While Albert Park is known for its windy conditions, runners were greeted by a rare calm and cool morning for the inaugural Athletics Victoria 5k race, a new addition to the XCR calendar for 2025.
First out of the gate were the open and U18 men, with Laurie Tod taking honours as the fastest OXAC runner of the day in 16:24. On the women’s side, Annabelle Colman made a successful return from the altitude of Flagstaff to record a new PB of 17:17, and placing 22nd among the women overall. She also took Colman family honours, with Alan finishing in a respectable 17:45, 4th in the 50+ division.
Also faring well in age-group competition were Christine Williams, 2nd 60+ in 24:49, while Bruce Davie took 2nd in a photo finish for the men’s 60+ in 18:22.
Full OXAC results (gun times) are below:
Female Open
5km: Annabelle Colman 17:17; Belinda Blackburn 22:03; Amelie Lague 24:29; Fleur Shaw-Jones 24:45; Christine Williams 24:56;
Male Open
5km: Alan Colman 17:49; Cakra Moechyi 18:05; Bruce Davie 18:26; Ridwan Azam 19:27; David Martini 19:46; Carlo Manolitsas 19:57; Thuan Ma 21:17; Richard Dickmann 23:03; Robert Meek 23:35; Christopher Worsnop 26:48;
Male 18
5km: Laurence Tod 16:28;
Male 16
5km: Christos Tsorlinis 20:02;
Numbers for OXAC were on the low side so there was little to report on the team competition side, with the best results being 5th place finishes for both men’s and women’s 60+.
Photo credit to Mr. Tod (Laurie’s Dad). A full gallery of photos here.