CENTURION
24
HOUR RACEWALK PHOTOS
21-22 April 2007
Coburg Athletics Track, Coburg, Melbourne
2007 saw the 20th annual edition of the Coburg 24 Hour carnival,
held as usual at the Harold Stevens Athletics Track in suburban
Melbourne. Once again, the event was a popular choice for many
experienced and first time ultra competitors and potential entrants had
to be turned away when the event filled with 4 weeks to go.
53 of the 54 entrants made it to the start line and the mix saw 35
runners and 19 walkers spread across the 24 Hour, 12 Hour and 6 Hour
categories. Of the 54 entrants, 31 chose the 24 Hour event, a pleasing
sign for the future of the sport.
The race started on the Saturday morning at 10AM in warm sunny
conditions but in less than 2 hours, rain had set in as Melbourne
turned on one of its famous weather changes! The showers did not clear
until late afternoon and all were then diving for dry clothes and
shoes. From then on, the skies remained overcast and further squalls,
some quite heavy, created an ongoing challenge for competitors, support
teams and race organizers. The flip side was that night time conditions
were relatively mild and competitors were not forced into too many
layers of clothing.
On the walking side, two of the 24 Hour competitors, Terry O’Neill (C 18) and Geoff Hain (C 48), walked in excess
of 100 miles within the 24 hour period. Terry won the walk overall with
169.741 km to add a second centurion badge to his first, achieved way
back in 1979! It’s been a long wait to see him back in a 24 Hour
event. For Geoff, it was his 6th centurion walk finish in less than 3
years, a great effort in consistency and mental toughness. It was
nearly a case of triplets but Louis Commins eventually fell 2 laps
short of a centurion finish, coming third with 160.150 km.
In the women’s 24 Hour Walk, first timer Catherine Cox won with
149.021 km, an excellent debut. She is someone who can challenge the
centurion distance of 100 miles with further training. Australian
50 mile walk record holder, Clarrie Jack, was too strong in the
men’s 12 Hour Walk and won in 88.370 km while last year’s
winner Steve Jordan did a big PB to take second with 85.980 km. The
women’s 12 Hour Walk saw Val Chesterton break her own W65 50 km
Australian record by over 1 hour. She passed the 50 km mark in just
over 7 hours and then called it quits, well satisfied with her
day’s work. In the men’s 6 Hour Walk, first timer
Paul Kennedy won with 52.800 km, beating Robin Whyte but just over 2 km.
All in all, the carnival produced a whole swag of top quality
performances and lived up to its rating as one of Australia’s top
ultra events.
CENTURION WALK QUALIFIERS
Terry O'Neill
Geoff Hain
|
|
C18
C49
|
JACK WEBBER MEMORIAL TROPHY
Was awarded to Terry O'Neill for the most meritorious Centurion
performance on the day
OVERALL RESULTS
| 24 Hour Walk |
|
| 1 |
Terry O'Neill (C 18) |
169.741
|
| 2 |
Geoff
Hain (C 48) |
162.444 |
| 3 |
Louis Commins |
160.150 |
| 4 |
David Attrill |
140.950 |
| 5 |
Rudolf Skrucany |
117.447 |
| 6 |
Bruce Webber |
115.600 |
| 7 |
Pat
Fisher (C 53) |
105.302 |
| 8 |
Deryck Skinner (C 51) |
89.200 |
| 24 Hour Walk Female |
|
| 1 |
Catherine Cox |
149.021 |
| 2 |
Karyn Bollen (C 45) |
126.941 |
| 3 |
Sharon Chomyn |
47.702 |
| 12H Walk Male |
|
| 1 |
Clarrie Jack (C 4) |
88.370 |
| 2 |
Steve Jordan |
85.980 |
| 3 |
Ross Jackson |
63.718 |
| 4 |
Ken Carter |
48.052 |
| 12H Walk Female |
|
| 1 |
Val Chesterton |
52.000 |
| 6H Walk Male |
|
| 1 |
Paul Kennedy |
52.800 |
| 2 |
Robin Whyte (C 29) |
50.400 |
| 3 |
Alex Poore
|
3.600 |
AUSTRALIAN 100 KM WALK
CHAMPIONSHIPS
| Men |
|
| 1 |
Terry O'Neill |
13:08:08 |
| 2 |
Geoff
Hain |
14:04:47 |
| 3 |
Louis Commins |
14:21:09 |
| Women |
|
| 1 |
Karyn Bollen |
14:51:40 |
| 2 |
Catherine Cox |
15:00:11 |
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Tim Erickson (terick@melbpc.org.au)
Secretary, Australian Centurions Club
Melbourne, Australia
