Southland Harriers eNewsletter

2nd Annual Kartsport 5Km Champs

59 Participants took part in Saturdays Event

10 volunteers assisted in the set up and running of the Event

Kartsport Southland was the venue, and thankfully our littlies got to run in relative dryness……….maybe that was why the infamous Fiordland Sandfly showed up for the 3 laps and the high fives. Thank you Sandfly your presence was a big hit. Baxter Tamariki was the first across the finish line over the 3km distance but the fast and very finessed finish of Ella Densie was the highlight of the race.

Thank you Grant Baker and the Fiordland Team for the quick set of the officials Marquee before the event, it was much needed by the time the 5km main event started.

The start line was stacked, a sea of Southland Club colours, and again the Fiordland Sandfly was found front and centre. A quick decision was made by the competing runners that when passing or being passed all runners were to hold there line, and then they were off. The Sandfly took off at a blistering pace which he managed to maintain around the first corner, before DNF"ing!

The magic of the Kartsport venue, is its the first opportunity of the season for parents and supporters to marvel at the speed, agility and grit that all Southland Harriers seem to be blessed with. The grit was especially evident when the skies opened up and unleashed!! Yet every participant preserved, and multiple runners achieved season and all time personal best times.

In the end the first Southland Athlete across the line was James Webber (Under18- Queenstown) in a time of 15:35. Congratulations James you are this years Southland Athletics Male 5km Champ!!

Masters Athlete Dwight Grieve (Fiordland) followed taking second place in a time of 16:07 and in 3rd Lewis Blay (Under 18-St. Pauls), who finished in 16:25.

Our Female Champion Lily Wiegersma ran a strong race, keeping just ahead of our second place runner Freya Gilmour making for a very exciting race. Only 5 seconds separated this two young ladies at the finish line. Congratulations Lilly (Under 14-Gore), for finishing with a time of 19:58 and Freya (Under 14-St.Pauls) in a time of 20:03. In 3rd place another phenomenal young runner Lilly Gemmel (Under 16-Gore)finished in 21:45.

Congratulations to everyone who took part on Saturday, and an extra shout out to those who placed in their respective age groups.

Despite the wind and the rain, there was alot of smiling faces and I know the doughnuts were a hit because there were none left!!

As always thank you to all the volunteers, Grant Baker for assisting with set up. Lillian and Hendry Tudor for timing. Timothy Macdonald for the excellent photos. Virginia Baker for managing athletics registrations. Sean Cantwell for course inspection and being a general all knowing event man. Ian Densie for all the pre-race organising, photo taking and post race Facebook posting. Joe Sanganiti for corralling the finishers, essential work for quick results and Alex and Sidney Jackson who despite their rowdy demeanor did help set up the event and assisted at the finish line. These events could not run without all of you.

Full results can be found using this link: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=395915

Tims photos can be found using this link: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=395915