The Victorian Race Walking Club

AV, RWA AND AV CHAMPIONSHIPS, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

Sunday saw the last of the winter season racewalking competitions and it was a big one with the annual long distance championships being contested in ideal conditions at Middle Park.

The main events on offer were the men's Victorian 50km championship and women's Racewalking Australia 50km championship and all four starters successfully finished the tough challenge. Box Hill walker Simon Evans added to his wins in the Victorian 20km and 30km championships to take his third gold for the winter in a big PB time of 5:17:01. He led the whole way to finish ahead of Gippsland's Terry O'Neill with 5:22:44 and Preston's Aaron McDonough with a first up 5:28:38.  VRWC walker Michelle Thompson mixed it with the men to win the RWA championship in 5:23:38, a new Australian Masters W40 record but well outside her winning time last year.

VICTORIAN 50KM CHAMPIONSHIP   10km     20km     30km     40km     50km
1. Simon Evans         BOH    0:58:57  1:57:59  2:56:42  4:01:17  5:17:01  PB 20:05
2. Terry O'Neill       GPA    1:05:52  2:04:19  3:12:19  4:16:25  5:22:44     
3. Aaron McDonough     PTN    0:59:15  1:58:24  2:57:44  4:09:11  5:28:38  First One
 
RWA 50KM CHAMPIONSHIP - WOMEN
1. Michelle Thompson   VRWC   1:02:10  2:05:00  3:08:30  4:18:17  5:23:37
 
A number of other VRWC long distance events were contested over 35km, 4 Hours, 5 Hours and 6 Hours. Husband and wife team Terry and Karyn O'Neill took the honours in the 6 Hour event in what was one of the morning's other highlights while Sandra Howorth and Gary Turner won the 5 Hour and 4 Hour events. Medals in the 35km Club Championship went to Simon, Aaron and Michelle.

VRWC 6 HOUR WALK     10km     20km     30km     40km     50km     
1. Terry O'Neill     1:05:52  2:04:19  3:12:19  4:16:25  5:22:44  54.971km
2. Karyn O'Neill     1:09:51  2:25:10  3:40:31  5:02:40           47.170km  PB 737m
3. Steve Jordan      1:16:04  2:37:52  4:01:53  5:27:30           43.873km
 
VRWC 5 HOUR WALK
1. Sandra Howorth    1:18:33  2:40:10  4:07:15  35.774km
2. Rudolf Skrucany   1:20:50  2:45:58  4:14:10  35.000km
 
VRWC 4 HOUR WALK
1. Gary Turner       1:25:12  2:56:14  26.000km
 
VRWC 35KM CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - RAY SMITH TROPHY
1. Simon Evans       3:27:20
2. Aaron McDonough   3:30:24
3. Michelle Thompson 3:41:23
4. Terry O'Neill     3:45:25
5. Karyn O'Neill     4:21:26
6. Steve Jordan      4:43:59
7. Sandra Howorth    4:53:00
8. Rudolf Skrucany   4:58:53

T he usual mix of smaller distance events were on offer and we saw high quality winning performances by Andrew Jamieson (20km in 1:43:36) and Nathan Brill (10km in 44:53). The 20km event also saw Barry Loveday, in his first ever racewalk, record a very impressive 2:03:55 while in the 10km, a number of our younger walkers stepped up for their first ever challenge over such a big distance - Adam Garganis 53:27, Shelby Kay 1:00:20 and Emily Swan 1:03:49. And a special mention for Liz Feldman who walked with a broken and plastered wrist!

VRWC 20KM WALK
1. Andrew Jamieson   0:50:43  1:43:36
2. Barry Loveday     1:00:30  2:03:55  First One
3. Adam Patterson    1:02:48  2:07:55
4. Heather Carr      1:02:48  2:07:55
5. Liz Feldman       1:09:33  2:19:43
6. Celia Johnson     1:12:31  2:26:01
 
VRWC 15KM WALK
1. Anna Wallace      1:00:26  01:41:48
 
VRWC 10KM WALK
1. Nathan Brill      0:44:53
2. Adam Garganis     0:53:27  First One
3. Reese Walmsley    0:54:43
4. James Christmass  0:55:54
5. Ralph Bennett     0:56:32
6. Shelby Kay        1:00:20  First One
7. Emily Swan        1:03:49  First One
8. Donna Elms        1:04:25
  Kyle Swan          DNF      32:47 for 6km
  Billy Allamby      DNF      22:00 for 4km
  Carly Bertrand     DNF

Thanks to our judges and officials who had a long day at the office.

Judges: Gordon Loughnan (Chief), Peter Vysma, David Cash, Michael Bodey, Terry Swan
Officials: Tim Erickson, Damien Elms, Ian Laurie, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers
Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Peter Vysma. Damien Elms
Canteen: Marlaine Stanway
Feed Station: Simone O'Neill

You can see our usual array of photos at http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine

VRWC ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

Our annual 'Beat Your Best Time' day saw 59 walkers at Middle Park last Saturday and races were keenly contested in very good conditions. This was followed by our Winter Season Presentations which are discussed later on. As usual, our photographers were busy and you can expect to see lots of photos in the VRWC Photo Gallery (http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine/).

The 10km races saw Karyn O'Neill 1:07:41 and Reese Walmsley 52:55 easily beat their season's best times to win their respective divisions while fastest times went to Pam Tindal 54:58 and Brad Simpson 49:39. Special mention to 11 year old Mikhala Hodges who bettered her own U12 10km club record by over 2minutes with a fantastic time of 1:06:21.

10km Open             Time      SB       Diff    Guess Place
1. Pam Tindal            54:58    52:56  +2:02   3
2. Jasmine Irshad        58:56     
3. Kylie Irshad          59:31     
4. Robyn Shaw          1:04:48  1:03:42  +1:06   2
5. Mikhala Hodges      1:06:21                        New U12 Club Record (PB 2:39)     
6. Karen O'Neill       1:07:41  1:10:49  -3:08   1     PB 0:12
   Emily Hamilton          DNF

1. Brad Simpson          49:39    49:11  +0:28   4
2. Simon Evans           52:14    50:03  +2:11   6
3. James Christmass      52:15    54:05  -1:50   2
4. Reese Walmsley        52:55    55:13  -2:18   1     PB 2:18
5. Terry O'Neill         58:51    59:24  -0:33   3
6. Duncan Knox           59:33    58:35  +0:58   5
7. Gerard Feain        1:02:09    59:05  +3:04   7
8. Bob Gardiner        1:04:48  1:01:12  +3:36   8
   Ross Reid               DNF     
   Kyle Swan                DQ

The Open 5km and 3km events saw 'Beat Your SB' wins to Donna Elms 30:10, Nathan Brill 21:31, Emily Ssan 17:21 and Tony Barrett 18:44. Welcome backs to Anand Thillaisundaram, Kelly Davidson and Sandra Howorth who we haven't seem much lately.

5km Open                 Time     SB      Diff    Guess Place
1. Heather Carr          28:09    27:45   +0:24   3
2. Anna Wallace          30:09    29:02   +1:07   5
3. Donna Elms            30:10    30:45   -0:35   1
4. Celia Johnson         33:29    34:03   -0:34   2
5. Simone O'Neill        33:36    32:39   +0:57   4
6. Sandra Howorth        35:41     
 
1. Nathan Brill          21:31    21:13   +0:18   1
2. Jason Kozica          24:42    23:20   +1:22   2
3. Russ Dickenson        30:17    27:58   +2:19   5
4. Anand Thillaisundaram 32:34     
5. Bruce Conboy          38:05    36:38   +1:27   3
6. Barrie Wicks          39:17    37:32   +1:45   4
   Geoff Barrow          DQ

3km Open                 Time     SB      Diff    Guess Place
1. Stephanie George      14:59     
2. Kirstin Shaw          15:49     
3. Emily Swan            17:21    16:39   +0:42   1
4. Cathy Huse            22:29     
5. Kelly Davidson        24:30     

1. Paul Kennedy          15:11    15:22   -0:11   2
2. Ralph Bennett         18:14    17:14   +1:00   3
3. Tony Barrett          18:44    23:00   -4:16   1
4. Gordon Onley *        19:55
5. John Morrison         22:44    21:43   +1:01   4

Our younger walkers were also out to beat their season bests and the best efforts in that regard went to Gabriella Crea 19:17, Paul Tremigliozzi 19:10, Jessica Lillie 11:41, Corey Dickson 10:10, Zara Irshad 10:09 and Jared Hodges 5:47. And special mentions to Paige De Lisen (PB 15:52) and Cody McNicol-Davidson (18:55 equal PB).

3km Under 15             Time     SB      Diff   Guess Place
1. Paige De Lisen        15:52    16:05   -0:13    2     PB 0:13
2. Rachael Guy           16:37    15:55   +0:42    6
3. Megan Walker          16:42    16:18   +0:24    5
4. Philippa Huse         17:20    17:27   -0:07    3
5. Gabriella Crea        19:17    19:42   -0:25    1
6. Madeleine Feain       20:11    20:00   +0:11    4

1. Cody McNicol-Davidson 18:55    18:55   -0:00    2     Eq PB
2. Paul Tremigliozzi     19:10    19:12   -0:02    1

2km Under 12             Time     SB      Diff     Guess Place
1. Brianna Lillie        11:19    10:50   +0:29    2
2. Brodie Richardson     11:23    10:44   +0:39    3
3. Jessica Lillie        11:41    11:25   +0:16    1
4. Kathleen O'Mahony     11:47    11:06   +0:41    4

1. Corey Dickson         10:10    10:02   +0:08    1
2. Hayden Walmsley       11:26    11:08   +0:18    2

1km Under 9              Time     SB      Diff     Guess Place
1. Gemma Lillie          06:22    06:15   +0:07    2
2. Zara Irshad           10:09    10:42   -0:33    1
 
1. Jared Hodges          05:47    05:59   -0:12    1

As usual, thanks to our many judges and officials. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Gordon Loughnan, Michael Bodey, Stuart Cooper, Lloyd Nichols
Officials: Damien Elms, Tim Erickson, Harry Summers, Paul Kozaris, Ian Laurie, Mark O'Mahony
Canteen: Wendy Cooper, Barb Gardiner
Course Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Craig Brill, Peter Vysma
Photos: Terry Swan, Sabrina George

AUSTRALIAN ROADWALK CHAMPIONSHIPS, ADELAIDE, SUNDAY 26 AUGUST

After a week of rain, the weather cleared just in time, allowing perfect racing conditions on a fast 2km circuit in the parklands alongside the Torrens River. With around 150 walkers in attendance, it was a successful carnival in every way. First well done to all the Victorian medallists. They did not have it their own way as SA, NSW, QLD and WA also sent strong teams and took their own fair share of honours.

Individual Gold    Masters Men 20km   Andrew Jamieson    1:41:52
                   U18 Men 10km       Nathan Brill       0:45:03
                   U14 Boys 3km       Kyle Swan          0:14:41
                   U16 Girls 5km      Zoe Boldiston      0:24:38
           Silver  Open Men 20km      Rhydian Cowley     1:24:34
                   Masters Men 20km   Simon Evans        1:45:33
                   U18 Women 5km      Stephanie George   0:26:34
           Bronze  Masters Women 20km Michelle Laufer    1:50:05
                   U10 Girls 10km     Alana Peart        0:05:26
                   U16 Boys 5km       Adam Gargaris      0:23:51
     
Teams      Gold    U18 Men 10km       Kyle Bird, Nathan Brill, Cody Mcnicol-davidson
                   U12 Girls 2km      Zahra Hayes, Tegan Miller, Jemma Peart
                   U18 Girls 5km      Stephanie George, Amanda Heard, Ebony Whiley
           Silver  Open Men 20km      Rhydian Cowley, Simon Evans, Andrew Jamieson
                   U14 Girls 3km      Georgia Bertrand, Hayley George, Rachael Guy
                   U16 Boys 5km       Billy Allamby, Adam Gargaris, Reese Walmsley
           Bronze  Open Womens 10km   Sarah Brennan, Kirstin Shaw, Michelle Laufer

And now onto the results which are restricted to the first 3 in each event as well as the placings of all Victorians.

The first events to kick off at 8PM were the Open 20km championships. We were very excited to see Olympians Jared and Claire Tallent on the start line but on this occasion it was Claire who provided the highlight, winning the women's title with an excellent 1:31:12, some 7 minutes ahead of Cheryl Webb with Lyn Ventris taking the bronze with 1:40:41 and breaking her own W55 World Record. Jared was happy to just participate, racing in third place for some 12km before stepping off the track. By that stage, Dane Bird-Smith and Rhydian Cowley had cleared out and they stormed home to take first and second places with excellent times of 1:23:28 (just outside Dane's PB) and 1:24:34 (a big PB for Rhydian). Behind them  the next generation of young walkers showed their potential with a whole string of times in the low 1:30's while M65 World Record Holder Andrew Jamieson showed he still has it with his 1:41:52 (98.52% age graded performance).

EVENT 1, OPEN MENS 20KM
1.  Dane Bird-Smith        1:23:28    RWQ
2.  Rhydian Cowley         1:24:34    RWV
3.  Brendon Reading        1:30:42    ACTRWC
9.  Andrew Jamieson (M)    1:41:52    RWV
12. Simon Evans (M)        1:45:33    RWV
    Jared Tallent          DNF        RWV
    Jason Kozica           DQ         RWV

EVENT 2: OPEN WOMENS 20 KM
1.  Claire Tallent         1:38:41    NSWRWC
3.  Lynette Ventris (M)    1:40:41    WARWC
4.  Michelle Laufer (M)    1:50:05    RWV
5.  Sarah Brennan (M)      1:53:07    RWV
6.  Kirstin Shaw           1:58:38    RWV

The 10km events kicked off next with Stephanie Stigwood recording a huge PB to win the Open Women's event with 50:10 ahead of Lauren Bourke 51:16 and Chloe Jones 51:48. The U20 championships were won by Brad Aiton (44:59) ahead of Blake Steele 45:33 and by Jessica Pickles 51:55 ahead of Kirsty Klein 52:16. The U18 title went to Nathan Brill 45:03 ahead of Jesse Osborne 45:57. Overall, good depth and excellent winning times.

EVENT 3: WOMENS 10KM
1.  Stephanie Stigwood     0:50:10    RWQ
2.  Lauren Bourke          0:51:16    NSWRWC
3.  Chloe Jones            0:51:48    REGAL
10. Donna-Marie Elms (M)   1:05:27    RWV
11. Robyn Shaw (M)         1:05:52    RWV 

EVENT 4: UNDER 20 WOMEN 10 KM
1.  Jessica Pickles        0:51:55    RWQ
2.  Kirsty Klein           0:52:16    NSWRWC
3.  Shannon Jennings       0:54:09    NSWRWC

EVENT 5: MENS UNDER 20 10 KM
1.  Brad Aiton             0:44:59    RWQ
2.  Blake Steele           0:45:33    SARWC
3.  Dale Hennighan         0:48:46    WARWC
4.  Bradley Simpson        0:51:08    RWV
5.  Joshua Kaiser          0:56:13    RWV

EVENT 6: Under 18 MENS 10 Km
1.  Nathan Brill           0:45:03    RWV
2.  Jesse Osborne          0:45:57    RWQ
3.  Jay Felton             0:48:46    NSWRWC
4.  Kyle Bird              0:52:53    RWV
7.  Cody McNicol-Davidson  1:08:25    RWV

Our littlest walkers were on stage next with U10 Invitational events followed by U12 RWA and U14 AA championships. Spencer Burns 10:51 and Tiahna Ruane 10:27 won the RWA U12 titles while Kyle Swan 14:41 and Jasmyn McDonald 14:31 won the U14 AA titles. Kyle and Jasmyn are regular winners at this level and both look to have big potential.

EVENT 7: Under 10 Girls 1km (SARWC Invitational)
1.  Summer Brown           0:05:13    RWCWA
2.  Renee Hardy            0:05:16    NSWRWC
3.  Alana Peart            0:05:26    RWV
4.  Mercedes Brennan       0:06:06    RWV

EVENT 8: Under 10 Boys 1km (SARWC Invitational)
1.  Logan Barendregrt      0:06:59    NSWRWC
2.  Ryan Hooker            0:07:51    SARWC
3.  Mark Hooker            0:08:21    SARWC

EVENT 9: UNDER 12 BOYS 2 KM
1.  Spencer Burns          0:10:51    ACTRWC
2.  James Plummer          0:11:04    NSWRWC
3.  Benjamin Reid          0:11:39    WARWC

EVENT 10: UNDER 12 GIRLS 2 KM
1.  Taihna Ruane           0:10:27    WARWC
2.  Samantha Brown         0:10:34    NSWRWC
3.  Summer Brown           0:10:41    RWCWA
4.  Jemma Peart            0:10:58    RWV
5.  Tegan Miller           0:11:00    RWV
6.  Zahra Hayes            0:11:01    RWV
14. Mercedes Brennan       0:13:37    RWV

EVENT 11: BOYS UNDER 14 3 KM         
1.  Kyle Swan              0:14:41    RWV
2.  Alix Harlington        0:14:54    SARWC
3.  Callum Burns           0:15:03    ACTRWC
7.  Jonty Brennan          0:18:03    RWV

EVENT 12: UNDER 14 GIRLS 3 KM
1.  Jasmyn McDonald        0:14:31    NSWRWC
2.  Anna Cross             0:14:52    SARWC
3.  Leah McDonald          0:15:14    NSWRWC
7.  Rachael Guy            0:15:55    RWV
9.  Hayley George          0:16:15    RWV
12. Georgia Bertrand       0:16:44    RWV
    Kay Shelby             DQ         RWV 

The final events, the U16 and U18 5km championships, provided the morning's dramas. First in the U16 Boys' event, Tyler Jones, Tom Doyle and Billy Allamby were locked together for the first half of the race until a knee injury forced Billy to slow. Tyler then applied the screws, forcing a winning break to his NSW teammate, 23:33 as against 23:36. It was yet another win for Tyler who dominates this age group. Then in the U18 5km race, Stephanie George was well in front and looking set for victory, only to slow and surrender the lead to Jasmine Dighton - the final result Jasmine first in 26:05, Stephanie second in 26:34. Finally in the U16 Girls' event, Zoe Boldiston and defending champion Jemima Montag surged to a big lead and looked set for a great battle when, at the half way mark, Jemima lost contact, withdrawing soon after. This left Zoe a long way in front and assured of victory. She slowed considerably in the last 2km but her winning time of 24:38 was still a big PB and a big comeback after a horrible last year of injuries. Clara Smith took second in 24:46 and was closing rapidly on Zoe. She too walked an excellent race. It was a fitting way for the championships to end.

