VRWC Results

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The Summer Season occurs between October and March and coincides with the long hot Australian summer. The emphasis in on track walking and most races are over the shorter track distances. There is also a strong walking presence in the 'Interclub' Track Competition with all Athletics Teams fielding walkers in their regular competitions.

For this reason, VRWC only holds a small number of events during this period.

VMA AND VRWC TRACK RACES, DOLOMORE OVAL, MENTONE, SUNDAY 17 FEBRUARY

The final Victorian Race Walking Club events for the summer were held on Sunday morning at Mentone in suburban Melbourne. The main events on offer were the Victorian Masters 5000m Track Walk Championships and it was pleasing to see good fields in both the men's and women's events. A review of the age graded stats shows that the best walks were by Heather Carr (W60 28:32, 89.78%), Bob Gardiner (M75, 30:21, 89.32%) and Ralph Bennett (M70, 28:34, 88.77%). Fastest times went to Stuart Kollmorgen (M40 23:37) and Heather Carr. Thanks to Russ Dickenson for working out the age graded percentages for me.

5000m VMA Championship for Women
W50 1    Donna Elms              32:36    69.08%
W55 1    Alison Thompson          32:14    75.80%
W60 1    Heather Carr   28:32    89.78%
     2    Marlene Gourlay          30:00    83.35%
     3    Liz Feldman              31:28    82.44%
W65 1    Celia Johnson            34:22    76.47%
W70 1    Gwen Steed               33:21    84.50%
     2    Sylvia Machin            35:42    80.14%
     3    Beverly Hugo             42:17    67.66%
W75 1    Ruth-Mary Falconbridge   41:57    72.75%
   2    Pam Mews                 51:01    63.12%

5000m VMA Championship for Men
M40 1    Stuart Kollmorgen        23:37    81.99%
     2    Adam Patterson           26:46    70.65%
     3    David Smythe             29:41    65.23%
M50 1    Simon Evans              24:46    84.26%
     2    Mark Donahoo             25:32    83.10%
M55 1    Andrew Cochrane          28:02    77.76%
     2    Clyde Riddoch            30:10    71.60%
M60 1    Geoff Barrow             34:47    67.20%
M65 1    Russ Dickenson           30:14    79.94%
M70 1    Ralph Bennett            28:34    88.77%
     2    Tony Johnson             31:12    82.33%
     3    Murray Dickinson         32:05    82.19%
     4    Juan Perez               37:09    70.04%
   5    Barrie Wicks             38:26    66.83%
M75 1    Bob Gardiner             30:21    89.32%
     2    Ian Beaumont             41:27    65.40%
M80 DQ   Jim Machin

We also had VRWC club races but, with the AV Shield the day before, fields were small.

1500m Open
1. Philippa Huse      07:38
2. Hayley George      07:44
3. Madeleine Feain    09:54
4. Lachlan Feain      09:31

3000m Open
1. Alan Huse          19:06

5000m Open
1. Donna Urquhart     33:56
2. Gerard Feain       30:52
    Connor McShanag    DNF

Thanks as usual to our various officials and judges. Apologies if I missed anyone.

Officials: Alan Lucas, Bob Gardiner, Mark Donahoo, Damien Elms, Dawn Bennett, Alison Thompson, Heather Carr, Ralph Bennett and Gwen Steed
Judges: Stu Cooper, Lloyd Nichols, David Cash
Entries: Alan Lucas, Damien Elms
Results: Alan Lucas and Mark Donahoo

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY

Peter Vysma tells me that it was a cloudy morning for our VRWC road races on Sunday with just a bit of drizzle which cleared before the start. The course was reduced to a 1km loop due to Australian Motor Racing Grand Prix setup works (our annual headache has started once again) and conditions were made even harder for our officials with temporary fencing erected all around the start/finish line.

The first events to kick off were the longer ones with Simon Evans and Bernie Keirl testing themselves over the 20km distance. Simon walked well to finish with 1:52.52 but Bernie was perhaps a tad unfortunate to pick up a third red card in the dying stages and learn of his DQ after he had finished. Kelly Ruddick walked fantastically again, bettering her own Victorian W35 record with 1:11:53. Further down in distances, Jesse Osborne scorched over the 10km distance in a very fast 43:34. Some good times indeed.

