We fielded six men and six women’s teams at this years relay on 23rd April held at the park adjacent to Wanganui Harriers clubrooms. A more or less flat 1km loop with just a couple of bumps halfway round with each runner completing two laps (2km)
Club captain Paul Wasley was busily putting teams together right up to the gun as a few gaps needed filling due to some people not able to get there at the last minute.
The Men and Womens teams all started at the same time – a little bit unfortunate as it meant we couldn’t easily identify which were the leading womens teams, sandwiched between other teams until more or less the last km.
Women: The team of Amara, Karis & Poppy Rae together with Stephanie Walker won the event 42 seconds clear of with another of our teams (Taylah Arlidge, Dot Starzak, Millie Evans and Madi Keightley).
Men: Reuben Duker lead the A-Team off, clipping pout the first km in 3 min 5 sec. Carlos Lopez-Lozanao (Manawatu Striders) gained on the next km and nearly caught him napping, with both credited with a 2k time of 6:32. Alec ball took the batten and swiftly created a gap between ourselves and the chasing teams, handing over to the “veteran” of the team Mark Searle who maintained our lead. New member Greg Coleman was then handed the baton with a 45 second lead over PNAHC. But they had an in-form nelson Doolan running last, capable of really damaging our lead. Greg however ran a fine lap of 6:40 (compared to Nelsons fast-gaining 6:19) to retain the title we won for the very fist time last year.
A special mention to our youth team of Jacob Lean, Harison Stevens, Will Sablerolle-Stone and Angus Perkins who were a creditable 5th overall. Watch out for these guys chasing a spot in next years A-team!
This is the first time Feilding Moa have won the Mens and Womens trophy in the same year. Congratulations to all our teams and the very vocal supporters. A proud day to be a Feilding Moa member.
Next stop NZ Road Relays in Christchurch in October – more info about that next week
OUR RESULTS
