This week
- Tuesday 5:00pm: Waterfront 5K. First of the summer!
- Thursday 6:00pm: Thursday Trail Group at Waimapihi. Meet in Aro Valley.
- Friday 6:30pm: Athletics Wellington Twilight Meet, Newtown Park. Events include 100m, 400m, 600m, 1500m, sprint relays, shot put and high jump. Sign up by Friday morning.
- Saturday 8:00am: Parkruns at Waitangi Park, Lower Hutt, Porirua, Trentham, Kapiti, Ōtaki River and Greytown.
- Saturday 8:00am: Karori Park session, Karori Park.
- Sunday long pack runs: These usually leave at 8:30 am from outside Freyberg Pool and other locations around Wellington. All speeds welcome, coordinate on the Facebook page
Results
Kaukau Skyline Traverse, aka Wellington Mountain Running Champs
Scottish turned up in numbers to claim the Club of the Mountain title from a brave Olympic defence. In particular the senior men and the masters women showed up en masse to overwhelm the other clubs.
The gossip is that this course is likely to be next year’s National Championship course in April.
Long Race: Marcos Valero Palacios 3rd in 1:01:59.4, closely followed by captain Joel Carman in 1:02:21.0. Tom Callan 1:07:09.9, Callum Mallet 1:15:47.7, Kyle Malone 1:19:52.6, Sophie Whelan 2nd in 1:24:43.6, Nic Hankinson 1st W35 in 1:31:14.9.
Medium Course: Stephen Day 1st M50 in 47:57.3, Mel Brandon 1st W35 in 49:49.6, Dave Kettles 1st M60 is 52:09.3, David Hosking 3rd M50 in 52:17.2, Todd Stevens 54:28.4, Bex Hutchinson 58:18.8, Richele McKenzie 2nd W50 in 59:56.0, Harriette Carr, in her first race in a club singlet, 3rd W50 in 1:01:48.8, Marianne Elliott 1:07:27.2, Sean Kelly 1:07:37.4, Michael Cummins 2nd M60 in 1:08:55.5, Anna Fifield 1:14:52.0 and Kath Littler 1:24:14.8.
Sprint Course: Rangituia Harrison-Potter, 3rd GU12 in 12:53.1
Results
Barefoot Xtrail Battle at Boulder Hill
A few runners doubled up from Saturday’s mountain race to produce some outstanding results.
Long course: Tom Callan 1:21:00 (1st), Marcos Valero Palacios 1:29:58 (2nd), Anna Fifield 1:33:14 (1st), Chris Howard 1:56:34, Kath Littler 2:42:57, Willie Stephens 3:10:00.
Medium Course: Marianne Elliott 1:15:40 (2nd), Sean Kelly 1:30:33, Callum Mallet 2:54:37 (Tail End Charlie).
Crater Rim Ultra 53km
David Haunschmidt was second in 04:58:51.
Track and Field Meet No. 2
Early signs of Scottish life at the track for the summer.
3000m: Nick Horspool 9:34.95, Jamie White 10:49.2, Hayden Smith 10:54.80.
3000m Race Walk: Helen Willis 22:18.64, Rupert Watson 22:55.62, Daphne Jones 25:29.01.
And Track and Field Meet No. 1
From the week before.
1000m: Jamie White 3:03.98
2000m Race Walk: Helen Willis 13:56.47, Bob Gardner 15:20.33, Daphne Jones 16:46.60.
2025 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Wollongong
John Skinnon competed in the sprint triathlon event. He placed 9th out of 21 finishers in the M75-79 grade, in a time of 01:35:04
Honest Ten
Parkruns
Check out all the results.
Intermission – A note from the Interim President
Unelected and temporary, I have taken over leadership of our hard-working but now-even-smaller management committee. At a meeting last week, we discussed priorities for the club over the last five months of our term.
The club has considerable strengths. We have a large membership. Our members are active, engaged, and committed. We have money.
As I see it, we have three main weaknesses.
First, our membership profile is ageing. We are getting old and are not getting replaced.
