VETRUNNER. ISSN Vol. 38 Issue 4 October 2016 Patron: Jack Pennington OAM.

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1 VETRUNNER Y f ISSN Vol. 38 Issue 4 October 2016 Patron: Jack Pennington OAM vetrunner@actvac.com 35th Veterans Half Marathon Lake Ginninderra, 21 August 2016 Reporter: Ken Eynon The Vets Half Marathon was held for the second year on the shores of Lake Ginninderra in Belconnen. Once again it was not a great day weather-wise, but better than the day before and not too bad for the runners. When the weather is not great the toughest jobs belong to the volunteers. This year Shane Hutchison, the Club Secretary, took over the role as the race manager. although I helped as much as I could. It was great to have the founder of the half marathon, Bryan Thomas, running in the 35 th event and helping at the end with the presentations. Bryan and his late wife Trish lived for the ACT Vets. The half marathon is Bryan s baby and there is not much about this event, and in fact most ACT Vets events, where Bryan is not the guru. Bryan is the club historian and a former long-serving president of the club. fields. It is normal for world records to be set on flat fast courses in major world half marathon events on the other side of the world. Peter Freeman completed his 25 th Vets Half Marathon to become our latest Bakker and his name will be duly placed on the perpetual trophy. Bernie Millett continued on his merry way and has now completed 32 of the 35 Vets Half Marathons held. Bernie would have run his 32 half marathons in about 30% of the time it took Peter to run his 25 events. The all-time most number of runs contains a list of prestigious runners (some still working on their tallies, some not having been seen for a while!): Bernie Millett (32), Ken Eynon (30), Bernie Rogers (29), Sue Counsel (28), Jim White (27), Anne Young (26), Kevin O'Keeffe (26), John Bakker (25), Bob Chapman (25), Peter Clarke (25), Peter Freeman (25), John Wells (22), Bryan Thomas (22), Nick Blackaby (21), John Casey (21), John Suiter (21), M55: Peter Thomson (3rd), Peter James (1st), David Clarke (2nd) W60: Clare Wall (1st), Jennifer Kellett (2nd), Annie Van Herck (3rd) W45: Sally Thauvette (3rd), Nadine Morrison (2nd), Elle Knight (1st) Runners This year we had 75 entries, and just 69 finishers, with 26 females and 43 males. This was a disappointing turnout. Having said that, there were some excellent runs and, for the traditionalist, the flat fast Lake Ginninderra course gives runners a great chance of posting a half marathon PB. The best runs, based on results by Age Percentage, were as follows: Females Belinda Martin W40 1:24: % Clare Wall W60 1:47: % Keri Vaughan W55 1:44: % Males Peter James M55 1:23: % Kent Williams M70 1:38: % David Clarke M55 1:27: %. As you can see, there were some excellent results against the world best times in an event with such small Hugh Crawley (21), Maria White (20), Peter Kallio (20), Des Brown (19). Fastest male times on the day were run by M40 Jason McCrae 1:22:53, followed by Peter James M55 1:23:47. The fastest female times were run by Belinda Martin M40 1:24:19, followed by Elle Knight W45 1:30:00. Volunteers For this event we need almost 40 volunteers. Many of these volunteers have been doing similar tasks since the event began. It is a full half day of being on your feet, though at Lake Ginninderra you do get to see the runners more often that you did as a volunteer on the old Lake Burley Griffin courses. Many of these volunteers are the same people who undertake major tasks with the Club s handicaps and/or at the track and field. A number of runners helped with the set-up and/or pack away or both. We thank you all. Continued page 2

2 Page 2 October 2016 Vetrunner Conclusion I hope the last few years are just a hiccup in the progress of the ACT Vets Half Marathon. Yes, it is great to run trails and out in the bush. But if you want to post half marathon times for your grandchildren to marvel at, or try to beat, then you need to post good times in events like the Vets Half. You will not find a flatter, faster course in the southern hemisphere. In 2015 we did not have two shocking days in a row, like we did this year. There was the National Cross Country Championships on the Saturday and Race Walking Championships on the same day as our Half, along with the Rio Olympics. Did all this detract from our entries? I thank Shane Hutchison for coming on board and take on the role as Race Manager. And we need to give thanks to Bryan Thomas, who originated the event, and to Audrey Gormley, Peter Cullen and Belinda Bounty, who continued the tradition. I certainly hope to be fronting up as a runner once again in Thank you also to the race sponsors, The Runners Shop and New Balance. Nick Walshe helped with the presentations; he and his team do a great job in both the Phillip and Gungahlin shops, looking after old and new runners alike. So I encourage you to support our supporters. Cheers and thank you all. See page 10 for results. More photos by John Kennedy are on the ACTVAC website Sue Counsel finishing M65: Peter Clarke (1st), John Kennedy (3rd) M70: Kevin Chapman (3rd), Kent Williams (1st), Bernie Millett (2nd) ACT VETERANS ATHLETIC CLUB Fitness Through Fellowship The Vetrunner is the official Newsletter of ACTVAC Inc, ISSN Postal Address: GPO Box 2356, Canberra, ACT Internet at: actvac.com.au Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the views of ACTVAC Patron: Jack Pennington OAM President: Jan Banens president@actvac.com Vice President: Jayne Hardy Secretary: Shane Hutchison secretary@actvac.com shane.100@optusnet.com.au Treasurer: Nigel Coldrick treasurer@actvac.com nigel.coldrick@grapevine.net.au Registrar: Raylea Rudov registrar@actvac.com Public Officer: Jan Banens Main Committee: committee@actvac.com Angela Braniff Terrill Strahan Steve Jordan Lorna England Bruce Wight Sub-Committee Contacts: Annual Awards: Bryan Thomas (h) brytrish@grapevine.com.au Half Marathon: Shane Hutchison shane.100@optusnet.com.au Competition (T&F): Roger Pilkington rpilk@hotmail.com Social Events: Sherryl Greathead (w), Rosemary Parker Robyn Saunders Marketing and Membership: Narelle and Nick Blackaby nnblackaby@bigpond.com Run/Walk Handicaps: Rod Lynch rodlynch@iinet.net.au Handicap Rosters: John Alcock actvachandicap@gmail.com Throwing Handicaps: Jayne Hardy jayne.hardy@anu.edu.au Other Contacts: Member Protection Information Officer Sue Bourke Geoff Barker Catering/Lost Property: Mike Roche (AIS track) John Alcock (Monthly Run/Walk Handicaps) Equipment Officer and Throws Pentathlon: Jayne Hardy Relays and Cross Country: Jim White (h) Statistician and Club Records: Phil White philipjulianwhite@gmail.com Uniforms: Jayne Hardy jayne.hardy@anu.edu.au Vetrunner Editor: Mick Saunders vetrunner@actvac.com Vetrunner Distribution: Roger Abbott (h) Webmaster: Geoff Moore speedygeoff@gmail.com

