This week

Notices

Scottish prizegiving and get together

10am, Sunday 15 January, Wellington Collegians Cricket Club at Anderson Park

Join us for a pleasant summer prize-giving and catch-up. We have Panman making paella for lunch. There will be gluten-free and vegetarian options. BYO drinks. We start at 10am for a few games and chill. We will hold a relaxed prizegiving after lunch.

The venue is Anderson Park cricket club. Please email sharonwray@xtra.co.nz to confirm numbers and veggie options if required.

Waterfront 5km

The Waterfront 5k is back! It will kick off on Tuesday 17 January, with Barefoot Sports running the event on our behalf.

Hayden Smith needs volunteer marshals, pacers and officials to help out. Let him know if you can help.

Registration will be open soon and will be online. The cost will be:

  • $10 per single race
  • $45 for 5 races
  • $85 for the season

Support Hannah Millar to get to the World Cross Country Championships

The Wellington Scottish Supporters Trust’s broad objective is to financially assist our younger and top-performing members to ensure they can compete at National events and where funds permit international ones as well. The trust is funded by donations, and these have been especially welcomed by the Athletes that have been supported over the past 15 years.

Hannah Millar, who joined Scottish at the start of the season, has had a fantastic 2022, winning national titles over the road, half marathon, marathon and more recently, the NZ 10,000m champs on the track at Newtown. We are not sure if this has been achieved by any other NZ Athlete. Hannah has most recently been selected to represent NZ at the World Cross Country Championships (the pinnacle of our winter sport) at Bathurst in Australia in February 2023. Unfortunately, Athletics New Zealand provides no assistance to team members, so runners need to self-fund the full cost of the trip.

If you would like to assist in helping Hannah to follow in the footsteps of Melissa Moon or to make a broader contribution to the trust, then your donation would be most welcome. Payment can be made into our Kiwibank account 389006 0470186 00. Please make sure you place your name in the reference field so that we can issue an official donation receipt which will qualify you for a tax rebate. Thanks.

If you would like more about the trust or how you can assist, you can contact one of the Trustees, Sharon Wray, Glen Wallis (0274 302049) or James Turner

Farewell to Murray Gowans

Wellington Scottish and race-walking stalwart Murray Gowans died on 20 December 2022 aged 75. As David Lonsdale notes, Murray joined Scottish in 1961 and never missed a club run for 25 years.

He was a qualified and graded Athletics New Zealand official. He was the mainstay of the pole vault competition at Newtown Park, organising and managing the event for many years.

He officiated at regional and New Zealand championships. At the 2014 and 2015 national championships in Wellington he was a vertical jumps judge. He was a pole vault official at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.

As an active walker within the club he donated the Murray Gowans Cup, which recognises the walker closest to handicap or estimated time in Tearle Trophy, Chocolate Race, Cole Land Cup and Turkey Trot races.

Read David Lonsdale’s moving obituary to ‘the quiet man’.

Athletics Wellington award nominations

The annual Athletics Wellington awards ceremony is on 5 April.

Follow this link https://forms.gle/coeBABwYxVbw3dAM8 to put your nominations in for athlete and/or community awards.

  • Nomination period from 1 January to 31 December 2022
  • Nomination entries close 29 January 2023

Coming Up

Twilight Track Meets

Scottish is organising twilight track meetings over the course of the summer. These are fun, low-key events, open to anyone who wants to try out track racing or sharpen up for other events — it would be great to see a good Scottish turnout to support the event.

Without volunteers, these events do not happen — Andy Ford is looking for help on the night with jobs including a starter (training provided!) and finish recorder. Let Andy know if you can help at any of the events.

The next Twilight Track meet is on 8 February. It includes a 3000m and a 1500m race.

Hutt River Trail Events, 14 January

Run or walk an off-road Ultramarathon, Marathon, Half Marathon or 10km, following the course from Cross Creek in the Wairarapa, over the Rail Trail, tracing the Hutt River trail, from the foothills of the Remutaka mountains at Kaitoke to the river’s estuary at McEwan Park. 

Race details

Jumbo Holdsworth Mountain Races and Hooper Loop, 28 January

These mountain endurance runs in the Tararua Forest Park encompass the Jumbo-Mt Holdsworth circuit near Carterton.

Race information

Capital Classic, 3 February

World Athletics Challenger Meet includes the 2023 New Zealand Senior 3000m Championships. See many of NZ’s top athletes compete.

Event Information

Athletics Wellington Track and Field Championships, 18-19 February

Event information

Wellington Round the Bays, 19 February

Wellington Round the Bays is the largest mass participation event in the lower North Island and the third-largest in New Zealand. This iconic community event has been going strong for 45 years. Enter the 5.5km, 10km or half marathon. Wear your yellow to promote the club, and when you sign up, don’t forget to register as part of the ‘Wellington Scottish Athletics Club’ team.

Event information

XTERRA Wellington Festival, 25 February

Event information

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