EVENT 13: BOYS UNDER 16 5 KM
1.  Tyler Jones            0:23:33    NSWRWC
2.  Tom Doyle              0:23:36    NSWRWC  
3.  Adam Gargaris          0:23:51    RWV
4.  Reese Walmsley         0:25:05    RWV
5.  Billy Allamby          0:25:06    RWV
7.  Kyle Swan              0:25:54    RWV
15. Cody Mcnicol-davidson  0:34:48    RWV

EVENT 14: UNDER 18 WOMEN 5 KM     
1.  Jasmine Dighton        0:26:05    NSWRWC
2.  Stephanie George       0:26:34    RWV
3.  Breanna Brown          0:26:56    RWCWA
5.  Amanda Heard           0:27:39    RWV
6.  Ebony Whiley           0:28:18    RWV
9.  Chloe Ncnicol-davidson 0:29:00    RWV
11. Carly Bertrand         0:32:34    RWV

EVENT 15: UNDER 16 GIRLS 5 KM
1.  Zoe Boldiston          0:24:38    RWV
2.  Clara Smith            0:24:46    RWQ
3.  Katya Martin           0:25:42    RWQ
4.  Jasmine Ishrad         0:26:04    RWV
    Jemima Montag          DNF        RWV

VRWC ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 25 AUGUST

While most of our Victorian walkers were in Adelaide for the National roadwalk champs, we did have races at Middle Park for our other walkers and just on 30 turned up for a stroll. Stuart Kollmorgen was the gun walker of the day with a fast 38:59 in the 8km event.

8km Open
1. Stuart Kollmorgen    38:59
2. Simon Evans          41:33
3. James Christmass     42:52
4. Nicholas Mirarchi    43:10
5. Mark Donahoo         44:01
6. Bob Gardiner         50:21
7. Anna Wallace         51:04
8. Gerard Feain         55:06
9. Geoff Barrow         55:48

4km Open
1. Sandra Geisler       21:25
2. Erin Adamcewicz      22:37
3. Heather Carr         23:23
4. Gwen Steed           25:40
5. Barrie Wicks         30:47
6. Gordon Onley         30:48
7. John Morrison        32:12

6km Open
1. Ralph Bennett        33:55
2. Catherine Rutherford 35:43
3. Alison Thompson      38:05
4. Madeleine Feain      43:24

4km Under 15
1. Paige De Lisen       22:35
2. Gabbie Crea          26:35
3. Paul Tremigliozzi    27:42

2km Under 12
1. Brianna Lillie       11:28
2. Jessica Lillie       11:35
3. Lachlan Feain        11:46
4. Hayden Walmsley      12:01

1km Under 9
1. Gemma Lillie         07:02

Thanks to our judges and officials. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Michael Bodey, Lloyd Nichols, Dave Cash
Officials: Bob Gardiner, Mark Donahoo, Damien Elms, Ian Laurie, Marlaine Stanway, Paul Kozaris, Harry Summers, Mark Donahoo
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich
Setup: James Christmass, Bob Gardiner, Peter Vysma

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 18 AUGUST

It was great to be back at the weekly VRWC racewalks on Saturday after 5 weeks overseas but not so great to be thrown back into the throes of a cold Melbourne winter. With an Antarctic blast producing cold wind and rain on Friday evening and Saturday morning, the numbers at Middle Park were understandably small (only 35!). But lo and behold, the rain stopped, the sun came out for a while and walkers had pretty good conditions for racing. We even saw some PBs as our walkers had their last chance for a hitout before next weekend's Australian roadwalk champs in Adelaide.

And now to the races. In the 10km event, Emily Hamilton equalled her best to win the women's event with 1:00:46 ahead of Donna Elms 1:03:21 while Simon Evans continued his good form with 50:03. And how about Bob Gardiner with 1:02:32 at 76 years of age and Cody McNicol-Davidson with a 2 min PB of 1:07:10.

10km Open         
1. Emily Hamilton        1:00:46     Equal PB
2. Donna Elms            1:03:21    
   Kylie Irshad              DNF

1. Simon Evans             50:03
2. James Christmass        55:36
3. Bob Gardiner          1:02:32
4. Cody McNicol-Davidson 1:07:10     PB 2:11

In the 5km Open walks, Michelle Laufer 26:13 and Adam Garganis 24:32 were fastest. Special mentions also to the Walmsley brothers who both walked PBs with Reese 24:52 (first time under 25 mins) and 11 year old Hayden 33:03 and to Catherine Rutherford who walked a very impressive 30:29 in her first walk with the club. Alas, Shelby Kay was our only U15 finisher but with a good 16:26.
         
5km Open         
1. Michelle Laufer         26:13
2. Jasmine Irshad          26:20
3. Sandra Geisler          27:45
4. Liz Feldman             30:18
5. Catherine Rutherford *  30:29
6. Robyn Shaw              31:26
7. Gwen Steed              32:23
8. Carly Bertrand          32:24
9. Celia Johnson           34:03

1. Adam Garganis           24:32
2. Reese Walmsley          24:52     PB 0:35
3. Russ Dickenson          29:48
4. Alan Lucas              31:25
5. Hayden Walmsley         33:03     PB 1:28
6. Geoff Barrow            34:09
7. Anthony Doran           35:02
                 
3km Open         
1. Georgia Bertrand        16:57

1. Ralph Bennett           17:14
2. Gordon Onley *          21:18
3. Barrie Wicks            23:55
         
3km Under 15         
1. Shelby Kay              16:26
   Gabbie Crea                DQ

Our youngsters had longer events again this week and those who turned up had good walks with Hayley George 13:58 and Gemma Lillie 9:59 taking line honours. And a special mention to Tegan Miller who did a 30 sec PB with 14:34.

2.5km Under 12         
1. Hayley George           13:58
2. Brodie Richardson       14:25
3. Tegan Miller            14:34     PB 0:30
4. Brianna Lillie          14:46
5. Jessica Lillie          15:26
         
1.5km Under 9         
1. Gemma Lillie            09:59

Thanks to all our officials and judges - sorry if I missed anyone.

Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Damien Elms, Lloyd Nichols, Stuart Cooper, Shane Bertrand
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Peter Vysma
Officials: Harry Summers, Tim Erickson, Marlaine Stanway, Ian Laurie, Mark Donahoo, Kirstin Shaw, Stacey McLaren, Don McLaren
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Sabrina George

VRWC ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 11 AUGUST

54 walkers turned up at Middle Park last Saturday for the last day of our Winter Season Points competition. The Open and U15 events had Handicap starts so their results are listed in terms of actual finish position and their real times are shown in an additional column.

First to the women's 8km race where 10 year old Mikhala Hodges started as outmarker and then held out the field to win with an astonishing time of 50:20. She holds the VRWC U12 10km record at 1:09:00 and looks set to break that easily on her next outing. The other handicap winner was Simon Evans with a very good time of 40:33. The fastest times went to Sarah Brennan 43:34 and Jason Kozica 39:45.

8km Open Handicap Start   Start time  Finish time  Actual time  F/T Place
1. Mikhala Hodges         00:00       50:20        50:20        3
2. Donna Elms             02:09       52:38        50:29        4
3. Sarah Brennan          11:29       55:03        43:34        1
4. Liz Feldman            05:31       55:22        49:51        2
5. Alison Thompson        04:59       57:19        52:20        5
6. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 01:51       61:29        59:38        6

1. Simon Evans            14:00       54:33        40:33        2
2. Jason Kozica           15:38       55:23        39:45        1
3. Cody McNicol-Davidson  00:11       58:02        57:51        3

The majority of Open walkers chose the 4km distance with Gwen Steed 25:20 and Gerard Feain 23:20 finishing first while the fastest times went to Sandra Geisler 21:11 and Nathan Brill 17:15. Special mention also to Josh Kaiser who was in great form with 18:11. The U15 4km handicap winners were Megan Walker 21:41 and Reese Walmsley 20:00. Megan also took U15 girls fastest time ahead of Emily Hamilton with 21:44 while Billy Allamby was the fastest of the boys with 19:00.
                   
4km Open Handicap Start   Start time  Finish time  Actual time  F/T Place
1. Gwen Steed             09:51       35:11        25:20        5
2. Sandra Geisler         14:28       35:39        21:11        1
3. Anna Wallace           13:00       35:54        22:54        3
4. Celia Johnson          09:09       36:10        27:01        6
5. Heather Carr           14:22       36:35        22:13        2
6. Kirstin Shaw           14:31       37:25        22:54        4
7. Pam Mews               00:00       41:46        41:46        7

1. Gerard Feain           08:48       32:08        23:20        6
2. Joshua Kaiser          16:47       34:58        18:11        2
3. Russ Dickenson         12:18       35:44        23:26        7
4. Geoff Barrow           09:31       35:53        26:22        9
5. James Christmass       16:21       36:04        19:43        3
6. Alan Lucas             11:02       36:17        25:15        8
7. Jake Kellar            13:27       36:27        23:00        5
8. Nathan Brill           19:33       36:48        17:15        1
9. Mark Donahoo           17:10       37:44        20:34        4
10. Barrie Wicks          07:01       40:32        33:31        10
11. Alex Poore *          03:44       34:57        31:13    
12. Gordon Onley *        06:55       35:15        28:20  
13. Alfredo Davila *      07:05       43:19        36:14  

4km U15 Handicap Start    Start time  Finish time  Actual time  F/T Place
1. Megan Walker           04:52       26:33        21:41        1
2. Jessie Eastwood        04:14       26:53        22:39        5
3. Emily Hamilton         05:43       27:27        21:44        2
4. Shelby Kay             04:58       27:30        22:32        3
5. Carly Bertrand         02:28       27:32        25:04        7
6. Madelaine Feain        00:00       27:37        27:37        8
7. Paige De Lisen         05:30       28:06        22:36        4
8. Georgia Bertrand       04:20       28:44        24:24        6
   Gabriella Crea         01:09       DQ       

1. Reese Walmsley         06:55       26:55        20:00        2
2. Paul Tremigliozzi      01:12       27:04        25:52        3
3. Billy Allamby          08:29       27:29        19:00        1

The U12 and U9 walkers had scratch starts rather than handicap starts so their results are presented in finishing order and the Handicap placings are shown separately. Handicap winners were Tegan Miller with 11:21, Hayden Walmsley with 11:08 and Gemma Lillie with 6:19 while fastest times went to Hayley George 10:52, Corey Dickson 10:34 and Gemma.

2km U12 Handicap          Time     H'Cap Place
1. Hayley George          10:52    8
2. Brodie Richardson      10:56    5
3. Jemma Eastwood         10:59    2
4. Brianna Lillie         11:17    6
5. Tegan Miller           11:21    1
6. Jessica Lillie         11:30    7
7. Kathleen O'Mahony      11:36    4
8. Anaya Hodges           11:39    3

1. Corey Dickson          10:34    4
2. Hayden Walmsley        11:08    1
3. Lachlan Feain          11:51    3
4. Justin Brill           12:52    2

1km U9 Handicap           Time     H'Cap Place
1. Gemma Lillie           06:19    1

Thanks to our many judges and officials. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Michael Bodey, Harry Summers, Stuart Cooper, Mark Donahoo, Damien Elms, Marlaine Stanway
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nichols, Shane Bertrand, David Cash
Photos: Stuart Cooper, Sabrina George

VRWC ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 4 AUGUST

Conditions at Middle Park last Saturday were just about perfect for the 55 walkers who gathered for last Saturday's round of the VRWC Winter Season Points Competition. As Rudolf Skrucany explained: After a rainy night and early morning, the sun came out, dried the course, helpers swept the puddles, warm slight breeze near ideal conditions, almost like early summer weather.  

Jason Kozica and Pam Tindal were the best over the longer 10km distance while Chloe McNicol-Davidson  (with a huge PB) and James Christmass were the handicap winners. In the shorter 5km and 3km races, Sandra Geisler, Nathan Brill, Julia Irons and Josh Kaiser were fastest while handicap honours went to Kylie Irshad, Jake Kellar, Lachlan Feain and Julia.

10km Open                               H'Cap Place
1. Pam Tindal                  54:43    5
2. Chloe McNicol-Davidson    1:03:59    1    PB 2:42
3. Donna Elms                1:05:07    3
4. Simone O'Neill            1:05:42    2
5. Gwen Steed                1:07:27    4
6. Karen O'Neill             1:10:49    6

1. Jason Kozica                50:18    3
2. James Christmass            55:34    1
3. Gerard Feain              1:06:20    4
4. Cody McNicol-Davidson     1:09:21    2
   Ralph Bennett                 DNF

8km Open - Invitation
1. Rachael Guy                 51:50

5km Open    H'Cap Place
1. Sandra Geisler              27:19    2
2. Kylie Irshad                27:48    1
3. Heather Carr                28:26    5
4. Liz Feldman                 30:24    4
5. Kirstin Shaw                31:44    6
6. Celia Johnson               34:31    3

1. Nathan Brill                21:55    4
2. Jake Kellar                 27:52    1
3. Alan Lucas                  31:10    2
4. Anthony Doran               32:23    3
5. Russ Dickenson              33:36    6
6. Rudolf Skrucany             34:40    5
7. Alex Poore *                38:12
8. Gary Turner *               40:30
   Barrie Wicks                   DQ

3km Open    H'Cap Place
1. Julia Irons                 18:57    1
2. Pam Mews                    27:31    2

1. Josh Kaiser                 14:19    3
2. Lachlan Feain               18:24    1
3. Gordon Onley                22:11    2

Our younger walkers were also in action with fastest times going to Megan Walker, Billy Allamby, Jemma Eastwood, Corey Dickson, Gemma Lillie and Jared Hodges. Megan, Jemma, Gemma and Jared also won their respective handicaps along with Reese Walmsley and Hayden Walmsley.

5km Under 15    H'Cap Place
1. Megan Walker                27:55    1
2. Paige De Lisen              28:00    3
3. Shelby Kay                  28:55    6
4. Mikhala Hodges              30:37    4
5. Jessie Eastwood             32:02    7
6. Gabbie Crea                 33:37    5
7. Madeleine Feain             35:24    2
   Carly Bertrand                DNF   
   Georgia Bertrand              DNF   
   Emily Hamilton                DNF   

1. Billy Allamby               24:34    3
2. Kyle Swan                   24:51    2
3. Reese Walmsley              25:15    1

3km Under 12    H'Cap Place
1. Jemma Eastwood              17:13    1
2. Brianna Lillie              17:22    4
3. Jessica Lillie              17:55    3
4. Brodie Richardson           18:20    5
5. Tegan Miller                18:48    2
6. Elaine Irons                22:58

1. Corey Dickson               16:13    2
2. Hayden Walmsley             19:05    1

1.5km Under 9    H'Cap Place
1. Gemma Lillie                09:41    1

1. Jared Hodges                09:13    1

AV AND VRWC CHAMPIONSHIPS, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 29 JULY

Last Sunday morning saw the annual Victorian Roadwalking championships at Middle Park with some 65 walkers contesting events ranging from VRWC U9 2km to AV Open Men 30km. Stuart Cooper tells me it was probably our coldest day so far this winter but luckily the rain held off during the carnival.

The Victorian Championships took centre stage with the first event to kick off being the Open Men's 30km championship. Simon Evans won again this year and his time of 2:49:19 was over 5 minutes faster than his winning time from last year. The minor medals went to Terry O'Neill 3:04:54 and James Christmass 3:18:17 in his first walk further than 20km.

AV 30km Open Men           
1. Simon Evans            BOH    2:49:19    PB: 5:40
2. Terry O'Neill          GPA    3:04:54
3. James Christmass       COR    3:18:17
   Billy Allamby          KNA    DNS
   Bob Gardiner           COL    DNS

The Underage Vict Roadwalking Championships also saw some fine performances with PBs from 10km walkers Nathan Brill 44:24, Brad Simpson 49:11, 5km walkers Adam Garganis 24:32, Reese Walmsley 26:20, Jemima Montag 24:39, Zoe Boldiston 25:27 and Stephanie George 25:40 and 3km walkers Kyle Swan 14:47, Shelby Kay 16:25, Hayley George 16:30 and Georgia Bertrand 16:41.

AV U20 Womens 10km           
1. Chloe McNicol-Davidson SCA    1:08:41
           
AV U20 Mens 10km           
1. Brad Simpson           KNA       49:11    PB 0:10
2. Cody McNicol-Davidson  SCA    1:09:47
   Joshua Dillon          COR    DNF
   Kyle Bird              MPA    DNS
           
AV U18 Mens 10km           
1. Nathan Brill           BXH    44:24    PB 0:28
2. Kyle Bird              MPA    57:10
           
AV  U18 Women 5km           
1. Stephanie George       SCA    25:40
2. Amelia Finnegan        KNA    27:12
3. Amanda Heard           EAG    27:15
4. Sarah Burren           KNX    28:14
   Ebony Whiley           EAG    DNS
           
AV U16 Men 5km           
1. Adam Garganis          COL    24:32
2. Reese Walmsley         KNX    26:20    PB 0:42
3. Ross Darlow            EKA    27:15    First one
   Billy Allamby          KNX    DNS
   Jeremiah Jones         EAG    DNS
           
AV U16 Women 5km           
1. Jemima Montag          MAC    24:39
2. Zoe Boldiston          SBE    25:27    PB 0:16
3. Jasmine Irshad         SCA    26:53
4. Emily Hamilton         KNX    27:50
5. Megan Walker           COR    28:25
           
AV U14 Men 3km           
1. Kyle Swan              KNX    14:47
2. James Burren           KNX    17:45    First one
           
AV U14 Women 3km           
1. Shelby Kay             KNX    16:25
2. Hayley George          SCA    16:30    PB 0:15
3. Georgia Bertrand       KSB    16:41    PB 0:12
4. Mikhala Hodges         KNX    18:17
   Rachael Guy            CCA    DNS

VRWC also hosted its own selection of club championships – congratulations to Open Women club champion Michelle Laufer and to U9 and U12 club champions Alanna Peart, Jared Hodges, Brianna Lillie and Hayden Walmsley.
       
