Dyson Relays @ The Tan

Great turnout of OC athletes on Saturday, with three teams participating in Men’s Div 1 & 2 and Women’s race. Thanks to those of you who made the effort to attend. A warm welcome to new athletes, Maria Paolilli, Leanne Sette and Ruben Arunasalum. Welcome back to The Doctor, Emma Steer, Nicole Matthews, and Claudio Abreu for their first runs for the season. There were some excellent individual runs and solid overall team results. An exciting men’s race with only seconds separating O/Xaverians and O/Scotch after 6 laps of the Tan. In the Women’s race, O/Xavs won by 1 ½ min over O/Haileybury. O/Carey Men’s Div 1 Team had its best result for some time with a strong 4th placing, Men’s Div 2 Team in 5th spot and our Women in 7th. All results are on the APSOC website at www.apsoc.athsvic.org.au

Season 2010 Launch - Jamieson 5k @ Scotch

The 2010 APSOC Cross Country Season began on Saturday with the Jamieson 5km at Scotch College.
Once again, the turnout was impressive and there were numerous strong performances on the day.
We welcome new runners for 2010!

Cooke-McClelland 8km, 2009 Season Wrap

Cooke-McClelland 8K Teams Race - Sept 12th 2009

• The history of the race goes way back to 1931 when O/Xaverians, O/Scotch and O/Wesley had their first ever race through the paddocks of Kew and Hawthorn. The current course along the Kew Boulevard has remained largely unaltered over 50 years and is a reminder of the history and the continuity of this race which pre-dates most other running races in the country. So current athletes run in the footsteps of many past athletes. The race also features two remarkable course records set by past Australian XC representatives. In 1981, Nick DeCastella (younger brother of Rob) ran a sizzling 24.37, and, in 2002, Anna Thompson ran a very fast 27.25 to set the women’s race record.
• This year, a hot north wind day greeted the 120 plus runners making it a tough run for all. The hilly terrain makes this a hard race on the legs and the aerobic capacity of all athletes. The men’s race was a one horse affair with invitation runner, Kane Wille, smashing the field in a fast time of 26.10. The women’s race was won by Lisa Dick in a relatively slow 32.29 in the absence of a number of the top women. 
• No surprises in the teams event with the top teams of 2009, O/Haileybury and O/Xavs, dominating the men’s and women’s team races. O/Carey finished 4th in the men’s event with Steve Griffin leading the way from Dave Rayner, Andrew Edwards, Andrew Beath, Chris Kiddle, Chris Papadakis, Peter Pang and Erin Carter. Courageous runs from our two club champs, Chris and Erin, who both raced with injury and illness.

APSOC End of Season Lunch, Sept 13th 2009

• A successful conclusion with all clubs getting together for this annual event at a Lebanese restaurant in North Balwyn, a good occasion to socialize, recognize individual and team achievements and acknowledge the efforts of officials who keep the show going. Congratulations go to the top Men’s and Women’s Teams, Old Haileybury and Old Xaverians, and also to O/St Kevins Mark DeLuca (Male Athlete of the Year) and O/Wesley’s Anna Kasapis (Female Athlete of the Year). Good to see OC athletes and partners there in force leading the way with Club representation.

Old Carey Club Trophies 2009
Best OC Male Athlete - Chris Papadakis

• A past winner of the Richard Wilcox Trophy, Chris had an outstanding season despite injury late season. He ran 11 of the 13 races and consistently finished in the top 10 in most races with a top 5 finish a number of times. Despite close competition from Dave Rayner, Hamish Beaumont, Steve Griffin and Andrew Edwards, Chris had his best season to-date and was our most consistent performer over the season.

Best OC Female Athlete - Erin Carter

• Winner of the trophy in 2007, Erin had another great season running 11 of the 13 races and was one of the best performed female athletes in the competition. Despite coming off a low fitness base at the start of the season, Erin showed significant improvement as the season progressed. A runner with much potential, Erin’s determination and courage was evident in the final race when she finished the race despite suffering a bad asthma attack.

The Richard Wilcox Trophy - Norma Gonzalez

• This trophy is given to recognise outstanding contribution to the club. A popular member of the club for the past 5 years, Norma ran the first half of the season whilst pregnant and continued to offer support to the club, acting as a race official at Gembrook. Norma’s efforts to recruit new female members to the club also reflected her enthusiasm and support for OC and the Association.