Second, while we have many wonderful volunteers, we have fewer members willing to take on the formal, long-term roles – committee member, programme manager, section captain – that have traditionally kept the club going.
Third, we face a minor existential crisis. We are not sure what makes for a healthy athletics club in our changing world. Every weekend, runners and walkers have a whole range of events they could attend. Ultras, trail running, and non-competitive events are more popular than ever. Our traditional offering of pack runs, club races, and interclub races is now just one more item on the running menu.
Against this background, the committee’s role is not to keep the club as it is, or to try to return it to what it was. But nor is it our role to form a new vision and try to make the club conform to it.
Instead, the committee’s role is to identify some general priorities and then enable active, motivated members to determine the club’s future direction. The club is at its best when our members are leading projects they care about: the trail camp, the Tuesday night sessions, pacers at the Parkrun. The shape of the club depends on what we, as members invested in the club, decide to do.
For me, a guiding priority should be to attract and support members in the 18-35 age group. This will help us stay active and relevant into the future. More importantly, one of the best things we can do as an athletics club is to provide younger adults with a community, a healthy lifestyle, and the support they need to achieve their goals in the sport.
If there is anything that you would like to do within the club, the committee wants to hear from you. We will give you our support, assistance, and trust.
If you have an initiative that will attract or support members aged 18 to 35, we will be especially enthusiastic, and we have money to spend.
We need energy and leadership. We love running and walking, and we love Wellington Scottish. We can afford to take some risks and make some mistakes. Let’s try some new things and see where they take us.
Simon Keller
Notices
Nau mai
Welcome to new club members Ben McElwain-Wilson, Ryan Tait, Rachel Cann and Fiona Gallagher!
Waterfront 5K is back
The Waterfront 5K will be back this summer, thanks to the coordinating leadership of Hayden Smith. The dates of the runs are:
- Tues 21 October
- Tues 25 November
- Tues 16 December
- Tues 27 January
- Tues 24 February
- Tues 24 March
Thursday Trail Group
Every Thursday at 6pm:
- October – Waimapihi (Aro Valley)
- November – Mākara (Karori Park)
- December – Mt Victoria (Freyberg)
- January – Red Rocks (Visitor Centre)
- February – Te Ahumairangi (Botanical Gardens)
- March – Ōtari-Skyline (carpark).
Got questions? Please contact or comment @Chester on the Facebook page.
We want your running photos
Thanks to everyone who’s sent their photos. If you’re willing to have your running pics shared on our public-facing Facebook and Instagram pages, please send them to us or upload them into this folder.
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
1 November: Remutaka Rail Trail Run & Walk
Three distances across on the Rail Trail through the Remutaka Ranges: 21km, 14km and 7km. Organised by Trentham Harriers.
Details here.
9 November: Kapiti Half Marathon, 10km, 5km, Kids kick it 2k.
The course is flat and fast where you will wind your way through river trails, lake loops, board walks, all with views over the spectacular Kāpiti Island. 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. There will be a Dash for Cash, which is an $1000 prize for
the fastest last km of the course run on the day (across all distances). Maddy Watson is still looking for volunteers too – if people are keen that can sign up here.
Full details here
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.
22 November: Wai2K and NZ Long Course Trail Champs
The organisers promise an unforgettable journey through stunning landscapes and challenging terrains, across four distances (not counting the vert, so much vert): The 12Km Scenic Flight, the 25K Quad Extender, and two Ultras: 50K and 100K. The 100km doubles as the New Zealand Long Course Trail Championships course.
Everything you need to know here.
5 December: The Spectacle, Nelson
A road and trail extravaganza, ranging from a one mile race to 100 miles.
Find out more here.
8-11 January: Ruapehu Trail Camp
8-11 Jan 2026, from 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.
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.
25 January: Scottish Club Prizegiving
Club prizegiving will be held on 25 January at the Wilton Bowling Club. Todd Stevens has crunched the numbers: See the full tallies here. Medals for the top 3 and trophy for the winner will be presented at the prizegiving.
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.
- If you want to contact anyone about anything, your first port of call is our club captains, Meg and Joel and our interim club president, Simon Keller.
- 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. |