Nationals 2007
I had worked out a race plan for Marlene which went straight out the window when I walked over the course the afternoon before the race. To say it was a disgrace for walkers doing a NZ championship race is an understatement. It was only 500m long so walkers had to go around cones 20 times during the race. Not only that but there must have been nigh on 300m of the course uphill and downhill on the way back.
I said to Marlene “Forget everything I told you because if you can do 7min/km on this course without being DQd you’ll be doing well. There will be judges all over this hill to catch anyone running on the way down and bent knee on the way up. So don’t worry about time or other competitors just concentrate on your technique and don’t worry about anything else and you should be ok.”
The next morning we parked up close to the course in the UNITEC car park and slowly other members of the club arrived. The organizers had erected tents, one for each association which was very nice of them as it saved our people humping the tent which they had brought to store people’s gear in. Actually the organization was very good and one of the officials actually apologized to me the previous night for providing such a cow of a course but it was the best they could do. I found out afterwards that they weren’t going to provide a drink station because “We (meaning runners) don’t need them.”
However Mike (the runner) quoted chapter and verse to them that if they did not provide a drink station it was in contravention of some International Law concerning drink stations for walkers (I haven’t checked yet whether he was just doing a con job or he is correct) but it had the desired effect as they had to dash to the nearby café and buy drink cups and provided him with a jug of water which Frances had to dash back and forth during the race to fill up. After his triumph Mike manned the drink station with the help of Francis for the duration of the race; well done you two I think it was a godsend for all the competitors.
Everyone arrived in plenty of time even Tony & Glen and were able to go over the course and no doubt had to revise their own race plans. They then picked up their Taranaki Centre vests and race numbers and got themselves ready for the race whilst mingling with walkers they knew from other centres.
They disappeared at the off in a cloud of dust whilst I settled down in my chair opposite the start/finish line with my lap sheet and camera. I originally was just doing the lap sheet for Marlene but decided to expand it to include the rest of our club members whilst keeping my fingers crossed they wouldn’t come round too many at a time. Natasha started with the other juniors two minutes later.
I no sooner got settled when to my amazement Glen came hurtling back and on checking my watch saw he had done his first lap in 4½min, followed by Rodney on 5min and Eric only 7s behind him. Rachel was the first woman from the club to pass me on 5m 35s with Vanessa only a second behind. These two had a right old battle the whole race with the time separating them no more than 14s but by the bell lap this was back down to 2 secs.
Whilst the girls were battling it out, so were Rodney and Eric with Eric desperately trying to close the gap between them which had stretched out to 1m 34s by the start of the 9th lap.
Despite my warnings to Marlene about taking it easy at the end of the first lap, first Dave came around the corner going like a train and oozing sweat from every pore closely followed by Marlene all red in the face with Kate a stride behind. On looking at my watch I saw they did that lap in 6m 29s - so much for taking it easy! “They are not going to keep that up on this course” I mused “they will either blow up or get disqualified,” and so it turned out unfortunately.
As she came around at the start of the 7th lap Marlene called out to me that Dave had been disqualified but despite this he finished the race. This is the first time Dave has ever been DQd and for bent knees to boot. So it was left to Marlene and Kate to have their own little battle and there was no more than just over a minute between them at any time with Marlene always ahead.
At the start of the 9th lap Eric came around in front of Rodney who was nowhere to be seen and I found out he had been DQd as well. I don’t know which was the greater shock to me him or Dave because I’ve always known them both to be very legal walkers. Dave was very philosophical about it but I heard Rodney was most upset which is understandable. But I suppose the most disappointed one must have been Kate who with two DQs against her name finished in a PB and a little while later was disqualified when the third DQ came in. Never mind Kate this has happened to some big name walkers in the past. It is something the judges hate to happen as well!
With all the excitement I didn’t realise that Natasha was finishing for a bronze medal but just managed to get her time but not a photo.
I suppose the most exciting finish was between Vanessa and I think the woman’s name was Catalina with both sprinting for all they were worth to finish. Don’t ask me who won because I was distracted by the heavy breathing from Vanessa, man that was some heavy breathing I can tell you, it rattled the windows and put mine to shame. I think it scared the living daylights out of Natasha who rushed to her assistance.
How Glen could finish in 47m 41s on that course with a sore foot I do not know but he did. Eric finished next in just under 54m, then Vanessa and Rachel just over 59m. Marlene got her first Caution on the 9th lap so eased off to finish 3m under her PB in 69m (so she ended up going just under the time her coach wanted anyway) but safe for a gold.
There was quite a discussion afterwards amongst the walkers about how tough the judges were on them. I can’t remember if there were 28 or 30 walkers all told and 14 of them had at least one red spot against their names and four were DQd in all. Quite a high percentage I understand listening to the talk. However our club members ended up with five golds and a bronze which I think was a great effort on such a pig of a course and Norm Read would have been really proud of you all. They tell me next year’s course in Hamilton is flat so expect some more fireworks from club members and I bet a few more PBs.
I really enjoyed the race from the comfort of my chair and thanked the Lord for having bent knees myself so I didn’t have to walk.
Selected Results:
