Th e J o u r n a l ST. STEPHENS HARRIERS ATHLETIC CLUB Inc. Reg.A0023951P
In association with Wesley College Athletics Volume 23.1 President
Greg Nolan
9889 6994
Sec/Registrar Pat Robinson harpat@optusnet.com.au
Journal Editor Stu Cooper stuwalks@yahoo.com.au
Minute Sec
9806 1659 0413 665 444
Michael Goerke mgoerke2@bigpond.com
Sarah Hall
Coach
Wal Robinson wal.robinson@bigpond.com
gregcnolan@hotmail.com
Treasurer
October 2014
http://ststephensharriers.com
9435 7033 9578 8864 0421 470 949 0425 861 019
Track Captain (Women) Track Captain (Men) Track Manager CC Captain
Alex Nolan
9585 5545 0417 338 035 0425 747 012
alex_rulz50@hotmail.com
Lachlan Aspinall
0422 116 418
Jake Pedley Greg Schofield
0407 182 411 9885 9327(W) 0417 581 402
greg@schofield.net.au
THE MARATHON – RACE OF FRONTIERS AND QUESTIONS
Derek Clayton and Dennis Kimetto – marathon trailblazers in their record-breaking moments
At the time of writing, the last contestants in this
year’s Melbourne Marathon are making their slow, anguished but determined way over the final kilometres to the finish. The winners, male and female, crossed the line hours ago. Spectators will still be lining the streets of Elwood, StKilda and inner Melbourne to urge on the plucky stragglers. Some will be known to them (friends, workmates, family members), though most will not. Many onlookers will, through personal experience, have insight into the suffering and courage on display, while most can only imagine it. All will try to do
their part, through applause and gee-ups, to help the weary souls onward to the line. Some of the runners will be old hands, well acquainted with the trials and tortures of the marathon. With others, it will be their first encounter – and for these, however well or poorly prepared, the race will have presented both as an adventure and as a daunting leap into the unknown. It is this latter group that brings to mind two other runners who explored unchartered marathon territory – and no, I don’t mean Pheidippides.
In December 1967, SSH’s own Derek Clayton won the Fukuoka International Marathon in Japan. In doing so he became the first runner ever to break the 2 hours 10 minute barrier, crossing in 2:09:36.4. Just fifteen days ago, Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto broke through another barrier – 2 hours 3 minutes – in setting a new world mark of 2:02:57 in the Berlin Marathon. In 47 years, therefore, the world best men’s marathon time has been reduced by a mere 6m 39s, compared to 22m 59s for the preceding 47. What this statistic doesn’t reveal is that Derek beat his own Fukuoka time in Antwerp in 1969, setting a mark of 2:08:33.6 that stood for 12 years (and is still a world-class time) until Rob de Castella broke it in – of all places – Fukuoka!
Now that Dennis Kimetto has brought humankind to within 3 minutes of the ‘inconceivable’, Medusa’s face suddenly looks less fearsome. It seems now not so much a question of ‘if’, but of ‘when’ – and of ‘by how much’. Will the record be eroded by increments of seconds until the successful runner scrapes under two hours, or will someone burst, Clayton-like, through the barrier, making a mockery of everyone’s fears and trepidation? Will (and, regrettably, there is no way of discounting this) the barrier be sundered by an acclaimed hero who is later found to be a dope cheat, thus re-sealing the barrier and diminishing the achievement of any subsequent athlete who breaks it fairly?