20km Open
1. Simon Evans            1:52:52
    Bernie Keirl           DQ

15km Open
1. Kelly Ruddick          1:11:53    PB 0:09
2. Pam Tindal             1:29:30
3. Kirstin Shaw           1:29:30

1. Mark Donahoo           1:22:31

10km Open
    Robyn Shaw             DNF     3km in 20.45

1. Jesse Osborne          0:43:34
2. Ralph Bennett          0:59:36
3. Bob Gardiner           1:02:05
4. Murray Dickinson   1:05:10
5. Steve Jordan           1:14:33
    David Smyth            DNF     4km in 23.48

Our shorter distance events saw 16 year old Nathan Brill storm through for a 3km time of 12:04, yet again another club record and a new PB to boot. Kyle Bird 24:25 and Kyle Swan 14:24 also walked excellent

5km Open
1. Liz Feldman            31:48
2. Celia Johnson          34:11

1. Kyle Bird              24:25
2. Connor McShanag        28:25
3. Barrie Wicks           38:28

3km Open
1. Emily Swan             17:31
2. Cathy Huse         21:43
3. Kelly Davidson         25:40
    Caitlin Campbell       DNF     2km in 13.12

1. Nathan Brill           12:04    PB 0:11
2. Anand Thillaisundaram 17:55
3. Paul Tremigliozzi      19:50
4. Gerard Feain           20:10

3km Under 15
1. Phillipa Huse          16:58    PB 0:07
2. Madeline Feain         20:10

1. Kyle Swan              14:24
2. Reece Walmsley   14:43
3. Hayden Walmsley        19:19
4. Lachlan Feain          19:34

Thanks as usual to our many judges and officials – sorry if I have missed anyone!

Judges: Peter Vysma (C), Gordon Loughnan, Stu Cooper, Lloyd Nichols
Officials: Harry Summers, Bob Gardiner, Mark Donahoo, Don and Stacey McLaren, Craig Brill (setup)
Feed Station: Marlaine Stanway
Photos: Terry Swan
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper

AV 5KM TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND VRWC RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 20 JANUARY

Last Sunday saw 63 walkers descend on Middle Park in inner Melbourne for the annual Athletics Victoria 5km Roadwalk Teams Championships, held in conjunction with regular VRWC Summer Season races. Conditions were just about perfect early on but competitors in the longer races did have to contend with warming conditions in the latter stages of their races.

First to the AV Men's Teams event which saw an emphatic win to Athletics Nunawading, led by Brad Simpson with an impressive 22:39 and ably backed up by Frank Bertei and Ryan Antidormi. Neither Frank nor Ryan are regular walkers these days and both performed well on the tricky 1km circuit. Athletics Essendon (Mark Donahoo, Duncan Knox and Connor McShanag) and Collingwood (Stuart Kollmorgen, David Smythe and David Best) took the minor placings.

The Women's Teams event was a tighter battle with Knox prevailing over Eaglehawk through the efforts of Tracey Feiner, Paige De Lisen and Emily Hamilton. The Bendigo girls fell just short, though Amanda Heard (25:52) was the fastest overall, while team-mates Heather Carr, Ebony While and Annette Major walked well. Western Athletics (Kirsten Shaw, Robyn Shaw and Janice Hodgart) took bronze.

Finding a place in a crowded program for the 5km teams race has not been easy, with many prospective entrants being otherwise committed, and holding it during the summer this year was a case of 'suck it and see.' The turnout, though not huge, was strong enough to suggest that we'll be back for it at a similar time in 2014.

