With a change to the schedule in Season 7, many runners found themselves running the Lawson course for the second time in six months. Lawson is now the second race of the season and the first of our short course events.
Photo Credit – Chris Thomas (XThomas Photography) and Jeff Davies.
Overnight rain added an extra degree of difficulty to the already challenging Lawson hills. As always, both the long and short races where well attended, and given some of the names entered, serious racing and fast times were anticipated.
Fast running was the order of the day in both the men’s and ladies short (9.2 km) race, with well-known running identities Jo Brischetto and Brendan Davies lining up. The ladies race produced some astonishing results including a new course record that could prove difficult to beat in the future.
Jasmine Sargeant crossed to finish first in 42.17 – in the process smashing the previous course record by 5 minutes It’s a regular theme to see Jo Brischetto finish with a podium result, this time in second place. Leigha Wills continues to improve with every race and finishing third in this field is a stellar effort.
In the men’s 9.2 km event, no-one would be surprised to know that Brendan Davies added another Running Wild victory to his collection. However, in second place, young Jett Cairns made Brendan work hard all the way and is certainly one to watch for future events. Tim Peatman is also getting used to time on the podium, this time in third place with an impressive 45.44.
As the short course runners were finishing, the long course competitors would have to turn around and do it all again. In the women’s event, Ros Arnold claimed top spot finishing ahead of Anne Bennett, which is no mean feat given that Anne finished 10th overall in the Big Red Run in June. Victoria Swindells was hot on Anne’s heals – less than a minute behind – to claim third place.
In the men’s long race, the first three runners across the line finished only 2½ minutes apart. Hamish Graham held his nerve to finish first ahead of the evergreen Noel Deakin in second and a fast finishing Michael Coomans placing third.
Congratulations to all of the winners and place getters. Congratulations too to all racers for again participating in the right spirit and for playing your role to make Running Wild events inclusive and fun for all runners.
Running Wild is delighted to be involved with The Run Beyond Project, and we had numerous students and teachers enter the Lawson race as part of that program. Congratulations to those that participated on Sunday and congratulations to Keith Hong and Dave Criniti on a wonderful initiative. We’d love to see you at future Running Wild events.
Trail Kids is becoming more popular at every event and Sunday was no exception. The racing was just as frenetic in both the 1km and 3km kids races as it was for the competitors in the longer runs.
In the boys 3km race, Ben Witney, Rowan Brischetto and Laurence Wynne-Jones finished close together for first, second and third place respectively. The girls 3km race saw Molly Peake win ahead Eloise Lorking and Amelia Peake.
Congratulations to all the kids for getting out on the trails and having a red-hot go!!
Photo Credit – Chris Thomas (XThomas Photography) and Jeff Davies.
As always, a huge debt of gratitude must go to all our tireless volunteers. These events are not possible without you. A special mention goes to:
- Lucas Trihey and his team from Event Safety Services who offer tremendous support with their first aid service, knowledge and experience;
- Peter and Simona from Snax on Trax are amongst the first to arrive and last to leave to ensure everyone gets their fill of pre-race coffee and post-race nutrition;
- Chris and the team at XThomas photography for capturing all the action; and
- The team at Tempus Sports Timing for accurate race times and results.
Of course, being able to stage running races throughout the Blue Mountains couldn’t happen without the generosity and ongoing support of the Blue Mountains City Council and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The next event is Race 2 in the short course series, and arguably the toughest – the Kedumba half marathon on 23 October. Entries are now open – as are entries for the remainder of Season 7. Our races often sell out well before race day, so to avoid disappointment, you’re better off registering sooner rather than later.
See you at Kedumba.