Daryl Crook and Andrew Barralet represented our club and Queensland in the National Track and Field Championships in Perth on Friday night.

Daryl came 3rd in the 3000m Steeple Chase (9:09:93) behind Olympian Youcef Abdi and Richard Everest. Excellent Work Daryl!

Andrew came 10th overall in the 800m in 1:50:52, just outside the qualifiers. He was the 3rd Queenslander over the line. Well done Andrew!

The third running of the Lincoln Winch Memorial Trophy Flying 4 was a great success.
Many people attended, of whom 68 people ran or walked the 1.5km or the 4km course. All efforts were rewarded with a cooked breakfast of bacon and eggs, prepared by my husband John.

As this is a handicap race, the trophy went to the person who had most improved, which was Shelly Smith who also was the first runner to start: well done Shelly! Sarah Winch, presented the trophy and talked about the book she is writing.

About Lincoln Winch: Lincoln was a much loved runner and friend who ran for many years with the Ashgrove Rangers and often participated in the Flying 4. Lincoln sadly passed away 2 years ago after a short period of illness. Therefore, the Ashgrove Rangers hold this race to remember him.

The next Lincoln Winch Memorial Trophy will be held in March 2011. To contest the trophy, you must have competed at least twice in the Flying 4 over the 6 months between September 2010 and March 2011.

I am proud to announce that our Coaching Director John Purcell received an Australia Day Award from the Department of Transport and Main Roads. John received this award not only because of his outstanding services to the Department, but also because of his role in and contributions to the community, which in John’s case is the Athletics community; Qld Athletics and the Ashgrove Rangers Athletic Club.

John was one of the 29 out of many thousands of departmental employees receiving this award, so this is truly remarkable. The awards were presented by the Minister for Main Roads, the Honourable Craig Wallace, and the Director General for Transport and Main Roads, Dave Stewart.

To celebrate, the recipients and their guests were treated to a true Aussie lunch including salads, roasts, drinks out of an esky and pavlova for dessert.

Congratulations John!

Thanks to all enthusiastic competitors, officials and cooks for the great night at The University of Queensland Athletics Centre this Monday. We had a great turnout and because of the numbers we had to split up a few events, which made it a bit of a late night. The shot put and the long jump were a great start to the night as many competitors tested their muscle strength and technique by seeing how far they could throw themselves and the shot put (not at the same time though). I for one surprised myself by jumping 3.42m, which was a huge pb. I am sure it helped that I did not shuffle to an almost stand still before jumping, which I usually do.

Cherina’s Junior Training Squad turned out in numbers, and a few pbs were set on the night. Parents, siblings and friends were welcome to join in with the competition and the food, which made it a true family evening. The O’Donovan – Adams family were out in numbers, with grand dad Russell pacing his grand daughter Kirri during the 3000m, only to be outsprinted at the finish line.

For this 3000m race we invited a few runners from other clubs to make the competition even more exciting. However, the event was won by our own Wayne Heath, followed by Don Wallace, Gerard Goossens and Bruce Jones respectively.

As you may feel from the writing above, the Ashgrove Rangers club champs have some seriously contested events, but are otherwise all about trying events you normally do not enter into and doing your best at your favourite events. It is not always easy to back up from the previous events and competitors boast about the number of events they have entered. However, this year it was Vivienne Buss who competing in all events!

With the tent, registration table and food set up on the oval along side the track, competitors and families made themselves comfortable on their picnic blankets on the grass. This created a great atmosphere, and spectators could have a bite to eat while cheering on the competitors on the track. And yes, there was plenty of food to go around for those who competed in the later events. The catering was all home cooked with ham, eggs, different salads, bread and a drink for everyone.

The results were posted yesterday!

Hi everyone
Is there anyone out there who has a lockable 4 drawer filing cabinet in which we can store club uniforms? If so, please contact Hubertien on 0404 922 577!

 

Races

Yes, it is on:  The Ashgrove Gift!

Registrations are taken from 5:30 and your options are:

1. ‘The Ashgrove Gift’ 120m handicap - heats and finals from 6:15pm
2. The ’Mile Handicap’ -  7:15

For our Juniors we have organised special Team Relays with a twist.  What this special twist is, you will find out on the night, but we can promise that every Junior will be a winner.  Their events will be held in advance of the Gift and the Mile, at about 6pm and 7pm.  So make sure you are there at 5:45 latest to register.

All races are $2 each to enter.  For the 120m and the 1600m handicaps the takings are for the winners. The Juniors will receive a different reward for their achievements.

Presentations

We’ll have the BBQ going during the presentations which includes a sausage sizzle and drinks at a reasonable price.

The presentation includes awards for:

• The Gift (presented by our Honorary Member Ron Ward)
• The Mile Handicap (presented by our Councillor for The Gap Ward - Geraldine Knapp)
• The Ashgrove Rangers’ Spirit Shield (presented by our Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability - Kate Jones)
• The Best Performance over the Summer Season (presented by Geraldine Knapp)
• The Most Improved over the Summer Season (presented by Geraldine Knapp)

We’d like to thank our Patrons, Kate Jones and Geraldine Knapp, and our Honorary Member Ron Ward for their generous sponsorship of the trophies.

See you there!

Congratulations to Don who achieved an excellent result at the Six Foot Track Marathon on the weekend. He came fourth in a blistering time of 3 hours and 27 minutes. Don (47) also broke the age category (40 - 49) record by 3.5 minutes .

For a bit more background: Don held the race record for this epic race between 1991 and 2007.  The Six Foot Track promotes itself as the ‘toughest marathon in Australia’. It takes a normal runner about 1.5 times the normal marathon time to run this 45.5km race through the Blue Mountains, starting at Katoomba and finishing at the Jenolan Caves, with a total ascent/descent of about 1500m/1800m.  

The scenery on the way is great, it starts off in a forestry area with an immediate down-hill run down the escarpment. Then the track leads you through a variety of landscapes including paddocks and Eucalypt forests. Just over an hour into the race you cross the Cox river to by wading through it.  This wet experience is followed by a hill, which takes the fastest runners just under an hour to ascend. The trick is to keep enough fuel in the legs to ensure a successful completion of the race as there are plenty of hills to come. The finish of this race is very special. On the final descent to the Jenoal Caves you can hear the announcer at the finish line and you can feel the great atmosphere built by the spectators awaiting your arrival. A post race dip in the cool river is part of the post-race recovery to ease the legs and the hips. Have a look at www.sixfoot.com to read more about this great race and see the results and pictures.