AV 5km Road Walk Teams Championship - Men
1. Brad Simpson           ANW    22:39   PB 0:59
2. Stuart Kollmorgen      COL    23:35
3. Aaron McDonough      PTN    25:13
4. Mark Donahoo           ATE    26:19
5. Frank Bertei           ANW    27:27
6. Ryan Antidormi         ANW    28:05
7. David Smyth            COL    28:30
8. Duncan Knox            ATE    29:24
9. Connor McShanag        ATE    29:56
10. Robert Walsh   ANW    30:33
11. Cody McNicol-Davidson SCA    31:46
12. David Best             COL    32:32
Bill Dyer                  BOH    DNS
Joshua Kaiser              SCA    DQ

Teams    1    ANW    1,5,6=12     B Simpson, F Bertei, R Antidormi
        2    ATE    4,8,9=21     M Donahoo, D Knox, C McShanag
        3    COL    2,7,12=21    S Kollmorgen, D Smyth, D Best

AV 5km Road Walk Teams Championship - Women
1. Amanda Heard           EAG    25:52    PB 0:49
2. Kirstin Shaw           WES    26:18    PB 0:02
3. Tracy Feiner           KNA    26:23
4. Paige De Lisen         KNA    28:22    First ever
5. Emily Hamilton         KNA    28:50
6. Heather Carr           EAG    28:53
7. Ebony Whiley           EAG    29:21
8. Tamara Attard          KNA    29:38
9. Annette Major          EAG    31:11
10. Robyn Shaw             WES    32:26
11. Janice Hodgart         WES    42:03    First ever

Teams    1    KNA    3,4,5=12     T Feiner, P De Lisen, E Hamilton
        2    EAG    1,6,7=14     A Heard, H Carr, E Whiley
        3    WES    2,10,11=23   K Shaw, R Shaw, J Hodgart

The usual mix of VRWC club races were on offer, starting with the longer distance events. A surprising number of walkers chose to compete in the 20km, 15km and 10km events, starting at 8:30AM. PBs to Karyn O'Neill (20km in 2:19:17), Bernie Keirl (20km in 1:59:39), Lucas Taylor (10km in 53:17) provided some early highlights to the program. It was also good to see masters walker Ruth Mary Falconbridge back and walking with us again after a break of quite a few years.

VRWC 20km Walk Open
1. Karyn O'Neill            2:19:17    PB 0:57

1. Simon Evans              1:49:57
2. Bernie Keirl           1:59:39    PB 7:49
3. Terry O'Neill            2:04:00

VRWC 15km Walk Open
1. Pam Tindal               1:26:47
2. Mathilde Lacaze          1:31:24

VRWC 10km Walk Open
1. Michelle Laufer          0:52:33
2. Donna Elms               1:07:15
3. Ruth Mary Falconbridge   1:25:28
4. Margaret Beaumont        1:25:30

1. Lucas Taylor             0:53:17    PB 2:14
2. Ralph Bennett            0:59:50
3. David Armstrong          1:04:15
4. Ian Beaumont             1:23:51
    Mark Donahoo             DNF
    Murray Dickinson   DQ

Our club 5km and 3km walks also saw some good walking and a superb effort by Jasmine Irshad, her time of 25:25 only 10 secs behind Jemima Montag. We also welcomed Karla Bulte for her first walk with us in the U15 3km - her time a promising 18:02.

VRWC 5km Walk Open
1. Jemima Montag              25:15
2. Jasmine Irshad             25:25    PB 0:20
3. Sandra Geisler             26:29
4. Jade Sanders               30:22
5. Rachael Guy                31:42
6. Liz Feldman                37:07
7. Kelly Davidson             45:08

1. Andrew Jamieson            24:45
2. Russ Dickenson             29:34
3. Anand Thillaisundaram      30:42
    Barrie Wicks               DQ

VRWC 3km Walk Open
1. Gerard Feain               20:45
2. Gerald Sofianos            21:05
3. Gordon Onley               22:45

VRWC 3km Walk U15
1. Rebecca Henderson          17:32
2. Karla Bulte                18:02    First walk with us
3. Madeleine Feain            20:45

1. Lachlan Feain              20:55

Finally to our U12 and U9 events. Due to the many LA options open to our young walkers, the numbers are never big for these summer races but we were pleased to see Natalie Morrow (13:41 for 2km), Hayley Woolfe (5:59 for 1km) and Brianna Briet (6:02 for 1km) having their first walks with us.

VRWC 2km Walk U12
1. Kathleen O'Mahony          12:03
2. Natalie Morrow             13:41    First walk with us

VRWC 1km Walk U9
1. Hayley Woolfe              05:49    First walk with us
2. Brianna Briet              06:02    First walk with us
3. Freya Evans                07:05

Finally, thanks to the many people who generously provide their expertise week by week to ensure that our events run on time and with the required level of professionalism. Sorry if I missed anyone from the list!

Officials: Tim Erickson, Damien Elms, Harry Summers, Stuart Cooper, Don McLaren, Stacey McLaren, Marlaine Stanway, Alan Lucas, Justin McLaren (Bike)
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Brenda Felton, Frances Attard, Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nichols, Matt Owen, Jason Elms (DQ Board)
Canteen: Kate Suich, Wendy Cooper
Refreshments: Simone O'Neill

VRWC TRACK RACES, GEORGE KNOTT RESERVE, CLIFTON HILL, WEDNESDAY 12 DECEMBER

Our last VRWC races for the calendar year were held last Wednesday evening at the George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill. Unfortunately a very hot night with temperatures in the mid thirties meant that the going was very tough for those who came along. But we still saw some very good walks - special mentions to Kyle Bird 24:24 and Adam Garganis 24:59 in the 5000m and to Nathan Brill 12:49 and Jemima Montag 14:33 in the 3000m. Out one PB for the night was reserved for Rhydian Cowley who zoomed through the 1500m walk in a 9 sec PB of 5:29 and he looked fantastic.

5000m Walk
1. Bird, Kyle         M   24:24
2. Garganis, Adam    M   24:59
3. Lacase, Mathilde   F   28:31
4. Geisler, Sandra    F   29:37
5. Smyth, David       M   30:44
6. Sanders, Jade      F   31:25
7. Gardiner, Bob      M   31:40
8. Dickinson, Murray M   33:59

3000m Walk
1. Brill, Nathan      M   12:49
2. Montag, Jemima     F   14:33
3. Christmass, James M   15:33
4. George, Stephanie F   15:40
5. Clarke, Patrick    M   18:22
6. Best, David      M   20:15

1500m Walk
1. Cowley, Rhydian    M   05:29     PB 0:09
2. Christmass, James M   07:08
3. Swan, Kyle         M   07:47
4. Erickson, Tim      M   07:56
5. Collis, Lauren     F   08:00
6. Taylor, Michael    M   08:03
7. Langford, Taylor   F   08:08
8. Clarke, Eliza      F   08:13
9. Burgess, Liam      M   08:26
10. Elms, Donna        F   08:44
11. Collis, Bede       M   09:16
12. Collis, Hugh       M   09:40
13. Collis, Frances    F   10:08
14. Holmes, Charlotte F   10:25
15. Garganis, Clare    F   10:34

Thanks as usual to the various people who rolled up their sleeves and helped out in various roles.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Damien Elms, Jason Elms, Craig Brill
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Terry Swan, Michael Bodey
Drinks Table: Kylie and Jasmine Irshad, Beck Bird
Photos: Sabby George

VRWC SUMMER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2012

The VRWC Summer Road Championships at Middle Park on Sunday was held in ideal conditions - overcast and still early with the sun forcing its way through as the morning progressed. We had 47 walkers in total and we saw plenty of great walks but none better than Nathan Brill who powered through to a 10km time of 43:42, breaking Jared Tallent's U17 Club Record, doing a 42 second PB and bettering the 2013 World Youth qualifying standard of 44:13. His 2km splits read impressively: 8:51, 8:48, 8:43, 8:42 and 8:38. Walking with Chris Erickson who was contesting the concurrently held 20km event, he started conservatively and just got faster each lap, walking side by side with his older clubmate. The women's Open 10km race was also a high quality event with Kelly Ruddick 47:45 and Rachel Tallent 49:06 both recording top times. And a special mention to Jasmine Irshad for her 3+ minute PB time of 55:36 and Steve Jordan for his PB time of 1:09:43. The Masters women contested the Heather Carr Trophy over 10km and the win went once again to Pam Tindal with 54:32.