If the 4-minute mile barrier teased and taunted runners in the years leading up to 1954, looking at the marathon’s equivalent challenge must be akin to gazing into the face of Medusa (you know, the one with the reptilian coiffure.) Once Clayton had gone under 2:10 for the second time, talk began as to the possibility of a sub 2hour marathon. Derek himself was dismissive of the idea, stating in a 1970 ‘Runner’s World’ interview that it would mean ‘going through every six miles in world record time’, that the training required to do this was inconceivable, and that evolution itself was the wild card that might or might not make sub-2 hours a realistic goal. For decades Clayton’s pessimism seemed justified. From 1981 onward, the world’s finest marathoners could chip but a few seconds here, half a minute there, from the record time. None of them approached Derek’s own feat of ripping nearly 2½ minutes from the old mark in 1967. Prior to that, nobody had taken a major chunk from the world’s best marathon time since Jim Peters shattered it by nearly five minutes in 1952, on a training regime then considered groundbreaking. Even the revered Haile Gebrselassie, whose 2007 and 2008 Berlin victories both broke the record, did it on each occasion by ‘only’ approximately 30secs. It shows the nature of the task lying ahead for sub-2 hour aspirants, notwithstanding super-fast courses like Berlin, the fat paychecks on offer (unavailable to Clayton or his predecessors, amateurs all), the depth of elite competition, professional training methods or the physiological advantages of having grown up at high altitude, enjoyed by the African runners who now dominate the event.
Shirley Young and Mike Shelley found the desired answers to the marathon’s supreme question. Photos: Google images
Finally, might we have to accept that sub-2 hours is simply beyond us? 2mins 58sec is still an awesome gap. If it is to be bridged, has the runner to do it even been born yet? Will they be whilst any of the earth’s current population is alive? How long will it take before training, intense racing, genetics, nutrition, geographic determinism and, yes, evolution itself combine to send the lucky man across the Rubicon? Or is it the reverse – should someone have broken it already, or at least be knocking on its door? Michael Joyner, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, suggested last year that someone ‘should have run 2:01:50 by now.’ So is Kimetto’s record simply making up for lost time, and is he the man to write his name in the history books? From the limping, semi-conscious plodder in StKilda Rd to the sleek sub-2:03 Berlin winner, from the
resolute first-timer to others who (like SSH’s own indomitable Shirley Young) have racked up more marathons and ultra-distance achievements than most of us have had bike rides, anyone who tackles the 42km challenge still intrigues and inspires us. For the marathon is all about embracing the unknown, encountering and beating fear, pain, fatigue, illness, disappointment, and the totally unexpected. Nobody knows for sure what today’s marathon holds for them, however brilliantly they might have run six months ago. Neither Clayton nor Kimetto knew. Nor did Mike Shelley know in Glasgow this year, nor did the favoured Kenyans he beat. If there is one single thing that makes this race so compelling, it’s the question it poses - ‘Will you beat the marathon today, or will it beat you?’ – and whatever the runners, from Pheidippides to Dennis Kimetto, can muster to answer it.
Progression of world record times in the marathon since the late 1920s. The rapid fall in record time in the 50s and 60s likely reflects: 1) the widespread adoption of high volume/year round training after WWII and 2) the participation of East-African runners in international competition starting in the 1960s. There was limited progress during the 1970s, but the record has fallen more than 5 min over the last 30 yr. On average, there has been 20 s reduction per year since 1960. □ indicate if this rate of improvement continues, a time under 2 h could occur in 12–13 yr (by 2021–2022). ■, show that if only data from 1980 are used, a time under 2 h would occur in 25 yr based on an estimated improvement of 10 s per year. The recent increase in the number of high profile races on fast courses that offer substantial prize money may also contribute to faster world records in the near future. (Joyner, Ruiz & Lucia: The 2-Hour Marathon: Who and When? – APS Journal of Applied Physiology Vol 110 No 1, pub. 1 Jan 2011)
