This week

  • Tuesday 5.45 pm, The last Waterfront 5km for the summer, Outside Macs Brewery.
  • Wednesday 6.00 pm, track session with Andy, Alice and Rowan, Newtown Park.
  • 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 2.00 pm, Scottish Mountain Running Championships, Crofton Downs. Details below.
  • Sunday from 7.00 am, Porirua Grand Traverse, Whitireia Polytechnic.
  • 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

Brisbane Track Classic

James Preston won the 800m at the Continental Silver Meet on Saturday night.

Athletics NZ writes; “James Preston maintained his 100 percent record over the two-lap distance in 2023 to claim another Kiwi victory at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre with an assured men’s 800m victory in 1:47.00. Sitting in midfield at the bell, Preston, the New Zealand all-time 800m number three, made a decisive move down the back straight on the final lap accelerating quickly to the front before repelling the challenge of Australia’s Jack Lunn to clinch top spot by 0.15.”

Three Peaks Mountain Race, Dunedin, NZ Trail Running Championships

Daniel Jones was second in 5:15:42 at the NZ Trail Running Championships, with both he and winner Weston Hill running under the old course record.

World Masters Indoor Championships, Poland

This global championship is currently underway and Scottish is being proudly represented by the Stevens family. So far, in the 3000m, Todd Stevens was 7th in his M50 heat in 10:19.20 (SB) and Peter Stevens was 9th M55 in 9:46.67. More events are to come over the rest of the week.

Results

Centennial Cup

48 runners and 1 walker took part in the Centennial Cup this weekend. And a collection of kids were also there for the J Team races. The joke used to be that the M60s always won club handicap races. There were even conspiracy theories that they collaborated to rig the handicapping system. But for the last eight years, the Centennial Cup has belonged to the women. That trend continued, with Floor Kaars Sijpesteijn beating all-comers to claim the first club race of the season.

Results, write-up and photos

Thursday Throwdown, Te Whiti

Results not available yet

Last Chance Meet, Newtown Park

Results yet to come

Honest Ten 100th Anniversary

The official results are still not available. But I have sourced the team results. Amanda Broughton’s Team Baudinet was the best of the Scottish teams. Team McVilly and Team MacLennan were probably unaware that they were having very close race, with less than 2 minutes separating them.

WHAC: 353 mins 05 secs. VUW: 404 mins 58 secs. WHAC/Scottish: combi 405 mins 19 sec. Scottish Silver: 417 mins 35 secs but one DNF so this is a 9-person time. Scottish Baudinet: 433 mins 18 secs, Olympic: 447 mins 30 secs, Scottish McVilly: 457 mins 12 secs, Scottish Maclennan: 458 mins 59 secs.

Waterfront 5km

Malcolm Hodge 16:41, Pete Kelly 0:19:23, Gordon Pal 0:19:26, James Turner 0:19:55, Sarah-Grace Breen 0:20:49, Michael Cummins 0:21:34, Nicolas Vessiot 0:22:19, Emma Bassett 0:22:23, Naomi Richardson 0:23:16, Marianne Elliot 0:24:50, Chros Howard 0:24:58.

Results

Xterra West Wind

Results not up yet

Taranaki Tri Festival

John Skinnon won the M75-79 grade in the Sprint Triathlon at the Taranaki Tri Festival, in a time of 1 hour 41 mins.

Results

Notices

Nau mai, welcome

Welcome to new club members Aine Kennedy, Darren Whiteman, David Hodge, Derek McGoldrick, Lane Huffman-Devey, Lawrence Gao, Robynne Bloemstein and Samuel Miller.

Williams and Moon re-set for Yokohama after opening the 2023 World Triathlon Para Series with silver

No one ever said the path to Paris was going to be smooth for vision-impaired Paralympics hopeful Maria Williams. As it turned out at the World Triathlon Para Series (WTPS) opener in Tasmania on Saturday, it started with quite the hobble for the Wellingtonian.

Read the full story from TriNZ

Race results

NZ Cross Country Champs, 30 July, Taupō

Let us know if you would like to join us for a trip to Taupō for the NZ Cross Country Champs. The cross-country championships bring together the best distance runners in NZ — and they are also a great opportunity for a club weekend away with runners or all speeds and ambitions.

Spa Park, with its rolling hills, geothermal scenery, hotpools and fast-draining volcanic soil, is one of the best cross-country courses in NZ. And Taupō is a great venue for a club weekend away. We’ll sort out shared accommodation and transport for those who want it, as well as a shared club meal on the Saturday night.

Details and register your interest

AGM notices

Next week we’ll have all the news from tonight’s AGM. But in the meantime, let us welcome and congratulate our new club president Lindsay Young.

Coming up

Scottish Mountain Running Champs, 1 April

Meet at 44 Silverstream Road, Crofton Downs for a 2pm race start.

This race celebrates the club’s rich history in Mountain running. Scottish have had several members represent New Zealand, including  2-times World Champion Melissa Moon. Race HQ is the Huntleigh Park Girl Guides Centre. The race has 3 options you can choose from. Very rough approximate distances are Short: 3-4km, Medium: 5-6km, Long 7-8km. All  3 options head across Huntleigh Park and turn left up a short steep road to join the Silversky Track. This is a single-lane track that you continue running until it meets the Skyline Track. For the walkers, there are lots of options both flat and hilly for a pack walk. For the J team, we can set up a cross-country run in the park and some tracks around the Guide Hall.

Details

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

Waitārere Forest Run, 16 April

Explore Waitārere Forest with flat easy running and walking as you wind your way through the impressive pines and finish in the famous Event village. Pick a distance to suit you and challenge yourself in 2023 with the 21km half marathon, 10km. 5km or 2km fun run. The forest provides the perfect mix of running terrain while you enjoy the scenic experience of running through the pines. Finish in the beautiful seaside town of Waitārere and celebrate your efforts with friends and family in the event village.

Details and entry

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 and competitive runners alike. It’s 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.

University Cross Country Relays and Chocolate Walk

The Victoria University Athletic Club invites us to the Victoria University Relay events being held at Queen Elizabeth II Park, Paekakariki, on Saturday 14 May. 10 grades with 4 runners per team, compete over a sandy farmland 3.5 km lap. All grades start together. Walkers compete in the Chocolate Walk earlier in the day over a 6km walk on nearby roads. And juniors under 16 have a series of cross-country scratch races.

Contact your section captain to let them know you want to be in a team.

Last year’s race details

Keep in touch