My first club run win with the Stawell Amateur Athletic Club aka SAAC happened to be this particular race last year.
The 6.5km Gary Rice Vineyard Handicap run is set in Gary’s vineyard. We weaved in and out through the vineyards, and then up through Ironbark scrub land, before doing the loop again. The course was true cross country style, with grass gravel and jumping over mud puddles. Slips were inevitable, even though I didn’t have any. Yay me. The only mishap you could say was that my heart rate monitor was falling down. Which needless to say I have fixed, and shouldn’t happen again.
My winning time last year was 35.26 mins. This year I ran faster, sure I placed 6th, but I still had a great time at 32.20. Essentially shaving off 3 minutes off last years time. Yes even I am impressed with that.
The race was one by Rachel, her first club win for the seasons. She had placed 2nd and 3rd a few times, so it was only a matter of time for her to have a win. She was also the faster runner on the day in a time of 31.40. So well done Rachel on your first club win and in a great time too.
There isn’t going to be a run this weekend due to the public holiday weekend. The next race will be the Charlie Jones Handicap, which is 16km. I’m looking forward to this one.