DONCASTER ATHLETIC CLUB NEWSLETTER
XCR ROUND 3 – St. Anne’s Bendigo
XCR Round 3 – Saturday 27th May
19 DAC athletes, along with their parents and supporters, took the trip down the Calder Freeway to compete at St Anne’s Winery. This was just outside of Bendigo, and for some, a 4-hour round trip! Their dedication was impressive! When they arrived, there was a pavilion set up with local hospitality including music, food and wine for sale, plus bonus cow pats randomly visible in the grass nearby. Thankfully that day, the cattle seemed to have been herded away from the area. The DAC tent was a welcome sight; our camp for the next few hours! A huge thank-you to Campbell McLennan for his efforts in bringing and setting this up each week.
Junior athletes competed over either 3km or 4km, depending on the AV schedule for each age group during the XCR season. Our 5 Junior DAC athletes achieved outstanding results; Rachel White first in the U18 Women, Chloe Baldock second in the U14 Women, Both athletes have had excellent seasons to date. Sarah Dixon is a relative newcomer to DAC and making great progress – competing at all 3 rounds this season so far. We all know that consistency pays dividends; Sarah ran 1.5 minutes quicker over 3km in Round 3 than she did in Round 1! Also, consistent have been duo, Hamish and Lewis McLennan. Fantastic effort All – keep it up! Luca Scholes-Robertson was placed 8th in the very competitive U20 Men’s event, and is in impressive form so far this season.
Open and Masters athletes tackled a very tough 8km course – lots of undulations and uneven ground. We were lucky with still and dry conditions, and the course being free of mud. Some sections wound in and out of the vines, others took in the property boundaries – a few of us were lucky enough to get a ‘honk’ from drivers on the Calder! However, the encouragement of other ‘Donnies’ and athlete-friends from other clubs was very welcome too!
Joel Tobin-White was the quickest DAC athlete over the 8km course, and even he said it was tough! The rest of us finding it very hard going– thereby justified! Joel was placed 9th in a field of over 360 men, and very commendably, Erick Niyiragira was 40th. Joel and Erick also achieved great results at Lakeside (Round 2)….both appear in excellent form this season! Following Joel and Erick was a succession of 9 other Open and Masters men from DAC. Brendan Cullen (40+) was powering along and up there with the Open Men, finishing in a little over 32 minutes. Jim Finch (60+) was stoic over the long course; the short course available for his age group, just not within Jim’s determined mindset. For him, the 8km long course it must be! Some Masters ‘red zone rivals’ from Diamond Valley had made the switch to the earlier ‘short course’ and were a little teasing with their pizzas overlooking the last battle uphill for those on the long course. Perhaps later, those completing the long course could have pizza and dessert?
The Women’s Open and Masters event was a little ‘light on’ with DAC competitors. Lydia Rinaudo (W40+) was very impressive achieving 3rd place among a quality group of female Masters athletes. She was also not far off the pace set by those in the Open age group. Kath Gawthorn was pleased to run the St Anne’s course 3 minutes faster than in 2022.
Congratulations to all those who competed in Round 3; results are listed below, and more detail is available on AV’s Resultshub; https://athsvic.resultshub.com.au/
Thank you to those who assisted – drivers, encouragers, and post-run snack providers! Your efforts are much appreciated!
|
Grade |
Distance |
Name |
Time |
Notes |
|
|
FOpen |
8km |
Lydia |
Rinaudo |
33:46:00 |
W40, 3rd |
|
FOpen |
8km |
Kathryn |
Gawthorn |
44:59:00 |
W45 |
|
F18 |
3km |
Rachel |
White |
10:59 |
1st |
|
F16 |
3km |
Sarah |
Dixon |
15:32 |
|
|
F14 |
4km |
Chloe |
Baldock |
16:16 |
2nd |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Joel |
Tobin-White |
25:05:00 |
9th |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Erick |
Niyiragira |
26:59:00 |
40th |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Oscar |
Oconnor |
28:32:00 |
|
|
MOpen |
8km |
Matthew |
Christy |
30:43:00 |
|
|
MOpen |
8km |
Brendan |
Cullen |
32:24:00 |
M40 |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Lionel |
Wirth |
34:14:00 |
|
|
MOpen |
8km |
David |
Vaughan |
35:39:00 |
M55 |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Campbell |
McLennan |
37:02:00 |
M50 |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Jason |
Merrett |
38:41:00 |
M50 |
|
MOpen |
8km |
Brock |
Goodings |
40:50:00 |
|
|
MOpen |
8km |
James |
Finch |
46:32:00 |
M60 |
|
M20 |
4km |
Luca |
Scholes-Robertson |
14:01 |
8th |
|
M16 |
3km |
Hamish |
McLennan |
12:51 |
|
|
M14 |
4km |
Lewis |
McLennan |
18:45 |
Note: Only placings within top 10 (top 50 in Open) provided above.
XCR Round 4 – Cruden Farm – Saturday 17th June
Round 4 will take athletes to a favourite destination for cross country running; Cruden Farm. Athletes will complete 3km-12km over a course renowned for being “testing”. Make sure you finalise your entry online by midday on Wednesday 14th June; this includes those who’ve purchased the season XCR package. Any questions – please contact Winter Coordinator (Matt Christy) as follows: winter.coordinator@doncasterac.org.au
Club Helpers – XCR 2023
DAC are required to provide a number of helpers/officials to complement the AV volunteer staff. This year, we hope to recruit people who may be able to spare a couple of hours on the following dates:
- Round 4 Cruden Farm – Sat 17thJune
- Round 5 Sandown Relays – Sat 8thJuly
- Round 6 Bundoora BBQ – Sat 22nd July
- Round 10 Tan Relays – Sat 16thSeptember
These people can be parents, friends, partners, injured or ‘summer’ athletes. July 22nd (Bundoora Park) is one of DAC’s main fundraisers where we turn on a BBQ/food stall for AV officials, and parents, athletes and spectators involved in the All Schools Cross Country Championships. (This is followed in the afternoon by Open and Masters athletes competing in XCR Round 6 for DAC). Please keep these dates in mind and contact Matt Christy if you may be able to assist.