APSOC Spartan Award - Peter Pang

• Congratulations to Peter Pang who completed his 7th consecutive Spartan season, running all 13 races for the season. A fantastic contributor to OC, Peter has now run 99 races in a row for a “career” total of 10 Spartan seasons. Amazing when you think about it, given the vagaries of illness, injury and other interruptions.

Thanks and a final word

• Thanks go to all those athletes who ventured out for a run in 2009 and kept the OC Flag flying. To quote Alan Rowe, the club had a “moderately successful” season, with good numbers particularly in the first half of the season. 
• Our men’s Div 1 team had some solid results, with the best effort a 3rd place at the Geelong relays, ending the season in 5th position on the team’s ladder table. Our Men’s Division Div 2 Team finished in 7th position. We had regular attendance from a number of our women, but had a bad year for injuries, illness and other absences thereby limiting our capacity to score team points at a number of races. We finished the season in 9th position. Definitely plenty of room for improvement for our men and women in 2010. 
• As always, we had lots of camaraderie and good spirit. Special mention goes to the following athletes for their support and attendance over the season; Chris Papadakis, Erin Carter, Dave Rayner, Andrew Norwood, Kari Entwisle, Hamish Beaumont, Andrew Edwards, Matt Poulton, Norma Gonzalez, Andrew Beath, Chris Kiddle, Steve Griffin, Peter Pang, Andrew Tulloh, Jeff Sharam and Nicole Matthews. Thanks guys, without your support Alan and I would have been very lonely. 
• Finally, a word for next season. To all our regulars, we hope you will return again. For those who missed this season, please think about next year. A small club like ours need you attending on a regular basis. We also need new recruits each year to sustain critical mass, so please help us with new runners in 2010. We really need your support, so please use your existing social or professional networks to get people along to run in April 2010. For those overseas or not able to compete we hope the emails during the season keep you in touch. 

Brighton-by-the-Sea 9k Handicap

Solid efforts from OC athletes at this race, with Chris Papadakis (6th), Dave Rayner (7th) and Andrew Beath (11th). Mark De Luca from O/St Kev set the fastest time in 31.00 and Anna Kasapis in 33.56 in the womens race. Erin Carter continues to impress with her 4th fastest in the women’s event.
Papa and Erin lead our Club Athlete of the Year Awards with only two more races to complete.
OC was unable to repeat its 2008 teams win and placed 5th overall. O/Xavs took out the teams race.

Hooley Relays @ Gilwell Park

The annual relays at Gilwell Park on July 25 saw a tightly contested men’s race with O/Scotch snatching a win from O/Haileybury despite an end of race protest from the latter. O/Haileybury was leading the event until one of its relay runners took a wrong turn and ran off course. Not the first time or the last time this will occur in a XC race. O/Scotch took full advantage of the mistake to go on and win the race by a narrow margin. in the women’s event, O/Haileybury had a surprise win over the strong O/Xavier team. The depth and strength of OX women make them an unbeatable combination.
O/Carey had strong representation with 4 teams in the men’s and women’s races.
Our Div 1 men’s team finished in 5th position, Div 2 team in 3rd position and 11th position. Our women finished in 6th position. With injuries and unavailability our women have had a difficult season so it was great that we able to field a women’s team-thanks to Erin, Nicole and Kari.
Fastest individual OC runs came from Chris Papadakis and Erin Carter.
Also great effort from Norma Gonzalez who despite her pending delivery date attended the race as a course marshal. We now have a 3 week break until the next race the Williamson 6k at Haileybury College, Berwick.

Lodge Handicap @ St. Kevins

A small but enthusiastic bunch of running stoics braved the elements at the Lodge Handicap on Saturday. The event was held on the bike track along the Yarra from Burnley to Abbotsford and back. Most athletes chose the 8 km over the 16 km, with fastest times set by Mark De Luca from St Kevins and Anna Thompson of O/Wesley. Anna was an Australian representative at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and World Cross Country Championship so it was good to see her back after a period away. Fastest OC time was set by “The Doc”, Hamish Beaumont who recorded 4th fastest time over the 8 km course.