3 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 3 Spring is here and so are the daffodils, but has the rain finished with us yet? As discussed in Vetrunner, ACTVAC Bulletin, and at the handicaps, Y f Vetrunner will now be available online to members who have internet access, while those members who don t have internet access will continue to receive Vetrunner by mail. It will also continue to be mailed to Life Members, libraries and interstate club secretaries. National Mailing and Marketing in Hume will print 50 hard copies of Vetrunner, pack and post them for our club at no cost as their support of ACTVAC. I would like to thank all members who were willing to be part of our effort to bring our club back from running at such a large deficit each year as a result of Vetrunner printing and distribution costs. Victorian Masters is having the same problem with their Footprints magazine as we were, with their magazine costing $3.00 to print and post per copy. They are also asking members to read it online, while other states such as WA already have an online magazine. A certificate of appreciation has been sent to our previous printer, Instant Colour Press, thanking them for their years of service and support to our club. I would also like to thank Roger Abbott for his tireless work over many years getting the Vetrunner from the printer to Koomarri and then taking the hard copies out to the various venues. I hadn t given a thought as to how printed copies appeared at the various venues until I met Roger. I also found out that Paul Archer and other members also spent years as Vetrunner couriers. I thank you all, and promise that I will find something else to fill up your now spare time and keep you occupied! I attended the AACT board meeting on 31 August and there will soon be a list of times for members to train at the Woden track. There will be a fee for use similar to that required for use of the AIS. As soon as when and how to pay are sorted for Woden, I will notify members. PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Shane Hutchison, Ken Smith, Bob Banens and I offered our assistance at the Canberra Times Fun Run on Father s Day, and no, I didn t run! We handed out Club pamphlets to runners and spectators and got many enthusiastic responses. We also assisted Athletics ACT running the 30 metre sprint course where young and older sprinters could compare their electronic time to Usain Bolt, or friends and family rivals. Toddlers, teens, parents and grandparents, male and female, competed and great fun was had with this event for three hours. My husband Bob ran the final sprint against a young upstart and thought he had won, but I had to inform him that the nine year old beat him on the line! I hope that our members who have retired or have some spare time might like to undertake an officials course and help out at various schools sports days. Officiating is a fun day and it is nice to see so many young children (and their parents) enjoying their sport. Who knows, a few years down the track they or their parents may be interested in becoming members of our club. Entries have now closed for the World Championships in Perth and 4014 athletes have entered of which some 1400 competitors are from Australia, and some 35 from the ACT. The WA organising committee are highly organised and it should be a great and well organised competition. For those who are not going to Perth, there is the Australian Masters Athletics winter throwing competition now being held in Wollongong over the October long weekend. Entries close on 24 September see the NSW Masters Athletics website for details. Enjoy spring and the warmer touch to the sun in between the rain and showers! Jan Banens By Nigel Coldrick At the club s AGM on 17 May 2016 the budget for was passed with an expectation of a $13,760 deficit. The words from the AGM report follow. Proposed Budget The proposed budget for is primarily based on the following factors: a) Membership fees remaining at their current level. b) We have been awarded a grant for $3130 towards the purchase of a trailer. c) Bank interest will remain low. d) Actual expenses are based mainly on actuals together with budget requests received. e) With the change in membership subscriptions introduced this year, we anticipate an increase in membership revenue but this will be offset by loss of income at regular events. f) Run/Walk handicap costs do not include the purchase of a new trailer which is a capital expense. g) The budget for trophies and for Vetrunner has been trimmed as we need to make some savings in these areas. An operating deficit of $13,760 is anticipated. In the view of the committee, this is not sustainable in the longer term, as it is rapidly eroding our reserves. Should this budget work out as planned, the club s overall financial position will have worsened by nearly $ in three years. Club Finances I have now taken on the Treasurer s position and will endeavour to keep members informed of where our money comes from and where it is being expended. I will also be asking for suggestions and recommendations on how to turn our financial affairs into a balanced budget (I am sounding like a politician). As the current budget was passed and is in place, we