Life is about running around in circles. As electrons spin around the atoms within us, the earth revolves on its axis bringing day upon night upon day and our seasons are the effect of our hurtling around the sun, so our thoughts and feelings turn upon themselves and we ultimately find ourselves at the end of it all, right where we started … yet somehow richer for the journey.
So today we ran little versions of our lives, around and around the same one mile loop, each lap the same, yet each lap new as we changed and evolved toward the conclusion.
The first race to conclude today – after only two revolutions of the course – was the “sprint” 2 miler, which saw several course records timble. Leading the charge was Boys Under 17 winner Matthew McGrory in 11:05 (an age group record), just ahead of Male 17 and Over leader Jack Brooks’ 11:09 (an age group record). Then came Girls Under 17 champion Keely Small (bettering her own age group record from last year) in an excellent 11:33; ahead of Jordynne Rauter of the Girls Under 13 in 12:36; Boys Under 13 winner Joshua Curry’s 12:42 and Olivia Cameron, first place in the Female 17 and Over category with 13:43.
Circling the loop 5 times, the 5 mile runners were led from the outset by Tom Cumming, who never looked back to win the men’s race comfortably in 31:20. David Clarke took out the Male 50-59 in 35:23; while unrelated Peter Clarke won the Male 60-69 with 35:35; and Kevin Chapman the Male 70 and Over in 45:32.
The women’s race had an equally impressive winner in Vanessa Haverd, who clocked 32:50 to place second outright in the race. Sharon Humphries won the Female 50-59 with 44:57.
While the 2 and 5 mile races unfolded relatively quickly, the drama of the Half-Marathon continued to turn before our eyes. Starting an hour earlier, at 9am, most of the Half-Marathoners outlasted the shorter distance runners on the course, some by quite a margin.
Craig Benson and Jodie Barker are repeat winners of the Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon, Craig returning 1:16:02 today and Jodie 1:36:13. Craig was shadowed through the race by Andrew McGowan who came in only half a minute back in 1:16:31, while Jodie’s nearest rival, Anna McCormack came in in 1:45:34.
Narelle Patrick was 2nd outright in the women’s field and took out the Female 50-59 in 1:39:46; while Julie Bell won the Female 60-69 with 2:04:07. The Male 50-59 was won again by Jeff Grey with an impressive 1:27:45; Silvio Spahn took out the Male 60-69 in 1:44:44; and Lachlan Lewis was the Male 70 and Over champion with 2:44:04.
Congratulations to all who participated in any of the races today on a glorious Canberra morning for running: and thanks to all volunteers who helped make the morning so enjoyable for all.