COMING EVENTS Sat 11 October Sun 12 October Sun 19 October Sat 25 October Sat 1 November Thur 6 November Fri 7-Sun 9 November Sat 15 November Sun 16 November Sat 22 November Sat 23 November Thur 27 November Sat 29 November Fri 5-Sat 7 December Sat 6 December Mon 8 December Thur 11 December Sun 14 December Sat 20 December Sat 3 January Sat 10 January Thur 15 January Sat 17 January Tue 20 January Fri 23-Sun 25 Jan’ry Sat 24 January Sat 31 January Sat 7 February Thur 12 February Fri 13-Sun 15 Feb Sat 14 February Tue 17 February Sat 21 February Tue 24 February Fri 27 Feb-Sun 1 Mar Sat 28 Feb- Sun1 Mar Sat 7 March Wed 11-Sun 15 March Sat 14-Sun 15 March Sat 14 March Thur 19 March Sat 21 March Thur 26-Sun 29 March Sat 28-Sun 29 March Fri 3-Mon 6 April
AV Shield R1, Prog2 Melbourne Marathon (AV Marathon C’ship) AV Shield R2 Prog1 AV Shield R3 Prog2 AV Shield R4 Prog1 AV 5000m c’ships (NOTE: Reg’n closes 30 Oct) Victorian All Schools c’ships AV Shield R5 Prog2 SSH Christmas social evening LAV region relays AV Shield R6 Prog1 – Zone v Zone Vic Milers Club meet 1 Rare Air Club meet 1 AV Track Relay c’ships Aust All Schools T&F c’ships AV Shield R7 Prog2 Aust All Schools Knockout c’ships Zatopek meeting Aust 50km Race walking c’ship AV Knockout meet – R1 (entries close 30/11) AV Shield R8 Prog1 Rare Air Club meet 2 AV Shield R9 Prog2 – Zone v Zone Rare Air Club meet 3 AV Shield R10 Prog1 – Zone v Zone Milers Club meet 2 AV Country c’ships AA Tour – Briggs Athletic classic AA Tour – Hunter Track classic AV Shield Final – Prog2 AA Tour – Canberra Track classic AV Knockout meet – R2 Rare Air Club meet 4 AV Junior T&F c’ships AA Tour – Perth Track classic Milers Club meet 3 Rare Air Club meet 5 AA Tour – Adelaide Track classic Zone final Prog1 Rare Air Club meet 6 AV Open T&F c’ships AV Multi-event c’ships (U14-Open) AV Knockout final AA Tour – Brisbane Track classic Aust Junior T&F c’ships Vic Masters T&F c’ships AA Tour – Sydney Track classic Milers Club meet 4 Rare Air Club meet 7 AA Tour – Melbourne IAAF World Challenge Australian T&F c’ships LAV State c’ships Aust Masters Ass’n Nationals
Nunawading Melbourne Ringwood Nunawading Ringwood Doncaster Lakeside Stadium Nunawading Burwood Bowls Club Lakeside Stadium Lakeside Stadium Lakeside Stadium Adelaide SA – Mile End Nunawading Adelaide SA – Mile End Lakeside Stadium Fawkner Park, Melbourne Lakeside Stadium Nunawading Mentone Nunawading Box Hill Doncaster Box Hill Bendigo – Latrobe Uni Hobart TAS Newcastle NSW Lakeside Stadium Canberra ACT Lakeside Stadium Box Hill Lakeside Stadium Perth WA Melbourne University Adelaide SA Lakeside Stadium Melbourne University Lakeside Stadium Lakeside Stadium Lakeside Stadium Brisbane QLD Sydney NSW Doncaster Sydney NSW Lakeside Stadium Lakeside Stadium Brisbane QLD Bendigo Sydney NSW
Victorian Race Walking Club Summer program : available for perusal at http://www.vrwc.org.au/vrwcs15.shtml
THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS Welcome to the track season of 2014-15. And what a wonderful prelude, with the club finishing off an exciting Cross Country season by being promoted to Premier division next year after finishing in second place in Division 2. This is due to some fantastic individual performances, but also great team efforts culminating in great results in the Tan relays. The Men’s Division 2 team won, as did the Mens Division 6 team. The women also performed exceptionally well with the Div 2 team coming in at a creditable 3rd, just behind Glenhuntly and Doncaster. Apart from these results, what stands out about this meeting is the fact that the club was able to fill 10 teams across all divisions. Just goes to show what we can do if we can consistently build some depth in the club. More competitors on the day leads to everyone motivating each other and giving us the outstanding results witnessed. Congratulations to all who competed. On another matter I am delighted to report that your new committee, with the addition of some new members elected at the recent