Mini-Marathons @ Westerfolds Park

The annual Graeme Wise Mini-Marathons were held at Westerfolds Park in Templestowe last Sat. This race had its origin many years ago when Old Scotch stalwart Graeme Wise conducted and sponsored his own race at Whittlesea. Known to attract many top distance runners with the lure of big prizemoney, the race was also known for the sumptuous afternoon tea provided by Graeme at his country home. The prizemoney was always a contentious issue with conservative members of the Association, although Graeme remained unfazed by his critics and many athletes benefited from his generosity and found an extra yard when racing at Whittlesea. Anyway all that is now history with both the Whittlesea venue and Graeme passing into eternity. Appropriately, the original race distances remain and the name of the event has been "re-branded" in Graeme's name following his death a few years ago. In the past the half marathon was the feature event, but this year's race once again had athletes voting with their feet choosing the 5k & 10k over the longer distance. This was reflected by OC athletes with everyone choosing to race the 5k. The clubs fastest male run came from the Dave Rayner closely followed by Chris Papadakis and Andrew Beath.
The battle for OC "Male Athlete of the Year" has suddenly become a contest with Chris Papa, Dave Rayner and Hamish Beaumont all in the mix. These 3 have swapped fastest times with one another at different races making for an interesting second half of the season. Good to see Andrew Tulloh back after a knee injury and Andrew Norwood back after an absence. In the womens division, Erin Carter was our fastest woman in the 5k event followed by Nicole Matthews and Inge Watson. Erin is also way out ahead in the Club "Female Athlete of the Year" trophy and looks like remaining there for the remainder of the season. Erin won the trophy in 2007 but passed it to Natasha Hampson in 2008. Good to see Nicole Matthews and Inge Watson back again and Norma once again keeping herself fit before her impending delivery.

Geelong Relays

The annual Geelong Relay was held on June 12 on the banks of the Barwon River. With the bleakness of mid June and the trip down the Geelong Road this event always tests the enthusiasm of clubs and their capacity to fill relay teams. As one of the seasons 6 team points races, it remains an important race on the Team scoresheet and most clubs had solid numbers making for a competitive race in all 3 Divisions.
Old Haileybury returned to its winning ways with a first placing in mens Div 1 and Old Xavs continued its dominance in a crushing display in the womens relay.
Old Carey had two mens relay teams competing in Mens Division 1 & 2. Our women were unable to field a team but with sickness and other commitments most of the girls made the sensible decision not to run. Thanks for the pre-race emails and messages regarding your unavailability and your intention to return for the upcoming races. Still on the girl front, Erin Carter kept the flag flying at Geelong with a strong solo run - good work Erin.
In our best ever result at Geelong, our Mens Div 1 Team of David Rayner, Hamish Beaumont, Andrew Edwards and Chris Papadakis, powered home in 3rd position. The Geelong race was our first podium finish since our win at Brighton in 2008. Good relay performances require a strong and even performance from all team members and this was exemplified with both our mens Teams. In Div 1, Dave Rayner set us up in a great position with a strong opening leg, Hamish Beaumont in the second leg picked up several opponents in his best run for the season, Andrew Edwards held the team position with a classy 3rd leg, and Chris Papadakis brought home the final leg blitzing his O/Scotch opponent. Our Mens Division 2 team also had one of its best performances with a strong 2nd place. A very talented team of Matt Poulton, Andrew Beath, Chris Kiddle and Jeff Sharam also produced a strong even performance with all runners holding or improving their place in the field over each relay leg.
Acknowledgement also goes to Peter Pang who sacrificed his own place in a team by voluntarily stepping aside to let other athletes run in a team. Peter ran a solo leg with Erin and assisted with the Team results/stats sheet. Peter has been our most loyal and committed team member not having missed a run for over 7 years.
Don't forget that Club trophies are up for grabs again this year. Points are awarded every race to the best male & female athletes and also best club person. We will publish current standings mid season but there are still plenty of races and opportunity to score points.

