In this week’s newsletter:
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First Up
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University Relays
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Collecting Race Bibs
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WHAC Wants To Hear From You
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Vosseler Volunteers Needed
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Advice For Aging Athletes
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Masters Classic XC Relay
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WHAC Membership Renewal
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Upcoming Events
First Up
It’s a big weekend with the University Relays on Saturday and then this month’s edition of the Honest 10K on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the country, it’s the Hawke’s Bay Marathon in Napier on Saturday (good luck Dave Creamer and anybody else travelling up for that) and then the Reboot marathon in Christchurch on Sunday (good luck to Esther George, Nathan Tse, Paul Hewitson and any others taking part).
It will be interesting to see how Julian Oakley, the former World Indoor 3000m finalist, does in the Reboot half, his first race over that distance. More on that here
Please note there was a broken hyperlink to Todd Krieble’s email address in last week’s newsletter. He is eager to hear from members and parents who are wiling to participate in focus groups aimed at improving the club. Please email Todd at the link in the item below, which should now be working.
The club is still looking for a few more marshals to help with the Vosseler Shield, which is now only two weeks away. Please get in touch with Ian Macfarlane or the sector marshals if you can help (more on that below).
And don’t forget to get your membership fees paid before May 22 to secure a personalised race bib, which will be printed for you to use in time for the Vosseler Shield and then for the Dorne Cup, XC Champs, and Road Champs.
For future newsletter items or suggestions, please email Nick Perry: nickgbperry@gmail.com
Esther George, Natasha Rae, Andrea Peat (and absent, Sarah Drought) won the Shaw Baton SW race at Battle Hill
University Relays
From Victoria University Athletic Club
The Victoria University Athletic Club would like to invite your members to the Victoria University Relay events being held at QE Park on Saturday 14 May. Registered athletes and social members of clubs are eligible to compete in the following events:
1. The Whittaker’s Chocolate Walk – open to walkers of all ages. Distance of approximately 6 km. Walkers must estimate their time with the winners being the walkers who are closest to their estimated time. Prizes for first female and first male.
2. The Boys & Girls Races – scratch races for athletes under 16 years of age, and a fun run for the under 7’s. Athletes 16 years and older run in the junior relay. Prize giving for the scratch races will be held shortly after the under 7’s fun run. ***Age is taken as at 31 December 2022***
3. The Victoria University Relay – 10 grades with 4 runners per team over an approx. 3.5 km lap.
RACE TIMES
12 p.m. Chocolate Walk 6 km walk on the road; 11.30 registration, 12 noon start
1:15 p.m. B&G U10 1.2 km: the start is over the sandhills to the south of the main start/finish area
1:30 p.m. B&G U12 2 km loop from the start/finish area
1:45 p.m. B&G U14 & U16 2 km loop from the start/finish area
2 p.m. B&G U7 300 metres fun run “out and back” from the start/finish area
2:30 p.m. UNIVERSITY RELAY 10 grades with 4 runners per team, 3.5 km lap. All grades start together.
Junior women U20, Junior men U20, Senior women, Masters women 35+, Masters women 50+, Masters men 50+, *Open 60+, **Mixed
*Open 60+ teams can comprise of Senior men men and women in the same team.
**Mixed teams can comprise athletes of Masters men 35+ mixed ages and genders (results in the grade will be recorded but there will be no prizes awarded)
Prizes will be awarded to the winning team in each grade with the prizegiving to start as soon as the final runner completes the event
PLEASE NOTE: Age is taken as of 31st December 2022 — OR, in the case of Masters, age on the day of the event.
Collecting Race Bibs
From John Barrance
Once you renew your club membership, or join as a new member, Athletics Wellington issues your personalised race bib for use in the Vosseler Shield, Dorne Cup, XC Champs, and Road Champs. This race bib is required for you to run in these four interclub races. Providing you are a financial competitive member by Sunday 22 May, your personalised bib will be issued in time to use it for the Vosseler Shield on 28 May.
You may pick up your personalised race bib as follows:
If you registered by 8 May – from John Barrance at Mackays Crossing for the University Relay on Saturday 14 May.
If you registered by 8 May – from John Barrance at the Clubrooms on Saturday 21 May at 2 p.m.
If you registered at any time up to 22 May – from John Barrance at the Clubrooms on Vosseler Day, Saturday 28 May, from 11:30am. Arrive early to avoid long queues.
If you register after 22 May and up to midnight Thursday 26 May, you will be issued with a temporary bib for the Vosseler. The temporary bib must be returned after the race. Your personalised bib will be issued at the Dorne Cup.
WHAC Wants To Hear From You
From Todd Krieble
The WHAC board wants to hear from members and parents about how we can best improve the club to make sure we meet the needs of current and future members. Over the next few months we will be running online focus groups for:
Children/parents, Junior Women, Junior Men, Senior Men, Senior Women, Masters Men, Masters Women.
The focus groups will build on the Voice of Participants Survey conducted by Athletics New Zealand last year. If you are interested in participating, please contact Todd Krieble: todd.krieble@gmail.com or the club contact for your section.