have over six months to put together a plan to be put to members at the next AGM. The club s committee, with the assistance of several members expertise and time, have begun to address the $9,000 of expenses for the Vetrunner. The budget of $9,000 was prepared when the Vetrunner was being printed at Instant Colour press and packaged by Koomarri for distribution. Koomarri have since closed their distribution section and new quotes for this work added significantly to the $9,000 annual cost. With the revenue from members being around $24,000 maximum, then it could not be justified spending $9,000 plus on hard copies of the Vetrunner. Some of the regular expenses that are of interest: At the half marathon the St John s attendance costs $440, the generator hire $110, the fruit $60 and the medals purchased cost $695. At the August running handicap the St John s attendance was $110, the Portaloo hire $140, the fruit $60. Continued page 5

4 Page 4 October 2016 Vetrunner CLUB Sponsors: KINGSTON PHYSIOTHERAPY & SPORTS INJURY CENTRE UNIT 1, 4 KENNEDY ST KING- STON, ACT Ph: E: info@kingstonphysio.com.au PHYSIOTHERAPISTS Craig Wisdom (Principal) Andrew Bonatakis Katie Bowyer Adam Townsend P OD IATRIST Ricky Lee Biomechanical & Fo ot -care P odiatry; Orthot ics M ASSA GE THERAP IST H ilary Bridgen Sp orts, Relaxation & Remedial Massage W: 15% discount for ACTVAC members 4% of payments donated to ACTVAC All therapists are highly experienced and skilled in rehabilitation of muscle & tendon strains, back & neck problems, lower limb injuries, and especially post-surgical shoulder, knee & hip programs. *Hydrotherapy and digital gait analysis now also available.* Sponsorship Members are entitled to discounts on prices for goods purchased from The Runners Shop and for services from Kingston Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre. Please inform The Runners Shop that you are a club member when you make a purchase, and inform the Kingston Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre that you are a club member when you book a session. As part of their sponsorship arrangements with the Club, The Runners Shop and Kingston Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre each remit to the Club a payment equivalent to a percentage of their sales to members. Nick Walshe, of The Runners Shop, and Craig Wisdom, of the Kingston Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre, are club members. Club Supporters The Club is grateful for the generous support of the following local businesses: Go Troppo Fyshwick Markets for a discount on fruit for our regular athletic events; Southside Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic for donating a prize at our monthly throwing handicaps and for providing a $5.00 discount per consultation to our members; Garry Maher of Manuka Drafting Service for donating prizes for the King and Queen of the Mountain in both the Thomas and Frylink Series; Belconnen Soccer Club for their support of the 200th Throwing Handicap and providing a venue for the AGM and committee meetings.

5 With the cost of medals looking at being around $4,000 for the year and the fruit $720 for the running handicap. I have received several suggestions: 1. Combine the walking handicap with the short course handicap. With a handicap system it should not matter whether you are walking or running. This would reduce 3 medals per month. With only 35 participants in each of the walk and the short run, then a combined race would have a manageable 70 participants. Considering only 28 members were eligible in the short run and with 33 medals awarded over the year, then you only have to turn up to earn over one medal per year (all things being equal) which somewhat devalues the worth of a medal. Dear Editot I would like to express my sheer disappointment with the somewhat blanket announcement made at the last handicap that from now on the Vetrunner will not be printed (except in limited numbers) and will be sent to members online. And if members want a printed copy, "they will just have to print it off themselves". One of the really enjoyable things about the Vets is attending the monthly handicap and, after collecting the Vetrunner, heading home to relax and read through the previous month s 'happenings', as well as the very interesting articles sometimes included. Robert Kennedy's "The Top End Trip" and "My Four Great Jobs", Clare Wall's "2016 Boston Marathon", Ken Eynon's "Adelaide Marathon 1986 Memories" and Bryan Thomas's serial of "History of the ACTVAC" are examples. I have spoken to a number of fellow members and every single one has agreed with me that the thought of having to sit in front of a screen to do what is normally a relaxing event is totally repulsive. All have agreed with me that there are now numerous things sent online to be read and the result is that most do not get read properly, if at all! I can appreciate the cost of printing is becoming an issue but maybe looking at other things first could in fact save costs. It must be recognised that the biggest involvement Letter to the Editor October 2016 Vetrunner Page 5 2. Only award a medal for first place and give a ribbon for second and third. Still record all three places as medallists in the records. 