AGM, had its first meeting last week. I can only say I was delighted with the enthusiasm and fresh ideas coming from the new members. Ideas were flying off the walls!! With such an influx of new thinking I can only conclude that your club will take some giant steps in the coming 12 months both on and off the track! We have a reinvigorated committee, new members joining the club every month and, with the sort of results demonstrated through the cross country season, SSH may be poised to enter a golden age of success both on and off the track. Thanks to all those who agreed to take on additional responsibilities at the AGM, whether it be Track Captain, Team Manager or Record Keeper. All roles are of critical importance if we are to lay the foundations for a successful club that provides an environment that allows all to compete and enjoy themselves at their full potential. The challenge of course is to build on this newfound enthusiasm and, indeed, use it to meet the challenges that face us as individuals and as a club. One of these challenges is to support the requirement to provide officials at most meetings throughout the year. The committee decided to roster all members to be responsible for fulfilling a duty as required by Vic Aths at least once a year. It is reasoned that we cannot continue to rely on the few people who to date have given up their time selflessly to support the bulk of those who have chosen not to contribute. This is not a sustainable model. For this reason I ask you to assist the club in supporting the initiative. If you are unable to assist, at least provide a substitute so we are not running around at the last minute trying to conscript the same people to help "just one more time". Look forward to seeing all at the track. Carpe Diem!
Greg Nolan President
BIRTHDAYS
OCTOBER – Graeme Rose, Alex MacCallum, Graeme & Kevin Craigie, Lachlan Aspinall, Cameron Gatt, Grace Mackie, Stephen Rennick, Nolene Schofield, Peter Westwood, Anne Spence, Chirath Pathirana, Alex Berry, Rebecca Cato, Shaun Geraghty
NOVEMBER – Ben Buckingham, Matthew Nolan, James Christensen, Stuart Cooper, Jacqui Bull,
Martin Hall, Hasalanka Fernando
DECEMBER – Shirley Young, David McNair, Tim Cooke
** FEES FOR 2014-15 NOW DUE! Please note that all registrations, payments etc, are now done online, at: https://members.athsvic.org.au/login Combined with our Club fees, the amounts payable are: OPEN: $223 (AV 163, SSH 60) U18/20: $183 (AV 143, SSH 40) U16/14: $163 (AV 123, SSH 40) Associate:$98 (AV $58, SSH $40)
*Associate members who do not wish to register with AV should send $40 (cheque/money order payable to ‘St Stephens Harriers AC’) directly to Pat Robinson, 1/363 Stephensons Rd, Mt Waverley 3149. Alternatively, you can pay directly to the club through the bank. Our details are as follows: BSB: 033 526 Acc: 106 222 Club Devt Fund: This important financial resource assists athletes directly where necessary (trips, equipment, specialised coaching etc), and we need to keep building on it. Your donation will be gratefully received, by cheque or direct debit transfer. (Unfortunately, the option of donating at the time of AV
registration is no longer available, so please use one of the above payment methods.)
CROSS COUNTRY SEASON 2014 ** XCR14 R6 … Road race – 3 August, Albert Park SSH maintained its strong position at the Albert Park 10k. Lachlan Aspinall fell heavily in the first few metres and soldiered on bloodied, and Stephen Rennick maintained a strong lead right through the race, but was just pipped by Lachie at the final leg into the Lakeside stadium. A great battle. Whitney Sharpe ran a sub 40 minute scorcher! We welcomed back Luke Frazzetto, and James Christensen after injuries. MO Div 2 MO Div 6 WO Div 2
2/13 3/19 5/12
2/14 on the progressive ladder 10/13 on the progressive ladder 5/12 on the progressive ladder
MD2 10km
Lachlan Aspinall Stephen Rennick Lachlan Connell Ben Buckingham Sam Quirk Dan Mitchell Team 2nd/13
34.17.7 34.18.1 34.36.2 34.50.7 34.52.0 35.36.8
MD7 10km
Michael Kipp Ben Kim Jim Christensen
45.04.0 46.09.1 47.00.0
MD6 10km
Luke Frazzetto ** Brian Carter Jake Pedley Will Wright Team 3rd/9
39.16.2 40.53.3 42.40.8 43.49.7
WD2 10km
Whitney Sharpe Georgia Kovats Sally Naylor Alice Carter Carmel Moorhead Team 5th/12
