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WHAC Newsletter March 9

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In this week’s newsletter:

 

  • First Up

  • Richard Swan, Ironman

  • Sunday Long Run at Makara

  • Trail Running Series

  • Mac Attack on Kapiti

  • Zoe Hobbs Breaks Record in Wellington

  • Children’s Asthma Study

  • Honest 10 Turns 100

  • Upcoming Events

 

First Up

Congratulations to all those who competed in the New Zealand Track & Field Champs from Thursday through Sunday at Newtown Park.
WHAC athletes had some outstanding results, including three individual titles. George Gray won the U16 men’s 2000m Steeplechase in a time of 6:55. Naomi Waite won the women’s U18 High Jump with a leap of 1.73. And Hugo Jones made it a double in the high jump by winning the men’s U18 title with a leap of 1.90.
Naomi Waite also won a silver medal in the U20 High Jump (1.66) and Analin Rudd was part of the Wellington team that won a silver medal in the 4 x 100m relay (50.28). Poppy Healy won bronze in the U18 800m, with a time of 2:17.50.
Full results can be found here
Congratulations also to those who ran in the Wellington 3000m Champs on Wednesday night. Participants included Vickie Humphries (12:12), Dan Clendon (9:16), James Waite (10:09) and Graeme Morrison (10:26).
Full results here
If anybody is wanting to run as part of a team for the special 100th edition of the Honest 10K this month on March 19 and hasn’t yet been in touch with their captain, please send an email to Paul Hewitson: kiwiquaker@xtra.co.nz
Also, we are still short a 40-minute pacer and a couple of volunteers for the Honest 10 — if you can help out, drop Mark Te Punga a line at: marktepunga@hotmail.com
Unfortunately it seems we will hit our monthly limit for free emails on Mailchiimp after two newsletters. So for now, the plan is to send the first two newsletters of each month on Mailchimp and then revert to the GameDay platform after that. So I’m making the most of it this week with lots of images.
For future newsletter items or suggestions, please email Nick Perry: nickgbperry@gmail.com


Naomi Waite’s winning jump in the New Zealand Track & Field Champs (photo: Athletics New Zealand)

Richard Swan, Ironman

From Richard Swan

Last Saturday our beloved, hard working club secretary competed in the Ironman in Taupo. As it was the 12th time that I had paid the entry fee, I was entitled to race as an Ironman Legend. It was a club effort since Frankie Evett lent me a TT helmet for use and a mate of Seth Campbell lent me a wetsuit, thank you lads!
The race expectations were not high, just to finish with some dignity. I swam OK in perfect conditions, 67 odd minutes was a fair result reflecting the level of training and my ability. The bike started calm-ish, but then I got a 5 minute drafting penalty, which in my humble experience was very harsh, but then again no-one admits that a drafting penalty is ever fair. The wind on the second lap started to build so I ended up riding around 5:50 for the 180 km, so again fair reflecting my training.
Onto the full marathon. I thought I would run OK bearing in mind I have run a sub 3-hour marathon on that course. During the opening km, I was told I looked like a professional, but that was about as good as it got, due to the heat and a reluctance to take too many risks. Even as I started to slow down I did the first half marathon in about 1:40. However, as the heat took its toll I started to walk. I then walked a bit more and stopped to talk to a few people out supporting since it would have been rude not to (the picture is from such a talk). I ended up doing a woeful 3:59:42 for the run, and overall did about 11:15. Ironman proved itself to be a brutal day!
The finish was my 12th finish in Taupo, but only 10 as full ironman since two were shortened due to poor weather. With 2 World Ironman/Hawaii Ironman finishes it was my 12th ironman finish.

Ironman Richard Swan

Sunday Long Run at Makara

The Christchurch Marathon training group is running another Makara Loop this coming Sunday. Others are welcome to join in as well — if you are interested, contact Mark Te Punga at marktepunga@hotmail.com
Meet at Karori Park at 8:20 for an 8:30 a.m. start. Bring your drinks and gels and Mark will endeavour to give them back to you every 5km. You don’t have to do the whole 34km, or at least Mark has room in the car for four people if they want to do 20 or 25 or 30.

