Miranda Cross Country Relays Sat. 1st June 2013

What better way to spend a cold and rainy first day of winter than at the Miranda Cross Country Relays running in a Sydney Striders team in the green and white!

This event is a very competitive event and we did well to come home with five bronze team medals ( under 12 boys, under 12 girls, under 14 boys, under 16 boys, under 20 girls) and one silver (under 18 boys).  We also had an under 14 girls team which came 5th, but there were just a few seconds between 3rd, 4th and 5th. We had two B teams - under 12 boys and under 18 boys - which ran well too. We have a lot of runners in the first year of their two year age band this year, and we had a few very last minute drop outs in the under 12s and under 14s to deal with too. So, taking these things into consideration, we achieved some very good results indeed.

Special thanks to Emily Gocher, Kieran Gorman and Dan Watts who ran twice for juniors teams and to Hannah Gibson and Bethany Halmy who ran for the under 20 girls and the women's open team.

Parents Caroline Yarnell, Tony Wong, Fiona McKinlay , Tom Highnam, Michael Halmy, Tom Highnam and John Law ran in 'adult teams' later on, when the course was extremely muddy!

Below are photos of about 26 of the 33 juniors who ran. Not pictured at present: Jack Stockeld, Sophie Gocher, Olivia Hogg, Hunter Kelleher, Gus Wong, Ben Jagger and Cam Gorman.

Emma O'Reilly in her first race as a Strider

Nick Corel working hard

Kieran Gorman, Ewan Shingler, Daniel Cooper and Benji Wilson - under 12 boys

Yes, here's Kieran again, in the under 14 boys team with his brother Liam, Tom Davies and Will Law.

Adam Halmy, Paul Loader, David Gardiner and Daniel Francken - our under 18 boys with their silver medals outside the Striders tent.

 

Amelia Gorman, Dan Watts and David Gardiner wait nervously in the changeover are to run last leg of their 3K relays.

Two Toms - Kirkland and Davies - sit down to remove their timing chips after the race.

The under 12 girls won bronze with Emma Kirkland, Nicola Hogg, Emily Gocher and Ciara Sinclair.

The under 20 girls with their bronze medals - Jess Vernon, Amelia Gorman and Bethany Halmy. Hannah Gibson was also in the team - pictured later on.

Hannah Gibson racing past the speed cameras! 

Fraser looks the happiest here. The under 16 boys, who won bronze but don't seem to have their medals yet here. Lachlan Cooper, Dan Watts, Josh Phillips and
Fraser McKinlay.

 

 

 

The Sydney Striders Awards 'do' on May 10th 2013

Juniors have their own awards party in September, but the two most prestigious awards of all,  Winter athlete of the year and Summer athlete of the year, are presented in front of the whole club at their awards event in May. Recipients get a perpetual trophy to keep for a year and a small trophy to keep forever. The trophies are presented by the guest speaker - in this case Olympic marathon runner Lisa Weightman :)

This year, as always, we had a juniors table. Caroline and Tony were there to talk about the winners, Josh Phillips's whole family were there to see him get his 2012 Winter athlete of the year award, Hannah Gibson's mum came along with Hannah to see her get the 2012 / 2013 Summer athlete of the year award, and rising star and sociable Strider Tessa Constantine came along with her dad. A gtreat time was had by all, as you can see from the photos below.

What a glamorous table!, from left: Josh, Caroline, Tony, Greg, Tessa, Hannah, Dzung, Wally and Rietta.

Caroline and Tony looking very happy indeed.

Tessa, Hannah, Lisa Weightman and Josh

Caroline sings Josh Phillips's praises

Josh makes a very good acceptance speech

Josh and Lisa

Hannah makes her acceptance speech - telling everyone what fun training was :)

Hannah with Lisa and her trophies.

Perfect race conditions for the State Road Races at Homebush on Sat. May 4th.

A great time was had by all at the State Road Races, as can be seen below. There are plenty more photos of all the races on the ANSW face book page, which I suggest you all 'like'. Also, do send a request to join the 'Sydney Striders Juniors' closed face book group so you can get the news when it happens!!! Full results are on the ANSW website www.nswathletics.org,au.

 

The 10K was first at 7:45, with many parents running, including me, Andrew and Kate Wilson, Tom Highnam and Michael Halmy, who were all in Striders teams.

 

Next came the 5K at 9:05, in which we had an under 20 girls team of Hannah, Bethany, Amelia and Jess, winning bronze, with Hannah Gibson top in the state!!. We also had an under 18 boys team made up of 4 from Daniel Francken, David Gardiner, Adam Halmy, Paul Loader and Gus Wong,  which won gold with Daniel Francken 4th overall. Our under 16 boys team was made up of 4 from Dan Watts, Fraser McKinlay, Ben Jagger, Nick Corel and Jadon Wilson, which won bronze, with Dan Watts 4th boy overall. Olivia Hogg and her mum ran together in the 5K, and parents Roslyn Halmy and Nick Cooper also had a run - this was because they put the fun run on with the road race this year.

