Hagley Relay Special edition.

  Saturday 27April 2013 -Hagley Memorial Relays were held in lovely warm autumn conditions .A good autumn day beats summer any time .

                                         (Sean Eustace on the start line )

There was a definite feeling that our Senior Mens team might do well , but it all depended on the strength of the opposition . It's all history now : CH-CH Avon won the relay for the first time since 1964 . Watching it happen was a real nail-biter because there were four teams in with a chance, and the lead was held by all four at various points .But by the beginning of Lap 5 our prospects started to look good . Cameron Avery came out of the trees in the lead to hand Matt Dryden about a 30 second advantage over Uni . There were fears that Uni's last runner was Andrew Davidson - someone capable of very fast times - but it wasn't . Whoever it was took off at a rate of knots and eventually posted a faster time than Matt, but Matt didn't quail under pressure and came home comfortably ahead (15 seconds).

     (from L to R - Matt Dryden , Daniel Coats , Cameron Avery , 

Matt Prest , Sean Eustace , Tannock Blair . )

(photo - Mike V )

The Senior Womens Team : The same line-up that ran so well at Lionel Fox was retained and they achieved second place again - out of 10 teams .Uni fielded a 'superteam ' that was never going to be headed off .But Margot and Jessica gained 1st and 3rd fastest U20 times of the day. Robyn also acquitted herself admirably as a SW with a time fast enough to have justified her inclusion in our Vet Mens 1 team ! This team will be strengthened by the return of Elise S and possibly Laura W later in the season. Lydia M is studying in Dunedin (?) 

                              (Margot near the end of her 14.54 lap ) 

The Junior Mens 18/19 team : This is a category that isn't heavily contested (only two teams ) but our quartet won it after a close struggle with CHCH Boys High  .This gave a boost to our COTY hopes because points were up for grabs. I only saw Robbie Sewell and Angus Bailey in action and snapped this photo of Angus :

                                              (Angus Bailey ) 

The Veteran Womens Team : This featured Emma Crichton in her first race in blue and orange .Emma ran a blinder (17.19) .Sandie and Anne went under 21 mins and the other newbie (Andrea ) went faster than her trial time .Here is Andrea smiling on request .

                                                               (Andrea Stocks )

The Veteran Mens Team : These guys got a fighting fourth place in a tough field of 17 teams . They were minus three good runners (Rich S , Ants Rogal and John Gamblin) . A bit of extrapolation leads to the conclusion they could only have got close to third place .Our Vet Men have declined a little - mainly due to advancing age . Andrew R/J had a great last lap in 14.31 but Richie Merrett ran a stunning opening lap in 15.01 . Good to have Rob Holland in the team after a decade away in Australia.   

                                                          ( Richie ' Ironman ' Merrett )

The Senior Mens 2 Team : This team was accepted by the Race Director on the Friday night before the relay .Denis Christmas only offered his services then too ! Thanks to Lutz and Chris for holding off other plans to do laps. Paul Norton also played a wee cameo role for his club to clock fastest team time.Vic Gamperle also ran better than his "slow , sore foot "status would have predicted . Gary showing signs of getting 'serious ' too.

                                    ( Rob Holland advising Denis what singlet to wear before Lap 1 )

  

The relay results are on the internet now and you can find them here -> Hagley Relay 

Results

Here are the Club's first placed teams . 

Girls 8 & Under - Madi Thomas, Chloe Walker, Lucy Vance, Charvi Malik

Girls 11/12 - Denver Stocks, Samantha Vance, Megan Miles, Bella Belcher

Girls 13/14 - Anna Reese-Jones, Lorna Pairman, Laura Clarke, Charlotte Blair

Boys 9/10 - Harry Denington, Jack Belcher, Riley Richards, Thomas Clarke

Men 19 - Angus Bailey, Robbie Sewell, Latham Fairhall, Jacob Reese-Jones

Senior Men - Sean Eustace, Tannock Blair, Daniel Coats, Matt Prest, Cameron Avery, Mathew Dryden
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"Just a quick reminder that early bird entries to the New Balance 15k Road Race and 10k Social Walk on Saturday 11 May 2013 close at midnight on Tuesday 7 May.  Entries after this date will incur an additional $10 fee.  Online entries will remain open until midnight Wednesday 8 May and after that date late entries will only be taken on the day of the race.

You can enter here http://www.15krace.co.nz/entryform.html

We look forward to seeing you on the day!

-  The 15k Committee"
http://www.15krace.co.nz
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The next Interclub race is Jane Paterson on Saturday May 18 .This is cross country individual racing , but there will be club teams composed of the best finishers in grades (so if you can pass someone in the finish straight , it's worth it ). Venue : Rawhiti Domain .

Application Entry emails will be sent out soon -
also accessible here   :  Jane Pat Entry Form                    

A week later it's CHCH Avon Club Cross Champs out at Rotokohatu .This year there might be a few small course changes , but basically it's the rolling grassy terrain we've enjoyed for the last couple of years . No need to enter this one - just rock up on the day .Details will be sent to you all soon . 
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Here is our first message from the Coty Calculators : 

" We have had a slow start to the season and just realized that you will be waiting to see the points in the Club of the Year competition

The Lionel Fox was held in rather damp conditions but they were ideal for racing. Everyone enjoying running up that first sand hill (twice)

The points went to         1. Christchurch Avon

                                                2. Sumner

                                                3. Port Hills

The weather for the Hagley Relays was very mild and hot with some great racing.

The points when to        1. Christchurch Avon on count back

                                                2.University of Canterbury   

                                                3. Papanui Toc H

So after two event the overall points are

1.       Christchurch Avon on 40 points

2.       4 teams on 30 points Papanui Toc H, Port Hills, Sumner and Canterbury University

We are sure that a few of you will review the attached spreadsheet so if you find any errors please let us know.

The next Club of the Year race is the Jane Paterson on 18^th May. See you there

Regards

Victor and Sandie Gamperle " 

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News that Rodger  Ward won his age division in the Rotorua Half Marathon on Saturday 4th May. Rodger clocked 1 hr 31.30 and came in at 21 st place overall.

Also heard that Matt Prest won one of the Hanmer forest  races (Jun Mens ) while his dad Gary also competed . Matt did the 10 km event in 38 .21 .Gary did the same distance in 52 min 10 . There was a huge number of entrants in the various races - a clear signal that running is fairly popular in Canterbury .

Laura Wood is looking forward to doing winter racing after some triathlon in China this month .

An article about training in a local newspaper dealt with the problem of Overtraining . Training is the way to get fitter, but it's possible to go past an optimum and decline in form and wellbeing . Protracted or severe overtraining can take a long time to recover from and cause general health problems . To avoid overtraining it is essential to punctuate effort with rest ie quality sleep and suitable gaps between hard days . Good quality food is also essential to rebuild tissue .