39.33.4 42.01.9 43.12.4 44.33.7 51.45.4
** Brian won gold in the 60+ section, finishing 1st out of 19. Well done, Brian!
** XCR14 R7 … Road Race – 16 August, Lake Wendouree Ballarat turned on bracing weather for the Lake Wendouree 15 k. The wind blew from the south east and provided challenges on the upwind legs. Our top four athletes, Lachlan Aspinall, Steve Rennick, Sam Quirk and Ben Buckingham put in extraordinary times, while Luke Frazzetto and James Christensen continue to improve. Unfortunately our WO did not make up a team even though we had Whitney Sharpe, Sally Naylor and Alice Carter (four required for a team). MO Div 2 MD2 15km
5/14
2/14 on the progressive ladder
Lachlan Aspinall Stephen Rennick Sam Quirk Ben Buckingham Luke Frazzetto Will Wright James Christensen Team 5th/14
51.36.9 52.31.8 52.33.3 53.34.1 59.32.5 68.37.1 72.30.4
WD2 15km
Whitney Sharpe Sally Naylor Alice Carter
67.40.3 68.41.3 68.58.5
** XCR14 R8 … Half Marathon – 7 September, Burnley The Burnley half marathon was run in near perfect, sunny and calm conditions, and thanks to the sterling efforts of Kevin Craigie, Lachlan Aspinall, Ben Buckingham and Alice Craigie, we managed to fill our MO Div 2 team and keep SSH competitive in the aggregate scores. We thank those who came to support and barrack for the team on Sunday morning. MO Div 2 Men D2
9/14
2/14 on the progressive ladder
Sam Quirk Kevin Craigie Lachlan Aspinall Ben Buckingham Alice Craigie Team 9th/14
1h 15.01.8 1h 15.16.3 1h 15.20.8 1h 23.07.5 1h 37.23.4
** XCR14 R9 … TAN Relays – 20 September, King’s Domain This was a great day for SSH, consisting of ten SSH teams. Wal and Pat managed the ten teams and I appreciate their efforts whilst I was on leave. MO Div 2 1/14 MO Div 6 1/11 MO Div 7 T1 1/22 MO Div 7 T2 14/22 MO Div 7 T3 Invite WO Div 2 3/11 WO Div 4 3/9 WO Div 5 T1 12/14 WO Div 5 T2 Invite WO Div 5 T3 Invite MD2 6X3.8km
2/14 on the progressive ladder 11/14 on the progressive ladder 13/31 on the progressive ladder
7/12 on the progressive ladder 10/11 on the progressive ladder
Kevin Craigie Ben Buckingham Sam Quirk Tom Thorpe Lachlan Connell Lachlan Aspinall Team **1st/14
11.23 11.42 12.28 12.35 12.46 11.36 1.12.30
WD2 4X3.8km
Sarah Lester Sally Naylor Georgia Kovats Whitney Sharpe Team 3rd/11
13.34 15.53 15.27 14.16 59.10
MD6 4X3.8km
Xavier Smith Cameron Clayton Daniel Mitchell Stephen Rennick Team **1st/11
12.20 12.51 12.41 12.30 50.22
MD7(1) 4X3.8km
Matt Nolan Luke Frazzetto Brian Carter Jake Pedley Team 8th/22
15.08 14.35 15.40 15.03 60.26
Ben Kim Michael Kipp Nik Petersen Jim Christensen Team 14th/22
17.00 16.33 16.07 17.02 66.42
Ben Barry Sean Flintoft Daniel Ballan Adain Avici Au Boisson *4th best time in Div 7
13.11 13.04 14.52
MD7(2) 4X3.8km
WD4 3X3.8km
Alice Carter Rebecca Cato Alex MacCallum Team 3rd/9
15.09 15.48 17.15 48.12
WD5(1) 3X3.8km
Carmel Moorhead Charlotte Bavage Alex Nolan Team 12th/14
18.11 18.33 20.20 57.04
WD5(2) 3X3.8km
Sam Bennett Sidonie Lowe Sarah Hall
14.43 22.26 16.04 53.13
Tabara Dione Nerida Punter Sarah Hubbard
16.27 17.58 18.17 52.42
(inv)
WD5(3) 3X3.8km (inv)
MD7(3) 4X3.8km
15.42 56.49
** XCR14 … Final ladder positions **
Men Division 2 1. Box Hill 126 2. SSH* 107 3. Nunawading 92 4. South Melb 91 *SSH advances to Premier Division in 2015
Other SSH teams
Men D6 – 11th/15 (only featured in 4 rounds of comp
Men D7 – 13th/23 Women D2 – 7th/12 Women D4 – 10/12