VRWC Open Women 10km Championship - Mabel Robinson Trophy       
1. Michelle Laufer        53:41
2. Pam Tindal             54:04
3. Mathilde Lacaze        58:15
4. Robyn Shaw           1:05:17
       
VRWC U9 2km Club Championship       
1. Alanna Peart           11:45
2. Carissa Brook          12:45
3. Gemma Lillie           13:04
4. Mia Darlow             15:37

1. Jared Hodges           14:37
       
VRWC U12 3km Club Championship       
1. Brianna Lillie         16:30
2. Jemma Peart            16:42
3. Brodie Richardson      17:22
4. Zahra Hayes            17:55
5. Jessica Lillie         18:10
6. Kathleen O'Mahony      18:13
7. Anaya Hodges           18:14
8. Tegan Miller           19:48
9. Lee Taylor             20:01
10. Beatrice Laufer       24:46

1. Hayden Walmsley        18:56
2. Ethan Wright           19:46
   Corey Dickson          DQ

Finally to our VRWC Open races which included some significant highlights. We had a 3 Hours Open Walk in conjunction with the Victorian 30km event and Simon Evans went on after finishing his 30km to record a final distance of 31.399km. Karyn O'Neill also finished the 3 hour walk in the tough conditions – her distance a very good 5.000km. Others to do well in the shorter distance events included Josh Kaiser (a 10km PB of 49:40), Jason Kozica (24:26 for 5km) and Jake Keller (a 5km PB of 27:39). But the real highlight was provided by Masters surpremo Andrew Jamieson whose 20km time of 1:40:13 bettered his own M65 World Record of  1:41:27 by over 1 minute. Mark Donahoo tells me that Andrew's age graded performance comes out at 100.12% ! There is no stopping him as he continues to rewrite the record books.

VRWC 3 Hours Open Walk
1. Simon  Evans           31.399 km       
2. Karyn O'Neill *        25.000 km
   Simone O'Neill         DNF
   Kirstin Shaw           DNF
       
Open 20km Race       
1. Andrew Jamieson        1:40:13    M65 World Best
2. Adam Patterson         2:03:31
       
Open 10km Race       
1. Josh Kaiser            49:40    PB 0:22
       
Open 5km Race
1. Jason Kozica           24:26
2. Jake Kellar            27:39    PB 1:44   
3. Liz Feldman            30:29
4. Donna Elms             31:22
5. Russ Dickenson         32:33
   Connor McShanag        DNF
   Gabbie Crea            DQ

Finally thanks to all our judges and officials. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Judges: Judy Mason (Chief), Lincoln Mar, Shane Bertrand, Lloyd Nichols, Kathleen Marsh, Matt Owen, Ralph Bennett, Alan Lucas, Brenda Felton, Gordon Loughnan (DQ Board), Peter Vysma (DQ Board)
Officials: Harry Summers, Mark Donahoo, Stuart Cooper,Damien Elms, Duncan Knox
Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Duncan Knox
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Terry Swan, Sabrina George

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 21 JULY

We saw a very good turnout of 64 walkers for the latest instalment of VRWC Points Races last Saturday. In the 8km event, Nathan Brill 35:50, Brad Simpson 38:45, Adam Garganis 39:24 and Simon Evans 39:27 were all in great form and the times overall indicate that conditions must have been very good. Pam Tindal was the fastest of the women with 43:29 while the two handicap winners were Donna Elms and Nicholas Mirarchi (returning to his form of some years ago).

8km Open           
1. Pam Tindal              43:29    4
2. Rachael Guy             50:23   
3. Donna Elms              51:20    1
4. Simone O'Neill          52:56    2
5. Chloe McNicol-Davidson  53:58    3
6. Robyn Shaw              54:01    6
7. Karen O'Neill           55:38    5

1. Nathan Brill            35:50   
2. Brad Simpson            38:45    6
3. Adam Garganis           39:24   
4. Simon Evans             39:27    3
5. Nicholas Mirarchi       41:36    1
6. James Christmass        41:41    2
7. Ralph Bennett           45:42    7
8. Terry O'Neill           47:10    4
9. Rudolf Skrucany         53:54    5
10. Cody McNicol-Davidson  54:09   

The 4km distance was popular with Josh Kaiser 19:19 and Stephanie George 19:54 both breaking the 20 minute barrier. Kyle Swan 20:07 and Reese Walmsley 20:09 had a great battle in the U15 boys' walk while Emily Hamilton was the best of the U15 girls with 21:26. Our handicap winners were Anna Wallace, Connor McShanag, Emily and Reese.

4km Open           
1. Stephanie George        19:54    2
2. Sandra Geisler          21:52    5
3. Anna Wallace            22:08    1
4. Kylie Irshad            22:30    6
5. Kirstin Shaw            22:34    7
6. Gwen Steed              25:53    3
7. Celia Johnson           27:14    4

1. Josh Kaiser             19:19    3
2. Paul Kennedy            20:43    2
3. Connor McShanag         21:37    1
4. Jake Kellar             24:03    4
5. Geoff Barrow            27:16    5
6. Dave Moore              29:34   
7. Barrie Wicks            30:23    5
8. Alex Poore *            30:37   
9. Gary Turner *           31:16   

4km U15           
1. Emily Hamilton          21:26    1
2. Paige De Lisen          22:05    3
3. Megan Walker            22:35    2
4. Shelby Kay              23:06    5
5. Emily Swan              24:11    6
6. Georgia Bertrand        24:17    8
7. Philippa Huse           24:43    7
8. Madeleine Feain         28:07    4
   Jasmine Irshad          DNF   
   Gabbie Crea             DQ   

1. Kyle Swan               20:07    2
2. Reese Walmsley          20:09    1
3. Paul Tremigliozzi       26:49    3

Our U12 and U9 walkers had their Intervals races (one km reps on 10 minutes) on Saturday and our youngest walkers were in great form. Corey Dickson was outstanding with his 3 reps of 4:53. 4:53 and 4:47 while Hayley George also broke the 5 minute barrier with her first rep of 4:57 on her way to recording the fastest overall performance for the girls. Gemma Lillie and Jared Hodges were our best U9 walkers with their two lap intervals workout.

3x1km U12                1km    2km    3km    Total Time
1. Hayley George         04:57  05:13  05:21  15:31
2. Brodie Richardson     05:18  05:29  05:38  16:25
3. Brianna Lillie        05:24  05:34  05:32  16:30
4. Tegan Miller          05:26  05:22  05:46  16:34
5. Jessica Lillie        05:29  05:39  05:53  17:01
6. Kathleen O'Mahony     05:37  05:40  05:51  17:08
7. Lee Taylor            06:15  06:25  06:17  18:57
   Anaya Hodges          05:49  06:18  DNS   

1. Corey Dickson         04:53  04:53  04:47  14:33
2. Hayden Walmsley       05:47  05:52  06:02  17:41
3. Caine Brill           06:02  06:22  06:25  18:49
   Thomas Mirarchi       07:36  08:21  DNS
   Rafi Licenblot        DQ
   Justin Brill          DQ 

2x1km U9                 1km    2km    Total time
1. Gemma Lillie          06:34  06:43  13:17
2. Zara Irshad           10:31  08:57  19:28

1. Jared Hodges          06:00  06:07  12:07
2. Thomas Kennedy        07:12  07:34  14:46

As usual, thanks to our many officials and judges and sorry if I missed anyone.

Judges: Gordon Loughnan, Michael Bodey, Stuart Cooper, Lloyd Nichols, Shane Bertrand, Susan Taylor
Officials: Mark Donahoo, Stuart Cooper, Ian Laurie, Damien Elms, Harry Summers. Russ Dickenson, Gerard Feain
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper, Marlaine Stanway
Photos: Terry Swan

VRWC -  RWA STATE CHALLENGE, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 14 JULY

VRWC contested the annual Racewalking Australia Challenge last Saturday in Melbourne and our overall Racewalking Victoria figures will be collated once results are in from Bendigo and Ballarat. Rudolf Skrucany tells me that the weather turned out pretty good after looking a concern early on. It was raining and windy before the race and during of the warm-ups, but stopped just before the start. The wind remained mild for most of the time and the sun even came out - nearly ideal weather. It seems we are lucky once again. Numbers were down overall (only 53 starters) and we had a larger than usual number of people failing to finish. It seems the long season and last week's longer races have taken their toll. But overall, a good set of results with most age categories covered. 

Rhydian Cowley was the star of the show, powering to a 10km time of 43:18. He was chased by Nathan Brill for most of the way before Nathan called it quits at the 7km mark. Our Masters walkers also contested 10km with Ralph Bennett in fantastic form, clocking a time of 56:37 for an M65 90.90% rating. Bob Gardiner was not far behind with 1:02:39 for an M75 87.82% effort. And a special mention to Jason Kozica whose time of 48:57 must have been a big PB.

10km Open RWA Postal Challenge
1. Simone O'Neill          1:06:41
   Mathilde Lacaze             DNF  (5km 29.36)

1. Rhydian Cowley            43:18
2. Jason Kozica              48:57   
3. Nicholas Mirarchi         53:49

10km Masters RWA Postal Challenge
1. Ralph Bennett             56:37    90.90%
2. Bob Gardiner            1:02:39    87.82%
3. Alan Lucas              1:04:28    74.45%
4. James Christmass          55:27    72.42%
5. Rudolf Skrucany         1:05:50    67.41%
6. Gerard Feain            1:02:08    67.29%
7. Michelle Laufer             DNF    (4km 21.24)

Our younger walkers also contested various distances in U20, U18, U18 and U14 divisions. Kyle Bird was in fantastic form in the U20 race with a big PB 10km time of 50:30 while Billy Allamby 24:24 and Adam Garganis 24:36 had a great battle in the U16 division. Reese Walmsley 15:01 and Paige De Lisen 16:37 were the best in the U14 division and continue to improve each week. We also welcomed Julia Irons who had her first walk with us, recording 18:54 for the 3km.

10km Under 20 RWA Postal Challenge
1. Kyle Bird                50:30   
   Nathan Brill               DNF    (7km 31.36)

8km Under 18 RWA Postal Challenge
   Stephanie George           DNF    (5km 25.25)
   Jessie Eastwood            DNF    (5km 29.55)

5km Under 16 RWA Postal Challenge
1. Emily Hamilton           29:03
2. Megan Walker             29:22
3. Rachael Guy              31:07
4. Emily Swan               31:08
   Jasmine Irshad             DNF

1. Billy Allamby            24:24
2. Adam Garganis            24:36
3. Kyle Swan                25:25
4. Jake Kellar              29:57

3km Under 14 RWA Postal Challenge
1. Paige De Lisen           16:37
2. Shelby Kay               17:02
3. Philippa Huse            18:02
4. Julia Irons              18:54    First Time
5. Jemma Eastwood           19:41

1. Reese Walmsley           15:01

Our younger walkers contested U12 and U10 RWA Postal Challenge races with Corey Dickson 10:24 and Hayley George 10:42 leading in the 2km and Jared Hodges 9:37 and Zara Irshad 16:12 adding to the overall total with U10 finishes. And we also welcomed Hannah Horsmen for her first walk with us.

2km Under 12 RWA Postal Challenge
1. Hayley George            10:42
2. Mikhala Hodges           10:51
3. Brodie Richardson        10:53
4. Kathleen O'Mahony        11:59
5. Rebecca Henderson        12:35
6. Hannah Horsmen           16:29    First Time

1. Corey Dickson            10:24
2. Hayden Walmsley          11:44
3. Lachlan Feain            12:00
4. Ethan Wright             12:55
5. Caine Brill              13:15
6. Justin Brill             13:41

1.5km Under 10 RWA Postal Challenge
1. Zara Irshad *            16:12

1. Jared Hodges             09:37

Finally we had an Open 3km for the odds and sods with Kylie Irshad 6:21 and Sandra Geisler 16:32 the best of the club walkers.

3km Open
1. Kylie Irshad             16:21
2. Sandra Geisler           16:32
3. Connor McShanag          17:20
4. Anna Wallace             17:21
5. Donna Elms               17:59
6. Anthony Doran            18:17
7. Gwen Steed               18:55

Thanks as usual to our many officials, judges and helpers. Sorry if I missed anyone

Judges: Gordon Loughnan (chief), Peter Vysma, Lloyd Nichols, Brenda Felton, Stuart Cooper, Terry Swan
Officials: Mark Donahoo, Michael Bodey, Ian Laurie, Marlaine Stanway, Karyn O'Neill, Damien Elms, Margaret Walker
Setup: Bob Gardiner, Peter Vysma, Harry Summers,
Canteen: Kate Suich, Barb Gardiner
Photos: Sabrina George

AV AND VRWC CHAMPIONSHIPS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 7 JULY

After a week of miserable weather, the weekend dawned sunny with mild and the 64 walkers in attendance at Middle Park on Saturday enjoying perfect mid-winter racing conditions.

The first events to kick off were our 15km Victorian and club championships and it was great to see 25 walkers attacking the longest distance of the day. The Victorian 15km roadwalk championships were very much the centrepiece and they produced two first time Victorian champions. In the women's race, Collingwood's Michelle Laufer, after silvers in the Victorian 5000m track walk last summer and the Victorian 10km roadwalk earlier this season, broke through to win in a big PB time of 1:21:10 ahead of Sarah Brennan 1:24:28 and Kirstin Shaw 1:25:22, In the men's race, Corio walker Josh Dillon also won his first ever senior gold in his first ever 15km walk, his time a very impressive 1:14:52. The minor medals went to Simon Evans with a PB of 1:15:58 and super masters walker Andrew Jamieson 1:18:26.

The VRWC 15km walks also saw some very good performances, the best coming from 16 year old Kyle Bird with a first up time of 1:19:46, Anna Wallace a PB 1:33:56, Marlene Gourlay a first time 1:31:30 and Rudolf Skrucany whose time of 1:42:59 was his fastest for about 4 years.

AV 15km Open Men             
1. Josh Dillon            COR    1:14:52     First one ever
2. Simon Evans            BOH    1:15:58     PB
3. Andrew Jamieson        OSC    1:18:26
4. James Christmass       COR    1:23:13     PB 2:15
5. Bob Gardiner           COL    1:34:47
   Aaron McDonough        PTN    DNF
   Gerald Sofianos        STK    DQ
   Billy Allamby          KNX    DNS
   Stuart Kollmorgen      COL    DNS

AV 15km Open Women             
1. Laufer Michelle        COL    1:21:10     PB 2:48, club record
2. Sarah Brennan          BYC    1:24:28     PB
3. Kirstin Shaw           WES    1:25:22     PB 1:53
4. Marlene Gourlay        VMA    1:31:30     First ever
5. Robyn Shaw             WES    1:36:37
   Jmara Hockley Samon    CHI    DNS
   Emily Hamilton         KNX    DNS

VRWC 15km Womens Club Championship - Elsie Jacobson Trophy         
1. Laufer Michelle        1:21:10
2. Sarah Brennan          1:24:28
3. Kirstin Shaw           1:25:22
4. Marlene Gourlay        1:31:30
5. Anna Wallace           1:33:56     PB
6. Robyn Shaw             1:36:37
7. Simone O'Neill         1:41:47    
8. Donna Elms             1:44:57
   Celia Johnson          DNF
   Karen O'Neill          DQ

VRWC 15km U20 Men and Women Club Championship         
1. Kyle Bird              1:19:46     First ever
   Amelia Finnegan        DNF

Open 15km for Men         
1. Nicholas Mirarchi      1:23:44
2. Rudolf Skrucany        1:42:59     Best since 2008
3. Steve Jordan           1:55:19
   Ross Reid              DNF
   Ralph Bennett          DNF
   Terry O'Neill          DQ

This was also our major VRWC club championship day for our younger walkers and PBs were across the board in the near perfect conditions. Nathan Brill led from the front with 21:13 in the boys U16 5km (a new club record) with Billy Allamby 23:47, Adam Garganis 24:19 and Reese Walmsley 25:37 ensuring that particular race was of the highest standard possible. Megan Walker 28:36 and Emily Swan 30:55 also recorded PBs in the girls U16 5km as did Madeleine Feain 20:00 in the U14 3km. Our U14 medallists were Paige De Lisen 16:55 and Kyle Swan 14:53. Kyle was typical of a number of walkers, running cross country in the morning and then backing up for a high quality walk in the afternoon.

VRWC U16 Boys and Girls 5km Club Championship         
1. Megan Walker           28:36     PB 0:04
2. Emily Swan             30:55     PB 0:55
3. Carly Bertrand         31:48
   Jasmine Irshad         DNF

1. Nathan Brill           21:13     PB 0:03, club record
2. Billy Allamby          23:47     PB 0:30
3. Adam Garganis          24:10     PB 0:27
4. Reese Walmsley         25:37     PB 1:27
5. Jake Kellar            29:23     First ever

VRWC U14 Boys and Girls 3km Club Championship         
1. Paige De Lisen         16:55    
2. Courtney Utber         19:43
3. Madeleine Feain        20:00     PB 0:21

1. Kyle Swan              14:53

Our U12 and U9 walkers also had club championships, over the slightly longer than normal distances of 2.5km and 1.5km respectively, with golds going to Hayley George 13:17, Corey Dickson 13:02 and Jared Hodges 9:42. And our apologies to Beatrice Laufer who stopped after 2km, not realising that she had a further 500m still to walk!

