XCR Round 9 - Burnley Half
As rain clouds loomed the wind also picked up and threatened to blast us off the course, but we were lucky in the end, with no rain and the wind only hit us in a few places around the course. Highlights from the day included a third place for Ben Chamberlain in the open men’s half, a first place for Alex Cameron - Smith in the 4km U20 and Leanne Ellis first in the U18. It was also great to see the teamwork and support with many athletes not racing but assisting with the pacing duties and numbers, important for the fortunes for various divisions. Thanks again to the Muscats for bringing the marquee and all those who provided sustenance after the race.
Open Women
Solid numbers across the open women’s saw us fill two teams and an incomplete Div 4 team. The premier team was 5th and again it was Janae Mackrell, completing her first half marathon, crossing the line first in a time of 91 minutes and 47 seconds. In second place was Claire Hodgart then Sophie McMinimee and Brigitte Sneyders finishing for the team (3rd place in the 45+). In the Div 3 we were 5th and have continued to build on the second-place result and in the promotion zone. The Div 4 was 6th.
In the other senior’s categories, Abbey Speakman was 8th in the 40+ and Cheryl Nelson was 3rd in the 60+.
In the Short course our over-age teams we were well represented with a clean sweep across the 40+, 50+ and 60+ teams with great contributions from Janice Hodgart (second) and Kerryl Drake (third) in the 60+.
Ladders
Premier - 4th
Div 3 - 2nd
Div 4 - 3rd
Div 5 - 5th
Short Course
Open, 40+, 50+ - 2nd
60+ 1st
Open Men
There was a large contingent of men in the half Marathon with a total of 15 athletes completing the half marathon. Our Premier team did well again to win with Ben Chamberlain taking the line honours and picking up the bronze medal, finishing in a time of 65 minutes and 45 seconds. Next in was Zayd Al Sayd then Brandon Muscat with a big PB, Liam Cashin then Callum Drake making up the 5 athletes required. Our depth was great and with the return of Liam Morgan and supported by Dan Velardo, Peter Boyle (6th in the 40+) and Blake Barber the team finished second. The Div 5 was 5th, a solid result but KNX and Div finished ahead so no movement up the ladders sadly. We had two in the Div 6 which came 7th.
There were some solid results in the short course with Colin Drake second in the 60+ and Phil Cameron-Smith 3rd in the 50+. The Teams also did well with a third in the 40+ and second in the 50+ and 60+.
Ladders
Premier - 1st
Div 3 - 4th
Div 5 - 3rd
Div 6 - 4th
Div 7 - 10th
Short Course
50+ 7th, 60+ 6th
Juniors
It was a small contingent of juniors for the 4km race but delivered strong performances in the individual and team results. In the men’s U20 Alex Cameron - Smith won the 4km outright in a time of 11 minutes and 43 seconds and with this he wins the AV U20 Male champion athlete. Jackson Wright ran well finishing 4th resulting in the team finishing first. In the women’s U18 Leanne Ellis also won in a time of 14 minutes and also wins the AV U18 Female champion athlete. Lucy Cleveland continued to improve, finishing 3rd and sofia Mbote was 6th giving the U18 team a win. In the Men’s U18 Emerson Arnold continued to improve with a fourth place, Steven Morgan was 9th with the team finishing 3rd. In the men’s U16 Ryder Deans was 4th.
Ladders
Men U20 - 4th
Men U18 - 2nd
Women U18 - 4th
Women U16 - 5th