The Men's 20km Club Championship was easily won by Chris Erickson who turned off the tap once Nathan finished, strolling through to his final time of 1:29:59. The amazing Andrew Jamieson (M66) was second with 1:46:11, just ahead of Simon Evans with 1:47:15. We also saw three of our women contesting an Open 20km event and it was Michelle Laufer who won with a good 1:52:01.

20km Men Club Championship - Gus Theobold Memorial Trophy
1. Chris Erickson         1:29:59
2. Andrew Jamieson        1:46:11
3. Simon Evans            1:47:15
4. Mark Donahoo           1:52:01
5. Bernie Keirl           2:07:10   First ever

20km Open
1. Michelle Laufer        1:52:01
2. Tracy Feiner           1:56:05
    Kirstin Shaw           DNF

10km Open
1. Kelly Ruddick            47:45
2. Rachel Tallent           49:06
3. Jasmine Irshad           55:36   PB 3:20
4. Mathilde Lacaze          58:46

1. Nathan Brill             43:42   PB 0:42, new U17 Club Record
2. Stuart Kollmorgen        51:50
3. Adam Garganis            53:29
4. James Christmass         58:57
5. Ralph Bennett            59:01
6. Bob Gardiner           1:03:30
7. Russ Dickenson         1:03:54
8. Steve Jordan           1:09:43   PB 1:46
9. David Best             1:09:52
10. Gary Turner            1:20:57
    David Smyth                DNF
    Murray Dickinson            DQ

10km Heather Carr Trophy - Masters Women
1. Pam Tindal               54:32
2. Kylie Irshad           1:02:08
3. Donna Elms             1:05:19
4. Liz Feldman            1:05:43
5. Robyn Shaw             1:06:25
    Celia Johnson               DQ

The 5km and 3km events started later in the morning with more good performances - Kyle Swan a new U14 club record time of 14:10, Reese Walmsley a PB of 14:43, Beth Alexander back into racing mode with 14:02 and Jemima Montag with 25:27. And a special mention to Masters legend Heather Carr who fronted for the 3km Open (16:34) after completing the Eureka Climb which ascends the first 88 levels of Melbourne's tallest skyscraper. What a day's work!

5km Under 20 VRWC Championship
1. Jemima Montag            25:27
2. Stephanie George         27:43
3. Jade Sanders             29:18

1. Connor McShanag          29:08

5km Open
1. Sandra Geisler           27:18

3km Open
1. Beth Alexander           14:02
2. Heather Carr             16:34
3. Donna Elms               19:29
4. Margaret Beaumont        25:47

1. Alan Huse                18:31
2. Paul Tremigliozzi        20:42
3. Ian Beaumont             24:50

3km Under 15 VRWC Championship
1. Philippa Huse            17:10

1. Kyle Swan                14:10   PB 0:19, VRWC U14 Club Record
2. Reese Walmsley           14:43   PB 0:18

Finally we had an U12 club championship over 1.5km. Unfortunately as the day clashed with the Little Athletics Region Relays, entries were few and far between but luckily sisters Jemma and Alanna Peart made the trip down from Ballarat and ensured that the race went ahead. And they did indeed walk well to take the gold and silver in this annual event. Well done girls!

1.5km Under 12 VRWC Championship
1. Jemma Peart              08:06
2. Alanna Peart             08:38   PB 0:15

It took a fair bit to get everything in place for Nathan's World Youth qualifying opportunity so thanks to all our senior racewalking judges and AV officials who made themselves available, ensuring that all went according to plan. Sorry if I missed anyone - it was indeed a team effort.

Officials: Tim Erickson, Ian Laurie, Ralph Bennett, Marlaine Stanway, Damien Elms, Harry Summers
Race Entries: Damien Elms, Mark Donahoo
Judges: Diane Lowden (chief), Judy Mason, Gordon Loughnan, Lloyd Nichols, Peter Vysma, Terry Swan, Matt Owen, Stuart Cooper, Michael Bodey (Board)
Bicycles: Jim Leppik, Craig Brill
Setup: Bob Gardiner, Harry Summers, Peter Vysma, Stuart Cooper, Rudolf Skrucany
Canteen: Wendy Cooper, Kate Suich, Marlaine Stanway

VRWC ROAD RACES, MIDDLE PARK, SUNDAY 28 OCTOBER

We opened our summer season at Middle Park on Sunday in perfect conditions - cool and still. It is impossible to avoid clashes with such a full summer fixture and we were missing most of our younger walkers due to Little Athletics Region Relays but we did still have 41 competitors and we saw some great racing. For nearly all our walkers, it was day two of a big weekend and many had done multiple events at Athletics Victoria Shield the day before.