VRWC U12 Boys and Girls 2.5km Club Championship         
1. Hayley George          13:17     PB 0:21
2. Mikhala Hodges         13:27     PB 0:41
3. Brodie Richardson      14:02
4. Kathleen O'Mahony      14:23     PB 0:37
   Beatrice Laufer        DNF

1. Corey Dickson          13:02     PB 0:16
2. Hayden Walmsley        14:57
3. Lachlan Feain          15:56     PB 3:00
4. Caine Brill            16:58
5. Thomas Mirarchi        21:56

VRWC U9 Boys and Girls 1.5km Club Championship         
1. Jared Hodges           09:42
2. Thomas Kennedy         12:26

Our final event of the day was a club 5km for anyone else who wanted a walk on the day.  Jason Kozica walked strongly from the front to record 23:20 and take the men's division while French visitor Mathilde Lacase won the women's divison in 28:25.

Open 5km Race         
1. Mathilde Lacaze        28:25
2. Beth Barbour           31:09     First one
3. Gwen Steed             33:04

1. Jason Kozica           23:20
2. Paul Kennedy           26:26
3. Gerard Feain           31:00
4. Alan Lucas             31:21
5. Tony Barrett           32:04
6. Mick Gray              32:43
7. Geoff Barrow           34:39
8. Barrie Wicks           38:07
9. Alex Poore             38:35
   Connor McShanag        DNF
   Russ Dickenson         DNS

It was a big day with so many different races to organise so thanks to our many judges and officials. Sorry if I missed anyone!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Mark Donahoo, Ian Laurie, Paul Kozaris, Damien Elms, Jason Elms, Ralph Bennett, Russ Dickenson
Judges: Gordon Loughnan (chief), Judy Mason, Lloyd Nichols, Shane Bertrand, David Cash, Kathleen Marsh, Matt Owen, Brenda Felton, Stuart Cooper, Michael Bodey (DQ Board), Peter Vysma (DQ Board)
Setup: Harry Summers, Peter Vysma, Bob Gardiner, Craig Brill
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Terry Swan

VRWC CLUB RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 30 JUNE 2012     

Last Saturday we were back at Middle Park for our next round of VRWC club races which saw 59 walkers in attendance. Although the weather threatened and it was very cold, the rain held off, allowing our annual Intervals race to proceed. The idea is simple - you have 17 minutes to finish each 2km leg and you can do as many legs as you can.

Rhydian Cowley was the star performer in the 5x2km event, clocking in with 2km legs of 7:53, 7:53, &:52, 8:04 and 8:23 for  a combined time of 40:05. Behind him, Stuart Kollmorgen, Billy Allamby (last lap of 8:58), Simon Evans and Adam Garganis were also in great form. Of the women, Michelle Laufer (her last lap was her fastest) and  Kirstin Shaw were the best.

VRWC Intervals Race - 5x2km                                             Total
1. Laufer, Michelle        10:22    10:13    10:13    10:20    10:11    0:51:19
2. Shaw, Kirstin           10:20    10:57    11:01    10:53    10:45    0:53:56
3. O'Neill, Simone         12:53    12:51    12:55    13:06    12:54    1:04:39
4. O'Neill, Karyn          14:01    13:42    13:52    13:35    13:37    1:08:47
   Johnson, Celia          13:44    13:40    13:45    14:30    13:53    DQ

1. Cowley, Rhydian         07:53    07:53    07:52    08:04    08:23    0:40:05
2. Kollmorgen, Stuart      09:20    09:22    09:23    09:25    09:29    0:46:59
3. Allamby, Billy          09:24    09:21    09:36    10:11    08:58    0:47:30
4. Evans, Simon            09:46    09:44    09:37    09:40    09:39    0:48:26
5. Garganis, Adam          09:51    09:52    10:35    10:48    09:58    0:51:04
6. Mirarchi, Nicholas      10:20    10:25    10:09    10:15    10:40    0:51:49
7. Skrucany, Rudolf        13:36    12:49    12:21    14:01    13:01    1:05:48
   Barrow, Geoff           13:14    12:54    13:05    13:27    15:16    DQ

Many of our walkers opted to walk lesser numbers of intervals but they too raced hard. Special mentions to Anna Wallace, Paul Kennedy and Reese Walmsley.

VRWC Intervals Race - 4x2km                                              Total
1. Wallace, Anna           10:56    11:25    11:34    11:37              0:45:32
2. Gourlay, Marlene        11:27    11:38    11:34    11:47              0:46:26
3. Kay, Shelby             10:54    11:43    11:47    12:27              0:46:51
4. Thompson, Alison        11:40    11:45    11:51    12:41              0:47:57

1. Gardiner, Bob           11:59    11:53    11:59    11:54              0:47:45
2. Doran, Anthony          13:31    13:22    13:13    13:16              0:53:22
3. Johnson, Tony           13:46    13:19    13:27    14:03              0:54:35

VRWC Intervals Race - 3x2km                                              Total
1. Shaw, Robyn             11:49    11:51    12:08                       0:35:48
2. Guy, Rachael            10:57    11:09    14:46                       0:36:52
3. Steed, Gwen             12:34    12:33    12:45                       0:37:52
4. McNicol-Davidson, Chloe 11:47    13:37    13:41                       0:39:05

1. Kennedy, Paul           10:16    10:08    10:00                       0:30:24
2. Walmsley, Reese         10:04    09:55    10:36                       0:30:35
3. McNicol-Davidson, Cody  12:10    14:40    14:46                       0:41:36
4. Poore, Alex             15:58    15:41    15:36                       0:47:15

VRWC Intervals Race - 2x2km                                              Total
1. Elms, Donna             11:58    12:32                                0:24:30
2. Brill, Nathan           08:10    08:24                                0:16:34

Walkers also had the option of a simple 4km race and a number took up the offer. Kyle Bird 19:14 and Stephanie George 20:27 were the best of the Open walkers while Kyle Swan 20:27 and Emily Hamilton 21:45 were the best of the U15s. We welcomed first time walker Jake Kellar and he walked well to record 24:39.

VRWC 4km Open
1. Bird, Kyle              19:14
2. George, Stephanie       20:27
3. Kellar, Jake            24:39     First time
4. Feain, Gerard           27:46
5. Wicks, Barrie           30:00
6. Mews, Pam               38:10

VRWC 4km U15
1. Hamilton, Emily         21:45
2. De Lisen, Paige         22:38
3. Walker, Megan           23:26
4. Eastwood, Jessie        23:56
5. Swan, Emily             23:58
6. Utber, Courtney         26:09
7. Crea, Gabriella         26:18
8. Feain, Madeleine        27:46
             
1. Swan, Kyle              20:27

Our U12 and U9 walkers had their usual points races (their intervals races are in a few weeks time) with Jessica Lillie, Thomas Mirarchi, Gemma Lillie and Jared Hodges winning the handicaps. Hayley George and Corey Dickson were both in fine form to take fastest times in the U12 division.

VRWC 2.5km U12 Handicap    Time     H'cap    H'Cap Place
1. George, Hayley          13:38    13:11    7
2. Richardson, Brodie      13:56    14:06    2
3. Hodges, Mikhala         14:08    13:52    4
4. Lillie, Brianna         14:20    14:33    3
5. Eastwood, Jemma         14:38    15:02    6
6. Lillie, Jessica         14:43    14:39    1
7. Miller, Tegan           15:47    15:29    5

1. Dickson, Corey          13:18    13:36    4
2. Walmsley, Hayden        14:36    14:49    3
3. Feain, Lachlan          14:43    14:48    2
4. Mirarchi, Thomas        20:51    20:47    1

VRWC 1.5km U9 Handicap     Time     H'cap    H'Cap Place
1. Lillie, Gemma           09:45    09:59    1

1. Hodges, Jared           09:28    09:44    1
2. Kennedy, Thomas         11:17    12:25    2

Thanks as usual to our many officials. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Stuart Cooper, Michael Bodey, Paul Kozaris, Marlaine Stanway, Don McLaren, Harry Summers, Justin McLaren, Ian Laurie
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Gordon Onley, Stuart Cooper, Michael Bodey, Lloyd Nichols
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Craig Brill, Tim Erickson, Peter Vysma
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Terry Swan

AV, AV SCHOOLS, AMA, VMA AND VRWC CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 24 JUNE

Sunday saw one of our biggest days of the winter at Middle Park with a variety of Victorian, Victorian Schools, VMA, AMA and VRWC Championships on offer. The weather was perfect (even some sun) and the large fields of walkers showed excellent form. It is not often that we get right through this sort of championship day without one disqualification but that was the case on Sunday so well done everyone on your good walking. Overall, 87 walkers contested a variety of events.

The first events to kick off at 9:30AM were the 20km championships - Victorian Open, Victorian Masters, Australian Masters and VRWC Open Men. Then we also had an Open non-championship for anyone else who wanted to walk 20km. Obviously many walkers featured in more than one championship so there is a fair bit of duplication in the results.

In total, we had  over 30 walkers in the 20km events and the gun performer was NSW Olympian Beki Lee who was untroubled in taking fastest time overall with 1:36:45. With her pre-departure test now completed, she will fly out to Europe to join her Australian Olympic walking team mates in St Moritz. Behind her, local walkers Michelle Laufer 1:50:09 and Sarah Brennan 1:54:14 took Victorian Open gold and silver in their first ever 20km efforts while the bronze medal went to Kirstin Shaw who recorded a big PB with her time of 1:59:28. In the men's Victorian Open championship, Simon Evans 1:44:33 took gold ahead of Stuart Kollmorgen 1:45:50 and Aaron McDonough 1:47:05. There were plenty of PBs overall as shown below.

AV 20km Open Women
1.  Beki Lee              INV    1:36:45    
2.  Michelle Laufer       COL    1:50:09     PB - first ever
3.  Sarah Brennan         BYC    1:54:14     PB - first ever
4.  Kirstin Shaw          WES    1:59:28     PB - 2:16
5.  Heather Carr          EAG    2:03:59
6.  Robyn Shaw            WES    2:17:49     PB 11:32
7.  Donna-Marie Elms      ATE    2:20:29
    Jmara Hockley Samon   CHI    DNS
    Emily Hamilton        KNA    DNS

AV 20km Open Men
1.  Simon Evans           BXH    1:44:33     PB 6:58
2.  Stuart Kollmorgen     COL    1:45:50
3.  Aaron McDonough       PTN    1:47:05     PB 2:29
4.  James Christmass      COR    1:52:42     PB 1:09
5.  Bob Gardiner          COL    2:11:00
    Bradley Simpson       KNA    DNF
    Andrew Jamieson       OSC    DNF
    Billy Allamby         KNA    DNS

Now onto the Masters Australian and Victorian Championships where standouts included Ralph Bennett (1:57:35 for M70), Bob Gardiner (2:11:00 for M75), Heather Carr (2:03:59 for W60) and Scott Nelson (1:45:50 for M40). Special mention also to Anna Wallace who won the W30 in a big PB time of 2:13:57. It always surprises me that more of these walkers don't also enter the concurrent AV Open Championships and such was the case of Sunday.

AMA Master 20km Men & Women
1  W40-44  Michelle Laufer   Vic   1:50:09
1  W50-54  Donna-Marie Elms  Vic   2:20:29
1  W55-59  Alison Thompson   Vic   2:13:31
1  W60-64  Heather Carr      Vic   2:03:59
2  W60-64  Liz Feldman       Vic   2:10:16
1  M40-44  Scott Nelson      Vic   1:45:11
2  M40-44  Stuart Kollmorgen Vic   1:45:50
3  M40-44  Aaron McDonough   Vic   1:47:05
4  M40-44  James Christmass  Vic   1:52:42
5  M40-44  Adam Patterson    Vic   2:09:55
   M40-44  David Smythe      WA    DNF
1  M45-49  Mark Thomas       Vic   1:55:59
2  M45-49  David Best        WA    2:24:48
1  M50-54  Simon Evans       Vic   1:44:33
1  M55-59  Clyde Riddoch     Vic   2:07:48
1  M60-64  Alan Lucas        Vic   2:15:35
   M65-65  Andrew Jamieson   Vic   DNF
   M65-69  Russ Dickenson    Vic   DNS
1  M70-74  Ralph Bennett     Vic   1:57:35
1  M75-79  Bob Gardiner      Vic   2:11:00

VMA Masters 20km Men & Women
1  W30-34  Anna Wallace      Vic   2:13:37     PB 5:22
1  W40-44  Michelle Laufer   Vic   1:50:09
1  W50-54  Robyn Shaw        Vic   2:17:49
2  W50-54  Donna-Marie Elms  Vic   2:20:29
1  W55-59  Alison Thompson   Vic   2:13:31
1  W60-64  Heather Carr      Vic   2:03:59
2  W60-64  Liz Feldman       Vic   2:10:16
1  M40-44  Scott Nelson      Vic   1:45:11
2  M40-44  Stuart Kollmorgen Vic   1:45:50
3  M40-44  Aaron McDonough   Vic   1:47:05
4  M40-44  Adam Patterson    Vic   2:09:55
1  M45-49  Mark Thomas       Vic   1:55:59
1  M50-54  Simon Evans       Vic   1:44:33
1  M55-59  Clyde Riddoch     Vic   2:07:48
2  M55-59  Rudolf Skrucany   Vic   2:33:26
1  M70-74  Ralph Bennett     Vic   1:57:35

We had two final 20km walkers in Terry and Karyn O'Neill who contested an Open event. Finally, we take all the 20km results from the VRWC Men and work out who wins the annual VRWC 20km Men Club Championship - Alf Robinson Trophy. This year it went to Simon Evans ahead of Scott Nelson and Stuart Kollmorgen.

VRWC Open 20km
1.  Terry O'Neill      VRWC     2:02:57
2.  Karyn O'Neill      VRWC     2:22:05

VRWC 20km Men Club Championship - Alf Robinson Trophy
1.  Simon Evans        VRWC    1:44:33
2.  Scott Nelson       VRWC    1:45:11
3.  Stuart Kollmorgen  VRWC    1:45:50
4.  Aaron McDonough    VRWC    1:47:05
5.  James Christmass   VRWC    1:52:42
6.  Mark Thomas        VRWC    1:55:59
7.  Ralph Bennett      VRWC    1:57:35
8.  Terry O'Neill      VRWC    2:02:57
9.  Clyde Riddoch      VRWC    2:07:48
10. Adam Patterson     VRWC    2:09:55
11. Bob Gardiner       VRWC    2:11:00
12. Alan Lucas         VRWC    2:15:35
13. Rudolf Skrucany    VRWC    2:33:26
    David Smythe       VRWC    DNF
    Andrew Jamieson    VRWC    DNF

The next championships to be contested were the Victorian Schools championships, with fields in U14, U16 and U18 divisions. We saw some fine walking here from gold medallists Nathan Brill 21:15, Stephanie George 26:00, Billy Allamby 13:56, Jemima Montag 14:27, Kyle Swan 14:59 and Rachael Guy 16:15. Special mention also to Kyle Bird 23:34 and Adam Garganis 14:07 who also posted nationally significant performances. There were plenty of PBs, especially in the younger division races.

AV School Un 18 Mens 5km
1.  Brill, Nathan         Rosebud Secondary College    21:15
2.  Bird, Kyle            Padua College, Mornington    23:34
3.  Taylor, Lucas         Lilydale High School         25:26     PB 0:07
    Allamby, Billy        St Joseph's                  DNF
    McShanag, Connor      St Bernard's College         DNS

AV School U18 Women 5km
1.  George, Stephanie     Yarra Valley GS              26:00
2.  Finnegan, Amelia      Mater Christi College        26:41
3.  Heard, Amanda         Goulburn Valley GS           27:25
4.  Whiley, Ebony         Bendigo Senior Sec. Coll.    28:41
5.  Hockley Samon, Jmara  Clonard College              28:43
6.  Somerfield, Kobie     Mt Clear College             30:36
7.  Bertrand, Carly       Maribyrnong Sec. Coll.       33:02

AV School U16 Men 3km     
1.  Allamby, Billy        St Joseph's                  13:56
2.  Garganis, Adam        Thornbury High School        14:07     PB 0:08
3.  Walmsley, Reese       Rowville Secondary College   15:23
4.  Darlow, Ross          Ballarat High School         15:39
5.  Owen, Cooper          Viewbank College             16:12

AV School U16 Women 3km
1.  Montag, Jemima        Wesley College, St Kilda Rd  14:27
2.  Irshad, Jasmine       Wantirna College             14:56
3.  Eastwood, Jessie      Victorian College of Arts    15:26     PB 0:50
4.  Hamilton, Emily       Mater Christi College        16:03
5.  Walker, Megan         Clonard College              16:45
6.  Swan, Emily           The Knox School              17:20
7.  Irons, Julia          St Columba's College         18:37     PB 1:35
8.  Utber, Courtney       Mount St Josephs Girls' Col  18:48     PB 0:48
    Campbell, Rebecca     Copperfield College          DNS
    Boldiston, Zo\EB        Notre Dame College           DNS
    Sanders, Jade         Berwick Secondary College    DNS

AV School U14 Men 3km     
1.  Swan, Kyle            The Knox School              14:59
2.  Walmsley, Hayden      Karoo Primary School         19:34

AV School Un 14 Women 3km
1.  Guy, Rachael          Haileybury College           16:15     PB 0:31
2.  Bertrand, Georgia     Killara Primary School       16:53     PB 2:13
3.  Utber, Brooklyn       Baden Powell College         16:58     First ever
4.  Huse, Phillipa        Invitation                   17:05     PB 0:03
5.  Eastwood, Jemma       Mater Christi College        17:37     PB 1:45
6.  Lillie, Jessica       Rowville Secondary College   17:41     PB 0:38
7.  Brown, Hayley         Fairhills High School        18:46

The final events included VRWC U9 and U12 club championships with an Open 5km for everyone else. Well done to club our youngest club champions Carissa Brook, Jared Hodges, Mikhala Hodges and Hayden Walmsley.

