, CLIFTON HILL, SUNDAY 13 APRIL 2008

Our VRWC winter season opened on Sunday at the Collingwood Harriers track in Clifton Hill with some 60 walkers in attendance. The Victorian Masters shared the morning with us as they challenged themselves in their annual 5000m State Championship.

In the men's competition, Stuart Kollmorgen and Andrew Jamieson fought it out in front, the older Andrew eventually taking the overall honours against his younger rival, 23:09 to 23:15. Mark Donahoo is getting back into good shape as shown by his 24:49. Ralph Bennett dominated the M65 with his 26:22, finishing just behind young whippersnapper Clyde Riddoch with 26:12 and just ahead of Russ Dickenson with 26:34. There is plenty of talent amongst this group of Masters.

The women's field was smaller but also displayed some quality walking. Kylie Irshad stormed to the front and won clearly with her 26:47 but she was coming back at the end and Pam Tindall perhaps had her in her sights with 27:17. Gayle McIntyre did a big PB with 28:39 as did Donna Elms with 32:14. Eaglehawk Club members Barbara Bryant and Heather Carr both easily won their divisions with 27:58 and 27:39 respectively while Margaret Beaumont walked a great time of 36:59 in winning the W70 division.

VMA 5000m Championship Men                
1  M35  Stuart Kollmorgen    23:15
1  M40  Bernie Keirl         28:45
1  M45  Mark Donahoo         24:49
1  M50  Ross Reid            25:30
2  M50  Clyde Riddoch        26:12
3  M50  Rudolf Skrucany      30:37
   M50  Paul Kennedy         DQ
1  M55  Frank Prowse         30:26
2  M55  Geoff Barrow         31:22
3  M55  Robin  Wood          35:23
1  M60  Andrew Jamieson      23:09
2  M60  Russ Dickenson       26:34
3  M60  Alan Lucas           28:06
4  M60  Ron  Bilston         33:16
1  M65  Ralph Bennett        26:22
2  M65  John Hallo           33:29
3  M65  Barry Wicks          34:57
   M70  Ian Beaumont         DQ
   M75  Col Silcock-Delaney  DQ
                
VMA 5000m Championship Women                
1  W35  Kylie Irshad         26:47
1  W40  Gayle McIntyre       28:39
1  W45  Pam Tindall          27:17
2  W45  Donna Elms           32:14
1  W50  Barbara Bryant       27:58
2  W50  Janet Holmes         30:00
1  W55  Heather Carr         27:39
2  W55  Alison Thompson      28:27
   w55  Liz Feldman          DQ
1  W60  Gwen Steed           30:00
1  W70  Margaret Beaumont    36:59
2  W70  Pam Mews             54:28

After the dust had settled from the Masters events, our own VRWC club races started. Andrew Jamieson, Stuart Kollmorgen, Paul Kennedy and Rudolf Skrucany decided that one race was not enough and saddled up again. In fact, Rudolf did a PB in the Masters 5000m and was just outside his PB in the club 3000m, a very impressive result. And Megan Szirom had a final hitout before getting on the plane the next day to fly to China for the IAAF Grand Prix 20 km race next Friday.  Good luck Megan!

VRWC 5000m Open                
1  Andrew Jamieson           23:57    
2  Stuart Kollmorgen         25:15    
3  Filip Cosic               27:39    
4  David Armstrong           28:47    
5  Catherine Rutherford      30:21    
6  Jason Elms                DNF    
   Megan Szirom              DNF (3 km in 13:28)
   Paul Kennedy              DQ    
                
VRWC 3000m Open                
1  Caitlin Campbell          16:47
2  Natalie Laurie            17:50    
2  Hilary Brazel             17:50    
E3 Aaron Gardner             19:10    
E3 Donna Elms                19:10    
5  Rudolf Skrucany           19:52    
6  Lindsay Harrison          21:55    
7  Maryanne Harrison         21:56    
   Damien Elms               DQ    

Our younger walkers were also on display with sisters Carly and Georgia Bertrand taking the honours in the Under 12 and Under 9 events respectively. We welcomed some first time walkers with the club – Catherine Rutherford, Connor McShanag, Lauren Stadus and Jack Allamby, and they all walked very well. For some of our walkers, it was their first hitout for some time with the long break since the summer season finished and there were a few cobwebs to shake out.

VRWC 1500m Under 12                
1  Carly Bertrand            08:28    
2  Billy Allamby             08:53    
3  Connor McShanag           09:04    
4  Rebecca Campbell          09:13    
5  Lauren Stadus             09:33    
6  Amy Ventura               09:50    
7  Stacey McLaren            12:16    
8  Jack Allamby              12:33    
                
VRWC 1100m Under 9                
1  Georgia Bertrand          06:38    
2  Kyle Swan                 07:00    
3  Charlee Harrison          08:05    
4  Annalise Harrison         08:16