13 September 2009: Summer arrived early on Sunday. Even before the dawn the heat loomed, the sun appearing with a vehemence that instantly proclaimed who's boss.

Runners acclimatised to cool Winter mornings, were not prepared for the dramatic mercury rise. Particularly the 24 km entrants – many of whom were inadvertently led to run up to an additional kilometre – found in the alliance of rising heat and lengthening distance a formidable adversary.

First away were the 6 km runners, over a direct out-and-back course to the Cumberland Highway overpass and return. The men's and women's fields were led home by Greg and Katharine King in 22:56 and 26:34 respectively. Nadia Barrett took home the Girls Under 13 gold medal with her 34:14.

The 12 km course followed parklands along the southern bank of Prospect Creek to Polding St, returning along the waterway's northern shore. Following several months sidelined through injury, Italian Daniel Lorenzotti celebrated his return to running form with his first victory in a Sri Chinmoy Series race in 47:41, with series regular Pavol Sefcik of Slovakia following in 49:46. Next home was Men 50-59 winner David McEwan in 50:34, while Robert Amery led the Men 60-69 in 1:04:04.

Two women came in under the hour – Corinne Fulford continuing her fine recent form with 59:34, followed closely by Estelle Von Abo in 59:46. Jo Rickards claimed first in the Women 50-59 with her 1:07:57.

Most of the field in the 24 km, including the lead cyclist, were confused by a directional sign which had been interfered with – leading to most runners covering from 700 metres to one kilometre extra. Runners showed their resilience by taking this error in remarkably good grace, as another hurdle to surmount in the day's long and arduous journey.

Despite the additional distance and attritional heat, Chris Waterhouse finished in the excellent time of 1:36:23, ahead of Wayne Bulloch (1:38:28). Next home was the Men 50-59 winner, Carl Barker setting a new category record of 1:47:56. Bob Corderoy was first home in the Men 60-69 with 2:10:56, while the small women's field was led by April Palmerlee in 2:14:00.

Full category results are published, as well as a photo album. The last race in the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series 2009 offers the choice of a Half Marathon, 7 km or 4 km cross-country in Centennial Park on Sunday 22 November.

12 July 2009: Race records were broken in all 3 distances run during the Sri Chinmoy Dolls Point Half-Marathon, 10 km and 5 km Runs on Sunday.

A still, cool and overcast morning with just a hint of drizzle towards the close provided helpful conditions for fast times.

Just over half of the total field took part in the 10 km race, with 169 participants. The course followed the cycle path north through Cook Park, alongside Botany Bay as far as Ramsgate Beach before returning south, past the start at Peter Depena Reserve and continuing along the shore as far as the St Georges Sailing Club; then crossing over Captain Cook Bridge in both directions before homing to the finish.

The men's 10 km race was dominated by the Carvalho family, with Sergio taking out the Under 50 men's race in a new record time of 33:48, from Michael Fox and Richard Fogarty; while Jose completed the double in the Men 50-59 with his fantastic 37:53. Robert Amery came in first in the men 60-69, finishing in 49:32.

Emma Yench led the women home in 45:30, followed by Corinne Fulford. Merridy O'Donnell took line honours with 52:18 in the women 50-59, while Kerry Bray won the women 60-69 with another excellent showing in 57:55.

The Half-Marathon field had started first, completing a small loop of 1.1 km around behind the Georges River Sailing Club before returning to the start to set out for two loops of the 10 km course.

The run of the day in the Half-Marathon belonged to Magda Karimac-Poulos, setting a new course record in 1:22:21 and placing 5th overall in the field of 96 runners. After Magda, Sue Thompson and Verity Tolhurst also broke the 1:30 barrier.

Just ahead of Magda, in 4th place overall, was Carl Barker, winning the men 50-59 category in an outstanding time of 1:22:00, while Arthur Huxtable successfully defended his title in the men 60-69 division, coming in in 1:48:01.

Darren Moiro appeared at the registration table after the field had been called to the starting line, the latest of late entries. He carried his haste onto the running course, and was able to draw away from Brendan Davies to win the men's Half-Marathon in 1:16:51.

The front of the 5 km race was a one-man show, with Trent Wood blazing a course record of 16:00, to win by over a minute from Chad Stewart. Brad Fraser showed good form to take out the Boys Under 17 category in 18:40, while Gerry Georgiou set a new best time for the Boys Under 13 of 22:27.

Jodie Till led the women home in the 5 km in 19:55 from Larissa Tichon, while Maddison Zahra came in first in the Under 13 Girls in 24:16.

Full results by category are now published, along with a photo album.

The next event in the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series is the Prospect Creek 24 km, 12 km and 6 km race at Jack Ferguson Recreation Area, Gipps Road Sporting Complex, Greystanes, on Sunday 13 September.

