National Road Relays will take place in Feilding on Saturday 4 October. You can register your interest hereand make payment to attend here.
This week
- Tuesday 6:15pm: Tuesday Night Club Session at Newtown Track. Details on Stack.
- Saturday 8:00am: Parkruns at Waitangi, Lower Hutt, Porirua, Trentham, Kapiti, Ōtaki River and Greytown.
- Saturday 8:00am: Karori Park Session, Karori Park.
- Saturday from 12:30pm: Wellington 5km Road Championships in Wainuiomata.
- Saturday 2:00pm: Friendly packruns and walks from Wellington Scottish Clubrooms, followed by afternoon tea and drinks. All speeds welcome. Prince of Wales Park, Mt Cook, Salisbury Terrace.
- Sunday long pack runs: These usually leave at 8:30 am from outside Freyberg Pool and some alternative locations around Wellington. All speeds welcome, coordinate on the Facebook page.
Results
Wellington 5km Champs
Scottish runners celebrated the start of the road season with a turnout of 65 runners crossing the finish line.
Amongst the men, Joel Carman (5:34) and Riley Henley (15:36) had a close race. Chester Holt-Quick (16:00) picked up 2nd M35, a PB and will no doubt be hunting that one second to get below 16 next time. Mr PB (Paul Barwick – 16:09) also claimed a PB and the M50 title. Simon Keller dipped under 17 minutes and joined Paul on the podium(3rd). Kyle Malone (17:44) and Nicholas Bagnall (18:18) ran PBs and Don Stevens ran 25:46 for his fastest 5km of the year (and he does a lot of 5kms). David Kettles (18:22) and Peter Stevens (18:33) were 2nd and 3rd M60s. Geoff Ferry (18:03) won a close race-within-a-race with Andrew Marsland (18:04), Jamie White (18:05) and Andrew Wharton (18:08). Phil Sadgrove was 2nd M65.
In the women’s race Talia Flannery (19:44) ran a PB, we saw a very fast 20:30 from Emma Bassett. Mel Brandon (18:30) and Bex Hutchinson (19:40) were 1st and 2nd W35s. Lindsay Barwick (20:33) was 3rd W50. Anne Hare (23:38) was 3rd W60. Christina Needham (24:15) ran well and many of the W60s and W70s had a close race with just 45 seconds separating Bev Hodge(30:20), Terri Grimmett (30:31), Loretta Desourdy (30:41) and Kirsti Burnett (31:05).
The juniors were represented by Gemma Ferry (4:57 for 1km), Hermoine Swift (9:38, 2km), Rangituia Harrison-Potter (10:28, 2km), Naomi Richardson (9:48, 2.5km), and Rowan Richardson (8:50, 2km).
Scottish Club Championships update
The 5km Championships were the last counting race of the season for the 2025 Scottish Club Championships for many grades. Here is my unofficial and unverified summary of how things currently stand.
Karen Mclean completed a comprehensive victory in the W50s. Lindsay Barwick, who after avoiding the cross country season, made a late charge on the tarmac to claim second for the season.
Tanya Lavington’s two strong cross country performances were enough for her to claim the W60 title.
Betty Harp had a dominant season taking top points in al three championship races to with the W65 title
Christine Jones’ win over Loretta Desourdy on Saturday was not enough for her to claim the W70 club championship; Loretta finished first and Christine second.
Gemma Ferry’s consistency all season delivered her the GU10 title Abby Cleland too the WU12 title ahead of Hermoine Swift and Rangituia Harrison-Potter. Cielo Lazarte won the WU14 grade on countback from Naomi Richardson .
In the M60s Dave Kettles pipped Peter Stevens by 11 seconds on Saturday and claimed the club title for the season by a single point. Guy Dryden’s consistency through the season got him 3rd place.
Chris Harp won the M65s by from Dave Hatfield after a strong race on Saturday.
No M70s showed up on Saturday so the standings remained the same, with John Skinnon taking the title ahead of Ross Lake.
Heath Cartwright won the MU10 grade on countback from Nicholas Cunningham.
The final counting race for the remaining grades is the 10km championship is in three weeks’ time. As the points table stands currently, it promises some exciting finishes.
Alice Sowry has a 2 point lead in the senior women’s competition but will be wary of Maddy Watson, Kasey Mackinnon and Meg Fahey who have all beaten her in individual races so far this season.
Mel Brandon seems to have the W35 title tied up ahead of Amanda Broughton, who is having a resurgent season. But there is a close battle for 3rd between Bex Hutchinson, Emily Solsberg, Jiwon Chun and Emma Bassett.
Joel Carmen has a healthy led in the senior men’s competition. Murendeni Netshituka and Kyle Malone are in second and third, but will be aware Seamus Kane is lurking a few points behind them and has the ability to come past one or both of them if he has a big race.
Nick Horspool looks to have a comfortable lead in the M35 grade but Valentino Luna Hernandez and Andrew Marsland are separated by only 1 point in the race for 3rd. Winner takes all (the bronze).
Simon Keller has a good lead in the M50s. Again the excitement will be in the race for 3rd. Brendon Thompson has a three point lead over Joseph Bulbulia who will fancy his chances of closing that gap.
Link to unofficial Club Championship points table
Meeting voor Mon, Atletiek Arena Gaston Roelants Kessel-Lo / Hal 5, Leuven
James Preston 800m 1:46.77 (2H2).