McPhail 8km @ Yarra Bend

A small but enthusiastic group of 90 athletes attended this race at Yarra Bend on Sat morning. With the mercury at 7 degrees, conditions were a little "crispy" but still dry and good for running on a firm track. Fastest time for the race was invitation runner Kane Wille who scooted around the 8k course in 25:05.96, one full minute ahead of second place getter Stephen Paine of Old Melburnians. OC had 12 athletes compete with 5 finishing in the top 20. A pretty solid effort. Chris Papadakis was our best in 6th closely followed by Steve Griffin in 8th. Good times were also recorded by Justin Noonan, Andrew Edwards and Andrew Beath who all finished in the top 20. Also good runs from Matt Poulton, Jeff Sharam and Peter Pang. Erin Carter was our best placed woman in 37 spot overall followed by Lucy Carruthers, Kari Entwisle and Norma Gonzalez. Welcome back to Justin Noonan husband of Norma who attended for his first OC run for several years and also a warm welcome to Lucy Carruthers for her first run. Both Justin and Lucy have some good marathon times on the board, with Lucy recently completing the Boston Marathon, the holy grail of all marathoners.

Orchard Handicap: 10 km @ Albert Park Lake

Hope everyone who made it out to the race enjoyed the day.
Old Carey's Chris Papadakis continued his good form with another sizzling run coming home in 4th spot on scratch times. For the second week in a row, Chris beat a number of the competition's best male athletes and (two) winners of previous APSOC "Athlete of the Year" Awards. Next best for OC were the ever consistent "Doc" Hamish Beaumont in 11th and Steve Griffin in 12th. Our best woman was Erin Carter, 6th fastest woman overall, followed by Kari Entwisle and Inge Watson. Good to see new athletes Kari and Inge back for more.
The results for the race are on-line at the APSOC website: http://www.apsoc.athsvic.org.au

Berwick Hares and Hounds 8km handicap

Well done to all OC athletes who competed. As in previous years, a small field contested this non-team points event. Many athletes seem happy "to pass" on this event but it remains one of the traditional races on the calender. It is also one of the few remaining true cross country races with country roads, hills, the odd goat track and a farm gate to negotiate. Despite a brief shower at race start, the weather stayed fine with conditions dry underfoot.
For the first time that I can recall our women outnumbered our men. Well done to all the girls who made it out and added to the enjoyment and spirit of the event.
Emma Steer was our fastest woman coming home strongly in 25th place and 5th woman, followed closely by Erin Carter. A warm welcome to new runners Inge Watson who is getting back to running after the recent birth of her little girl and Sarah Clement a past Carey student coming back to running from injury. Great to see you both. In addition, I can't help but mention the effort of Norma Gonzelez who comfortably completed the course despite being several months pregnant. We love Norma's enthusiasm and enjoyment of her running and she exemplifies the spirit of the competition.
Our men were down in numbers with Chris Papadakis our fastest finisher from Steve Grffin. Chris who road his bike to the event and then proceeded to burn around the course finishing with 3rd fastest scratch time and 4th in the handicap honours. Chris loves this course and every year turns on the after burners and produces a great run.

Next race is the Orchard 10km around Albert Park Lake.