3. Ask for sponsors for the fruit. A group of people (say 6) could contribute for the upcoming handicap and sponsor the fruit purchase. This is only a starting point for suggestions and anybody can make a suggestion to turn around the unsustainable expenditure position of the Club (or increase the income). You may send your suggestions to treasurer@actvac.com or talk to any of the committee members. in the Vets is with the monthly run/walk handicap. Those members should be given some priority. Here are some thoughts on the matter: I am sure a $5 increase in fees would be a substantial help and l am sure most members would not object. Perhaps look at reducing the content and so decrease printing costs. The latest Vetrunner had about four pages of statistics, which is about 20% of the total. Those statistics could easily go online. Maybe even producing it every second month? - certainly not my preferred choice! It has even been suggested to me that there is no need for medals to be given out every month. Perhaps an A5 paper size certificate would suffice? I do declare l have a very vested interest in the Vetrunner remaining in print format. That vested interest is that l have for some time been very involved in the writing of the monthly 'handicap report' and to this end l have a volunteer reporter each month. My concern is that, if they suspect their report will not be read, they will be reluctant to volunteer. Geoff Barker Member no ACTVAC Social Function For October Date: Tuesday 4 October 2016 Venue: Hellenic Club in the City Location: 13 Moore Street, Canberra Time: 7pm Food: A wide variety of food (including vegetarian and GF) Drinks: Available for purchase at the bar. For a fun night out, we invite you to meet with fellow members of the Club for an informal social dinner. Please contact one of the following members of the Social Team by 12 noon on Monday 3 October if you would like to attend so that we can finalise the numbers. We look forward to seeing you there. Rosemary: (h) parkerrandr@comcen.com.au Robyn: robyns@iinet.net.au Sherryl: sherryl.g@iinet.net.au Vetrunner Online You can download the Vetrunner from the ACTVAC website:

6 Page 6 October 2016 Vetrunner Run/Walk Handicap - Goorooyarroo 28 August 2016 Reporter: Christopher Lang Remember that hot, hot Sunday we ran this course last year, or was it 2014? Anyway, forget that heat stroke day: any thoughts, or even heartfelt longings for a blast of balmy warmth, were vanquished thoroughly by a persistent two knot northerly that chilled any stationary person to her or his venerable bones. The morning of 28 August 2016 at the Sunday monthly ACTVAC handicap was sunless and chilly. There were beanies and coats aplenty. I did notice Cathy Montalto, Waddell timekeeper, a noticeable fashionista among several, spiffily attired in in an eminently practical neck-toankle coat in a suitably muted fawn green tone. Over recent years Cathy has been a regular manager/helper at Goorooyarroo, and may have drawn on corporate experience to ensure she was as comfortable at her station as dressing to the conditions would permit. walkers and runners, whose competitive efforts on the day made the achievements of those named below special and memorable. Here are some details on the nine medal winners in the order that they finished. Waddell Series Terry Munro took Gold in the walk. With this recent gold-winning walk, Terry now has a tidy dozen medals in the display cupboard, augmenting his 11, mostly silver, medals. The previous time Terry won gold was back in the 1980s he thinks. Terry has more than a mere fondness for the course, and associates it readily with many he has carried out for the CSIRO. Terry gives his all on handicaps and admits to feeling buggered, but always on a high, whether finishing in gold or Lantern Rouge. He has shaken his foot soreness and is moving more freely, topping up his fitness with extra aerobic gym training. Tilting at the challenge Slip, slop, slap. In-step There were few, if any, evocations of Man in Black Johnny Cash warbling at the August 2016 handicap, in contrast to the scene at the February handicap this year, as painted by Martin Butterfield s words with their reference to Ring of Fire, and other hot items, including Will Smith and NASCAR. Talking of black, I was out on the course, returning to HQ after assisting Peter Thomson set out the kilometre markers, and fortunate to see up close many Black Cockatoos winging their way into the wind. That distinctive inimitably plaintive cry of the Black Cocky, seemingly afloat in the sky, moving effortlessly in flight on a languid wing sweep, is a tantalising mystery of nature that infuses the eye, head and heart of this beholder with awe and an irrational rush of life-affirming good luck. Were the Black Cockies presence the inspiration for the feats of Terry, Jill and Jeff in their historic gold-winning feats? Noone will ever win gold again in the August 2016 Handicap. Everyone makes their own luck, and the awesome Black Cockatoo is a magically mystical touch. We re a hardy lot and had a reasonable turnout for this intemperate event: 35 participants in the Waddell, 35 in the Frylink and 51 in the Thomas Series, for a total of 121 competitors on the day. Geoff Barker, with a silken touch, bossed an enthusiastic and engaged support team. I am sure that, with me, those named below extend their appreciation and thoughts to the numerous un-named The first hilly bit was the toughest; from there Terry just rolled on. Terry had a definite inkling for a medal in the final kilometre. There was no-one obviously in front. He had been neck-and-neck throughout with Ray Bramwell, who was still on his hammer and, with the fast downhill finish, Terry knew he was on his mettle to the end. Terry says he has a great affection for the monthly handicaps, particularly catching up afterwards with old friends for a good social natter, and lots of embellishments. Ray Bramwell was second in the Waddell for Silver. It pairs up the silver for his efforts at Mt Ainslie just a couple of months ago. Ray is recovering from a serious hamstring injury, incurred in the triple jump at the end of Track and Field season. It involved an ambulance, a night of observation in hospital, immobility and ascending backwards upstairs to the first floor of his house, using his posterior and hands to grapple anti-gravitational advance. Ray blames Terry Munro for his performance. He says they keep each other honest. Ray likes the course; he says he noticed the wind going out; not a problem, as he often trains into the wind. Ray is more accustomed to 6 th or 7 th place at the finish; being Number 2 over the line was a pleasant surprise. He hopes to compete in the Frylink in He is using as inspiration a cross country outing on the Goorooyarroo course, when Ray finished his 4km as Martin Dent finished his 8km in a slightly better time.