 

Finally, the much anticipated 2.5K for the under 14s and under12s. We'd had so many dropping out with injuries and illness in the couple of days leading up to the race that we only just managed to get two teams together on the day. Will arrived at the race with no time to pick up his timing chip, as he got stuck in traffic, so did not show up in the results, but luckily we still had just enough! The under 12 girls were gorgeous, as you can see below, and got silver, while the under 14 boys with Tom D, Sophie G, Benji and Ewan also got silver. Benji was 4th under 12 boy in the race and Sophie Gocher was 4th under 14 girl.    We had a lot of juniors coming 4th!!!

 

Emma Kirkland, Emily Gocher, Ciara Sinclair and Nicola Hogg before the 2.5K race.

 

The boys have a chat before the 2.5K.

Will Law is not there yet!!

 

Benji, Ewan, Tom D, Will, Emily, Ciara and Nicola seen here taking off.

Another view of the start. Nearest is Sophie Gocher.

 

Tom Davies in full flight.

 

Benji and Ewan battling it out.

 

Nerves on the 5K start line: Hannah G, Adam, Nick and Fraser with Dan Watts behind.

Bethany, Hannah, Adam and Fraser on the start line

 

Daniel Francken, still our fastest Strider - running 5K in just over 16 mins.

 

David Gardener, with Dan Watts and Adam Halmy in hot pursuit. All finished between 17:05 and 17:15.

 

Paul Loader running well

 

The' Lanky Gus Wong' (as ANSW call him) in some pain!

Fraser showing good style.

 

He with the moves - Ben Jagger.

 

Amelia Gorman looking very strong indeed.

Jess Vernon.

 

Jadon Wilson

Olivia Hogg with mum Katherine Hogg crossing the line in the 5K.

 



The Wilson family - Andrew and Kate ran the 10K, Jadon the 5K and Benji the 2.5K

Bethany and Jess take off their timing chips

 

Promising Kick off to the Winter Season at Scarborough Park on 20th April

It was a typical day for cross country if you lived in the UK - rainy, windy, cold. So, it is not surprising that junior Strider numbers were lower than usual for the novice cross country championships at Scarborough Park, Ramsgate on Sat. 20th April. However, what we lacked in quantity we certainly made up for in quality twentyfold!

Below is the link to the full set of over 700 photos taken by St. George - there are plenty of all Striders who raced there - some very good ones. Full results are on their website too. http://www.sgdac.org/Gallery/Gallery_13/2013_Novice/mywebalbum/index_2.html
We also have some of our own photos of just us - see below....

The 2K was first up, and in that Tom Davies was 1st in the under 12 boys in 7:15, with Daniel Cooper 3rd. Ewan Shingler and Benji Wilson also ran well. Tom and Emma Kirkland were running well before mishaps on the muddy, slippery course.




Tom Davies, 1st under 12, records his result, with Daniel Cooper coming in 3rd. Striders dominated!

Here are Tom and Daniel receiving their medals in the rain!

Next up was the 4K, of which I have no photos at this moment. Also, I am not sure where the results are. They are not on the ANSW website. I know Daniel Francken  was first junior home in apx. 13 mins. with Josh Phillips, Lachlan Cooper, Adam Halmy, Fraser McKinlay, Ben Jagger, Gus Wong, Jayden Wilson and dad Michael Halmy in hot pursuit!

Next we had the 10K invitation race, which Melinda Vernon, sister of Jess Vernon, won! Andrew Wilson also ran in this, putting in his usual sterling performance.

Then we had the state women's 7K. In this we had running Hannah Gibson, who came second overall, Bethany Halmy, Caroline Yarnell, Kim Wilson (Benji and Aiden's mum) and Jai from Senior Striders. This was a great team effort, with Juniors, mums and members of the Senior club :) Results are to be found at www.nswathletics.org.au under results 2013.

The scene at the start of the 7K

Left to right: Kim Wilson, Bethany Halmy, Hannah Gibson, Caroline Yarnell and Jai

 

Caroline







Hannah





Bethany

Kim











Hannah Gibson 2nd in the 7K in 26:55

Finally we had the novice 10K. Paul Loader was our only Junior in this, running 38 mins. and 5th Strider home overall - just missing out on a place in the gold medal winning Senior Striders team!

Lindfield Fun Run 2013

It has become a bit of a Junior Striders tradition now to officially start off the winter season with the Lindfield Fun Run. We did this on Sunday 7th April. It was extra special this year as Frank Dearns, long time Strider and key organizer of the Fun Run turned 80 this week and also ran the 5K. We are usually lucky with sunny weather, and this year was no exception. We had our tent and goodies for one and all afterwards, as you can see from the photos below.

There were too many non-junior Striders there to mention, as this race is now a 'super series' event - so apologies for concentrating on juniors only!

David Gardiner, aged 16, WON the 5K outright in 17:26. He did not stop grinning from that moment on - his happiness increased by the fact that he won a nice trophy and a Garmin! Ewan Shingler won the under 12 boys in 21:15, Josh Phillips won 12-15 boys in 18:41, Jadon Wilson ran 23:24 and Benji ran 28:16. Beth Murray was 4th 12-15 in 25:43. Caroline Y won the 50-59 age group(!) and Jason McIntosh was 2nd in the whole race with 17:42 - he is not a junior, but his son soon will be.

