Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon, 5-Mile and 2-Mile Race Report

9 June, 2008: This year's annual Half Marathon event saw a record field- easily the best turn-out in the event's 20-year history. (It was DOUBLE last year's field.)

In the past, it has been one of the more relaxing events for race officials, in which the only concern was the possibility of freezing to death while counting laps in the mid-year Canberra winter. This time, however, we were given an unseasonable warm, sunny morning- and happily, one of the busiest.

In this large (by our standards) field, James Minto won the Half-Marathon in a time of 1:19:36, followed by Gavin Keating (1:20:01) and Alex Miller (1:21:23). Natalie Wood was easily the fastest of the women (1:24:33), despite valiant efforts from Emma Adams (1:35:10) and Carinna Tong (1:38:43).

The shorter races also produced some excellent results. Tim Shipstone won the 5 Mile in a time of 29.31, followed by Geoff Ives (31.05) and Ruben Caley (31.06). The fastest woman (19th overall) was Nicola Torley, of the formidable Torley clan, with 35.01.

In the 2 Mile, teenager Shane Farrant blitzed the field with 11:29, though adults Adam Forsdyke (11:43) and Paco Iglesias (11:47) weren't too far behind. In fact, of the top 10 runners, seven were under 17- and what's more, three were girls! Not that anyone back in the field had any reason to be ashamed. After all, tiny 12-year-old Rebekah Sawkins gave a truly prodigious performance, becoming the fastest female (and sixth overall) in an incredible time of 12:28. Even the impressive races of teens Natalie Archer (13.32) and Georgia Hardy (13.59) were no match for her (though they comfortably beat all the women in the race).

Click here for Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon Results>>

Click here for Sri Chinmoy 5 and 2-Mile Race Results>>

Click here to view the photo gallery of all races>>

About the author:

Nirbhasa is originally from Ireland but currently lives in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an enthusiastic multi-day runner, having completed four times the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - the longest race in the world.

9 June 2008

5 Mile Race

Overall	Name	Time	Category	Cat Place
1	Tim Shipstone	29.31	Male U50	1
2	Geoff Ives	31.05	Male U50	2
3	Ruben Caley	31.06	Male U50	3
4	Paul Torley	32.37	Male U50	4
5	Andrew Daly	33.22	Male U50	5
6	Ka Yeung Chang	33.23	Male U50	6
7	Michael Grau-Veliz	34.42	Male U50	7
8	David Alder	34.50	Male 50-59	1
9	Nicola Torley	35.01	Female U50	1
10	Robert Moore	35.33	Male U50	10
11	Alan Hopkins	35.41	Male U50	11
12	Natraj Bott	35.47	Male U50	12
13	Jeffrey Gardner	36.27	Male U50	13
14	Charlie Modrak	37.18	Male 50-59	2
15	Darren Leseberg	38.44	Male U50	14
16	Edward McRae	38.44	Male U50	15
17	Tony Haycraft	38.51	Male U50	16
18	Dennis Gray	38.57	Male U50	17
19	Trevor Matthews	39.47	Male U50	18
20	Brian Mexon	39.52	Male U50	19
21	Peter Waterhouse	39.55	Male 50-59	3
22	Liz Powierza	40.19	Female U50	2
23	Tom McGoram	40.23	Male U50	20
24	Sally Faulks	40.51	Female U50	3
25	Mark Will	42.59	Male U50	21
26	Leah Cain	43.07	Female U50	4
27	Nikki Merzliakov	43.46	Female U50	5
28	Mark Skimmings	43.46	Male U50	22
29	Sue Crommie	44.12	Female U50	6
30	Nikki Jackson	44.27	Female U50	7
31	Anna Spierewka	45.11	Female U50	8
32	John Crommie	45.21	Male 50-59	4
33	Pam Faulks	45.26	Female U50	9
34	Michelle Kennedy	45.45	Female U50	10
35	Kelly Alomes	45.45	Female U50	11
36	Joe Chiera	46.11	Male 50-59	5
37	Peter Uotila	46.27	Male U50	23
38	Michael Harms	46.55	Male 50-59	6
39	Ian Alder	47.59	Male U50	24
40	Karen Donnellan	48.1	Female U50	12
41	Margaret McSpadden	48.15	Female 60-69	2
42	Jennifer Gilchrist	53.17	Female 50-59	1
43	Heather Fuller	55.07	Female U50	13
44	Karyn Mintz	55.07	Female U50	14
45	Nicole Thomas	55.53	Female U50	15

2-Mile Race

Overall	Name	Time	Category	Cat Place
1	Shane Farrant	11.29	Male U17	1
2	Adam Forsdyke	11.43	Male 17+	1
3	Paco Iglesias	11.47	Male 17+	2
4	Daniel Hearle	11.57	Male U13	1
5	Joshua Torley	12.04	Male U13	2
6	Rebekah Sawkins	12.28	Female U13	1
7	Tim Sawkins	12.3	Male 17+	3
8	Natalie Archer	13.32	Female U17	1
9	Alex Walsh	13.35	Male U17	2
10	Georgia Hardy	13.59	Female U17	2
11	Michael Torley	14.03	Male U17	3
12	Ted Walsh	15.04	Male 17+	4
13	Kathleen Bleakley	15.17	Female 17+	1
14	Steve Janek	15.22	Male 17+	5
15	Alison Spies	16.30	Female 17+	2
16	Katherine Caley	16.40	Female U13	2
17	Jessica Lawless	17.27	Female 17+	3
18	Zelda Trichard	18.00	Female 17+	4
19	Damein Van Der Toorn	18.10	Male 17+	6
20	Tim Huggins	18.30	Male 17+	7
21	Avryl Lattin	19.00	Female 17+	5
22	Hanna Sawkins	19.40	Female U17	3
23	Emily Alder	19.47	Female U13	3
24	Catherine Garvan	19.52	Female 17+	6
25	Vivienne Walker	20.09	Female 17+	7
26	Jenny Sawkins	20.11	Female 17+	8
27	Anitra Cowan	21.56	Female 17+	9
28	Donna Rousch	22.20	Female 17+	10
29	Jane Vincent	22.30	Female 17+	11
30	Melanie Hanson	27.32	Female U17	4
31	Ruth Mintz	28.13	Female U13	4
32	Clare Alder	30.52	Female U13	5