7 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 7 Graeme Small was third over the line for Bronze. Graeme is a multiple medal winner and recycles them to the Club for re-use. Graeme felt good being in a nature park for a walk. Goorooyarroo is a favourite of his, with its good surface, a degree of challenge with a good mix of ups and downs, nothing too hard, and an inviting, easy finish. Graeme has improved his performances this year after some heart problems in He says his past medal winning feats were unexpected, often placed well back from the first three across the line, and this one was a bit unusual as the medallists were the first three across the line. He shrugs off the idea of careful, detailed planning and disciplined training for his bronze, it just happened, the odds of a medal being good with the small fields in the walk. Thoughts of a medal hadn t entered his head, he was just trying to keep as close as he could to the two older competitors who passed him towards the end. It was a surprise to get the number 3 place card at the finish. than his time on the same course in He says that he found the downhill finish especially enjoyable. Once he reached the brow of the first hill without discomfort he had a good feeling that his run would be well above his average. Alan says he always runs better when his wife, Bev Forbes, is on the course. Bev s presence is a great encouragement to Alan. Marilyn Banfield won Bronze. She was pleased to win the bronze, by a whisker, in the Frylink. Her running pace has not been too good for the past couple of years due to a heart condition which is slowly improving together with her times. She has won 6 medals: 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze since joining the Vets in Marilyn likes the course and finds it just challenging enough. She won a silver medal in the Waddell at Goorooyarroo in She didn t prepare for the run on Sunday apart from her usual weekly walks and runs. Marilyn thought she might be in with a chance for a medal as only one or two Frylink runners had passed her up to the last K. She picked up the pace at that point and passed the finish line just ahead of the next runner. Marilyn finds inspiration from the members in general - especially those who turn out to compete on such a cold morning! Frylink Series Jill Brown took Gold. Jill now has won two golds in the Frylink series, the first being in 1995, and one gold and three silver in the Thomas series. Jill transferred back to the Frylink in As Jill was fourth over the line at the handicap, winning a gold medal was a double surprise. Jill says that, overall, she enjoyed the freedom of the run, being with nature in the bush. Her first K was slow and the wind sliced through her. In the latter part she peeled off and bounced downhill in her new running shoes to the finish. Batemans Bay has started a scenic Parkrun and Jill has participated recently. In preparation she did a 2km run at Mike and Robyn Kennedy s (both Vets) Mossy Point run as a lead up to the handicap. Jill says many people inspire her, particularly the Golden Oldies and those members and others who have overcome health issues Alan Wilson took Silver in the Frylink. Alan believes this is the 7th medal he has won. Alan was overjoyed with his run as he has not had a satisfying experience in races or training for the past months. He felt comfortable from the start and did not slow badly on the hills as has been his tendency of late. Alan ran over a minute faster Thomas Series Jeff Grey took Gold. Starting from Group 38 on the day, this was Jeff s 2nd podium finish, on his 50 th run; he had also won gold on this course in Jeff says the course really suits him - the uphills are not too steep and he generally runs well at Goorooyarroo, even if it s a wet track. In 2014 he finished 10th but the first finishers were ineligible, so he got gold; this year he finished 6th but also medaled, luckily for me! Jeff says. Jeff s gold was not a chance occurrence; in this case persistence produced performance. I have raced well in August after heavy training, with a 3 rd in the Bush Capital Marathon, a solid PB in City2Surf and gold in the Vets half marathon M50 the week before. As for course details, Jeff says that the long uphill on the return leg caught him off guard, having assured himself that it would all be downhill on the way back; the wet clay surface was so-so with his racing flats; and the fast downhill to finish really helped get him to the line! Angel Marina told him that he was leader as Jeff passed Angel with 1km to the finish. Until then Jeff says his goal was to run a time faster than his effort in Jeff says having Bruce Graham steaming up behind him in the Thomas this year has helped push him on a bit harder - that is, until Bruce passes him! See the Bryan Thomas comment on Jeff Gray on the Milestone Shirts section. Continued next page

8 Page 8 October 2016 Vetrunner Kathy Sims claimed Silver. Some of Kathy s thoughts on the Goorooyarroo run are included in the following report. This was only the second time, having competed in some 60 handicaps, that Kathy has placed for a medal. Both are silver. Both medal runs had a similar finish; that is, overtaken by a runner on the final downhill push to the finish. The first time, several years back, Mick Horan overtook Kathy in the event at the back of Lyons up to Mount Taylor, and on the more recent occasion (i.e. Sunday 28 Aug 2016) Jeff Grey overtook her on the now famous downhill, with sweep, to the Goorooyarroo finish. Kathy said she found Goorooyarroo a difficult course in that not only was it hilly, but there were several muddy water-covered sections. Ever the professional, Kathy had done a familiarization run over the course earlier in the week. She has had many runs over the Mulligans Flat course at the other end of the 10km handicap and has found that section less hilly! Kathy was the 8 th finisher in the Thomas and, crossing the line, declared in a clear voice, fastidiously articulated, I m never doing that again! Being 8 th over the line, Kathy never really gave much thought to being in contention for a medal. She got a mini adrenalin rush when someone mentioned that, since she was eighth over the line, there was a good chance. So exciting! Needless to say, of course, the handicapper has noticed and has significantly increased the number, in her