VRWC U9 1km Club Championship
1.  Carissa Brook        06:01
2.  Gemma Lillie         06:37
3.  Freya Evans          07:07

1.  Jared Hodges         05:59
2.  Thomas Kennedy       07:15
         
VRWC U12 2km Club Championship         
1.  Mikhala Hodges       10:48
2.  Brianna Lillie       10:50
3.  Brodie Richardson    11:05
4.  Kathleen O'Mahony    11:06

1.  Hayden Walmsley      12:01
2.  Ethan Wright         12:25
3.  Joseph Rickard       12:29
4.  Caine Brill          12:50
5.  Tom Mirarchi         16:12

VRWC Open 5km Race
1.  Mathilde Lacaze      28:08
2.  Simone O'Neill       32:39
3.  Celia Johnson        34:24
4.  Nicholas Mirarchi    26:37
5.  David Armstrong      29:49
6.  Anthony Doran        32:06
7.  Tony Johnson         32:43
8.  Barrie Wicks         37:59

And finally, thanks to everyone who ran the show so well in my absence. I hear the presentations got under way very shortly after the last event finished and that all ran smoothly. I am sure my list is incomplete so sorry if I missed you. Everyone is appreciated!

Judges: Shane Bertrand (C), Lloyd Nichols, Matt Owen, Brian Williams, Judy Mason, Gordon Loughnan, Peter Vysma and Michael Bodey (DQ Board)
Officials: Stu Cooper, Mark O'Mahony, Ian Laurie, Mark Donahoo, Les Clarke , Tony Doran, Marlaine Stanway, Colin Thompson
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper
Course Setup: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Peter Vysma
Photos: Terry Swan

VRWC ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 16 JUNE

Saturday saw our annual “Guess Your Time' races at Middle Park and 71 walkers decided to test themselves out in this very different event. No watches are allowed and no times are called so it is a test of how accurately you can pace yourself against your Guess. As an added incentive, we had prizes on offer for the winners of each division. Terry Swan was busy with his camera as usual so check out www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine.
 
The 10km event saw Robyn Shaw and Russ Dickenson the closest to their projected times while the fastest times went to Simon Evans 51:28 and Mathilde Lacaze (over from France and spending a few months in Melbourne) 59:22. It was Mathilde's first time walking with the club so welcome! We also welcomed Stuart Kollmorgen back from England (after some 8 months studying away) and he blew the cobwebs away with 53:33.
 
10km Open                Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Robyn Shaw           1:04:13    1:04:20    0:07    1
2.  Liz Feldman          1:02:39    1:03:00    0:21    2
3.  Simone O'Neill       1:07:30    1:07:00    0:30    3
4.  Alison Thompson      1:01:06    1:02:00    0:54    4
5.  Karen O'Neill        1:09:58    1:09:00    0:58    5
6.  Mathilde Lacaze        59:22    1:01:59    2:37    6
 
1.  Russ Dickenson         58:54      58:45    0:09    1
2.  Simon Evans            51:28      51:00    0:28    2
3.  Nicholas Mirarchi      55:00      55:30    0:30    3
4.  James Christmass       55:15      54:19    0:56    4
5.  Gerard Feain         1:03:58    1:03:00    0:58    5
6.  Gerald Sofianos      1:07:29    1:06:06    1:23    6     PB 0:28
7.  Stuart Kollmorgen      53:33      49:30    4:03    7
 
The 5km was a high quality event with Rhydian Cowley and Nathan Brill firing out in front. It was Rhydian who eventually cleared out to be the first finished with 21:23 ahead of Nathan 21:34. Rhydian and Bob Gardiner were the closest to their projected times so shared the prizes table after the event. Kirstin Shaw was the fastest of the women with 26:46 while Donna Elms was the best guesser! And special mentions to Kyle Bird 24:11 (another fast time) and Alex Poore 38:36 (getting back into form).

5km Open                 Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Donna Elms           30:45      30:30      0:15    1
2.  Anna Wallace         29:22      29:00      0:22    2
3.  Kirstin Shaw         26:46      27:10      0:24    3
4.  Gwen Steed           32:23      31:55      0:28    4
5.  Marlene Gourlay      29:22      28:10      1:12    5
    Carly Bertrand       DNF
    Jasmine Irshad       DNF
 
1.  Rhydian Cowley       21:23      21:10      0:13    E1
2.  Bob Gardiner         30:47      31:00      0:13    E1
3.  Barrie Wicks         37:32      37:50      0:18    3
4.  Kyle Bird            24:11      24:30      0:19    4
5.  Alan Lucas           31:17      31:45      0:28    5
6.  Adam Garganis        25:00      24:30      0:30    6
7.  Nathan Brill         21:34      21:00      0:34    E7
8.  Steve Jordan         34:26      35:00      0:34    E7
9.  Ralph Bennett        28:36      28:00      0:36    9
10. Rudolf Skrucany      32:03      33:00      0:57    10
11. Gary Turner          40:10      41:40      1:30    11
12. Anthony Doran        32:11      33:45      1:34    12
13. Geoff Barrow         33:20      31:00      2:20    13
14. Alex Poore           38:36      42:00      3:24    14
 
The 3km Open saw Heather Carr 16:07 and Josh Kaiser 13:51 take fastest times while Heather and Paul Kennedy won the Guess Your Time component. In the U15 3km, Jessie Eastwood 15:55 and Billy Allamby 14:33 were our fastest but special mentions to Kyle Swan 14:36 and Lachlan Feain 18:56 (a big PB). The winners from a guessing perspective were Shelby Kay and Billy Allamby.

3km Open                 Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Heather Carr         16:07      15:48      0:19    1
2.  Jan Morrey           20:34      20:12      0:22    2
3.  Pam Mews             27:58      26:30      1:28    3

1.  Paul Kennedy         17:34      17:00      0:34    1
2.  Josh Kaiser          13:51      13:15      0:36    2
3.  Gordon Onley         22:25      21:48      0:37    3
4.  Bruce Conboy         22:01      24:30      2:29    4
 
3km Under 15             Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Shelby Kay           16:22      16:30      0:08    1
2.  Paige De Lisen       16:17      16:00      0:17    E2
3.  Emily Hamilton       16:07      15:50      0:17    E2
4.  Emily Swan           17:09      16:40      0:29    4
5.  Jessie Eastwood      15:55      16:33      0:38    5     PB 0:21
6.  Madeleine Feain      21:42      21:00      0:42    6
7.  Jade Sanders         17:01      16:10      0:51    7
    Rebecca Campbell     DNF
    Gabbie Crea          DQ
 
1.  Billy Allamby        14:33      14:30      0:03    1
2.  Kyle Swan            14:36      14:30      0:06    2
3.  Paul Tremigliozzi    19:17      19:30      0:13    3
4.  Reese Walmsley       15:37      15:10      0:27    4
5.  Lachlan Feain        18:56      19:45      0:49    5     PB 1:10
 
The U12 and U9 Guessing winners were Jemma Eastwood, Thomas Mirarchi, Gemma Lillie and Tom Kennedy so they got to pick from the prizes tables. Although there were no PBs on the day, there were lots of walkers right up to their best, with fastest times going to Brodie Richardson 10:51, Coredy Dickson 10:31, Gemma Lillie 6:42 and Tom Kennedy 7:55.

2km Under 12             Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Gemma Eastwood       11:48      11:47      0:01    1
2.  Jessica Lillie       11:58      12:00      0:02    2
3.  Brodie Richardson    10:51      10:45      0:06    3
4.  Brianna Lillie       11:17      11:10      0:07    4
5.  Kathleen O'Mahony    11:34      11:22      0:12    5
6.  Georgia Bertrand     10:45      10:30      0:15    6

1.  Thomas Mirarchi      15:42      16:00      0:18    1
2.  Corey Dickson        10:31      10:10      0:21    2
3.  Caine Brill          13:31      13:00      0:31    3
4.  Hayden Walmsley      12:44      12:00      0:44    4
    Liam Evans           DNS
 
1km Under 9              Act Time   Guess      Diff    Place
1.  Gemma Lillie         06:42      06:25      0:17    1
2.  Freya Evans          07:10      06:30      0:40    2
 
1.  Tom Kennedy          07:55      08:20      0:25    1
 
Finally, thanks to all our officials and judges. Sorry if I missed anyone - it takes a lot of people to keep the show on the road!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Mark Donahoo, Michael Bodey, Jason Elms, Harry Summers, Ian Laurie, Marlaine Stanway, Don McLaren
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich
Judges: Peter Vysma (chief), Shane Bertrand, Judy Mason, Lloyd Nichols, Michael Bodey, David Cash, Damien Elms
Photos: Terry Swan

LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN CARNIVAL, CANBERRA, SUNDAY 10 JUNE

The 46th edition of the annual Lake Burley Griffin Carnival was successfully held on Sunday 10th JUne with over 250 walkers descending on Canberra for what is Australia's largest racewalking carnival. Conditions were torrid early on with the 20 Mile and 10 Mile events starting at 8AM in frosty conditions and a low -30C. But as the day progressed, the sun gradually warmed competitors, officials and spectators and later events were held in perfect conditions.

There were of course many superb performances. To take but one instance: for the medallists in the U18 Men's 5km walk, it was their second walk for the day. Winner Brad Aiton (21:22) had already taken bronze in the U20 10km (48:42), silver medallist Nathan Brill (21:29) had already taken bronze in the Open 10 Mile (1:15:33) and bronze medallist Jesse Osborne (22:17) had already taken silver in the Open 10 Mile (1:14:55). This was typical of the day in that most of our medallists fronted for second events (and even for third events in some cases) to help their clubs in the Teams competition. For instance, U10 Boys 1km winner Corey Dickson (5:03) was 4th in the U12 2km (10:02) and 9th in the U14 2km (10:22), all three events being held in close succession.

I could write for pages to highlight the many fine performances across the board but time and space do not permit so I will just acknowledge the Victorian medal winning performances (this after all did start as a purely Victorian newsletter) and then go straight on to the results.

Individual Gold    Jared Tallent    Open Men 20 Mile      2:18:00     
                   Regan Lamble     Open Women 20 Mile    2:32:17
                   Rhydian Cowley   Open Men 10 Mile      1:10:48
                   Scott Nelson     Masters Men 10 Mile   1:24:06
                   Corey Dickson    U10 Boys 1km             5:03
                   Kyle Swan        U14 Boys 2km             9:35
                   Jemima Montag    U16 Girls 3km           14:10
                   Stephanie George U18 Girls 5km           25:29
                   Rachel Tallent   U20 Women 5km           23:02

Individual Silver  Chris Erickson   Open Men 20 Mile      2:26:36     
                   Karyn O'Neill    Open Women 20 Mile    4:01:16
                   Rachel Tallent   Open Women 10 Mile    1:21:20
                   Michelle Laufer  Masters Women 10 Mile 1:29:57
                   Aaron McDonough  Masters Men 10 Mile   1:26:55
                   Nathan Brill     U18 Boys 5km            21:29
                   Rachel Tallent   Open Women 5km          23:02

Individual Bronze  Heather Carr     Masters Women 10 Mile 1:34:19
                   Nathan Brill     Open Men 10 Mile      1:15:33
                   Ralph Bennett    Masters Men 10 Mile   1:31:29
                   Alannah Peart    U10 Girls 1km            5:21
                   Reese Walmsley   U14 Boys 2km             9:45
                   Billy Allamby    U16 Boys 3km            13:58
                   Jasmine Irshad   U16 Girls 3km           14:44
                   Amanda Heard     U18 Girls 5km           26:45
                   Jemima Montag    U18 Women 5km           25:28

Team Gold    RWV1  Open 20 Mile       Jared Tallent, Chris Erickson, Regan Lamble
             RWV1  Open Men 10 Mile   Rhydian Cowley, Nathan Brill, Bradley Simpson     
             RWV1  U10 Boys 1km       Corey Dickson, Jared Hodges, Bailey Ohlsen
             RWV1  U14 Boys 2km       Kyle Swan, Reese Walmsley, Ross Darlow
             RWV1  U16 Girls 3km      Jemima Montag, Jasmine Irshad, Emily Hamilton
             RWV1  U18 Boys 5km       Nathan Brill, Josh Dillon, Kyle Bird
             RWV1  U18 Girls 5km      Stephanie George, Amanda Heard,Shelby Kay
             RWV1  Open Women 5km     Rachel Tallent, Jemima Montag, Jasmine Irshad

Team Silver  RWV2  Open 20 Mile       Simon Evans, Terry O'Neill, Duncan Knox
             RWV1  Open Women 10 Mile Rachel Tallent, Michelle Laufer, Heather Carr
             RWV1  U10 Girls 1km      Alannah Peart, Arnika Nelson, Carissa Brook
             RWV1  U12 Boys 2km       Corey Dickson, Hayden Walmsley, Ethan Wright
             RWV1  U12 Girls 2km      Mikhala Hodges, Georgia Bertrand, Brodie Richardson
             RWV1  U14 Girls 2km      Rachael Guy, Paige De Liesen, Shelby Kay
             RWV1  U16 Boys 3km       Billy Allamby, Ross Darlow, Reese Walmsley

Team Bronze  RWV2  Open Men 10 Mile   Jason Kozica, Scott Nelson, Aaron McDonough
             RWV2  U10 Girls 1km      Gemma Lillie, Andie Montag,Freya Evans
             RWV2  U14 Girls 2km      Mikhala Hodges, Brianna Lillie, Jemma Peart
             RWV2  U18 Boys 5km       Billy Allamby, Kyle Swan, Reese Walmsley

The results now follow for the first 3 placings in each event in which Victorians competed along with the placings of all Victorians.

EVENT 1 OPEN 20M
MEN 
1.  Jared Tallent           2:18:00    RWV     
2.  Chris Erickson          2:26:36    RWV     
3.  Ignacio Jimenez         2:59:42    QRWC 
6.  Simon Evans             3:12:26    RWV     
7.  Terry O'Neill           3:31:32    RWV
9.  Duncan Knox             3:48:38    RWV 
 
WOMEN 
1.  Regan Lamble            2:32:17    RWV 
2.  Karyn O'Neill           4:01:16    RWV 
  
MASTERS MEN 
1.  Ignacio Jimenez         2:59:42    QRWC 
2.  Peter Crump             3:02:19    SARWC 
3.  Peter Bennett           3:09:17    QRWC 
4.  Simon Evans             3:12:26    RWV 
5.  Terry O'Neill           3:31:32    RWV 
7.  Duncan Knox             3:48:38    RWV 
 
MASTERS WOMEN 
1.  Karyn O'Neill           4:01:16    RWV     
 
HANDICAP  
3.  Terry O'Neill           RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  16  (Jared Tallent, Chris Erickson, Regan Lamble) 
2.  RWV2   6  (Simon Evans, Terry O'Neill, Duncan Knox) 
 
MASTERS TEAMS 
1.  RWV    7  (Simon Evans, Terry O'Neill, Duncan Knox)
 
EVENT 3 MEN & WOMEN AACT 30K CHP 
MEN 
1.  Jared Tallent           2:08:30    RWV
2.  Chris Erickson          2:16:34    RWV
3.  Peter Crump             2:49:12    SARWC 
 
WOMEN 
1.  Regan Lamble            2:21:43    RWV 
 
EVENT 4 WOMEN 10M 
1.  Tanya Holliday          1:13:16    SARWC 
2.  Rachel Tallent          1:21:20    RWV 
3.  Cheryl Webb             1:25:45    NSWRWC 
7.  Michelle Laufer         1:29:57    RWV
10. Heather Carr            1:34:19    RWV 
11. Kirstin Shaw            1:37:46    RWV 
13. Tamara Attard           1:43:10    RWV 
14. Anna Wallace            1:43:56    RWV
17. Donna-Marie Elms        1:55:00    RWV 
 
MASTERS 
1.  Cheryl Webb             1:25:45    NSWRWC 
2.  Michelle Laufer         1:29:57    RWV 
3.  Heather Carr            1:34:19    RWV 
4.  Donna-Marie Elms        1:55:00    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Kirstin Shaw            RWV 
2.  Anna Wallace            RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2.  RWV1  26  (Rachel Tallent, Michelle Laufer, Heather Carr) 
4.  RWV2  9   (Kirstin Shaw, Tamara Attard, Anna Wallace) 
 
EVENT 5 MENS 10M 
1.  Rhydian Cowley          1:10:48    RWV 
2.  Jesse Osborne           1:14:55    QRWC 
3.  Nathan Brill            1:15:33    RWV 
6.  Bradley Simpson         1:22:19    RWV 
7.  Jason Kozica            1:22:24    RWV 
9.  Scott Nelson            1:24:06    RWV 
11. Aaron McDonough         1:26:55    RWV 
13. Ralph Bennett           1:31:29    RWV 
17. Robert Gardiner         1:43:15    RWV 
 
MASTERS 
1.  Scott Nelson            1:24:06    RWV 
2.  Aaron McDonough         1:26:55    RWV 
3.  Ralph Bennett           1:31:29    RWV
7.  Robert Gardiner         1:43:15    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Bradley Simpson         RWV 
2.  Robert Gardiner         RWV 
3.  Jason Kozica            RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  24  (Rhydian Cowley, Nathan Brill, Bradley Simpson)     
3.  RWV2  10  (Jason Kozica, Scott Nelson, Aaron McDonough)     
 
EVENT 7 FITNESS 5M 
MEN 
1.  Jason Elms                 55:41    VRWC 
2.  Brian Hortin               55:50    TARWC 
3.  Damien Elms              1:01:00    VRWC

EVENT 8 MENS U20 10K 
1.  Dane Bird-Smith            41:05    QRWC 
2.  Blake Steele               44:54    SARWC 
3.  Brad Aiton                 48:42    QRWC 
4.  Joshua Kaiser              50:02    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Joshua Kaiser              RWV 
 
EVENT 11 BOYS U10 1K 
1.  Corey Dickson              05:03    RWV 
2.  Joe Cross                  05:29    SARWC 
3.  Dion Carrothers            05:44    QRWC 
4.  Jared Hodges               06:01    RWV 
7.  Bailey Ohlsen              10:06    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
3.  Bailey Ohlsen              RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  7  (Corey Dickson, Jared Hodges, Bailey Ohlsen) 
 
