James Preston takes his third consecutive 800m crown at Newtown Park on Friday.

This week

  • Tuesday 5.45 pm, Waterfront 5km
  • Wednesday 6.15 pm, Scottish Twilight Meet #6 (incl. Wellington 3000m Champs), Newtown Park. Entry closes tomorrow.
  • Friday 12.27 pm, Kupe Run, a chatty pre-weekend run from the Kupe statue on the waterfront.
  • Saturday 8.30 am, speed sessions at Newtown Park and Karori Park. Contact our club captains, Emma and Bert, or check Facebook for details.
  • Saturday 2pm: This Saturday we have another of our Summer Saturday afternoon run and walks that will suit those who prefer a slower pace. Meet at Karori Park ready to go at 2pm. We expect to be out for about 1-2 hours. 
  • Sunday long pack runs — usually, these leave at 8.30 am from outside Freyberg Pool and some alternative locations around Wellington. Contact our club captains, Emma and Bert, or check Facebook for details.

Results

NZ Track & Field Champs

Our very own James Preston claimed his third consecutive NZ men’s 800m title, putting away Brad Mathas in a highly anticipated showdown in a time of 1:49.80. Brad Mathas won an incredible 8 consecutive NZ 800m titles, but the way James’ form is progressing we may see this record come under threat!

From Athletics NZ:

James Preston secured a hat-trick of national men’s 800m titles, edging a compelling tactical battle from Brad Mathas in a compelling showdown between the two-lap warriors. Preston, competing on his home track, seized control of the race from the front hitting the midway checkpoint in around 55 seconds before biding his time, executing his winning kicking in the final 150m. Mathas, the eight-time champion, swung wide to mount his attack down the home stretch but Preston hung tough to win by 0.08 in 1:49.80. Dominic Devlin (Auckland) claimed a fourth successive national senior 800m medal in bronze (1.50.87)

Preston, who ran a slick 1:45.85 to defeat Mathas by 0.15 in Melbourne eight days ago, said: “This was the race I was most happy about it (this summer). It is great to have Brad back over, he has been one of the main guys for the past six to eight years. We have a good rivalry going. We are the top two New Zealand guys within a second of each other, so it is good for both of us. “I ran the race exactly how I wanted. We’ve found that you can close as hard as someone but it is really hard to get around them, if you are behind them. I thought he (Mathas) might have a move down the back straight, but he waited for that tailwind.”

Emma Perron and Ayesha Shafi did Scottish proud in the women’s 5000m. You can’t ask for more than running a PB in a championship race, and that’s exactly what Emma did stoppping th clock in17:23 to finish 8th. Ayesha ran a gutsy 19:26 for 13th place, not bad off the back of 800m training!

In the Under 18 Men’s, Ben Brunner had an excellent weekend, coming 5th in both the 800m and 1500m. Ben set PBs in both races, clocking 1:56.32 and 3:59.72 respectively, an outstanding achievement!

Motatapu Offroad Marathon

Doing your first marathon is one of the hardest challenges in running, not hard enough for Willie “Wagner” Stephens! He decided to make his first marathon the Motatapu Marathon – a brutal course with some 1000m of elevation gain. Willie finished in 6:17, well done!

James Parsons ran an impressive 3:45, even more impressive given he didn’t train for it (according to his Strava!).

Waterfront 5km

Ben Twyman 16:12, Jorge Leonardo Murcia Robles 18:38, Karl Jackson 19:55, Emily Solsberg 20:26, Emma Basset 20:38, Michael Cummins 21:36, Matyas James 21:50.