view, of her Group start (to 28 from 25) for the next few handicaps. Kathy has had a longish break from the handicaps, and says that only this year has she returned to the monthly handicap runs. Kathy is using the runs as part of her training for the World Masters Track & Field Championships in Perth later in Nadine Morrison took Bronze. This was Nadine s third medal; her second medal in the Thomas series, and one medal in the Waddell. Nadine says she enjoyed the run, after she had managed to warm up! When asked to rate Sunday's effort compared with previous medal achieving efforts in runs/walks, she said that time had erased any memories it had been so long ago! She admitted that she had entertained being in the medallists circle: It was a complete surprise! Nadine had run a very slow Vets Half Marathon the week before after being ill for much of July, but rationalized that "what didn't kill her made her stronger." She was very pleased that running the Half had seemingly delivered instant rewards! Asked which parts of Sunday's course she found best, which so-so, and which were tough going, Nadine says that her motivation was low as she set out feeling chilled to the bone. She had remained 15 minutes sitting in her car to escape the cold wind and only took off extra layers at the last possible moment. She found the course tough going out, but had noted that the final 3km would be easier as they would be mostly downhill, and that anticipation was a key energizer out on the back reaches of the course. Well into the return run Nadine could see runners strung out way in front of her, and she doesn t recall any visions of a medal. As far as the Club members being a source of inspiration to dig that little bit deeper to do the very best you can, Nadine says she can rely on a word of encouragement and high five from Angel to spark an extra push. A New Roster System For Run/Walk Handicaps By John Alcock The Handicap Sub-committee is reviewing the process for identifying volunteers for the run/walk monthly handicaps for This has become necessary due to the increased difficulty in filling the volunteer roster. There have been occasions in 2016 when the handicap events came very close to being cancelled due to a lack of an Event Manager or marshals, with some members volunteering a number of times, so a new approach is required. The plan at present is to put up the roster board, with all eleven handicap roster sheets, at the October and November handicaps. ACTVAC members present will be invited to put their names on the roster sheet of their chosen month (this procedure has been in place for the past two years). Members will also be advised through the weekly ACTVAC Bulletins in November/ December that they can volunteer for duty by ing the Roster Manager at actvachandicap@gmail.com. Come early January, any vacancies in the monthly handicaps for Event Manager and course marshalls will be filled by selecting members who are regular participants of the handicaps. The completed roster sheets for the eleven handicaps will be posted on the ACTVAC website for public access to assist with checking roster commitments or swapping duty. It would be the responsibility of the member to find a replacement. The role of Event Manager has been particularly difficult to fill. This is a responsible and critical role but one that any experienced handicap participant could manage and is made easier with the support of the members of the Handicap Sub-committee and the detailed guidelines provided. Members who have years of experience in participating in handicap events could and should put their hand up for this task. The roster sheet for each month will now include two Event Managers, one of whom can assist with the distribution of place cards, so no additional volunteer is required. However, having two Event Managers means that there can be an Event Manager at the start/ finish area if the other Event Manager is out marking the course. Members might consider pairing with another member and adopting a course for two or more years. If the above proposals do not result in a satisfactory solution to filling rosters other options may need to be considered including: members not undertaking their roster commitment being ineligible for awards that year; reducing the number of events in the year, thus requiring less helpers; repeating some course locations, which would reduce the set-up workload. Handicap participants are invited to provide any comments on the above proposal to the Roster Manager at actvachandicap@gmail.com before 14 October 2016.

9 Run/Walk Handicaps - Milestone Shirts October 2016 Vetrunner Page 9 By Bryan Thomas ALAN DUUS: 200 Alan s debut handicap was at the old East Basin course in January Almost all have been in the long course but he does have a sprinkling of Frylink and Waddell Series events. He is yet to win a medal of any colour. Alan says that he must be just an average runner, for he was the recipient of the Mullins Trophy by finishing exactly in the middle of the field for the Thomas Series in consecutive years and Long before he joined the Vets, Alan was an enthusiastic ultra-endurance participant; taking part in cross-country, orienteering, rogaining and in very long and difficult bushwalks or bicycle tours of several days duration. Not only is Alan a regular in the monthly handicaps, he has also completed 17 ACT Veterans Half Marathons. sweep cyclist for our annual Vets Half Marathons on ten successive occasions from 2003 to A most unusual and potentially dangerous adventure involving Anitra and two prominent club members, John Alcock and Bernie Millett, occurred during the 1990 World Rogaining Championships held in Beechworth, Victoria. Rogaining is an orienteering team sport conducted over 24 hours and for most of this particular weekend it rained heavily. Anitra has painful memories of the championships because, as the army pants she wore became sodden, they caused serious and painful chafing. As Anitra was one of just a few women to attend the official dinner/dance, she felt obliged to dance all evening despite her very red and sore legs. John and Bernie also have cause to remember these championships. During the night John fell into a disused gold mine and was unable to climb out. As Bernie was Alan Duus Anitra Kenny Tony Harrison Jeff Grey Alan is a keen statistician and was part of a small group