EVENT 12 GIRLS U10 1K 
1.  Haley Mills                05:12    NSWRWC 
2.  Lauren Tisdale             05:15    NSWRWC 
3.  Alannah Peart              05:21    RWV 
5.  Arnika Nelson              05:41    RWV 
6.  Carissa Brook              05:46    RWV 
8.  Gemma Lillie               06:15    RWV
10. Andie Montag               06:29    RWV 
13. Freya Evans                06:51    RWV 
14. Leah Canavan               06:55    RWV 
15. Mia Darlow                 06:57    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Mia Darlow                 RWV 
2.  Leah Canavan               RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2.  RWV1  25  (Alannah Peart, Arnika Nelson, Carissa Brook) 
3.  RWV2  12  (Gemma Lillie, Andie Montag,Freya Evans)  
 
EVENT 13 BOYS U12 2K 
1.  Kyle Bedford               09:45    NSWRWC 
2.  Harrison Mavin             09:54    NSWRWC 
3.  Spencer Burns              09:59    ACTW 
4.  Corey Dickson              10:02    RWV 
10. Hayden Walmsley            11:58    RWV 
11. Ethan Wright               12:09    RWV 
12. Caine Brill                13:22    RWV 
13. Justin Brill               13:25    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
2.  Corey Dickson              RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2.  RWV1  16  (Corey Dickson, Hayden Walmsley, Ethan Wright)     
 
EVENT 14 GIRLS U12 2K 
1.  Leah McDonald              09:59    NSWRWC 
2.  Gabby Hunt                 10:01    ACTW 
3.  Eliza DeLaine              10:22    NSWRWC 
5.  Mikhala Hodges             10:38    RWV 
6.  Georgia Bertrand           10:45    RWV 
10. Brodie Richardson          10:50    RWV 
11. Brianna Lillie             10:51    RWV 
12. Jemma Peart                11:03    RWV 
13. Amy Canavan                11:08    RWV 
14. Zahra Hayes                11:20    RWV 
15. Kathleen O'Mahony          11:22    RWV 
16. Anaya Hodges               11:22    RWV 
18. Alannah Peart              11:35    RWV
20. Mackayla Davison           11:43    RWV 
21. Tegan Miller               12:01    RWV 
22. Madison Hill               12:35    RWV 
28. Leticia Nelson             15:47    RWV 
29. Olivia Davis               16:25    RWV 
    Hayley George              DNF      RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
2.  Amy Canavan                RWV 
3.  Jemma Peart                RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2. RWV1  57  (Mikhala Hodges, Georgia Bertrand, Brodie Richardson) 
4. RWV2  42  (Brianna Lillie, Jemma Peart, Amy Canavan) 
5. RWV3  33  (Zahra Hayes, Kathleen O'Mahony, Anaya Hodges) 
7. RWV4  19  (Alannah Peart, Mackayla Davison, Tegan Miller)     
8. RWV5  7   (Madison Hill, Leticia Nelson, Olivia Davis) 
 
EVENT 15 BOYS U14 2K 
1.  Kyle Swan                  09:35    RWV 
2.  Kyle Bedford               09:41    NSWRWC 
3.  Reese Walmsley             09:45    RWV 
5.  Ross Darlow                09:53    RWV 
9.  Corey Dickson              10:22    RWV
14. Callum Evans               12:43    RWV 
16. Ethan Wright               12:57    RWV 
17. Rodney Davis               13:06    RWV 
    Brendan O'Mahony           DQ       RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Ross Darlow                RWV 
2.  Corey Dickson              RWV 
3.  Rodney Davis               RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  32  (Kyle Swan, Reese Walmsley, Ross Darlow) 
4.  RWV2  10  (Corey Dickson, Callum Evans, Ethan Wright) 
 
EVENT 16 GIRLS U14 2K 
1.  Jasmyn McDonald            09:32    NSWRWC 
2.  Tahlia Hunt                09:42    TARWC 
3.  Anna Cross                 09:50    SARWC 
5.  Rachael Guy                10:04    RWV 
7.  Paige De Liesen            10:23    RWV 
8.  Shelby Kay                 10:35    RWV 
12. Mikhala Hodges             11:05    RWV 
13. Brianna Lillie             11:06    RWV 
14. Jemma Peart                11:18    RWV 
16. Kathleen O'Mahony          11:22    RWV 
17. Amy Canavan                11:42    RWV 
20. Brodie Richardson          11:54    RWV 
22. Jessica Lillie             11:56    RWV 
28. Mackayla Davison           13:27    RWV 
    Olivia Davis               DQ       RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Rachael Guy                RWV 
2.  Jemma Peart                RWV 
3.  Amy Canavan                RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2.  RWV1  57  (Rachael Guy, Paige De Liesen, Shelby Kay) 
3.  RWV2  42  (Mikhala Hodges, Brianna Lillie, Jemma Peart)  
6.  RWV3  28   Kathleen O'Mahony, Amy Canavan, Brodie Richardson) 
 
EVENT 17 BOYS U16 3K 
1.  Tyler Jones                13:26    NSWRWC 
2.  Zac Partington             13:56    WARWC 
3.  Billy Allamby              13:58    RWV 
7.  Ross Darlow                15:35    RWV 
9.  Reese Walmsley             16:01    RWV
15. Cody McNicol-Davidson      19:37    RWV 
    Rodney Davis               DQ       RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Ross Darlow                RWV 
 
TEAMS 
2.  RWV1  15  (Billy Allamby, Ross Darlow, Reese Walmsley)
 
EVENT 18 GIRLS U16 3K 
1.  Jemima Montag              14:10    RWV 
2.  Clara Smith                14:25    QRWC 
3.  Jasmine Irshad             14:44    RWV 
10. Emily Hamilton             16:16    RWV 
12. Megan Walker               16:18    RWV 
13. Jade Sanders               16:20    RWV 
16. Emily Swan                 16:39    RWV 
18. Kobie Somerfield           17:09    RWV 
23. Carly Bertrand             18:31    RWV 
24. Georgia Bertrand           19:06    RWV 
25. Shae Ohlsen                19:39    RWV 
26. Sophie McLaren             19:39    RWV
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  55  (Jemima Montag, Jasmine Irshad, Emily Hamilton)  
5.  RWV2  31  (Megan Walker, Jade Sanders, Emily Swan) 
7.  RWV3  10  (Kobie Somerfield, Carly Bertrand, Georgia Bertrand) 
 
EVENT 19 BOYS U18 5K 
1.  Brad Aiton                 21:22    QRWC 
2.  Nathan Brill               21:29    RWV 
3.  Jesse Osborne              22:17    QRWC 
4.  Josh Dillon                22:57    RWV 
6.  Kyle Bird                  24:11    RWV 
7.  Billy Allamby              24:56    RWV 
8.  Kyle Swan                  25:29    RWV 
13. Reese Walmsley             30:18    RWV     
14. Cody McNicol-Davidson      34:42    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
2.  Kyle Bird                  RWV 
3.  Billy Allamby              RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  24  (Nathan Brill, Josh Dillon, Kyle Bird) 
3.  RWV2  10  (Billy Allamby, Kyle Swan, Reese Walmsley) 
 
EVENT 20 GIRLS U18 5K 
1.  Stephanie George           25:29    RWV 
2.  Amy Bettiol                25:55    NSWRWC 
3.  Amanda Heard               26:45    RWV 
6.  Shelby Kay                 28:01    RWV 
7.  Ebony Whiley               28:08    RWV
10. Chloe McNicol-Davidson     31:18    RWV 
 
HANDICAP 
1.  Chloe McNicol-Davidson     RWV 
2.  Ebony Whiley               RWV 
3.  3Shelby Kay                RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  13  (Stephanie George, Amanda Heard,Shelby Kay) 
 
EVENT 21 WOMENS 5K 
1.  Tanya Holliday       OPEN  21:45    SARWC     
2.  Rachel Tallent       U20   23:02    RWV 
3.  Jessica Pickles      U20   24:31    QRWC 
6.  Jemima Montag        U20   25:28    RWV 
7.  Jasmine Irshad       U20   25:45    RWV
12. Simone McInnes       OPEN  28:35    RWV 
13. Emily Hamilton       U20   29:05    RWV 
14. Anna Wallace         OPEN  29:07    RWV 
15. Jade Sanders         U20   29:16    RWV 
18. Kobie Somerfield     U20   30:31    RWV
24. Carly Bertrand       U20   33:05    RWV 
25. Donna-Marie Elms     M     34:53    RWV
 
UNDER 20 
1.  Rachel Tallent             23:02    RWV 
2.  Jessica Pickles            24:31    QRWC 
3.  Jemima Montag              25:28    RWV 
4.  Jasmine Irshad             25:45    RWV 
5.  Emily Hamilton             29:05    RWV 
6.  Jade Sanders               29:16    RWV 
8.  Kobie Somerfield           30:31    RWV
10. Carly Bertrand             33:05    RWV 
 
MASTERS 
1.  Cheryl Webb                26:36    NSWRWC 
2.  Ann Staunton-Jugovic       28:00    ACTW 
3.  Gloria Holliday            28:10    SARWC 
9.  Donna-Marie Elms           34:53    RWV 
 
TEAMS 
1.  RWV1  55  (Rachel Tallent, Jemima Montag, Jasmine Irshad)
4.  RWV2  33  (Simone McInnes, Emily Hamilton, Anna Wallace) 
6.  RWV3  16  (Jade Sanders, Kobie Somerfield, Carly Bertrand)  
     
BRENNEN SHIELD     
RWV       1154
NSWRWC    1062
SARWC      215
ACTW       195
QRWC        73
REGAL       71
TARWC       62

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 2 JUNE

A big group of walkers descended on Middle Park (89 in all) on Saturday in perfect conditions for one last hitout before the LBG Carnival next weekend and good times were recorded across the board. As usual Terry Swan was there with his camera – check out http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine/ for over 100 photos from the day's racing.

The 10km saw a huge battle between Josh Kaiser and Simon Evans with Josh finally breaking away in the final lap to record a 2:23 PB time of 50:50 ahead of Simon 50:56. It was no surprise that Josh also won the men's handicap. Michelle Laufer 53:27 was an easy winner in the women's 10km event while Simone O'Neill won the women's handicap with a time of 1:06:11, just outside her PB.

10km  Open                          H'cap Place
1. Michelle Laufer         53:27    3
2. Marlene Gourlay         59:00    4
3. Anna Wallace          1:02:49    6
4. Alison Thompson       1:03:19    7
5. Simone O'Neill        1:06:11    1
6. Donna Elms            1:06:34    2
7. Celia Johnson         1:09:27    4

1. Joshua Kaiser           50:50    1     PB 2:23
2. Simon Evans             50:56    2
3. James Christmass        54:05    3
4. Nicholas Mirarchi       56:52    7
5. Duncan Knox             58:55    4
6. Gerard Feain            59:05    5
7. Bob Gardiner          1:03:36    6
8. Tony Johnson          1:07:33    8
9. Rudolf Skrucany       1:16:53    9

In the Open 5km, Nathan Brill and Rhydian Cowley walked side by side with 3km entrant Jason Kozica and were they moving. Jason eventually cleared out to win the 3km in 12:42 (more about that later), leaving Nathan and Rhydian to walk together and cross the line in 21:26. Behind them, Brad Simpson walked a 10 sec PB with 23:38, his time winning the men's handicap. Mick Gray and Gerald Sofianos also recorded PBs. In the women's walk Kirstin Shaw won with 27:14 while the handicap honours went to her mum Robyn – a family affair!

5km  Open     H'Cap Place
1. Kirstin Shaw            27:14    7
2. Heather Carr            27:45    5
3. Jmara Hockley Samon     28:35    8
4. Liz Feldman             29:46    4
5. Robyn Shaw              30:19    1
6. Gwen Steed              32:03    2
7. Chloe McNicol- Davidson 32:04    3
8. Karen O'Neill           34:24    6
   Amelia Finnegan         DNF

E1.Nathan Brill            21:26    5
E1.Rhydian Cowley          21:26    6
3. Brad Simpson            23:38    1     PB 0:10
4. Kyle Bird               27:04    12
5. Ralph Bennett           27:25    2
6. Russ Dickenson          29:09    9
7. Mick Gray               29:21    4     PB 0:43
8. Alan Lucas              31:37    8
9. Gerald Sofianos         32:49    3     PB 0:13
10. Geoff Barrow           33:10    7
11. Barrie Wicks           38:02    10
12. Alex Poore             43:35    11

In the Open 3km, Jason Kozica was the standout with a 39 sec PB time of 12:42, also winning the handicap. Jan Morrey did the same double in the Open women's 3km with her time of 20:36. In the U15 3km, Kyle Swan was the quickest with 14:31, ahead of Jasmine Irshad 14:55 while the handicap winners were Emily Swan with 17:13 and Cody McNicol-Davidson with 18:55. Shelby Kay 16:32, Paige De Lisen 16:05, Emily Swan 17:13 and Reese Walmsley 15:08 all did PBs.

3km  Open
1. Jan Morrey              20:36    1
2. Cathy Huse              21:45    3
3. Pam Mews                26:33    2
   Stephanie George    DNF     

1. Jason Kozica            12:42    1     PB 0:39
2. Paul Kennedy            15:25    4
3. Gordon Onley            21:31    2
4. John Morrison           22:00    3
5. Tony Barrett            23:00    5

3km  Under 15
1. Jasmine Irshad          14:55    10
2. Emily Hamilton          15:49    4
3. Paige De Lisen          16:05    2     PB 0:18
4. Shelby Kay              16:32    8     PB 0:01
5. Jessie Eastwood         17:00    3
6. Emily Swan              17:13    1     PB 0:10
7. Mikhala Hodges          17:15    5
8. Philippa Huse           17:27    7
9. Carly Bertrand          18:03    6
10.Beth Barbour            18:42    12
11.Rebecca Campbell        19:19    9
12.Gabbie Crea             19:42    11
13.Courtney Utber          20:02    13
14.Stacey McLaren          21:33    14

1. Kyle Swan               14:31    2
2. Reese Walmsley          15:08    3     PB 0:37
3. Cody McNicol- Davidson  18:55    1
4. Paul Tremigliozzi       19:12    4
   Brendan O'Mahony        DQ     
   Callum Evans            DNS     

The U12 walkers were in amazing form with the majority of the field recording PBs. Rachael Guy dropped down from U15 to U12 so that she could kick out over 2km and she was rewarded with fastest time of 10:08. She finished just behind Corey Dickson 10:03 who took the double – boys' fastest and boys' handicap. Georgia Bertrand won the U12 girls' race with 10:39 while Brodie Richardson won the handicap. In the U9 division, Freya Evans stepped straight onto the track from dancing (still in her dancing shoes!) and was rewarded with a huge PB of 6:25, winning the girls' race and handicap. Jared Hodges was the fastest of the boys with 6:19 while Thomas Kennedy won the boys' handicap with 8:25.

2km  Under 12
1. Rachael Guy             10:08    -     PB 1:01
2. Georgia Bertrand        10:39    4     PB 0:19
3. Brodie Richardson       10:44    1     PB 0:11
4. Brianna Lillie          11:08    3     PB 0:20
5. Jessica Lillie          11:25    6     PB 0:04
6. Kathleen O'Mahony       11:26    2     PB 0:11
7. Jemma Eastwood          12:03    7
8. Mackayla Davison        12:04    8
9. Tegan Miller            12:10    5     PB 0:03
10.Anaya Hodges            12:15    9

1. Corey Dickson           10:03    1     PB 0:38
2. Hayden Walmsley         11:39    4
3. Lachlan Feain           11:44    3     PB 0:08
4. Liam Evans              12:11    2     PB 0:36
5. Justin Brill            13:23    5

1km  Under 9
1. Freya Evans             06:25    1     PB 0:58
2. Gemma Lillie            06:26    3
3. Zara Irshad             10:42    4

1. Jared Hodges            06:19    2
2. Thomas Kennedy          08:25    1
3. William Kennedy         08:26    2

Officials: Tim Erickson, Mark Donahoo, Stuart Cooper, Mark O'Mahony, Ian Laurie, Mark Davidson, Damien Elms, Jason Elms, Don McLaren, Jason McLaren
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Stuart Cooper, Shane Bertrand, Dave Cash, Lloyd Nichols, Gordon Loughnan
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers
Photos: Terry Swan

VICTORIAN COUNTRY ROADWALK CHAMPIONSHIPS, BALLARAT, SUNDAY 27 MAY

Our country based Victorian walkers were in action at Lake Wendouree in Ballarat on Sunday 27 May when the Victorian Country Championships were contested. Good weather conditions and a fast 1km loop in North Gardens proved a winning formula and there were a lot of good walks across the board.

The first events on offer were the Open 10km championships which saw Kelly Ruddick and Rachel Tallent in control. Kelly powered through to a wonderful time of 46:52 (a 1 sec PB) while Rachel, fresh from her walk in this month's World Walking Cup in Russia, recorded 48:13 (1 27 sec PB) for silver. The men's championship saw a close battle between James Christmass and Paul Rance with James eventually getting the upper hand with 54:44 against Paul's 54:51. The bronze medals went to Sarah  Brennan 55:10 and Russ Dickenson 58:00.

Open Men 10 km Road Walk
1. James Christmass      COR    0:54:44     
2. Paul Rance            SBE    0:54:51     
3. Russ Dickenson        SCA    0:58:00     
4. Terry O'Neill         GPA    0:59:24     
5. Andrew Blood          BHA    DNF     

Open Women 10 km Road Walk
1. Kelly Ruddick         BHA    0:46:52    PB 0:02
2. Rachel Tallent        BYC    0:48:13    PB 0:27
3. Sarah Brennan         BYC    0:55:10     
   Kirstin Shaw (INV)    WES    0:55:11     
4. Amanda Heard          EAG    0:58:42     
   Robyn Shaw (INV)      WES    1:07:05     
5. Karyn O'Neill         GPA    DQ

The Victorian Country Underage championships saw plenty of PBs as the younger Country based walkers contested events ranging form U14 3km to U20 5km. Winners were Josh Kaiser, Stephanie George, Ross Darlow, Megan Walker, Hayley George and Rodney Davis. Special mention to Jemima Montag who walked by invitation, being Melbourne based. Her 3km time of 14:34 was exceptional.

