ATHLETICS
HARRIERS
By BARRY HIGGINS
USUAL, and even international duty for the Traralgon Harriers was prevalent last month.
Runners took to Lake Hyland precinct on Thursday, October 17, where they were forced to dodge sporadic raindrops across three laps.
There was a sting in the tale – two of the laps demanded a steep S-W uphill detour from near the ‘Nugget’ Hare homestead toward Monash Way and return, before enjoying the level decking of the lake boardwalk.
The Podmore family again excelled, with Stacey running with three of her children, Dempsey, Melvey and Belkey. Gab Browne, Adam van Baalen and Ruth Duljas were meticulous in their pacing, all crossing the finish line in one hour flat.
A small number of Harriers added to the 40,000-plus finishers in the Melbourne Marathon. Despite a tumble and its associated five-minute delay, Glenn Graham still finished well under the three hour 30 mark. His wife Karen finished the half marathon in seventh place in her women’s age group.
Ian Twite celebrated his 30th year of running marathons, (making him eligible for the Hall of Fame), and his 74th marathon, as his age begins to approach that number. Mark Rossiter made it an even dozen Melbourne Marathons in his total of 22 and counting. Michelle Sawyer also ran her 10th Melbourne, making her a Spartan.
Nearly 50,000 runners took to the streets of Chicago the previous week for the Chicago Marathon. One of them was local Harrier Stephen Renehan. While the marathon distance is 42.2km, it took Stephen an extra 15,000km to get there, but he still achieved at just over three hours marathon time, with no time allowance for jetlag.
On the other side of the world, Molly Irvine took part in the world triathlon championship finals in Spain.
Molly had a few nerve-wracking days when her racing bike was lost in transit. After much effort from her support team and her travel agent, it arrived just before race day.
WITH the Teachers Games and Sydney Marathon behind them, the Harriers were again looking at a busy but exciting period as they began their summer program period. Between the two major city marathons, some Harriers fitted in a hike to the Wilsons Promontory lighthouse and back.
Many Harriers members did volunteer duty for the athletics section of the Victorian Teachers Games over the first few days of the September school holidays. The multi-day, multi-sport event, hosted by the Latrobe City, allowed education professionals to participate and connect through a range of sporting, recreation, wellness and social events. Club members worked to ensure the Games ran smoothly, while introducing the Harriers to runners from across the state.
Further north, two Harriers ran the Sydney Marathon. First held in 2000 and called ‘The Host City Marathon’, it has continued every year since as a legacy of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The runners begin by crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finish at the Sydney Opera House.
Dedicated paramedic Alysha Duncan participated.
“The last kilometre was a fantastic cruise down a long hill, where I spotted (fellow Harrier) Jason Odlum cheering me on after his own amazing sub-4 result right to the Sydney Opera House where hundreds of supporters were assembled,” she said.
Odlum was aiming for a sub-four hour finish and was on target for a 3:45 time when he rolled his ankle near the 37-kilometre mark.
“I was in great discomfort, and hobbled through the last five kilometres, which were luckily mainly downhill. I was satisfied to be under the four hour mark – by fourteen seconds!”
Despite his injury, Jason finished in the top half of the men’s field and in his age group.
IN more good news, the Harriers were nominated in the category of Most Popular Sporting Club in the 2024 CommBank People’s Choice Awards.
On October 3, runners and walkers enjoyed the mild weather and daylight around the Liddiard Road circuit.
It was again a family affair, with Stacy Podmore and three of her sons just outnumbering the three (nee) Bridle sisters: Lee, Karen and Kristine. And it was family bragging rights when Yani Cornthwaite was the first woman finisher, with her father Ian the third male, albeit three minutes faster! Molly Irvine cruised around the course in her lead up to the World Triathlon Championship Finals.
At the after run gathering, Harriers President, Phill Mayer welcomed first-timer Joshua Cruse. As it was the final winter season run/walk, Mayer said, “We look forward to the summer season, with longer days, warmer nights and the bush trails for our Thursday runs. I know many are looking forward to getting off the roads and back to the out-of-town tracks in our amazing local environment.”
THE Harriers welcomed the extended daylight on Thursday, October 10 as they ran or walked the Traralgon-Morwell path from the Lutheran church westward to Airport Road Traralgon and return.
Mayer welcomed a number of first time participants. It was also good to welcome back Harrier stalwarts Bob and Ruth Duljas after a break.
With a number of members tapering down for the Melbourne Marathon, times were relaxed. Fastest men were Sav Mavrofridis, returning from injury, ahead of talented junior brothers Melvey and Dempsey Podmore and the ageless veteran Ian Cornthwaite, who crossed the line together.
Quickest women finishers were first timer Emily Heart, Yani Cornthwaite and Molly Irvine. Irvine paced herself along the course before flying out to Spain a couple of days later to compete in the individual and team events at the World Triathlon Championships.
The previous Sunday, a few Harriers and friends completed the Macedon Trail Runs, supporting CanTeen, the organisation for young people living with cancer.
Felicity Beasley and her son Zack crossed the line together in the 50km event. After a 5km run at the Traralgon Parkrun the previous day, Eudora Walker cruised through the 21km half marathon. Starting and finishing at the memorial cross on the Mt Macedon summit, both distances had total climbs over 1500 metres elevation, reflected in the lengthy finish times.
At the earlier Run Larapinta trail events in the Northern Territory, former Traralgon Marathon winner Zack Beasley took bragging rights from his mother Felicity. Zack conquered the Malbunka long course, a total of 108 km over four days, while Felicity completed the 83km Namatjira ‘short’ course. Both comprise four stages ranging from 15km to 30km in the MacDonnell Ranges, running between historic landmarks along the Larapinta Trail around Alice Springs.
Last year’s Malbunka winner, Harrier Corey Milner, had high praise for the event.
“It was an amazing and unbelievable experience for me. I had not been there before, and I couldn’t believe how nice (and tough!) it was.”