In the 10K, Cath Rasmussen (a veteran at this event) ran with 12 year old son Daniel, with both running an impressive 52:02. John Bowe ran with daughter Leila and junior strider Ronan McCarthy. Gus Wong was third in the 16-19 age group, with dad Tony Wong running a respectable 43:57.

Some had left, but most are here grinning at you.

Josh and David in the early stages of the5K.

David receives his prize.

I can vouch for the fact that Benji did not look this happy as the race wore on!

A gorgeous picture of Beth!

Lindfield Fun 2011 - can you spot the younger versions of your mates?



One of our favourite junior striders photos ever - Lindfield Fun Run 2010.

Calendar of Events for the 2013 winter season

Here is a list of some of the things you can do with Sydney Striders Juniors this 2013 winter season.

Striders ‘in house’ events are in green – they are only for Striders members. To join Striders go to www.sydneystriders.org.au. Family memberships are also available. For full information on the 10Ks go to www.sydneystriders.org.au/10K/
 

 Athletics New South Wales (ANSW) events are in blue. You need to be a Striders member AND registered with ANSW. We would like you to do as many of these as possible! If you have been doing little athletics, you can register for free as a dual athlete. Otherwise, junior or senior, just register at the ANSW website and then phone ANSW on 9746 1122 to chivvy them along if you don’t get your cloth numbers within a few days. You can claim this registration money back at the end of the season if you run at least 3 races for Striders. Let us know when you have your cloth numbers please!
 

West Met, see their schedule of Sat. pm .races (you must be a Strider and registered with ANSW as above): http://www.coolrunning.com.au/runningguide/wiki/index.php/Sydney_West_Metropolitan_Cross_Country.

 
Fun Runs etc. are in red. Anyone can do these - you do not need to be a Striders member.

March

Mon. 25^th 6pm. Narabeen track. Easter Bunny Handicap Mile race – green eggs for all!

Thurs. 28^th 6pm. 5K Easter Bunny Handicap race 6:00pm. from Shelly Beach, Manly. Green eggs again!

April

Sat. 6^th Lane Cove10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

Sun 7^th The Lindfield Fun Run 5K and 10K. http://www.lindfieldrotaryfunrun.org.au/ We will be there en masse and have the Striders tent. Meet for a warm up first if you so wish.

Sat 20th April 2013  NSW Novice Championships – www.nswathletics.org.au.  

Sat. 27^th Lane Cove handicap 10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

May

Sat. 4^th Sydney 10 and state road race championships. 2.5K for u12 and 14s, 5K for the rest.  Enter at www.nswathletics.org.au NOW and tell us you have entered! This is an individual AND team event all at the same time, so we need everybody out.

Sun 12^th – Mothers Day Classic at the Domain and at Paramatta. 4K and 8K http://mothersdayclassic.com.au/register-online. Also sand races up to 2K at North Steyne, Manly.

May 10^th Senior Striders awards ‘do’ Darling Harbour, above the Imax cinema. We have a juniors table and the 2 BIG awards for juniors are presented at this event – winter and summer athletes of the year. The event is heavily subsidized at $50 per head, including dinner, a great speaker and lots of spot prizes, so do think about coming along even if you don’t think you’re up for an award!

 

Sun. 19^th May Manly Scenic Fun Run 2K, 5K and 10K. Same day as the SHM.

June

Sat. 1st Striders 10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

Sat 1st June 2013  NSW Cross Country Relay Championships – everyone’s favourite! If there is any doubt about team selection, it will be based on results from the road race championships. The club pays for relay entry, so you just need to let us know you are going to run – then you will be assigned to a team. Only death is then an excuse for not showing up and letting your team down!

TBA Manly Soft Sand Classic 1.6k and 9K.

 Sun 16th Minimosmarathon 2K, 5K and 10K races.

Sat 22 June 2013 NSW Cross Country Championships in Nowra. This is about 3 hours away, but there are scenic lookouts on the way. It is well worth making the trip and you are very much needed whatever your level of ability.

July

Sat. 6th Striders 10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

Sat 13 July 2013 NSW Road Relay Championships – the club pays for your entry in these.

August

Sat. 3rd Striders 10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

Sat 3rd August 2013  NSW Short Course Championships – all hands on deck.

Sun. 11^th City to Surf 14K. Striders usually have a meeting place with breakfast, as after the 10Ks. There are Striders teams you can enter.

Sun. 25^th Pub 2 Pub 14K. http://www.pub2pub.com.au/

Mon. TBA one mile End of Winter Handicap race 6:00pm. at Narabeen track

Thurs. TBA 5K End of Winter Handicap race 6:00pm. from Shelly Beach, Manly.

September

Sat. 7th Striders 10K for Juniors who are at least turning 15 in 2013

Sat. 1st or Sat. 8th Striders Juniors awards party, 1.00pm. Mosman (TBA).