Pfungstadter Abendsportfest, TSV Stadion, Pfungstadt
James Preston 800m 1:46.34 (5RB).
Athletics Wellington Team for NZ Road Champs
Congratulations to Chester Holt-Quick (35+), Nick Horspool (35+), Peter Stevens (50+) and Simon Keller (50+) who have all been selected to represent Wellington at the national road race championship in Cambridge this week.
Parkruns
Check out all the results here.
Notices
Quiz night fundraiser for Mel Brandon – Sept 2
We’re having a fun fundraiser for Mel Brandon, who is representing New Zealand at the world trail running champs in Spain next month. It’s $25 a ticket, and all ticket sales will go to Mel’s trip costs.
Waitoa Victoria St, Tuesday 2 September from 6:30pm. Come a bit early if you want to order dinner from Little Penang next door.
We now have a sign up sheet! You can form teams of 8-10 people, or add your name to the list to form a team on the night. Easy. Payment details also on the sign-up sheet. Or you can email us to register or with any questions: wellingtonscottish@proton.me
Ruapehu Trail Camp is back for 2026
8-11 Jan 2026. After the success of last year’s trail camp, we will be running the camp again, using the WTMC lodge at Whakapapa. Expect good runs, good chats, good food, and great entertainment. The cost will be $200 for the full 3 nights, and spaces are limited to 30 people.
We want your running photos
We’re trying to jazz up our social media presence but to do that, we need photos from our running events. If you’re willing to have your pics shared on our public-facing Facebook and Instagram pages, please send them into us so we can show the wider world how fun it is to be a member of Wellington Scottish. Please email us at wellingtonscottish@proton.me or, even better, put them directly into this folder.
The Scottish Mentor Programme is live
One valuable part of being a member of Wellington Scottish is having access to a group of experienced runners, who have been through the seasons and know the running community inside-out. Our mentor programme has been built to help Wellington runners to connect with their community and to find a home in the sport.
Mentors allow prospective and new club members to connect with someone who knows a thing or two about how to get the most out of a membership with Scottish. If you know someone who is interested in joining a running club, but is unsure of how it all works, send them to one of our fine mentors.
Learn more HERE.
Kapiti Half Marathon
Wellington Scottish members get a 20% discount for the Kapiti Half Marathon on 9 November, thanks to Dark Horse Coffee. You must use this link to get the discount when entering. Maddy Watson is also looking for pacers for the event: Half marathon pacers in ten min increments from 1:30 through to 2:30 ad 10km pacers in ten minute increments from 40 mins through to 1:20.
Te Ahumairangi 10000m Festival
And talking of volunteers, we are beginning to plan this year’s Te Ahumairangi 10000m event. If you want to be part of the organising team, please contact Stephen.
Scottish apparel for sale
We are selling club singlets and Early racing singlets that club member John Plimmer manufactures locally. Crop tops, socks, puffer vests, rampant lion caps, technical “Wellington Scottish” short-sleeves, technical “Unleash your inner lion” short-sleeves, long-sleeves and white cotton short-sleeve t-shirts – all in a range of sizes.
Check our clothing for sale on our website
Coming up
13 September: Wellington 10km Road Championships
The Wellington 5km and 10km Road Champs are the last of the big interclub races for the season. They are an excellent opportunity to run a fast 5km or 10km time with a large pack of runners to pull you along. They are held in the scenic Wainuiomata Recreation Area. The course is an out-and-back road race using a 1.25km stretch of road that is closed to public traffic. The course is largely sheltered from the wind.
4 October: NZ Road Relays, Feilding
National Road Relays will take place in Feilding on Saturday 4 October. This is the club’s biggest and most enjoyable event of the year. Please keep the weekend free and make sure you can come along. You can register your interest in participating here.
Event details from Athletics NZ
Accommodation will be in two hotels in Palmerston North, for the nights of Friday 3 October and Saturday 4 October. We have a venue booked for our club dinner on Saturday 4 October. Travel to and from Palmerston North will be in a combination of private cars and rental vans.
Payment: We have set up payment options at the following link:
NZRR payments on Gameday
As an incentive for early payment, if you pay by 8 September, you’ll get a Scottish-themed gift (probably socks but we can negotiate).
15 November: Te Ahumairangi 10000
Te Ahumairangi Ten Thousand is a fun opportunity for runners to work together in packs and support each other in running fast times and personal bests. It is also an opportunity for road or trail runners who have not run on the track before to try it out in a supportive environment.
17 January: M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra
The mission is simple: run 6.71km every hour, on the hour, until you can’t go on. The second edition of the M*A*S*H Backyard Ultra takes place over Wellington Anniversary Weekend – kicking off 9am, Saturday 17 January. Directed by General Fiona Hayvice, it’s a battle of endurance packed with camaraderie, chaos, and the kind of challenge you’ll never forget.
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 Joel 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.
| Lifestyle Sports is a long-term supporter of Wellington Scottish, providing us with sponsorship in various forms and offering our members a 10% discount. Their store is located in Outlet City in Tawa, near the exit from SH1. They sell discounted running shoes for adults and kids, along with other running gear, and will make special orders – all with our 10% discount added on. If you shop at Lifestyle, please mention that you are a Wellington Scottish member. Let them know that we’re good customers! Lifestyle Sports on Facebook |
| Wellington Scottish have partnered with physical therapy practice Rehab Co., to help keep our runners on the roads and trails, doing what we love to do. More information about this new partnership, including how to book appointments is on our Scottish website. |