XCR 26 Round 8, Lake Wendouree Half Marathon

After many years of good weather at Lake Wendouree, we had one of those really cold and wet days Wendouree is famous for! And, with the new format half marathon, it was looking very challenging. Luckily the rain was not too heavy, and it was probably more challenging for our spectators! Well done to all those who made the journey, braved the weather and ran. Highlights from the round include a big PB from Ebony Dodemaide in the half, a big win from Mahmoud Abouzeid and Laenne Ellis men and women’s U20 6km and especially well done to Peter Cashin and Cheryl Nelson for completing the half marathon. Our numbers were down on previous years but so were other clubs and having the half marathon two weeks prior to XC nationals contributed to the lower numbers, especially at the front end of the race.

Open Men

Our open mens’ number were actually too bad with 12 completing the course, filling the Premier, Div 3 and 3 in the Div 5. The Premier team did well finishing 4th with Liam Cashin crossing the line first in a time of 68 minutes and 18 seconds and Callum Drake not far behind. Third in was Zayd Al Sayd then Brandon Muscat with Dan Velardo rounding out the team. The Div 3 was 12th while the Div 5 was 6th, keep the scoreboard ticking over! The ladders are looking solid with our premier team firmly in second and other teams nestled midfield.

Ladders

Premier - 2nd

Div 3 - 10th

Div 5 - 9th

Div 6 - 10th

Div 7 - 23rd

Open Women

Low numbers resulted in only a premier team and an incomplete Div 2 team. Despite this there were solid results with the Premier team finishing 5th and the Div 2 6th. The highlight for the premier team was Ebony Dodemaide finishing 6th overall with a one minute PB, in a time of 79 minutes and 5 seconds. Next in was Amy Cashin then Abbey Speakman with Sophie McMohan rounding out the team. In the ladders our Premier slipped to fourth behind South Melbourne by a point, but hopefully we can bounce back in the last two rounds.

In the short course the Carolyn Huell was 4th in the 50+ and Janice Hodgart was 5th in the 60+ with the 50+ team finishing 2nd.

Ladders

Premier - 4th

Div 2 - 6th

Div 4 - 8th

Div 5 - 12th

Juniors

It was a solid set of results from our juniors in the 6km race, with wins in the men’s and women’s U20s and many other top ten finishes. In the men’s U20 Mahmoud Abouzeid won in a time of 18 minutes and 47 seconds with Mitchell Parks in 8th and Riley Parks rounding out the team for a big win. Leanne Ellis continued her winning streak in the Women’s U20s finishing the 6km in 19 minutes and 55 seconds. In the Men’s U18 Bon Martin was 8th and, in the women’s, U18 Keeley Williams and Shivika Dubey teamed up to finish 4th. In the Men’s U16 Ryder Deans was 3rd. In the women’s U16 Abby Bassos continued her recovery finishing 7th with Ella McDonald 10th, teaming up to finish 3rd.

Ladders

Men U20 - 5th

Women U20 - 4th

Men U18 - 11th

Women U18 - 11th

Men U16 - 3rd

Women U16 - 5th