U20 Men 5 km Road Walk Championship     
1. Joshua Kaiser         SCA    23:49    PB 0:22

U18 Women 5 km Road Walk Championship
1. Stephanie George      SCA    26:22
2. Jmara Hockley-Samon   CHI    28:28
3. Ebony Whiley          EAG     29:49
4. Kobie Somerfield      BHA    30:04    PB 3:29
   Carly Bertrand (INV)  KSB    32:46

U16 Boys 3 km Road Walk Championship     
1. Ross Darlow           EKA    15:50    PB 1:33

U16 Girls 3 km Road Walk Championship     
   Jemima Montag (INV)   MAC    14:34
1. Megan Walker          COR    16:25

U14 Girls 3 km Road Walk Championship     
1. Hayley George         SCA    16:53
2. Jemma Peart           BYC    17:02    PB 0:29

U14 Boys 3 km Road Walk Championship     
1. Rodney Davis          WEN    19:13    PB 1:01

The U12 and U10 walkers contested Racewalking Victoria championships and this provided a chance for the next generation to test themselves out. The results were very impressive with nearly all the walkers recording PBs. Winners were Oliver Watts, Georgia Bertrand, Bailey Ohlsen and Alanna Peart.

RWV U12 2 km Road Walk Championship
1. Oliver Watts *        BALL    18:22

1. Georgia Bertrand      VRWC    10:58    PB 0:09
2. Mackayla Davison      VRWC    11:06    PB 1:31
3. Amy Canavan           BALL    11:50    PB 0:33
4. Alanna Peart          BALL    11:56    PB 3:34
5. Zahra Hayes           BEND    12:19    PB 1:22
6. Madison Hill          BEND    12:22    PB 2:15
7. Olivia Davis          BALL    15:58

RWV U10 1 km Road Walk Championship
1. Bailey Ohlsen *       BALL    09:25     

1. Alanna Peart          BALL    05:43    PB 0:22
2. Carissa Brook         BEND    06:07    PB 0:19
3. Andie Montag          VRWC    06:37     
4. Leah Canavan          BALL    07:03    PB 1:36
5. Mia Darlow            BALL    07:05    PB 2:37

The Ballarat Walkers won the annual Redmac Trophy for the most points scored overall, a fitting result for the home team.

Thanks to the many Ballarat Racewalking Club members who acted as officials and to event coordinator Daryl Biggin. Thanks also to our judges, most of whom travelled up from Melbourne for the morning.

Judges: Judy Mason (Chief), Peter Vysma (DQ Board), Shane Bertrand, David Cash, Ralph Bennett, Suzanne Callaway, Stuart Cooper, Paul Nunn

VRWC RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 26 MAY

Some 70 walkers braved the dismal weather last Saturday and assembled at Middle Park for first of our handicap start days. These are always popular events with everyone having a chance of victory. Since this was a prizes day, the racing was even more competitive as everyone strove to be the first to the finish line. Overall, the standard of walking was impressive with PBs spread throughout all events. 

The 8km event saw Simone O'Neill and Jason Kozica take the overall handicap honours while fastest time honours went to Marlene Gourlay 47:08 and Brad Simpson 38:56. Brad has been in great form the last few weeks and this was definitely his best race so far. Jason Kozica 39:10 and Simon Evans 40:56 were also in fine walking form.

8km Open H'cap Start       Start    Finish     Actual   Act Place
1.  Simone O'Neill         00:00    0:53:20    53:20    3
2.  Celia Johnson          00:29    0:54:50    54:21    4
3.  Liz Feldman            06:17    0:55:06    48:49    2
4.  Karyn O'Neill          01:18    0:55:45    54:27    5
5.  Marlene Gourlay        08:47    0:55:55    47:08    1

1.  Jason Kozica           11:26    0:50:36    39:10    2
2.  Nicholas Mirarchi      11:23    0:54:37    43:14    5
3.  Rudolf Skrucany        01:58    0:54:41    52:43    10
4.  Ralph Bennett          09:48    0:55:05    45:17    6
5.  Simon Evans            14:23    0:55:19    40:56    3
6.  Bob Gardiner           05:10    0:55:21    50:11    8
7.  Brad Simpson           16:35    0:55:31    38:56    1
8.  Gerald Sofianos        02:25    0:57:17    54:52    12
9.  Gerard Feain           10:22    0:57:52    47:30    7
10. Steve Jordan           01:22    0:59:42    58:20    13
11. Scott Nelson           17:52    1:00:04    42:12    4
12. Alan Lucas             08:50    1:00:10    51:20    9
13. Tony Johnson           05:56    1:00:43    54:47    11

The 4km Handicap Start events were also numerically large events and it was outmarker Pam Mews who held onto her early lead and finished ahead of all the other Open walkers to win the women's Handicap event. Lucas Taylor started well back but he walked very strongly to come through the men's field and win the handicap as well as take fastest time with 19:48. Michelle Laufer was the fastest of the women with 20:33.

4km Open H'cap Start       Start    Finish     Actual   Act Place
1.  Pam Mews               00:00    35:39    35:39    9
2.  Michelle Laufer        17:18    37:51    20:33    1
3.  Gwen Steed             12:22    37:56    25:34    6
4.  Nicole Hallett         13:19    38:28    25:09    5
5.  Heather Carr           17:08    39:04    21:56    3
6.  Jan Morrey             10:39    39:12    28:33    7
7.  Donna Elms             14:39    39:19    24:40    4
8.  Amelia Finnegan        18:41    39:57    21:16    2
9.  Cathy Huse             10:52    40:40    29:48    8
    Chloe McNicol-Davidson 12:43    DNF

1.  Lucas Taylor           18:01    37:49    19:48    1
2.  John Morrison          09:23    38:40    29:17    4
3.  James Christmass       19:21    39:25    20:04    2
4.  Mick Gray              15:33    39:34    24:01    3
5.  Bruce Conboy           10:12    39:50    29:38    5
6.  Barrie Wicks           10:04    40:02    29:58    6
7.  Alex Poore             05:57    41:23    35:26    7
    Gordon Onley           02:25    DQ

The U15 4km Handicap Start events were won by Emily Swan and Reese Walmsley, both starting mid field and coming through strongly. Fastest times went to Jasmine Irshad 19:56 and Billy Allamby 19:20. Kyle Swan also showed good speed with his time of 19:57.

4km U15 H'cap Start        Start    Finish     Actual   Act Place
1.  Emily Swan             05:43    28:37    22:54    4
2.  Madelaine Feain        02:32    29:44    27:12    10
3.  Jasmine Irshad         10:10    30:06    19:56    1
4.  Emily Hamilton         08:24    30:09    21:45    2
5.  Paige De Lisen         07:44    30:22    22:38    3
6.  Philippa Huse          06:29    30:30    24:01    7
7.  Gabriella Crea         04:02    30:37    26:35    9
8.  Carly Bertrand         05:24    30:57    25:33    8
9.  Rachael Guy            07:29    31:27    23:58    6
10. Jade Sanders           08:24    31:52    23:28    5
11. Rebecca Campbell       04:14    DNF

1.  Reese Walmsley         08:00    28:46    20:46    3
2.  Billy Allamby          10:07    29:27    19:20    1
3.  Callum Evans           04:05    29:30    25:25    4
4.  Cody McNicol-Davidson  03:29    29:40    26:11    5
5.  Kyle Swan              10:03    30:00    19:57    2
    Jake Oliva             00:00    DQ

The Under 12 and Under 9 walkers had scratch races but we still calculated their Handicap placings to determine our prize winners – and the prizes went to Mackayla Davison, Hayden Walmsly, Freya Evans and Jared Hodges. Fastest times winners were Brodie Richardson 10:55, Corey Dickson 10:41, Gemma Lille 6:22 and Jared Hodges 6:20.

2km U12 Handicap           Time     Act Place
1.  Mackayla Davison       11:22    4
2.  Jemma Eastwood         11:27    5
3.  Kathleen O'Mahony      11:37    8
4.  Brodie Richardson      10:55    1
5.  Brianna Lillie         11:28    6
6.  Jessica Lillie         11:29    7
7.  Georgia Bertrand       11:09    2
8.  Mikhala Hodges         11:21    3
9.  Anaya Hodges           14:32    9

1.  Hayden Walmsley        11:24    2
2.  Corey Dickson          10:41    1
3.  Liam Evans             13:02    3

1km U9 Handicap            Time     Act Place
1.  Freya Evans            07:23    2
2.  Gemma Lillie           06:22    1
             
1.  Jared Hodges           06:20    1

As usual, thanks to our many supporters and helpers. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Peter Vysma
Officials: Tim Erickson, Mark Donahoo, Damien Elms, Mark Davidson, Paul Kozaris, Mark O'Mahony, Susan Taylor, Bob Hallett, Harry Summers
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Damien Elms, Michael Bodey, Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nichols
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich
Photos and Video: Terry Swan and Frances Attard

AV, VMA AND VRWC RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 19 MAY     

Last Saturday saw a big mix of events at Middle Park with the Victorian and Victorian Masters 10km championships being decided, along with the usual mix of Victorian Race Walking Club events. Just about perfect autumn conditions greeted the 86 walkers in attendance and we saw a number of PBs in the various events.

The star of the show had to be Old Scotch walker Andrew Jamieson who took a further 27 seconds off his pending M65 World Masters record, set only last week at this same venue. He powered through as the fastest male walker in the 10km events with 48:38, winning the Victorian 10km Open championship into the bargain. Behind him, Brad Simpson took second in the Victorian championship with a big PB time of 49:21 while Simon Evans from the Box Hill club took third with 51:40. In the women's Victorian championship, Kelly Ruddick was in a class of her own, winning by over 5 minutes with a time of 47:07 ahead of Michelle Laufer 52:51 and Sarah Brennan 54:33. Both Sarah and youngster Kirstin Shaw 54:50 did good PBs while Kirstin's mother Robyn equalled her own PB in coming sixth.

Victorian Open Men 10 km Road Walk Championship                 
1. JAMIESON, Andrew     OSC    0:48:38    M50 1st
2. SIMPSON, Bradley     KNA    0:49:21    PB 1:33
3. EVANS, Simon         BXH    0:51:40    M50 2nd
4. McDONOUGH, Aaron     PTN    0:52:29     
5. CHRISTMASS, James    COR    0:54:30    M40 1st
6. KAISER, Joshua       SCA    0:58:09     
7. KNOX, Duncan         ATE    0:58:35    M50 3rd
8. GARDINER, Bob        COL    1:01:12    M50 4th
   DICKENSON, Russ      SCA    DNF     
   ALLAMBY, Billy       KNA    DNS     
   DONAHOO, Mark        ATE    DNF     
   DILLON, Joshua       COR    DQ     
   SOFIANOS, Gerald     STK    DQ     
                 
Victorian Open Women 10 km Road Walk Championship                 
1. RUDDICK, Kelly       BHA    0:47:07     
2. LAUFER, Michelle     COL    0:52:51    M40 1st
3. BRENNAN, Sarah       BYC    0:54:33    PB 3:10
4. SHAW, Kirstin        WES    0:54:50    M40 2nd, PB 1:02
5. HEARD, Amanda        EAG    0:58:37     
6. SHAW, Robyn          WES    1:03:42    M50 1st, Eq PB
   HOCKLEY-SAMON, Jmara CHI    DNF     
   HAMILTON, Emily      KNA    DNS     

The Victorian Masters championships were jointly contested and a number of the AV walkers featured in the medals here alongside their fellow masters walkers.

VMA 10km Road Walking Championships             
M35  McDONOUGH, Aaron     1    0:52:29
M40  CHRISTMASS, James    1    0:54:30
M40  PATTERSON, Adam      2    1:04:22
M50  EVANS, Simon         1    0:51:40
M50  DONAHOO, Mark        DNF
M55  RIDDOCH, Clyde       1    0:58:12
M55  SKRUCANY, Rudolf     2    1:06:39
M60  GRAY, Mick           1    1:02:10     PB 1:34
M60  SOFIANOS, Gerald     DQ
M66  DICKENSON, Russell   DNF
M70  BENNETT, Ralph       1    0:55:59
M70  WICKS, Barrie        2    1:19:51
M75  GARDINER, Robert     1    1:01:12
             
W35  RUDDICK, Kelly       1    0:47:07
W50  TINDAL, Pam          1    0:52:56
W50  SHAW, Robyn          2    1:03:42     Eq PB
W55  THOMPSON, Alison     1    1:01:36
W60  CARR, Heather        1    0:58:09
W60  GOURLAY, Marlene     2    0:58:40     PB 0:45
W60  FELDMAN, Liz         3    1:02:37
W60  JOHNSON, Celia       4    1:10:44
W65  STEED, Gwen          1    1:07:59
W70  MACHIN, Sylvia       2    1:11:48

VRWC also conducted its usual spread of club events, ranging from Open 10km to U9 1.5km. Amongst the best performers were Jason Kozica (48:42 for 10km), Jemima Montag (24:23 for 5km), Billy Allamby (24:32 for 5km) Nathan Brill (12:21 for 3km U15), Kyle Bird (13:56 for 3km), Jasmine Irshad (14:38 for 3km U15) and Adam Garganis (14:15 for 3km U15).

VRWC 10km Open     
1.  ELMS, Donna             1:07:56
2.  O'NEILL, Simone         1:09:09
     
1.  KOZICA, Jason           0:48:42     PB 4:57
2.  MIRARCHI, Nicholas      0:55:39
3.  JORDAN, Steve *         1:11:29     PB
     
VRWC 5km Open     
1.  MONTAG, Jemima            24:23
2.  FINNEGAN, Amelia          25:33
3.  GEISLER, Sandra           27:14
4.  IRSHAD, Kylie             28:15
5.  WHILEY, Ebony             31:32
6.  MORREY, Jan               35:23
7.  O'NEILL, Karyn *          35:37
    MCNICOL-DAVIDSON, Chloe   DNF
     
1.  ALLAMBY, Billy            24:32
2.  WALMSLEY, Reese           27:52
3.  FEAIN, Gerard             28:22
4.  McNICOL-DAVIDSON, Cody    34:31
5.  CONBOY, Bruce             36:38
6.  POORE, Alex *             42:22
     
VRWC 3km Open     
1.  MEWS, Pam *               27:32
   
1.  BRILL, Nathan             12:21
2.  BIRD, Kyle                13:56     PB
    ONLEY, Gordon             DQ

VRWC 3km U15         
1.  IRSHAD, Jasmine           14:38
2.  HAMILTON, Emily           16:09
3.  DE LISEN, Paige           16:23     PB 0:18
4.  EASTWOOD, Jessie          16:23
5.  WALKER, Megan             16:45
6.  GUY, Rachael              17:17
7.  SANDERS, Jade             17:41
8.  CAMPBELL, Caitlin         19:11
9.  McLAREN, Stacey           20:25
10. FEAIN, Madeleine          21:06
    CREA, Gabriella           DQ
         
1.  GARGANIS, Adam            14:15     PB 0:13
2.  OWEN, Cooper              16:02
3.  TREMIGLIOZZI, Paul        19:54
4.  OLIVA, Jake               23:10
    O'MAHONY, Brendon         DQ

Finally, our U12 and U9 walkers contested the slightly longer 2.5km and 1.5km distances again this week. Jessica Lillie 14:36, Corey Dickson 14:29 and Gemma Lillie 9:37 were our fastest but all the walkers seemed to enjoy themselves!
         
VRWC 12 2.5km U12         
1.  LILLIE, Jessica           14:36
2.  LILLIE, Brianna           14:46
3.  O'MAHONY, Kathleen        15:00
4.  MILLER, Tegan             15:04
5.  EASTWOOD, Jemma           15:40
         
1.  DICKSON, Corey            14:29
2.  WALMSLEY, Hayden          14:37
3.  FEAIN, Lachlan            14:52
4.  EVANS, Liam               15:35
5.  BRILL, Caine              16:19
6.  BRILL, Justin             16:24
7.  MIRARCHI, Thomas          21:23
         
VRWC 1.5km U9         
1.  LILLIE, Gemma             09:37
2.  EVANS, Freya              11:16
3.  IRSHAD, Zara *            11:49

Thanks as always to our many officials and judges who keep the show on the road. Apologies to anyone I have missed.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Harry Summers, Ian Laurie, Damien Elms, Mark O'Mahony, Mark Davidson, Craig Brill, Lavinia Petrie, Stuart Cooper
Judges: Shane Bertrand (Chief), Brian Williams, Lloyd Nichols, Gordon Loughnan, Matt Owen, Kathleen Marsh, Brenda Felton, Alan Lucas, Peter Vysma, Michael Bodey (DQ)
Bicycles: Justin McLaren, Jason Elms
Setup: Peter Vysma, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, MELBOURNE, SATURDAY 12 MAY

Last Saturday saw the first of our VRWC Points Competition days at Middle Park with 81 walkers in action. You can read all about how the Actual Time, Handicap and Style Award Points Competitions are done by checking out http://www.vrwc.org.au/vrwcpointscomps.html. Stuart Cooper tells me that the races were held in freezing, windy conditions.  As usual, Terry Swan was in action with his camera and he has uploaded his usual seletion of great photos to our photo gallery - http://www.vrwc.org.au/coppermine. Thanks Terry!

First to the 10km event where Andrew Jamieson starred, bettering his existing M65 World Record by 22 secs with a time of 49:05. Simon Evans was also in fine form, recording his best time for years (might even be a PB?) with 50:46 to finish just ahead of Brad Simpson who was also in PB mode with 50:54. Michelle Laufer was the fastest of the women with 54:15 ahead of Pam Tindal with 55:02. We had a lot of first timers over the 10km distance, including Billy Allamby, Reese Walmsley, Mick Gray, Gerald Sofianis and Marlene Gourlay. And a special mention to Simone O'Neill who took over 3 mins off her PB with 72:19.

10k Open   
1.  Andrew Jamieson        49.05    M65 World Best by 0:22
2.  Simon Evans            50.46
3.  Bradley Simpson        50.54    PB 0:16
4.  Billy Allamby          53.52    First ever
5.  James Christmass       54.06
6.  Reese Walmsley         55.13    First ever
7.  Ralph Bennett          58.53
8.  Duncan Knox            59.50
9.  Mick Gray              63.44    First ever
10. Bob Gardiner           64.02
11. Gerald Sofianos        67.57    First ever
12. Rudolf Skrucany        68.38
    Russ Dickenson         DNF
    Josh Dillon            DNF
   
1.  Michelle Laufer        54.15
2.  Pam Tindal             55.02
3.  Marlene Gourlay        59.25    First ever?
4.  Simone O’Neill         72.19    PB 3:32

Kyle Bird and Adam Garganis continued their fine form of last week with 24:31 and 25:22 in the 5km walk while Kirstin Shaw was the fastest woman with 26:41.
   