of interested members that analysed the performances of all handicap competitors throughout 2004, after which they successfully recommended a fairer handicapping system be introduced the following year. At the beginning of 2008 Alan took on the onerous task of handicapper for our popular monthly run/walk handicaps and was the recipient of the 2013 Encouragement Award as club-person of the year for the program. When Jim O Donnell retired after more than a decade as editor of Vetrunner in October 2006, Alan led a small team that compiled the next edition of our popular monthly magazine. ANITRA KENNY: 150 Anitra s first monthly handicap was on the old Isaacs Ridge course in February All have been in the Frylink Series in which she has won eleven medals five gold, five silver and a bronze. Being Ian s partner, it is no surprise Anitra also enjoys visiting exotic overseas locations and participating in ultraendurance activities such as rogaining and long distance cycle tours. Apart from long cycling trips within Australia, such as their ride from Perth to Canberra in October 2009, they have completed several very long tours abroad including a 9,000km ride through Europe. Anitra has used her cycling ability by volunteering to be either a lead or unable to assist, he left his backpack at the top of the shaft so as to find it again and ran off for help. John spent four miserable wet and cold hours at the bottom of the shaft before being rescued. To add insult to their predicament, because Bernie had separated from his partner they were disqualified from the competition. This year is not only special because Anitra has chalked up 150 monthly handicaps, but also because a few months ago Ian gave her a wonderful gift of a classic Morgan convertible. TONY HARRISON: 100 Tony came to the club with a background of playing a variety of team sports; including playing Oztag, cricket, rugby league and rugby union well into his 30s. His debut handicap was on the Kowen forest course in March Most of his runs have been in the Frylink but he also has had a few in the Waddell Series. So far he has won three medals one gold and two silver and in 2015 he was awarded the Mullins Trophy for the Frylink Series by finishing nearest the fiftieth percentile for the year. One of his earliest and lasting impressions of the nature of the average handicap participant was their stoicism. He was impressed by these mature-aged persons of all body shapes turning up to each monthly event no matter how miserable the weather or the difficulty of the course. Continued next page

10 Page 10 October 2016 Vetrunner Tony is one of the unsung heroes of the handicap program for he is the man that brings the porta-loo to most events, a task he has performed for many years and is now looking for someone else to take over the responsibility. JEFF GREY: 50 Jeff s debut handicap was at Campbell Park in January All have been in the long course in which he is always one of the back markers and to date he has won one gold medal. Prior to transferring to Darwin, Jeff played competition hockey, joined in some lunchtime pack runs and participated in the occasional public service fun run, but was not then a serious competitor. However, while in Darwin he became more interested in running, so in 2009 he joined the Darwin Runners Club and became an AFL boundary umpire. Having enjoyed success at the 2010 Pan Pac Masters Games on the Gold Coast, he became an even more enthusiastic runner, so when he returned to Canberra later that year he enquired about masters athletics and subsequently learned of the Vets. Jeff quickly became involved in both our monthly handicap and track and field programs and, as he had a background in community organisations, especially while living and working in Darwin, he was also interested in how our club was managed. Thus, when only thirty-three attended our 2011 AGM and we were experiencing difficulty in encouraging members to take on key executive positions, a surprising nomination to accept the presidency by the relatively new member Jeff saved the club from serious embarrassment. Jeff served a term as our president. Since becoming a member, Jeff s running career has really blossomed. He has successfully participated in several AMA Championships in which he has medalled in 5000m and 10,000m races, steeplechase and cross-country. He has also run many fun runs, half marathons, marathons and even ultra-distance events. He has completed six consecutive ACT Vets Half Marathons, winning the M45 age group in 2013 and the M50 in both 2015 and 2016 while being runner-up on the other three occasions. Jeff has completed twenty-six marathons. Four were bush marathons and a couple were 50km events, while his most memorable was the 2015 Paris Marathon which he ran with several Canberra running friends. His marathon PB is 2:52.08 but he has also run sub-three hours on fifteen occasions and another two were only a few seconds over that magic mark. ACTVAC Half Marathon Results 2016 ACTVAC HALF MARATHON 21/08/16 Age Group Results Age Name Time Age Std M30 STEPHEN ADAMS 1:39: M35 TOBY DRISCOLL 1:28: SHANE KELLY 1:39: TOM CUMMINS 2:02: LAEL GRANT 2:03: PATRICK BRYSON 2:17: M40 JASON MCCRAE 1:22: SHANE HUTCHISON 1:26: LANCE PURDON 1:28: PHILLIP HOGLIN 1:31: PAUL DE FOMBELLE 1:55: ADAM ROBINSON 2:03: M45 CHRIS STANSBURY 1:34: DAVID MCCOOEEY 1:47: TONY MCDONALD 2:00: M50 JEFF GREY 1:23: GEOFF MONRO 1:33: CHRISTIAN DUSSAULT 1:35: NIGEL ENGLAND 1:37: STEPHEN GRAHAM 1:40: ANTHONY OAKDEN 1:43: MING YUNG 1:44: HAYDEN MARSHALL 1:52: CRAIG WURTZ 1:53: DAVID WILLIAMS 2:07: M55 PETER JAMES 1:23: DAVID CLARKE 1:27: PETER THOMSON 1:39: BRADLEIGH SHAW 1:42: M60 KEN SMITH 1:53: TIMOTHY HORTON 1:59: M65 PETER CLARKE 1:39: ROBBIE COSTMEYER 1:43: JOHN KENNEDY 1:45: KEVIN OKEEFFE 1:47: MICK SAUNDERS 1:52: JIM WHITE 2:09: Age Name Time Age Std M70 KENT WILLIAMS 1:38: BERNIE MILLETT 1:53: KEVIN CHAPMAN 2:09: HUGH CRAWLEY 2:33: PETER FREEMAN 4:07: M75 BRYAN THOMAS 2:23: W35 CATH TOMPOS 1:40: KIRSTEN WEBBER 2:24: W40 BELINDA MARTIN 1:24: LEANNE WILKINSON 1:36: JANE DIMOFF 1:48: AMANDA MCCUE 2:21: CINDY CROWE 2:29: W45 ELLE KNIGHT 1:40: NADINE MORRISON 1:48: SALLY THAUVETTE 1:52: JULIE MCGREGOR 1:56: DEBRA KAY 2:03: DENISE LOWE-CARLUS 2:13: W50 KIM FALCO 2:24: W55 KERI VAUGHN 1:44: CAROL EY 2:00: ELSPETH NICHOLLS 2:07: KAY WIDDOWS 2:24: JENNIE BLAKE 2:35: W60 CLARE WALL 1:47: JENNIFER KELLETT 1:57: ANNIE VAN HERCK 2:01: ROBYN MCCLELLAND 2:13: W65 ROBYN SAUNDERS 2:24: W70 DIANA SCHNEIDER 2:47: W75 SUZANNE COUNSEL 3:14: Performance Results - MEN Performance Results - WOMEN Age % Name Age % Name 81.9 PETER JAMES 82.1 BELINDA MARTIN 81.7 KENT WILLIAMS 77.4 CLARE WALL 80.5 DAVID CLARKE 74.8 KERI VAUGHN 79.7 JEFF GREY 72.2 ELLE KNIGHT 76.1 ROBBIE COSTMEYER 71.4 LEANNE WILKINSON 75.9 JASON MCCRAE 70.6 JENNIFER KELLETT 75.7 PETER CLARKE 70.0 ANNIE VAN HERCK 74.0 BERNIE MILLETT 66.8 NADINE MORRISON 72.6 JOHN KENNEDY 65.6 CATH TOMPOS 72.4 KEVIN OKEEFFE 65.0 CAROL EY