End of season results For two years in a row our top MO team have performed brilliantly, leapfrogging from Div 3 in 2013 to Div 2 in 2014 and now Div 1 in 2015. This is a truly remarkable result and a credit to our top MO athletes. It is my hope we can retain our position, continue to recruit talented runners and to hold our position in the premier league. I am grateful to all those who have lent their support to SSH. As ever, Wal, Pat and Nick have made my job easy and their efforts are appreciated. I look forward to the 2015 XC season, with our MO Div 1 team and to lift our WO team to Div 1 by the year’s end.
Greg Schofield CC Captain 2014
SCHOOL RESULTS ** SSV Boroondara Division Athletics sports – 9 September, Doncaster A royal flush for Georgia in this school carnival … Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats
400m 800m 1500m Triple jump 4 X 100mR
1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC
** SSV Eastern Metropolitan Region c’ships – 10 October, Doncaster … and in this one, just to emphasise the point! Well done to Georgia, fine reward for her dedication to training. 400m Open 800m Open 1500m Open Triple jump Open 4 X 100mR Open
Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats Georgia Kovats
Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC Canterbury GSC
65.0 2.29.0 5.13.0
1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Georgia and her winnings (now that’s worth a selfie!) and, above, with her successful relay teammates.
*** PRESENTATION NIGHT *** Once again, a small but enthusiastic gathering attended the annual Annual General Meeting and Presentation Night at Greg Nolan’s place in August. The AGM saw a few changes to the list of office bearers, with a welcome injection of young interest at committee and official level. The elections produced the following new list:
President Vice President Secretary Minute Secretary Social Secretary Treasurer Track team managers T&F captain (male) T&F captains (female)
Greg Nolan Alex Nolan Pat Robinson Sarah Hall Andrew Nagle Michael Goerke Sarah Hall, Jake Pedley Lachlan Aspinall Sally Naylor, Alice Carter, Alex Nolan
Cross country captain Club coaches Journal editor Registrar Zone delegate Auditor Statistician General committee
Greg Schofield Wal Robinson, Jake Pedley, Lachlan Aspinall Stu Cooper Pat Robinson Peter Westwood Michael Geraghty Martin Hall Sarah Hall, Lachlan Aspinall, Luke Frazzetto, Whitney Sharpe, Alex MacCallum
Particularly pleasing was to see Sarah and Jake put up their hands to share the Track team management role. This allows Wal Robinson, at long last, to concentrate on his coaching at trackside as well as on training nights. Well done, guys!
Alice Carter and Sally Naylor Pecsovszky Perpetual Trophy (Determination and Effort)
Hasalanka Fernando Richard Turner Trophy (Most consistent junior)
Lachlan Aspinall Best Performance Trophy Gerald Backhouse Memorial Trophy (Best 1500m) JW Bannister Trophy (Highest Cross Country Aggregate) Presented by former SSH 800m champion (and now Club auditor) Michael Geraghty
Lachlan Aspinall Club 800m record
Lachlan Aspinall, Luke Frazzetto and Jamie Wagstaff (with Club XC captain Greg Schofield) Men’s Division 2 cross country team members, promoted to Division 1 for 2015
*** SSH BOWLS EVENING*** Sunday 16 November, from 4.00pm at Burwood Bowls Club Burwood Reserve, Warrigal Rd Burwood 3125. Ph: 9889 5931 $15 per person for bowling + $5-10 for pizzas. The bar will be open to purchase drinks and everyone is welcome!!