Vosseler Volunteers Needed
From Ian Macfarlane
WHAC is hosting the Vosseler Shield on Saturday 28th May – the first major event of the harrier season. Marshals are required at road crossings and key points around the course on Mt Victoria. Sector marshals will lead each team of marshals and there will be a race briefing for all marshals at the clubrooms prior to the event on the day, which runs from 12 p.m. and finishes around 4 p.m.
If you can support the club and volunteer to marshal, please email Ian Macfarlane: whacracedirector@gmail.com
Or the Sector Marshals:
Chris Tse chris.w.tse@gmail.com
Rich leverington richlevnz@hotmail.com
Greg Hunt Greg.Hunt@wetaworkshop.co.nz
Advice For Aging Athletes
Matt Fitzgerald says in a Runner’s Tribe column to Assume Nothing.
By this I mean that you must not assume you will slow down, or your training capacity will decrease, as you get older. Just keep chugging along as though you are immune to the laws of nature that affect other aging athletes and see what happens.
For the full column, click here
Masters Classic XC Relay
From Wellington Masters Athletics
This event takes place on 22 May 2022.
It’s based at the Trentham Club Rooms in Upper Hutt. This cross country race was first held in 1986 and takes place over mixed terrain. Starting and finishing on footpaths, the bulk of the race takes place across grass and compacted mud, with a detour through Bartons Bush.
Walkers race in teams of three, runners in teams of four (prior to 2019, runners were teams of five). Everyone completes the same 4km loop..
For more details and to enter, click here
WHAC Membership Renewal
Renew your WHAC membership
It’s the start of the new season, and we now invite you to renew your membership for the 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 year. You can easily deal with the paperwork side and renew your membership online on our membership portal:
https://memberdesq.onesporttechnology.com/3217/org
Upcoming Events
MAY
14th University Cross Country Relays, Mackays Crossing
14th Hawke’s Bay marathon, Napier
15th (Sun) Honest 10k, Freyberg
15th (Sun) Reboot Athletes Marathon (Senior Champs), Christchurch
21st Club runs/walks, clubrooms
22nd (Sun) Masters classic relay, Trentham
22nd (Sun) Palmerston North Full, Half, 10 & 5k, Palmerston North
28th Vosseler Shield (interclub), clubrooms
JUNE
4th Press/Palmer cups, clubrooms
5th (Sun) Aurora Handicap Marathon, Upper Hutt
11th Dorne Cup (interclub), Trentham
12th (Sun) Honest 10K, Freyberg
18th NZSS XC & Relay Champs, Nelson
18th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
19th (Sun) Wellington Marathon, half, 10k & 5k (inc Wellington Half Marathon Champs), Sky Stadium
25th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
JULY
2nd North Island XC champs, Taupo
2nd Club runs/walks, clubrooms
School Holidays July 9th-24th
9th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
10th (Sun) Honest 10K, Freyberg
16th Wellington Urban Ultra, Mt Kaukau
16th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
17th (Sun) Wellington Cross Country Champs (interclub), Harcourt Park
23rd Resnick Cup Road Race, clubrooms
24th (Sun) Masters Road Race, Johnsonville
30th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
31st (Sun) New Zealand Cross Country Champs, Taupo
AUGUST
6th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
13th Needle Relay (interclub), Evans Bay
15th AGM (provisional), clubrooms
20th NZ Mountain Running Champs, Queenstown
20th Wellington Road Running Champs (interclub) NZCIS, Upper Hutt TBC
21tst (Sun) Honest 10K, Freyberg
27th Henderson Relay (U14), clubrooms
SEPTEMBER
3rd Club runs/walks, clubrooms
4th (Sun) New Zealand Road Championships NZCIS, Upper Hutt
10th Old Boys Memorial Race, clubrooms
17th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
17th Rotorua Marathon (NZ Masters Champs), Rotorua
18th (Sun) Honest 10K, Freyberg
18th (Sun) Hutt Marathon Events (Wellington Marathon Champs TBC), Petone
24th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
OCTOBER
School holidays October 1st -16th
1st NZ Road Road Relays, Christchurch
8th Club runs/walks, clubrooms
9th (Sun) Masterton Marathon, Half, 10k, 5k, Masterton
15th Bernie Potenski Memorial Handicap, Titahi Bay
16th (Sun) New Zealand Half Marathon Champs, Cambridge
16th (Sun) Honest 10K, Freyberg
16th (Sun) NZ Trail Running Champs, Christchurch
23 (Sun) Harrier Section annual meeting & Prize giving followed by afternoon tea (bring a plate) TBC, clubrooms
NOVEMBER
20th Honest 10K, Freyberg
DECEMBER
18th Honest 10K, Freyberg
WHAC Board Information
If you have ideas for the club or any questions, please contact a board member or the secretary, Melissa Black (secretary@whac.org.nz). Your board members are: John Barrance, Melissa Black, Gordon Clarke, Esther George, Paul Hewitson, Vickie Humphries, Jean Kozyniak, Bertram Manz, Julie Richards, Nathan Tse, Jack Waterworth, Georgina Wedge, Frank Evett, Louis Hogan and Todd Krieble.
