The OXAC runners who showed up for the 10km race along the roads of Albert Park were rewarded with near-perfect conditions, with temperatures around 8°C and a rare lack of wind. And many athletes were able to take advantage of the situation. A pair of notable performances came from the Colman family: Annabelle showed that she’s not limiting herself to the track with a zippy 35:24 (net) just ahead of father Alan in 35:45. Ben Haseler led the men in 32:26 followed by Jeremy Higlett (33:31), Alan, Darren Templeton (36:07) and Bruce Davie (37:18). That put the Div 3 team in 7th place (and average age of the team around 50). Darren was rewarded with the gold medal in the M55 category while Bruce once again took second M60 behind the unbeatable John Meagher of Box Hill. Darren, Bruce and Alan combined for another bronze medal in the M50 competition.
In women’s Premier division, Annabelle, Lauren Mosbey (38:05), Beata Janetzki (38:34) Georgia Powning (39:35) and Di Guiney (42:50) took the team to 8th place, while Lauren, Beata and Di also combined for a silver medal in W40.
In the women’s 50+ competition, Di was followed by Christy Bonstelle, making a return to form with a 44:14 finish, and Aya Fukanga in 44:48, gathering a 5th place finish for the team. Belinda Blackburn, Fleur Shaw-Jones and Christine Williams completed out the women’s roster.
Also out in the red and black were Dave Martini, Pablo Campillos, Thuan Ma, Alex O’Callaghan, Jonah Gannon, Pierre Guillon, Bob Meek, and Sergio Tarzia. The Div 4 team combined to take 9th place. Full results here.
Next on the AV calendar is the 8k cross country in Bendigo, with the OXAC-hosted McPhail race coming up next weekend in the APSOC competition.