Trail Running Series

The new Thursday Throwdown series has a final run, on March 23. 

Mac Attack on Kapiti

Ian Macfarlane ran the Xterra event at Whareroa Farm in Kapiti, finishing first in the over 60 grade in 1:51. Here’s what he made of the event:

Fifteenth in the field. First old man, two 50 year-olds ahead of me.
Part of the Xterra Wellington festival  – options include a tri, duathlon, and 6km, 14km or half marathon options. I ran the half which is all off road- start / finish at the University Relays site at QE park.
The half marathon heads off up into the hills on the other side of the expressway – a climb for about 5km before heading back down a fairly steep technical bike trail for 3km then back into QE park where you head north on the trails and come out at Raumati Beach. Then along the beach heading south for 2kms and into the (walking steep) dunes at the Paekakariki entrance to the park and wind your way back to finish along the same final straight for the Uni Relays.
A great (testing) run if you like off road that was well organised and provides some fantastic views of the Kapiti coast (if you have the presence of mind to take it all in).

Zoe Hobbs Breaks Record in Wellington

From Athletics New Zealand

Sprinting sensation Zoe Hobbs highlighted the 124th New Zealand championships with a New Zealand Allcomers, Resident, National and Oceania 100m record of 11.07 (+1.8).
This was achieved in the heats and clipped a hundredth of a second off her National and Oceania record set at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, and reduced her Allcomers and Resident record of 11.15 set in Hastings in February last year.
In the final, Hobbs sped to the fastest-ever time recorded by a woman in New Zealand, a wind assisted 10.89 (it doesn’t count as a record). The following wind was 3.4mps. The previous fastest was also wind assisted, Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s final at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games timed at 11.02 +4.4.
Full story here

 

Children’s Asthma Study

From Mischa Walton

Hi there, my name is Mischa Walton, I am a researcher at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand (MRINZ) based in Wellington Hospital. The MRINZ is currently running a study for children with asthma. With the study, we are comparing two different inhalers to find out which one is better at preventing asthma attacks in children.

To take part you must have been –

  • Diagnosed with asthma by a doctor
  • Be aged between 5 and 15 years
  • Only use a reliever inhaler

What does it involve –

  • 1 year
  • 3 in person or zoom vists and 2 phone calls
  • Inhalers provided free of chare
  • Asthma education
  • Reimbursement for date expenses

More information: https://trials.mrinz.ac.nz/surveys/?s=XFL7DL98HD 

This study has been approved by the Northern B Helth and Disability Ethics Committee

Our study website: https://www.mrinz.ac.nz/currently-recruiting/care-study 

Email: care@mrinz.ac.nz 

Telephone: 027 327 1191 / +64 4 805 0201 

 

Honest 10 Turns 100

From Paul Hewitson

The 100th Honest 10k will be run on March 19th and to help celebrate we are including a team’s competition at a discounted entry fee.  
Register your team of 10 online with a team name and entrants. $5 per registered runner with a maximum of five senior men. The combined time will be calculated with prizes for the winning team. Note this is open only to registered club runners. 
Participants can enter both online or on the day. We will also have some spot prizes  
We will donate 50% of the proceeds to Wellington Free Ambulance  
Remember it’s a fast and accurate course with pacers, photos and refreshments!
Teams can email a spreadsheet of their runners to: Honest10@whac.org.nz
Runners prepaying can use the code “H10 team name”  eg “H10 Scottish” or pay on the day.

Upcoming Events

 

MARCH

19th             Honest 10, Whale Tail sculpture near Freyberg Pool

APRIL 

29th            Shaw Baton Relays, Battle Hill

 

WHAC Board Information

If you have ideas for the club or any questions, please contact a board member or the secretary, Richard Swan (secretary@whac.org.nz). Your board members are: John Barrance, Richard Swan, Frank Evett, Paul Hewitson, Julie Richards, Gordon Clarke, Georgina Wedge, Bertram Manz, Jean Kozyniak, Vickie Humphries, Seth Campbell, Todd Krieble, Ryan McAlister, Nathan Tse and John O’Driscoll.