Results

Ironman NZ

A pride of Scottish Lions attended the Ironman NZ event in Taupo, with some great performances. Some standout results from the full ironman include:

  • Lucas Duross came 9th in 8:52
  • Mike Tong 9:28
  • Dean Galt 9:57 (2nd M50)
  • David Oliver 10:17
  • Anthea Oliver 10:37 (1st F40)
  • Rachel Cunningham 11:05 (3rd F45)
  • Tanya Lavington 12:49

And in the 70.3:

  • Gerard Gordon 4:38 (3rd M50)
  • Luke Ferguson 5:10
  • Sierra Ryland 5:23 (2nd F40)
  • Michelle Alison 5:57 (1st F65)
  • Suz Kho 6:05
  • Paul Rodway 6:29 (1st M70)

Notices

Rejoin Scottish nowand save!

Until Sunday 19 March joining Scottish will be discounted to $165, join again for another excitig season here.

Treasurer needed

We need someone to step up as our new club treasurer after the club AGM in March. Marshall will be stepping down after 7 years in the role.

You can find out more in this article.

Newsletter email database

Over the next two few weeks, we are culling our newsletter email database down from about 700 recipients to below 500. All current club members will continue to receive the newsletter and some non-members who are actively engaged with the club. If you are worried about being culled from our list please let us know and we will make sure we retain you. The newsletter will continue to be available on our website and as an RSS feed for everyone.

Early singlets pop-up stall

Early singlets will have a pop-up stall at the NZ Track and Field Champs in early March:

Coming Up

Twilight Track Meet # 6 – Wellington 3000m Champs, Wednesday 8 March

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.

Schedule:

  • 6.15pm 100m
  • 6.30pm Wellington 3000m Champs
  • 7.00pm 200m
  • 7.15pm 800m

Pre-entry is required for the 3000m champs at this link.

There will be titles for the 3000m champs in grades: U16, U18, U20, Senior, M35-49, M50-59, M60-69 and M70+

Details

Hutt Fun Run, 12 March

The Hutt Valley Harriers organise the Hutt Fun Run and Walk on 12 March 2023, with 5km and 10km distances plus a kids’ 1km for children under 10. This event is a family-friendly fun run and walk for people of all ages and abilities along the banks of the Hutt River/Te Awa Kairangi. The course is suitable for baby strollers/buggies.

Race details and entry

Honest Ten 100th Anniversary, 19 March

The 100th Honest 10k will be run on 19 March and to help celebrate WHAC is including a team competition at a discounted entry fee. Register your team of 10 online with a team name and entrants. $5 per registered runner with a maximum of five senior men. The combined time will be calculated with prizes for the winning team.

Participants can enter both online or on the day. WHAC will also have some spot prizes. WHAC will donate 50% of the proceeds to Wellington Free Ambulance. Honest 10k is a fast and accurate course with pacers, photos and refreshments.

We have 22 people from Scottish interested in being part of a team so far. If you want to run, please add you name to this spreadsheet.

NZ Marathon Champs, Christchurch Marathon, 16 April

Based now within Hagley Park, the famously flat, fast and scenic route will condense itself to a more central city vibe. Gone is the rough redzone, replaced with more spectator opportunities and more iconic landmarks as Christs College, Canterbury Museum and Cambridge Terrace are added to traditional highlights such as Hagley Park, Oxford Terrace and the Avon River. The course revolves around a new Hagley Park HQ, with all races starting and finishing beside the Armagh Street gates. The route is a 10.5k lap, with options including a Quarter Marathon (one lap), Half Marathon (two laps) and Full Marathon (four laps).

Race information and entries

Shaw Baton Relays, 29 April

Relays are the best part of the season, and the first interclub relays of the season are the historic Shaw Baton Relays at Battle Hill, Puatahanui. Teams of four each do a 2km cross-country lap on grass and gravel tracks, mostly flat to undulating with one sharp uphill and downhill. Log jumps and a water jump. The Shaw Baton Relay was started as an Olympic Harriers club race in 1923, and became an annual Wellington interclub event in 1929. Since 1954 it has been run as the first interclub event of the year. There are teams for everyone, social nd competitive runners alike. Its a great way to meet and remet people in the club and in other clubs. Let your club captains, Emma and Bert, know if you want to be in a team.

Keep in touch