This week
- Tuesday 6:15pm: Speed session details to come.
- Thursday 6:00pm: Thursday Trail Run, Karori Park
- Saturday all day: WAI2K Running Festival, Greytown
- Saturday 12:00pm: Central League Teams Competition, Newtown Park
- Saturday 1pm: Summer Saturday afternoon run and walks, Cafe Villa in Ngaio
- Sunday 8:30am: Long run, details to come.
Results
Te Ahumairangi Ten Thousand
We had 66 finishers across two races, including 26 from Scottish. Some highlights included Anna Fifield 50:29.69 running 7 minutes faster than her predicted time. Chris Howard 39:32.31 (PB? -Rees says it was), Alex Kay with very a well-paced 40:48.03 PB, the 45-minute pack of Emma Bassett 44:44.46, Susan O’Brien 44:50.45, Karl Jackson 44:58.47, Mel Brandon 44:58.52, who ran like they were tied together by a rope and Guy Dryden 45:03.05, Ryan Woolley second overall and track PB (I think), Kyle Malone 37:05.05 PB before a casual 35km trail run home, and Nicholas Bagnall who took the speculation about his personal best in good humour.
Our relay team could not quite hold on to WHAC, but still ran an impressive 32:41 10km, which is impressive 78 seconds per lap.
Queenstown Marathon
Beth Garland won the Queenstown Marathon 10km in 37:45. Meg Fahey 45:58 was 11th and ran PB.
Alex Dorgham ran 1:19:24 in the half marathon. Amanda Broughton did the half in 1:44:19 with Brendon Blacklaws who enjoyed his half marathon race debut.
Stu Beresford ran the marathon in 5:23:51.
Coastal Five
Geoff Ferry was third overall with times of 1:23:49 half marathon, 39:33 10 km climb, 19:02 Pukerua Park, 23:23 Lake Mangamahoe 4.5km and Devon Mile 5:24 for a combined marathon distance total of 2:51:14. Megan Ferry ran her combined marathon total 3:03:21 + 1:29:07 + 42:48 + 55:09 + 13:35 = 6:24:02.
Parkruns
Lower Hutt Parkrun: Luke Ferguson 21:36. Shanganagh Parkrun: Nicolas Vessiot 21:02, Jaime Vessiot 23:03. Western Springs Parkrun: Don Stevens 27:21. East End Parkrun, New Plymouth: Geoff Ferry 24:44. Ōtaki River Parkrun: Terri Grimmett 42:04. Waitangi Parkrun: Marcos Angel Valero Palacios 16:33, Loretta Desourdy 32:56, Christine Jones 32:56, Claire Jennings 33:22.
Notices
Nau mai
Welcome to new club member Jude Fifield (who ran one lap and one bonus lap for us at the 10000m relay on Saturday).
Club branded New Balance apparel
We are delighted to launch a line of Wellington Scottish branded apparel, including long- and short-sleeved shirts, puffer vests, and caps. For our initial order, prices are subsidised by the club, so all items can be sold to members at below cost.
See the range and place your orders through our order form.
You must place your order by 3 December. Please choose your size carefully. Use the sizing chart on the order form, or contact Simon if you would like to try a sample size.
If you have trouble using the form or have any other questions, email Simon Keller, stkeller30@gmail.com
Invite to the Xiamen Marathon
The club just received an invite for one or two club members to run in the Xiamen Marathon in China.
Held annually in Xiamen, the Xiamen Marathon is renowned for its scenic coastal route and high-quality organisation, attracting runners from around the world. The 2024 marathon is believed to have attracted more than 30,000 runners. In the past Jamie and Nicolas Vessiot, Ben Twyman and Iain Shaw have all represented Wellingon and Scottish at the marathon.
2025 Xiamen Marathon is scheduled for 5 January 2025. Please attached the marathon invitation letter along with the programme details, and the registration form to this email. The English translation starts on page 4 of this document. The deadline to register is 18 December.
The Xiamen Marathon committee is offering three days and two nights of complimentary accommodation (meals included) and ground transport in Xiamen for up to two guests from Wellington. Chinese visa is no longer a requirement for NZ passport holders. NZ visitors can enter the country without a visa for up to 15 days. You need to sort out your own transport to China.
Contact Megan or Alistair or check the app for details.