The first events to get underway were the longer ones at 8:30AM and an apology there as I had a 9AM start on the fixture on the website. So we had a second start time at 9AM for those who missed our 8:30AM kickoff. Brad Simpson was one of those effected but it didn't worry him as he walked confidently to complete his first ever 20km in a very impressive 1:47:30. Danny Hawksworth was next to finish - his aim was to better 1:50:00 and hence qualify for Hobart and he did that with 14 secs up his sleeve. Simon Evans looked set for a great 20km but faded in the second half, compliments of a big training day on Saturday. We also had some walkers in the 15km and a special mention there to Steve Jordan who recorded a PB time of 1:51:09.

We had lots of walkers contesting the 10km event and Chris Erickson showed the way with a very slick 42:04. In training for his next 50km encounter in December, he looked to have plenty in the tank and was pleased with his first serious hitout since London. Adam Garganis did 9 events in Shield competition on the Saturday but still managed a PB with his time of 53:21. In the women's 10km, Michelle Laufer took the honours with a very good 53:04 ahead of Sarah Brennan 54:08.

20km Open
1. Brad Simpson        1:47:30     First ever
2. Danny Hawksworth    1:49:46
3. Simon Evans         1:52:28

15km Open
1. Mark Donahoo        1:22:22
2. Jason Kozica        1:41:42
3. Steve Jordan        1:51:09     PB

10km Open
1. Michelle Laufer       53:04
2. Sarah Brennan       55:08
3. Pam Tindal    57:23
4. Sandra Geisler        57:23
5. Robyn Shaw          1:04:24
6. Donna Elms      1:04:39
7. Celia Johnson       1:10:07

1. Chris Erickson        42:04
2. Adam Garganis         53:21    PB 0:06
3. Adam Patterson      58:27
4. Russ Dickenson        58:58
5. David Smyth           59:06
6. David Armstrong   1:06:27
7. Bob Gardiner        1:06:27
8. David Best          1:07:25
9. Rudolf Skrucany   1:09:44

Our shorter events were scheduled later in the morning and the two stars were definitely Rhydian Cowley and Nathan Brill. Both had zoomed through very fast Shield races on Saturday but they looked fresh with Rhydian winning the 3km with 11:55 and Nathan willing the 5km with 21:10. Special mentions to first time walker Alfredo Davila and to Beatrice Laufer who walked her first ever 2km.

5km Open
1. Nathan Brill          21:10
2. James Christmass      26:16
3. Jemima Montag         26:27
4. Ralph Bennett         29:10
5. Shelby Kay            30:18
6. Anthony Doran         35:30
7. Barrie Wicks          38:19
   Connor McShanag       Ab

3km Open
1. Rhydian Cowley        11:55
2. Cathy Huse            21:10
3. Gordon Onley          24:26
4. Alfredo Davila        27:51     First time

3km Under 15
1. Kyle Swan             15:18
2. Philippa Huse         17:38
3. Emily Swan            18:10
4. Julia Irons           19:22
5. Elaine Irons          23:32

2km Under 12
1. Beatrice Laufer       16:04     First one
2. Ethan Wright          13:33

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

Officials: Tim Erickson, Mark Donahoo, Damien Elms, Marlaine Stanway, Ralph Bennett, Russ Dickenson, Kylie Irshad
Judges: Peter Vysma (Chief), Stuart Cooper, Lloyd Nichols, Jason Elms
Course Setup: Bob Gardiner, Stuart Cooper, Peter Vysma, Tim Erickson
Photos: Terry Swan, Simon Baker
Canteen: Marlaine Stanway

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