Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon, 5 & 2 Miles

Lennox Gardens shone like a precious jewel on Monday. The evergreen proceritous pines stood stalwart beneath the gorgeous clear blue winter sky. Lake Burley Griffin reflected the tranquility of the morning back at us. There was a chill in the air, but no wind, and overall the apple-crisp conditions were perfect for running a half-marathon.

As everyone knows, this race is unique in that it takes place on a one-mile loop, comprising several perambulating orbits of  Lennox Gardens. There are several landmarks which one could take as the spiritual centre of gravity: the obvious choices being the Peace Bell, adjacent to the starting line of the half-marathon, or the Nara Peace Park, nestled snugly in the heart of the Gardens.

We had an on-time departure for the half-marathon, which started nearly 200 metres along the path from the race HQ, offering the spectators a wonderful view as the runners dashed into the half-horseshoe bend, before passing the timing mats.

Then half an hour later the five and two mile races got underway.

Tara Holmes was the fastest female in the two miler with a time of 12:17, surpassed only by Dennis Keller Jr in the men's division, with11:40; while Beanna Amiel set a new age group record for female 17 and over, of 13:03.

In the five mile, D'Arcy Taylor was the only runner to break 30 minutes, with a time of 29:29.  Sarah King won the women’s race in 32:46. Special mention goes to our over-70 competitors: the legendary Trevor Jacobs, who finished in 41:53, and the equally legendary Lachlan Lewis, 87 years young, who crossed the line in 1:55:45.

Tim Cochrane was first in the Half Marathon in a time of 1:19:27, narrowly beating Kael Hulin (1:19:48). Tim's pace per kilometre was one second faster than Kael's.

Lisa Krakowiak was the fastest woman with 1:34:17, handily beating the rest of the field.

We can happily announce that another course record was broken: Peter Clarke set a new M70 best with 1:52:22, knocking more than ten minutes off the previous best time.

Running over, the athletes moved onto the next order of the day: pancakes!

Pancakes, the runners' reward. When one is the pancake chef, there is a stage when a good cache of doughy delights has been prepared and everything seems under control. Then before you know it, the stock has dwindled to nothing, and a queue of runners has formed at the pancake station. (This often coincides with the barbeque seemingly heating at a fraction of its former gusto). Suddenly everything seems to take longer. All the chef can do is assure the eager guests that the next batch won't be far away. And eventually everything works out. In the end, even the cook gets to enjoy the feast. It's hard to choose between condiments: does one choose Nutella? Cream? Maple syrup? Lemon juice? Perhaps a combination of two or three, with a banana thrown in for good measure?

Thanks to all the participants in the day's events, and we look forward to seeing you at our next race, the Sri Chinmoy "Tuggeranong Trot" on 23 June, the fourth in this year's Trail Series.

For full lap splits for each finisher, and to download your finisher's certificate, please check the complete results on RaceResult.