Harriers National Road Relays in Nelson
The annual battle for harrier club supremacy takes place this Saturday with the staging of the 36th New Zealand Road Relay Championships in Nelson. The event is the largest on the Athletics New Zealand championship calendar.
University of Canterbury have dominated the senior relays over recent years, winning the men for the last five years and the women the last three.
Three of last year’s men’s team Alex Fowler, Brett Tingay and Andrew Davidson have returned to help the Varsity mates make it six in a row. They are backed by two junior runners Jack Moody and Thomas Holmes and seasoned competitors Simon Gannaway, Alex Gorrie and in form national cross country champion Sam Wreford.
Wellington Scottish, four times winners, the last in 2004, have entered a formidable combination of Ben Barry, Jesse Patel, Hamish Carson, Stefan Smith, national road champion Tim Hodge, Daniel Wallis, Glenn Hughes and their trump card on the final lap Kenyan Edwin Kaitany. Since the end of the track season Kaitany has gone unbeaten in all the races he has contested, including five half marathons and the New Zealand cross country and road championship races, and he will be wanting to keep that record intact in attempting to carry the Scottish team one better than last year to victory.
New Brighton Olympic, Wesley, Takapuna, Hamilton City Hawks and North Harbour Bays have strong teams making the race for a podium placing extremely close in the eight lap 71.67km event around Upper Moutere. New Brighton, as its former club, has won the senior men seven times, Bays nine times and Takapuna once in 1990.
University of Canterbury will not be defending their women’s title, leaving the way for Hamilton Hawks, North Harbour Bays, Wellington Harrier Athletic Club, Scottish and Auckland City Athletic to battle out the honours. Wellington Harrier, who last won in 2000, have entered a strong line up in Gabrielle O’Rourke, Vickie Humphries, Elaine Brent, Jane Leverington, Jean Kozyniak, Jacinda Swain, Kristy Whitelaw and national road champion Sarah Drought. Bays, five times previous champions, will be in the front running with their team of Anna Bramley, Amy Shaw, Marnie Oberer, Eryn Lovell, Maddie Dillon, Fran Stafford, Annika Pfitzinger and Danielle Ingram-Trevis. Hawks, second last year and yet to win a women’s title, have Maria Bentley, Camille Buscomb, Helen Rountree, Olivia Ritchie, Sarah Biss, master runners Bridget Deverell and Bridget Ray and Katherine Prumm for their assault.
Scottish has retained six members of their winning team last year in the master men. Joseph Bulbulia, David Kettles, Peter Stevens, Todd Stevens, Michael Wray and Grant McLean along with James Turner and Jim Jones should retain the title ahead of Hamilton City Hawks, Papanui Toc H and Athletics Nelson. Graeme Taylor and Phil Costley add strength to the Nelson team.
Scottish should make it title number seven in their defence of the master women’s crown. Also six of their winning combination from last year have returned. Stephanie Mackenzie, Jackie Mexted, Mandy Simpson Tricia Sloan, Anne Hare and Michele Allison will be joined by first year master Angela Leck and Jo Badham.
It is 19 years since Wellington Harrier last won the junior men’s relay, having won in 1992 and 1993. Another title could well be in the making with their team of Kieron McDonald, Marcus Karamanolis, Ryan McAlister, Yared Kebede and Nicholas Pointon entered. Ben Moynihan and Mulu Yeshum both in Auckland City Athletics’ winning team last year will be competing again along with Josh Maisey, James Watt and Hayden Rodger in their defence of the title. Pushing for a medal placing will be Hawks, Pakuranga, Athletics Nelson and Christchurch Avon.
Auckland City’s team of Georgie Grgec, Audrey Gregan, Charlotte Young, Daisy Archibald and Sophie Rees should prove too powerful for defending champions Athletics Nelson in the junior women over 39.49km.
Auckland University team of Brett Katterns, Tony King, Bryan Bates, Dave Harkness, Graham Macky, Gavin Stevens, Ken Moloney and Ian Richards should make it three years in a row and title number five in the master men over 50. However Athletics Nelson (Ian Courtenay, Murray Hart, Greg Lautenslager, Bill Revell, Patrick Meffan, Tim Cross, David Dixon and Cliff Bowman) could upset the day for the Varsity boys.
The inaugural masters men over 60 relay has attracted eight teams, with the honours likely to be fought out by Athletics Nelson, Scottish and Tauranga.
Glenhuntly Club from Melbourne have entered teams in the men’s B grade and the senior women.
Twenty eight clubs have entered a total of 118 teams for the championships and a total of 750 runners will be taking part in the ten event programme.
The first relays underway from the Moutere Hills Community Centre start/finish at 9am will be the senior men C, master women, master men over 50 and the walkers.
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