21 June 2009 - The first time the Sri Chinmoy Cooks River course was used, in 2008, building works on the cycle path necessitated an alteration which slightly shortened the route. This meant that whoever won their category in today's race was assured of setting a new "official" course record!

The first to claim a new record was the flying Under 17 runner Brad Fraser, who easily took out the one-lap 4 km race in a very impressive 14:59, ahead of Under 13 Daniel Heaslip's 16:07, with Darren Szczepanski the first Over 17 runner in 16:13. First Over 17 female, Amy Brown was not far behind in 16:37, ending Larissa Tichon's winning streak in this year's series, Larissa placing second in 17:06.

The fields in the short races have increased over the past year, to the point where today more entered the 4 km than the 16 km. It was the middle distance however- the 8 km race- which attracted most interest, fielding more than the 4 km and the 16 km combined.

In the 2-lap event, another Fraser dominated, with Cameron's time of 29:30 almost 2 minutes clear of Pavol Sefcik in second. Meanwhile, 4th and 5th outright went to David McEwan (32:09) and Dennis Johnson (32:11) after an engrossing duel in the Men 50-59 category. Rob Connolley's Men 60-69 time of 34:24 would also have placed him in the top 7 men under 50.

Sally Lynch and Emma Grubb battled neck-and-neck for first place, with Sally eventually breaking away to win in 34:13, just 6 seconds clear of Emma. Pennie Psaltis added to her string of course records by taking out the Women 50-59 category in 39:53, just in front of the fast-finishing Sylvia Nichols in 40:01; while Kerry Bray likewise shone in the Women 60-69 with a fine 43:54.

A group of 4 led out the men's 16 km race. Despite a fall after an encounter with an oblivious iPod-wearer, Dani Andres (58:25) was able to draw away from Gary Howard (58:47) to clinch the victory. Kathryn Parkinson took out the women's race in 1:07:18, ahead of Audrey Hall in 1:08:19. Wayne Morgan led home the Men 50-59 in 1:14:24, and Frances Bowman was first in the Women 50-59 in 1:55:48.

Full results are posted, as well as a photo gallery. The next race in the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series features a Half Marathon, 10 km and 5 km at the beautiful Dolls Point on Sunday 12 July.

10 May 2009: With two large fields participating in Mother's Day races elsewhere in Sydney, the remaining 287 of Sydney's runners gathered at Leichhardt Park to enjoy one of the city's simplest, most sublime pleasures- a ritual otherwise known as The Bay Run.

A cloudless dawn sky gave little hint of the deluge which was to inundate the course in the latter stages of the event.   Participants in the shorter races-  4 km and 8 km-  were fortunate to enjoy their pancakes in the sun, while most of the 16 km field enjoyed a considerably 'watered-down' recipe.

Happiest runner of the day was surely Audrey Hall.   To complete her longest-ever race would have been achievement enough for the 16-year-old-  to win the 16 km race outright in a sparkling new course record of 1:04:54 was astonishing, and she could hardly contain her joy.

Less than a minute behind the super-charged teenager was Christine Wong, returning to Iron Cove with a fabulous performance of 1:05:48 (also inside her own previous course record).   Meanwhile, Linda Barwick clearly enjoyed her home turf to win the Women's 50-59 division in another record time of 1:24:58 (though outsprinted by 'Fastmo' Michael Bedward in the finish chute).

Outstanding in the men's 16 km race was Darren Moyle, whose 56:45 set the pace for others to follow.   John Hughes and Brendan Davies both finished under the hour in a strong field.   Winning the Men 50-59 division, Wayne Gregory's 1:01:45 was the 5th fastest time outright and a new age record by several minutes, while Derek Bolton took out the Men 60-69 top award.

Matt Webster flew home in the men's 8 km field in record time-  27:31, almost a minute clear of his rivals.   Wayne Morgan claimed the main prize in the Men 50-59 with a snappy 35:28, while Englishman Rob Connolley continued his fine form in the Men 60-69 with another outstanding record-breaking run of 33:05.

Katie Kelly won the women's 8 km race by a long margin in 33:38, finishing just outside the top 10 men.   Jayne McManis took out the Women 50-59 in 41:26, with the evergreen Kerry Bray bringing home gold and another course record in the Women 60-69 with her 43:17.

The 4 km race saw girls breaking course records in every division!   Larissa Tichon set a new mark with her fabulous 14:18 in the Female 17 and Over; Corinne Fulford's 17:25 (Under 17) and Nadia Barrett's 21:00 (Under 13) both eclipsed all previous times on this course.

Nathan Barry outstripped his rivals with a flying 14:18.   James Madden took out the Boys Under 13 race in 19:53, and Brendan Greene the Boys Under 17 in 19:17.

Full results are published (by category), and a photo gallery of the event.

Please see results below for each of the Sri Chinmoy 12 km, 8 km and 4 km runs conducted in Centennial Park on Sunday 29 March 2009.