5km Open   
1.  Kyle Bird              24.31
2.  Adam Garganis          25.22
3.  Gerard Feain           31.07
4.  Geoff Barrow           34.15
5.  Barrie Wicks           38.02
6.  Alex Poore             46.01
    Tony Johnson           DNF
   
1.  Kirstin Shaw           26.41
2.  Jmara Hockley-Samon    26.45
3.  Heather Carr           27.58
4.  Sandra Geisler         28.08
5.  Liz Feldman            30.18
6.  Robyn Shaw             30.38
7.  Gwen Steed             32.57
8.  Rebecca Campbell       33.47
9.  Celia Johnson          34.26

In the 3km walks, Josh Kaiser was fastest overall with an excellent 13:46 but it was in the U15 division where the action really hotted up with Kyle Swan 14:29 and Jemima Montag 14:27 fighting it out to the line. Jasmine Irshad was also in PB form with a huge time of 14:35 as were Paige De Lisen 16:41, Phillipa Huse 17:08, Cody McNicol-Davidson 18:11 and Jake Oliva 22:10. Kyle's time of 14:29 was actually a VRWC U14 Club Record.

3km Open   
1.  Josh Kaiser            13.46    PB 0:57
2.  Paul Kennedy           15.22
3.  Alan Huse              18.51    First time walker
4.  John Morrison          21.43
5.  Tony Barrett           24.43
    Gordon Onley           DQ

1.  Anna Wallace           17.00
2.  Donna Elms             18.06
3.  Chloe McNicol-Davidson 18.12
4.  Jan Morrey             21.33
5.  Pam Mews               26.02
   
3km U15   
1.  Kyle Swan              14.29    PB 0:09, new VRWC U14 record
2.  Callum Evans           20.28    First ever
3.  Cody McNicol-Davidson  21.03
4.  Jake Oliva             22.10    PB 0:18
   
1.  Jemima Montag          14.27
2.  Jasmine Irshad         14.35    PB 0:21
3.  Paige De Lisen         16.41    PB 0:17
4.  Emily Hamilton         16.52
5.  Megan Walker           17.02   
6.  Phillipa Huse          17.08    PB 0:32
7.  Shelby Kay             17.16
8.  Rachael Guy            17.23
9.  Emily Swan             17.54
10. Chloe McNicol-Davidson 18.11    PB 0:07
11. Carly Bertrand         18.52
12. Stacey McLaren         19.36
13. Courtney Utber         19.36    First one
14. Madeleine Feain        20.55
    Gabby Crea    DQ

The U12 and U9 walkers upped their distances this week with 2.5km and 1.5km respectively. Corey Dickson 13:58 and Brodie Richardson 14:04 were our fastest U12 walkers while Jared Hodges 9:28 and Gemma Lillie 9:39 walked from the front in the U9 once again.   

2.5km U12   
1.  Corey Dickson          13.58
2.  Lachlan Feain          14.46
3.  Hayden Walmsley        15.03
4.  Liam Evans             16.45
   
1.  Brodie Richardson      14.04
2.  Mikhala Hodges         14.09
3.  Georgia Bertrand       14.31
4.  Brianna Lillie         14.39
5.  Jessica Lillie         14.48
6.  Tegan Miller           15.10
7.  Mackayla Davison       15.10
8.  Kathleen O’Mahoney     15.19
9.  Anaya Hodges           15.41
   
1.5km U9   
1.  Jared Hodges            9.28
2.  Thomas Kennedy         12.17
   
1.  Gemma Lillie            9.39
2.  Freya Evans            11.06
3.  Zara Irshad            12.48

Thanks to our many judges and officials. Sorry if we missed anyone.

Set-up: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers
Race Entries: Stu Cooper, Michael Bodey, Russ Dickenson, Damien Elms
Uniforms: Marlaine Stanway
Officials/Timekeepers: Mark O’Mahoney, Paul Kozaris, Harry Summers, Stu Cooper, Mark Davidson, Don McLaren, Jason Elms (bike)
Judges: Shane Bertrand (C), Frances Attard, Margaret Walker, Lloyd Nichols, Michael Bodey
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Wendy Cooper
Photos: Terry Swan

And a special get well soon to club member Connor McShanag who had emergency surgery last Wednesday to remove his appendix. It will be a while before we see Connor again at walkers club so – get well soon mate!

VRWC AND AV ROADWALKS, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 5 MAY

Conditions may have been wet and wintery at Middle Park but the 89 walkers in attendance actually had pretty good racing conditions as the drizzly rain stopped just before the first races got underway. Saturday saw our first Victorian championships for the winter – the 5km Teams Championships for men and women. Stuart Cooper summed the AV Teams Race up nicely with his VRWC Facebook post


There were certainly some great PB performances by our younger walkers with Billy Allamby taking third against his older rivals with a fine 24:17, Kyle Swan with 24:59, Stephanie George with 25:13, Jasmine Irshad with 26:34 and Emily Swan with 31:51. And of course I can't leave out Kyle Bird who produced yet another great 5km time with 23:57 and Adam Garganis who recorded an excellent 24:47 in his first ever 5km. Others doing their first ever 5km walks included Callum Evans, Hayley Brown and Courtney Utber.

VICTORIAN 5KM TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS – MEN
1.  Dillon, Josh         COR    23:54    16
2.  Bird, Kyle           MPA    23:57
3.  Allamby, Billy       KNA    24:17    14    PB 1:29
4.  Evans, Simon         BOH    24:40    13
5.  Garganis, Adam       COL    24:47    12    First one
6.  Swan, Kyle           KNA    24:59    11    PB 0:58
7.  Christmass, James    COR    25:29    10
8.  Kaiser, Joshua       SCA    25:55    9
9.  Taylor, Lucas        SCA    26:00    8
10. Mirarchi, Nicholas   COR    26:41    7
11. Walmsley, Reese      KNA    27:04    6    PB 1:02
12. McShanag, Connor     ATE    27:25
13. Dyer, Bill           BOH    27:37    5
14. Dickenson, Russ      SCA    27:58    4
15. Reid, Ross           COL    28:19    3
16. Gardiner, Bob        COL    29:17    2
17. Evans, Callum        BOH    32:28    1    First one

Teams Championships
1.  COR    16,10,7=33    J Dillon, J Christmass, N Mirarchi
2.  KNA    14,11,6=31    B Allamby, K Swan, R Walmsley
3.  SCA    9,8,4=21     J Kaiser, L Taylor, R Dickenson
4.  BOH    13,5,1=19    S Evans, B Dyer, C Evans
5.  COL    12,3,2=17    A Garganis, R Reid, B Gardiner

VICTORIAN 5KM TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS – WOMEN
1.  George, Stephanie    SCA    25:13    10    PB 0:24
2.  Shaw, Kirstin        WES    26:20    8    PB 0:05
3.  Irshad, Jasmine      SCA    26:34    7    PB 1:39
4.  Hamilton, Emily      KNA    28:29    6    PB 0:08
5.  Irshad, Kylie        SCA    28:51    5
6.  Gourlay, Marlene     VMA    29:27   
7.  Swan, Emily          KNA    31:51    4    PB 0:28
8.  Shaw Robyn           WES    32:03    3
9.  Brown, Hayley        KNA    33:18    2    First one
10. Utber, Courtney      WES    35:26    1    First one
    Hockley-Samon, Jmara CHI    DNS   
    Svoboda, Nicole      WES    DNS   

Teams Championships
1.  SCA    10,7,5=22    S George, J Irshad, K Irshad
2.  KNA    6,4,2=12     E Hamilton, E Swan, H Brown
3.  WES    8,3,1=12     K Shaw, R Shaw, C Utber

The usual VRWC scratch races were available and a good number of regulars strutted their stuff alongside the AV walkers. The 5km saw Michelle Laufer 26:20 and Andrew Jamieson 24:07 taking line honours. Quite a few of these walkers could also have been in the AV 5km Teams event but for one reason or another, they chose the VRWC option for the day. Masters walker Mick Gray also had his first walk with us, recording a good 30:04 for the club 5km. And in the U15 3km races, Paige De Lisen walked a big PB of 16:58 while Philippa Huse recorded an even bigger PB with her 17:40.

VRWC 5KM OPEN
1.  Laufer, Michelle       26:20
2.  Carr, Heather          27:57
3.  Wallace, Anna          29:02
4.  Gourlay, Marlene       29:27
5.  Feldman, Liz           30:26
6.  Thompson, Alison       30:47
7.  Elms, Donna            32:12
8.  Steed, Gwen            33:35
9.  O'Neill, Karyn         33:57
10. O'Neill, Simone        34:07

1.  Jamieson, Andrew       24:07
2.  Gray, Mick             30:04
3.  Lucas, Alan            31:59
4.  Sofianis, Gerald       33:02
5.  Barrow, Geoff          33:29
6.  Skrucany, Rudolf       34:33
7.  Conboy, Bruce          36:58
8.  Poore. Alex            42:08
    Barrett, Tony          DNF

VRWC 3KM OPEN
1.  Mews, Pam              25:39

1.  Wicks, Barrie          21:59
2.  Feain, Gerard          22:21
3.  Beaumont, Ian          24:27

VRWC 3KM U15
1.  De Lisen, Paige        16:58    PB 0:16
2.  Walker, Megan          17:10
3.  Huse, Philippa         17:40    PB 0:34
4.  Hodges, Mikhala        17:53
5.  Barbour, Beth          18:10
6.  Crea, Gabriella        19:52
7.  Feain, Madeleine       22:21
    Campbell, Rebecca      DNF

1.  McNicol-Davidson, Cody 19:18
    O'Mahony, Brendon      DQ

Hayley George was just one second off her PB in winning the girls' U12 2km with 10:45 and Corey Dickson was even faster in winning the boys' event with 10:41. Behind them, there were PBs galore amongst the boys and girls as you can see from the results list below. In the U9 1km walks, Jared Hodges 6:13 and Gemma Lillie 6:17 were our fastest, both with PBs.

VRWC 2KM U12
1.  George, Hayley         10:45
2.  Richardson, Brodie     11:09    PB 0:13
3.  Lillie, Jessica        11:39
4.  Lillie, Brianna        11:49
5.  Davison, Mackayla      12:37    PB 0:30
6.  Hodges, Anaya          12:48
7.  O'Mahony, Kathleen     12:53
8.  Taylor, Lee            13:52

1.  Dickson, Corey         10:41    PB 0:21
2.  Feain, Lachlan         11:52    PB 0:16
3.  Rickard, Joseph        12:11    PB 0:39
4.  Walmsley, Hayden       12:13
5.  Rickard, Thomas        14:07    First one
6.  Mirarchi, Thomas       16:46

VRWC 1KM U9
1.  Lillie, Gemma          06:17    PB 0:08   
2.  Evans, Freya           07:29
    Irshad, Zara           DQ

1.  Hodges, Jared          06:13    PB 0:12

Thanks to our many officials. Sorry if I missed anyone.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Stuart Cooper, Ian Laurie, Paul Kozaris, Damien Elms, Jason Elms, Liz Feldman,  Mark O'Mahony, Harry Summers, Ralph Bennett, Susan Taylor, Marlaine Stanway
Judges: Gordon Loughnan (Chief), Brenda Felton, Terry Swan,Graham George, Matt Owen
Course Setup: Tim Erickson, Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers. Stuart Cooper
Photos: Sabby George
Canteen: Barb Gardiner, Wendy Cooper

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SATURDAY 28 APRIL 2012

Our opening Winter Season races saw a massive group of 85 walkers descend on Middle Park to test themselves (and us!) out on a windy but mild Melbourne Saturday afternoon. There was a lot of work to be done before the event with a huge road sweep and course remark needed after the Grand Prix Motor Racing park exit (thanks GP!) and what with Canberra entries, uniform sales, member renewals and race entries, we were overwhelmed and hence about 15 minutes late in starting our first events. But once we got going, all went well and we captured the finishing times for all walkers. Thanks to our many officials who did such a great job.

A lot of walkers chose the 8km event and there were some pretty slick times out in front with Josh Dillon 40:54, Simon Evans 42:21 and Kirstin Shaw showing the way. We welcomed Old Scotch walker Andrew Cochrane back for his first walk with us for some years.

VRWC Open 8km Roadwalk
1.  Tindal, Pam               42:57
2.  Shaw, Kirstin             45:38
3.  Gourlay, Marlene          48:18
4.  Wallace, Anna             48:33
5.  Shaw, Robyn               52:15
6.  Elms, Donna               54:40
7.  O'Neill, Karyn            55:09
8.  Steed, Gwen               55:29
9.  Johnson, Celia            56:38
10. Machin, Sylvia            57:40
11. O'Neill, Simone           58:43
    Feldman, Liz              DNF
    Irshad, Kylie             DNF

1.  Dillon, Josh              40:54
2.  Evans, Simon              42:21
3.  Christmass, James         44:24
4.  Mirarchi, Nicholas        45:47
5.  Cochrane, Andrew          46:42
6.  Bennett, Ralph            46:54
7.  O'Neill, Terry            47:40
8.  Knox, Duncan              47:53
9.  Reid, Ross                48:14
10. Dickenson, Russ           48:54
11. Gardiner, Bob             52:53
12. Barrow, Geoff             54:28
13. Skrucany, Rudolf          55:07
    Dickinson, Murray         DQ

The Open 4km events were nearly as popular with Josh Kaiser our fastest with 19:46 ahead of Amelia Finnegan 20:39. It was also nice to see Nicole Hallett back after some years away. And of course I immediately put her dad Bob to work officiating (sorry Bob!). Josh had us all a bit worried after the event with a bit of a collapse but all was well once he recovered. And a special mention to W75 Pam Mews who took a couple of minutes of her best time in recent year with her 37:15.

VRWC Open 4km Roadwalk
1.  Finnegan, Amelia          20:39
2.  Geisler, Sandra           21:22
3.  Hockley-Samon, Jmara      21:59
4.  Carr, Heather             22:18
5.  Hallett, Nicole           25:59
6.  Mews, Pam                 37:15

1.  Kaiser, Joshua            19:46
2.  Taylor, Lucas             21:17
3.  Keirl, Bernie             22:18
4.  McShanag, Connor          22:47
5.  Barrett, Tony             25:31
6.  Lucas, Alan               25:56
7.  Doran, Anthony            26:00
8.  Sofianos, Gerald          26:40
9.  Johnson, Tony             27:35
10. Feain, Gerard             28:40
11. Conboy, Bruce             29:01
12. Morrison, John            30:23
13. Poore, Alex               31:53
14. Turner, Gary              32:10
15. Beaumont, Ian             33:17
    Onley, Gordon             DQ

A good sized group of U15 walkers took to the road with Kyle Swan 19:55 and Adam Garganis 20:05 battling it out in front. Paige De Lisen 22:57 and Shelby Kay 23:17 were close (there is never much separating these two girls when they race!) while 10 year old Mikhala Hodges showed once again with her time of 24:48 that she thrives on the longer distances (she actually did a 10km walk last winter).

VRWC U15 4km Roadwalk
1.  Hamilton, Emily           22:52
2.  De Lisen, Paige           22:57
3.  Kay, Shelby               23:17
4.  Walker, Megan             23:49
5.  Huse, Philippa            24:21
6.  Swan, Emily               24:29
7.  Hodges, Mikhala           24:48
8.  Campbell, Rebecca         27:48
9.  Feain, Madeleine          28:22
10. McLaren, Stacey           28:41
    Bertrand, Carley          DNF
    Crea, Gabriella           DQ
         
1.  Swan, Kyle                19:55
2.  Garganis, Adam            20:05
3.  Warmsley, Reese           21:06
4.  Evans, Callum             27:06
5.  McNicol-Davidson, Cody    29:21
6.  Oliva, Jake               30:52

Our U12 and U9 walkers were the last to start and they went off together this week. The U9's were the first to finish and it was a dead heat with Gemma Lillie and Jarred Hodges both stopping the clock at 6:25 ahead of Freya Evans 7:27. Jared, the younger brother to Anaya and Mikhala, was having his first outing at the walkers club and certainly has a good turn of speed just like his older sisters! In the U12 division,  Corey Dickson had his first walk with us and did he move well, fastest overall with a good looking 11:02. Next in was Brodie Richardson with 11:22 followed by Georgia Bertrand with 11:44. Mackayla Davison was another walker having her first VRWC race (and probably her first ever 2km walk) and she also made a good start with 13:07.

VRWC U12 2km Roadwalk
1.  Richardson, Brodie        11:22
2.  Bertrand, Georgia         11:44
3.  Lillie, Jessica           11:48
4.  Lillie, Brianna           12:02
5.  Davison, Mackayla         13:07
6.  Miller, Tegan             13:15
7.  Taylor, Lee               13:37
8.  Hodges, Anaya             15:00

1.  Dickson, Corey            11:02
2.  Walmsley, Hayden          12:28
3.  Feain, Lachlan            12:36
4.  Evans, Liam               12:47
5.  Mirarchi, Tom             16:56

VRWC U9 1km Roadwalk
1.  Lillie, Gemma             06:25
2.  Evans, Freya              07:27
    Irshad, Zara              DQ

1.  Hodges, Jared            06:25

Thanks as usual to our many helpers and officials and judges. I am sure to have missed a few people so apologies in advance!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Stuart Cooper, Ian Laurie, Susan Taylor, Don McLaren, Bob Hallett, Lou Mirarchi, Justin McLaren   
Judges: Peter Vysma, Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nicholls, Shane Bertrand, Michael Bodey, Damien Elms
Checkin: Stuart Cooper, Russ Dickenson
Course Setup: Harry Summers, Peter Vysma, Bob Gardiner, Tim Erickson, Ross Reid and others
Photos: Terry Swan