This week
How it Happened - Surfer Race 2 - July 4
4th of July and White House has ordered fireworks. Fireworks also on Scenic Hill but only among the top few places getters, while the poorer placed runners settled into a relaxed laid back mode ... perhaps dulled with the Socceroos sad exit that morning.
Nirvair and Nate were the odd couple out in the Short, the only two speedsters, recording times five minutes and more faster than the rest of the field. Nirvair is very irregular, missing whole months from the Hill, and averaging barely a run a month in his year and a half membership, but he is certainly getting quicker. For Nate, this is his equal fastest run ever, a 3:39 pace ... think about that for a moment ... 2 to 3 times per km faster than some of us ... he can run 2 to 3 km in the time some of us do 1km.
It must have been a torrid sprint to the line, Sam and Emily ahead with the line just metres away, Nirvair barely touching the track rounded the bend and rounded them up to win by just 1 second. Sam and Emily forced back to equal 2nd (we have the timing system set to "nearest second" which has an effect on placings in close finishes). With the fastest time of 12:05 for the 3.3kms, Nate was a few more seconds back for 4th.
Emily had a good day by also recording fastest of the day with her 17:53 ... not a quick time in the overall history of the Joggers but hey, "you gotta be in it to win it", and this also was her fastest pace ever, so congratulations there.
After 4th place it was all quiet on the Short front, another couple of minutes until Laura arrived in 5th and the rest dribbled in over a period of another 28 minutes ... talk about casual! And more than half the Short course were Walkers, fastest Janelle with a 9:39 pace, simply enjoying a pleasant afternoon out. Bob was called out for poor behavior, wanting to start early "because I have a social to attend". He has been around long enough, since the 70's, to know social fits around the run ... the run does not fit around social.
This is a good Short course to brave the winter for, not hilly with a very pleasant single track for most of the run out, and a little later perhaps even the start of the wildflowers.
In the Long the top end was also competitive and well fought. After 6.8km and with start times rangeing from an early six minutes to a lengthy fifteen minutes, there were four runners in the finish straight contesting for line honours. Adrian held out for 1st, looking fresh and clearly he enjoys the winter weather. Coco 2nd at just one second back and fastest on the day, and this 4:50 pace is her fastest in a Long run. Alex 3rd with his fastest time for a year ... maybe winter is cold but it is certainly the season to record pb's.
Also running well were Steven at 4th, Harrison at 5th with fastest of the day, and his second fastest pace ever ... 4:13 ... his fastest was just two weeks ago so he is flying, Fiona at 6th is looking very 'comebackish'.
Further back, Lachlan at 18th needed a long warm up and doubled the course, Strava indicating that his 14.6km run included his Hill Run. Campbell was back again following his first run last week after a six year absence ... the absence shows but the positives are that he slashed three and a half minutes from last week, and every week will be up from here.
It doesn't matter how long you are away, we will be waiting here for you with open arms when you return.
Special mention for this and other weeks ... thank you Heff for taking care to make sure the tailenders are okay ... he is often a helping sweeper of the field.
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The Feral’s meet at the water tower opposite pioneer park for a 4:30pm start. Please be there 10 minutes earlier to register. Whether it’s your own wellbeing or wanting the kids to get some outdoor exercise you are welcome as a sprinter, jogger or walker. Tracks are well marked; safety is of prime concern and there is lots of social fun after. 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 4:20 RACE STARTS 4:30
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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.