NEW MEMBERS ********
We bid a warm welcome to CHARLOTTE BAVAGE, SHAUN GERAGHTY and ADAM TENNANT who have just joined us. We look forward to seeing you in the red, white and blue and wish you both every success with St Stephens Harriers.
** OBITUARIES ** We offer our condolences to the following SSH members who have had family members pass away recently.
Anne Spence (mother-in-law), Geoff Warner (mother), Cameron Gatt (grandfather), Kevin Armstrong (father)
TRACK & FIELD SEASON 2014-15
FROM THE COACH I suppose coaching is important and it has a binding effect on a group of athletes, or indeed, a club! Years ago SSH had the best coach in Norm Osborne with his string of Olympians – Rick Mitchell, Mike Hillardt, Marg Crowley, etc. There are those who say coaches are only as good as their athletes, and their success. Not so. Success is the key word. It depends on your goals. Olympics? Run for Australia? Win an Australian or State title? Win a medal? Compete at those levels? Do a PB? Every athlete has to be a selfmotivator! Coaches can only help, mostly. SSH’s Derek Clayton held the world marathon record for 12 years. Derek coached and motivated himself! Which brings me to the point – at last! Our men have just won Division 2 of AV’s CC Tan Relays, thus being promoted to Premier 1 for 2015 CC. This is the first time that SSH have been in Premier 1 since 1987 when Mike Hillardt, Ken Green, Robin Hayter, Max Little, Andrew Garnham, Graham Kipp, Alan Franzke, Mike Geraghty, Michael Goerke and John Lubofsky ran for us. The team that got us there are all self-motivated to be as good as they can be. Coaches like Nick help! The group situation is vital as the boys motivate each other. (The addition of Shaun Geraghty will make us stronger.) However, each individual has to get themselves through the highs and especially the lows, the injuries, the rehabs, the study, the job and the personal relationships – and all the rest. It can be done! Personally? It’s marvellous! If we can win the ‘big one’ (16k CC), SSH will make it 33 wins ahead of Glenhuntly’s 32. Good luck team and now for the girls to make it to Div 1. We have the athletes but we need depth. A few more consistent winter runners and we’re there. So start recruiting!
Wal If anyone you know would like the book, St. Stephen’s Harriers – 100 Years I will be happy to post them a copy. Cost: $40 plus $6 postage. Contact: Wal Robinson wal.robinson@bigpond.com Mobile: 0417 338 035 Tel: (03) 9585 5545 Cheques should be made payable to St. Stephen’s Harriers.
MEANWHILE, BEYOND ATHLETICS … SARAH LESTER has been adding to her already impressive CV as a triathlete, with her distance running ability helping power her to some excellent results. Sarah has been representing Australia on the International Triathlon Union’s elite circuit and, as these results show, she is performing at a consistently high level. Well done, Sarah!
16 February
Oceania Sprint Distance c’ships, NZ
10th
(3rd fastest run time)
1 June
African Cup, Mauritius
**1st
13 July
European Cup, Estonia
9th
(3rd fastest run time)
3 August
European Cup, Turkey
10th
(5th fastest run time)
** On the basis of her win in Mauritius, Triathlon Australia selected Sarah to represent Australia in ITU World Cup events.
AND FINALLY … On Sunday 19th October, GREG NOLAN and STU COOPER temporarily exchanged SSH vests and track shoes for lycra and cleats to participate in the BUPA Around The Bay In A Day bike ride (210km) to aid the Smith Family charity. Although separated at the start and unable to accompany each other, both took advantage of the largely favourable conditions (tail winds, pleasant temperatures and no shortage of other riders to latch on to) to press on and complete a satisfying day’s work.
Greg and Stu are not pictured here, but neither they nor these riders escaped the testing Leopold hill outside Geelong.