Campervan looking for a safe home
From Don Dalgliesh: “Last year I purchased a camper van, which I have, up to now, parked on The Terrace using a resident parking permit Wellington City Council have now informed me that they should not have issued a permit for this vehicle, and that I need to find somewhere else to park it. Therefore I am looking for someone who could act as a camper van sitter for me, by providing either off road parking for the vehicle, or allowing me to park the camper van in front of their property. To park in front of a property, the street would need to be (a) not subject to resident parking restrictions, (b) reasonably wide and preferably reasonably quiet, and (c) hopefully not too far from my home on The Terrace. If anyone can help, or maybe knows of anyone who could help. I would be grateful to hear from you.”
Billeting athletes who travel
Sally Gibbs has started up a private Facebook group for NZ athletics club members seeking or offering homestay accommodation for local events. “Let’s go old school and billet fellow athletes – to help with the cost factor of travelling to competitions, and build friendships along the way. A win-win for ourselves and our sport!” she says.
Summer training programme
Check out the new summer training programme that Ryan Woolley has added to the team app. There are various options to choose from depending on how much running you want to do.
Ruapehu Trail camp, 9-12 January
The dates are marginally different from my original post, the same weekend, but starting on Thursday evening (9 January) or Friday morning, and finishing and returning home on Sunday 12 January.
Accommodation is at the Otaihape Alpine Club, who are kindly providing their gorgeous lodge up at Whakapapa skifield. Runs, fun times, stretching, learning, and a bit of a get-away. Come join in on the summer fun at the mountain. Runs are for all abilities, with a range of pace and skill level groups.
Please register for the camp here.
Get in quick, we are limited to 20 registrations. Food is provided, and you are encouraged to carpool from Wellington.
Our Club prizegiving, 26 January
Our prizegiving will take place at the Ōtari Wilton Bowling on Sunday 26 January from 3:00pm. Panman will be there providing free food.
Coming up
WAI2K Running Festival, 23 November
The WAI2K will see runners taking on a challenging 50km or 100km course around the amazing hills of the Wairarapa. The 100K ultra is the Athletics NZ Long Course Trail running championship event for 2024. Check out the event website for more information.
Wellington Scottish Waterfront 5km race #2, 26 November
Bib pickup and bag drop off will be open from 5:00pm at Shed 22. If you already have a bib from the 2024/25 season please bring it along – you will be able to use it again this season. If you don’t already have a bib or are paying with a 10-trip card from last season, please swing by registration. Earlier is better – you want enough time to grab your bib and get warmed up!
We are offering an additional earlier start time of 5:30pm before our usual 5:45pm start time for anyone that needs a little bit more time on the course. If you think you will take longer than 30 mins, please consider starting in the earlier wave. This will help everyone finish closer together before prize giving – stick around for some spot prizes from our friends at Shoe Clinic.
We won’t be taking cash entries on the day this season. Any remaining 10 trip tickets from last season will still be honoured; use the 10-trip product when registering.
Athletics Wellington Melrose Shield Relays Meeting, 30 November
An Interclub points meeting to determine the Melrose Shield winners for 2024. Points allocated for men and Women 20 and Over and Under 20 grades plus Open Mixed teams. From 2:00pm at Newtown Park.
Athletics Wellington Twilight Track & Field Meeting # 3, 3 December
From 6:30pm at Newtown Park. Details
Lifestyle Sports Night of Miles, 14 December
This unique event is full of Christmas fun and features races over the rarely run distance of one mile. Each year, we collect donations from athletes and spectators and hand them on to a local Wellington charity. For the competitive events in the programme where pre-entry is required, we have set a $10 entry fee that will be part of the donations.
The programme includes a mix of children’s, senior and fun social events. There are several different mile races, including elite men’s and women’s races and an all-comers mile that anyone can participate in (including Father Christmas). Subject to interest, some field events may be added to the programme.
Wellington Scottish Waterfront 5km race #3, 17 December
Athletics Wellington Twilight Track and Field Meeting #4, 18 December
From 6:30pm at Newtown Park. Details
Keep in touch:
- If there is anything you want to be added to the Scottish Newsletter or if your results have been missed, please email us at wellingtonscottish@proton.me
- If you want to contact anyone about anything, your first port of call is our club captains, Meg and Alistair and our club president, Andy Ford.
- Public Facebook page and join the Scottish member Facebook group here.
- Website
Notes about results and upcoming events
- If you want your event added to this newsletter, contact us by Sunday evening.
- We’ll publish an event or a result and what makes it special if we’re told about it. So let us know what you, your friends, family members and teammates are up to. It is especially important for coaches to let us know when your athletes are attempting and achieving their goals.
- If you don’t want your name published in the newsletter or on the website, please let us know so we can omit you from the results.