Southland Harriers eNewsletter

Shoe Clinic Race 3-Miller Farm

46 Runners Participated on Saturday.

9 Volunteers assisted during the setup and running of the event.

Saturday's quotes of the day, (heard on course), that pretty much summed up our annual foray to the Millers Farm in Te Tipua. From one of our senior runners “this is way better than being serious”, and from a first time junior “this is way more hardcore the Minecraft”.

It was definitely hardcore, but also absolutely stunning, and a wee bit magical. The course started in the sun across the green, green, green Miller grass, before dipping into the fairy forest, then through technical mud traps before the slippery climb to the finish line, hot soup and cake.

Thank you to everyone who participated, and volunteered. Thank you to our handicapper who did a fantastic job with a majority of our senior runners coming across the finish line within minutes of each other. To those runners who attended for the first time, we hope you enjoyed yourself and we look forward to seeing you all again. You don't have to be an Ironman to compete in our events, but you do need a pinch of grit and determination.

See you all in Gore for the 70th Gore Cross-Country on Saturday.

Handicap Results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=393473

Spot Prize Winners: Junior Shoe Clinic Voucher: Beau Marshall, pool pass: CJ Iverson. Seniors: Jason Russell

70th Gore Cross Country

14th of June 2025, 2pm

Hamilton, Park Gore

The 70th Gore Cross Country will be held at Hamilton Park Gore. This is a free event hosted by Gore Harriers.

Link to registration: https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=384291

PLEASE NOTE REGISTRATIONS CLOSE THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE EVENT, NO EXCEPTIONS.

A fantastic event which includes, fence jumps, hay bails and sometimes a little bit of mud.

Under 20, Seniors and Masters who are registered to a Southland Athletics Club will be eligible to win trophies. All other runners who place in the first three of their respective age grade will receive certificates.

Age grades are taken as at 31st of December 2025. Example Alex turns 14 on the 5th of September he will run in the under 16 age group. Masters is age on the day.

All runners must race in their respective age grade. No exceptions.

Distances

Under 10 and Under 12 - 2kms

Under 14 and Under 16 - 4kms

Under 18, Under 20, Seniors and Masters - 5.4km

Afternoon tea, prize giving and sport prizes after the event.

Any questions please contact, southlandharriers@gmail.com or message via Facebook messenger.

Tune Up Your Running - Better Running Workshop

If your car ran poorly tuned, with bad shocker absorbers or unbalanced wheels it would be time for a tune up.

That’s the idea of the Better Running workshop July 12th – tune up your running

Of the many, many things we (Chris Knight and Lance Smith) totally agree on is the need to run correctly, to run effectively. That means we both need to teach how to run before honing skills as a jumper, sprinter, thrower, distance runner for new ones to the sport.

This of course, is most critical for distance runners. Why? Simply because poor form uses more energy. You have to work harder to cover the same ground. Or put another way, good form allows you to run the same pace with less effort or run faster with the same effort. And, just as important, reduces the chance of injury.

A running tune up may mean just a minor tweak or it may require a major reset, whether you’re new to the sport or an experienced runner. In fact, experienced runners invariable need that tweak or reset the most as poor form is often ingrained.

Owen Anderson, a noted American coach puts it this way in his book ‘How to run Faster and Prevent Injury’ … Poor form obviously hurts performance but also wrecks running economy and increases risk of injury …

The Better Running Workshop won’t go into how to train, focusing instead on how to run. But bring running shoes as there will be easy running exercises/drills you can learn by doing – and there’s the social pack run afterwards if you choose to go.

- Lance Smith, Chris Knight