This week
How it Happened - Palfo Comp race 1, February 1
Despite the extreme weather conditions 68 Feral’s turned up for the 5:30 run. This season a new competition on a newly devised course was launched with Saturday being the first of the 5-week Palfo competition. For the most part both the short and the long courses were in dappled shade and there were two water stations making running conditions tolerable. More than one chose to include a walk along the way. The course took Feral’s through new parts of the Hill and I for one empathised with the well-known African pygmy tribe wandering through the long grass. Fortunately, the course was well marked and most of us arrived back at the water tower with no deviations, even geography adverse John Johns, well done.
Three Feral’s achieved a milestone on Saturday. Congratulations to junior Feral Harrison Palmer completing 250km since joining the Feral’s in June 2023. He has taken to the long course lately but was relieved when on Saturday he could reach his milestone doing the short course.
Brian Bellicanta has been with the Feral’s for 31 years. On Saturday 100m into the run he notched up 6,000km becoming the seventh to do so. Brian, well done!
There is an old saying “hit the ground running” which for most translates roughly “being well prepared been able to commence a task with enthusiasm and at a fast pace”. Such was the case with Gary Andreazza as he set off to conquer his 2,000km milestone only he took the term literally embracing mother earth, no real damage.
Michael John’s running off a 14m handicap took line honours with a net time of 32m41s. Next was Tony Gullo from the same handicap posting a time of 32m54s. There was no surprize when the back markers Aidan Fattore handicapped at 21m30s finished 3rd with the fastest time of 25m29s and James Wythes off 20m was the second fastest and 4th at 27m29s. The first and fastest female back was Sharon Careri off 12m and 5th overall with 36m11s. Highly commendable times came from Lachlan Date, Jaidyn Roach and Lena Sergi.
Eva Edgcome-Lucus scored 1st place and was the fastest female starting at 8m30s she posted a net time of 18m36s. Maggi Croce was 2nd at 22m57s, Tracy Vecchio 26m39s, Tara Gunn 24m59s, and 5th was Margaret O’Grady 30m43s. Renae Savage may have made the top five but for a tumble on Adam’s track. Arh it was nothing, no stopping her. The first and fastest male was Callum Vecchio in 9th place. Starting from 14m15s his time was 18m01s.
Commendable Feral’s include Gary Workman who joined the club in 2010. He has twice managed a 1st place, one long one short. He is now doing the short course with son Oscar; it could be a long time to his next 1st placing. So far, he is credited with 2,127.9km
Finishing Feral’s were treated to refreshments courtesy of Brian, fresh from the rice bank watermelon, rockmelon plus passion fruit from Gary and John Dodd had an Eski of super doopers. What better way to finish a 37-degree day.
The Feral’s meet at the water tower mural opposite pioneer park for a 5:30pm start. We would love to welcome newcomers whether they be sprinters, joggers or walkers. The best part of being a Feral is enjoying the company of like-minded people.
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PLEASE BE ON TIME ENTER BEFORE 5:20 RACE STARTS 5:30
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Things to Remember each week
Runners must wear tags when participating in Feral events. Apart from the timing, it is a saftey measure. The tags serve to monitor those runners who have commenced their run and are still out on the track. It is not appropriate to turn up on the Hill on a regular basis without wearing a tag.
Zero start times
Zero handicaps are only for the slowest runners and for the walkers, so if you do not fit this description and you are given zero, please enquire with the race director. It is not usually our mistake, just that prior circumstances have dictated a zero which may need to be changed back (see below).
Also, if you have a Short course handicap (say 8min) and you want to walk, we prefer if you walk off that handicap (8min) ... you won't finish far behind, and it saves us a lot of time and possible mistakes in adjustments to and fro (see above).
We do allow Long course walkers to start off zero ... just let the race director know ... otherwise it is disq
Did Not Finish? We need to know. All non-finishers / short cutters / other issues - report to the race director
Instant Results ... we are putting the results online, at the finish line, so your loved one can know what mood you're in before you get home. (Will it be a hot bath or a cold shower? Champagne, or a beer in the dog house?) However ... be aware that these are preliminary results and will almost always change when joggers are added, deleted and edited. You may drop a few places, rise a few places, or even, heaven forbid, get disq'd. So if the fine details matter to you, drop back again later.