Dyson Relays 2nd May @ The Tan

A big turn-out of 240 athletes attended the annual Dyson Relays on May 2. For the first time in living memory, the event ran late due to the heavy traffic around the G.
Old timers will know that APSOC events always run like clockwork, but the late start did allow many athletes time to arrive for the start. A number of OC athletes rode their bikes thereby avoiding the traffic problems. Smart thinking!
Team management at relay events is always a guessing game, so thanks to those of you who sent messages regarding your availability. It reduced my stress levels considerably and meant that at race start we knew exactly who was running. By looking at the results, we appear to have got team selection pretty right.
Old Carey was well represented with two mens teams and two womens teams. O/Scotch was the surprise winner of the men's event and O/X the winner of the womens event. It is good to see a more competitive mens team event, as previous years has seen O/Haileybury dominate the major races. The womens team event continues to be dominated by O/Xavs with their large contingent of talented runners. O/Carey continues to enjoy great team spirit and is well served by the consistency of attendance and performances of its athletes. Old Carey mens number 1 team finished in 6th position in Mens Div 1 and our number 2 team in 10th in Div 2. Our women came home in 7th and 14th position.
This event reminds me a bit of a road cycling time trial. In cycling vernacular, the time trial is called the "race of truth." Running a lap of the Tan, detached from other athletes is a bit the same. With the Anderson Hill thrown in, it is a good test of a runners fitness and strength. The Tan track first came into prominence as one of the training venues of Australia's crop of top distance runners in the 1950s, people such as Elliott and Landy. There has always been controversy over who has recorded the fastest time ever around the Tan. There are alot of "dodgy" times particularly those set in training and recalled some years later. Amazing how our times get better with age. In the old days, many of us recorded our times via the iconic Nylex Clock, starting and finishing at the bottom of Anderson St Hill. However, over recent times the whole thing has become very serious with top national and international athletes trying to be "the fastest ever". Craig Mottram is believed to have run the Tan in 10.12, staggering when you think about it. A host of Kenyans have also run pretty damn fast with Olympic 1500 metre champ Noah Ngeny said to have run it in 10.22. Pity Herb Elliott never had an official Tan stat. For the women, 1998 Commonwealth Games Champion, Kate Anderson is said to be the fastest at 11.55, although other top athletes such as Sonia O'Sullivan have been pretty close. I suspect that women being the more sensible of the species do not take the thing quite so seriously. Thousands of runners have simply enjoyed the pleasure or pain of running the Tan.
Fastest run for the day went to O/Carey invitation athlete, Luke Hennessy who completed one lap of the Tap in a very fast 11min.30sec. Although Luke was ineligible for individual prizes, it was good to see an O/C athlete leading home the first lap runners by a considerable margin. Next best OC athletes were Hamish Beaumont in 12.26 andf David Rayner in 12.32. In the the womens race, our two fastest were Erin Crowden in 16.14 and Erin Carter in 16.35. Well done to everyone as it is your participation that is most valued.
A very warm O/Carey welcome is extended to new athletes Alanna Sheard and Kari Entwisle attending their first run. Good to see our 2008 athletes Karen Morse, Norma Gonzalez, Erin Carter, Chris Papdakis, Andrew Beath and Chris Kiddle return for their first run for the season.

Jamieson 5k @ Scotch College

With each passing year the opening race for the season seems to come around far too quickly. Still as a spectator, I should not complain!
The Jamieson is a short but tough event, with stretches of fast flat running on the ovals along with the quaddie pain from running up steps and up the Glenferrie Road Hill.
Despite a cool start to the day, a warm sunny afternoon greeted runners for the start of the race. Recent years have seen well excess of 200 runners compete this event, but with an early start to the season and Run 4 the Kids fun run the next day, race entries were a little down. A total of 175 runners completed the 2 lap circuit. Old Carey numbers were down a little but still with 14 athletes putting themselves on the line.
Old Xaverians took out both the men's and womens team race. Old Carey men finished in 7th position in the main mens race, a little below our potential, but still a solid effort. Our women missed out by not having a fourth runner but we look forward to rectiftying this position at the next race. In the individual race, two invitation runners filled the first two spots. Kane Wille won the race by the length of the straight in 15.04, with Luke Hennessey, a Glenhuntly athlete running by invitation for Old Carey, coming home strongly in second place in a time of 15.29.
Our next best were Stuart Walpole in 20th position and Hamish Beaumont in 26th position. For our women, well done to new runners Erin Crowden and Sharee Sharam, with Sharee having a go despite a hamstring injury. Also Nicole Matthews who had a run despite a lack of fitness. Good to see a number of other athletes out for their first run; Luke Hennessey, Jeff Sharam and Andrew Norwood. We hope to see our other new athletes at the next race.
All race results can be found on the APSOC website on http://www.apsoc.athsvic.org.au
Race photos of OC athletes can be viewed on our website at http://oldcareyxc.blogspot.com
There is now a 4 week break to the next race, The Dyson Relays on May 2 at The Tan. So plenty of time to do some training. The relays comprise teams of 6 runners for men and 4 runners for women. Put this date in your diary so we can have a number of teams in this event. I will send out an email closer to the day to confirm available runners and teams.

Phil Cook.

2009 Season Launch

The 2009 season starts with “The Jamieson” 5k at Scotch College on April 4. We encourage a big turnout to this event. We look forward to welcoming back our 2008 athletes as well as new athletes attending for their first run. New athletes need to complete the registration forms found on this website and forward to a club representative. 

For further details, please ring or email one of the club representatives (see right) The club registration fee is $45 and covers all 13 races. For new athletes the first race is free. There are no other fees payable other than the purchase of a club athletic singlet.