An excellent club turnout of 13 club teams took part in this popular road race (compared with10 last year), but with 33 teams in the field, entries were down 9 overall on last year.
Cool, showery, overcast conditions on fast flat 3.3 km circuit provided members with a great short blast prior to WBOP Centre Road Champs at Ruakura. There were some classy Hawks efforts too, which thankfully confirmed form for NRR teams and provided a positive day with a great showing of club spirit. Hawks teams won senior women, masters women, M19, M16 and walkers grades and placed second in the senior women, senior men, masters men, and masters women so plenty of kudos came back to Hamilton.
Lake City sprang a surprise in the open men’s event taking out the race with 52.15 (some 2.30 slower than the top Tauranga Ramblers team of last year). The Hawks senior men had a great battle with the Hawks M19 team and, after trailing early, came home with a rattle on the last lap when club captain Corey Hinde put his foot down to run a fast 10.16. Fast laps that caught my eye were the 10.21 of birthday boy Cory Whiting (17 the day before) and the quick laps run by Bridget Ray (11.56) and Olivia Ritchie (11.52), the latter clocking the fastest femme of the day.
The mother son battle of Helen (12.26) and Cameron (12.31), also intrigued and did Cameron cook dinner as a result?
Some Matamata relay history. This event is now in its 39th year. In the boom period of the ‘70s and ‘80s,m Auckland clubs used to attend and University was a perennial winner. Fields of over 60 or more teams were common. Fastest lap time that can be recalled is that of John Campbell who, at 40, was the world fastest masters marathoner and ran his lap around the streets of Matamata in about 9.05.
This year, Steve O’Callaghan (Lake City) at 9.49 and the club’s NZ Youth Commonwealth Games rep Aaron Pulford (9.58) were the quickest.
