ATHLETICS
TRARALGON HARRIERS
By BARRY HIGGINS
WINDING down from the excitement of the recent Melbourne Marathon, Harrier members were keen to remain close to home, at least for the present.
But in New South Wales, a relatively new endurance event was taking place.
Around 1000 runners, in teams of 15, from just on 70 countries, including the Australian team, began the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship at Kembla Grange south of Sydney.
Team members complete a series of 6.7 kilometre loops with one hour before the next lap commences at the same start-finish point. If they finish a lap of the “yard” quicker than the hour, they can eat, drink or rest until the next hour starts. This continues, with, predictably, runners dropping out across the hours – and days – until only one runner remains. That person must finish his or her final lap to be crowned the winner.
In the team events the largest number of “yards” completed in aggregate by a team is the winner.
Provisional results show USA first, with 1120 yards (7504 km), Australia next with 1069 and Belgium the Bronze medal with 1058 yards.
Dan Camac was the last Australian left standing, completing the 87th lap (583km).
The only Harrier to have run a Backyard Ultra is Steve Renehan, at Lardner Park in mid-2024. Steve related, “Most laps take 45 or so minutes, allowing time for food, drink and a 10 minute or so rest. But there was not enough time for a nap!”
The Harriers faced up to their first real summer run/walk last Thursday (October 22) in 30 degree heat. To quote the famous opening line of Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities, it was “the best of times, the worst of times”.
The best were the cool shade of the delightful bushland in the foothills north of Toongabbie and the magnificent view of the Valley from the summit.
The worst were the almost endless uphill climb to the top and the difficult ground surface that demanded extreme concentration.
Thanks go to Samantha McGown for designing the first-time course in such a scenic location. The final concise judgement voiced by Harriers vice-president Desley Gray was “marvellous!”
Quickest women finishers were Karen Graham, celebrating her daughter Stephanie’s role in The Castle stage show, closely followed by Molly Irvine and Caitlin Pitt.
The fastest men were Sav Mavrofridis, Dempsey Podmore and Adrian Sutcliffe.
Most members did their cool down and then enjoyed the monthly dinner at the geographically convenient Glengarry Hotel.
Thursday’s event (October 29) is the Halloween Run at the Railway Reservoir Reserve in Hickox Street, Traralgon. The theme is a Halloween dress-up.
Results
Humphrey Road, Toongabbie (6km): Sav Mavrofridis 22:20, Dempsey Podmore 24:46, Adrian Sutcliffe 27:02, Ash Crawford 27:28, Dave Mann 27:47, Ian Cornthwaite 28:04, Clinton Jolly 28:18, Trent Kooyman 30:10, Ron Verschuur 30:55, Karen Graham 31:07, Geoffrey Francis 31:24, Molly Irvine 31:35, Caitlin Pitt 32:04, Seth Bomers 32:05, Gary Fox 32:11, Melvey Podmore 32:34, Chris Van Unen 33:04, Maddy Wood 35:04, Errol Poole 35:20, Belkey Podmore 36:01, Megan Kenny 37:19, McKenna Smith 37:46, Jason Odlum 37:47, Phillip Mayer 37:57, David Hood 38:13, Desley Gray 38:43, Marieka Reilly 38:43, Giuseppe Marino 39:38, Drew Sedgwick 40:03, Charlotte Barr 40:48, David Barr 40:48, Chris Jones 41:28, Toby Grzmil 41:36, Lauren Peter 42:27, Tracey Matheson 42:37, Archie Sedgwick 44:53, Kaye Livingstone 44:56, David Matheson 45:39, Mandy Ellis 47:42, Tania Whitehead 49:08, Barry Higgins 52:40, Rebecca Darby 53:43, Ann Bomers 55:00, Samantha McGown56:28, Kathy Quinn 1:03:00, Michelle Colwell 1:03:00, Jay McGown NTR, Daniel Symons NTR.