11 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 11 I Come From The Land of The Dodo By Gina Etienne I come from the land of the Dodo - the national symbol of Mauritius. Where is Mauritius? It is a very small island in the Indian Ocean, some 1,100km east of the very big island of Madagascar along the east African coast and 5,900km west of Perth. It has an area of 2040 square kilometres (km 2 ) and a population of 1.2 million people, giving it a population density of 618 people per km 2. This contrasts with the ACT s 2358km 2 and a density of just 160 people/km 2. Around The Vets Atypically both my mother and father had careers, with my mother Sylvette a headmistress of a large primary school of 1000 students, while my father, formerly a member of the British Army during WWII, was a fireman. Both had a significant influence on who I am. My mum was always learning new things and instilled in me the desire to be independent and to continuously improve. I used to look at my dad s uniform and embellishments and wanted to join the military. This was not going to be possible for me as there is no general defence force in Mauritius other than with a male-only Special Forces. I went to an all-girl catholic school, Loreto Convent, run by Irish nuns. At lunch times I would try any and all sporting activities from volleyball to basketball, hurdles, high jump and long jump to tennis. The island was first recorded by the Arabs in the middle ages. It was subsequently visited by the Portuguese, and then colonised by the Dutch in In 1642, after launching from Mauritius, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman first sighted the west coast of Tasmania. Following Dutch abandonment of its colony in 1710, the French occupied the island in 1715 and brought with them slaves from East Africa. An interesting aside is that the explorer Matthew Flinders return from the first circumnavigation of Australia was delayed by 7 years when he was held as a prisoner on French Mauritius during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius was subsequently conquered in 1810 by the British who, following the abolition of slavery, brought indentured labour from India. Mauritius remained a British colony until 1968, when it gained independence. Mauritius population is made up of 68% Indians, 25% Creole (African descent), Sino-Mauritians from China and white Europeans. Its capital is Port Louis. While the official language is English and business and public administration is conducted in English, the legal system and common spoken language is French! I identify myself as Creole, with French as my first language, but I also speak the Mauritian Creole dialect as well as English. I was born in a town called Quatre-Bornes (Four Pillars), so named because it is found in the middle of four mountains. I am the seventh of eight children, with four sisters and three brothers. At 25 years I came to Australia and undertook a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Adelaide University, returning to Mauritius following graduation. I returned permanently to Australia when I migrated independently in My earliest job in Australia was in Hermannsburg (of Albert Namatjira fame), 350kms from Alice Spring close to Palm Valley, providing support to the local indigenous community. After this I joined the Public Service in a finance role. Still remembering my dad s uniform and photos from his deployments to Egypt and Italy, I decided at 35 to join the Australian military reserve. I moved to Canberra from Melbourne in 2001, completing my Certified Practising Accountant studies, and then undertook a Master in Business Administration at the ANU. In 2010 I injured my shoulder and, while recovering, my husband saw online the Sunday morning training group run by Greg Stretton. I went to one of the training sessions, where they invited me to come to the AIS the following Thursday to do a 400m run. I was there the following Thursday. I can tell you I have never been so tired in my entire life when I attempted the 400m. They all had a good laugh and this is how I joined the Club and now belong to a big family of the ACTVETs.

12 Page 12 October 2016 Vetrunner Visit to Iceland By Col Simpson Iceland is not all ice. Looking down from feet, you could be forgiven for thinking it is. Extensive glaciers come down from the mountains and vegetation seems forgotten: the colour is white. A week later, wandering about you see there are trees, but you almost have to seek them out. The Reykjavik Botanic Gardens are that lush European green, tulips are blooming, children are walking with adults in the sun and a group of mums, with bubs, are doing exercises - but it s still only 10 degrees Celsius. Here there don t seem to be any tourists. Downtown, tourists are keeping the shops turning. If you want Icelandic woollen jumpers, socks, beanies and any cold weather gear, you are well catered for. Puffer jackets are all the go, although a few hardy souls are getting about in t-shirts. Laugavegur, the street where Marian and I are staying, is in the thick of it. Very much so, as come Friday night the sound of partying, including that of a heavy metal beat, is in our fourth floor room till dawn, which in May is before four am. All the shops appear to be staffed by 20 somethings, reading or looking at their phones. They start the conversation in English, with no condescension to the foreigner, as if that is the normal state of affairs, which it is. Watching the Icelandic news on TV I can t separate out the individual words being spoken, but Marian seems to get it. The Icelandic language developed from Old Norse, after Iceland was first settled by Vikings about 900 AD. There were no native inhabitants, as there were in Greenland, and few outsiders arrived, so the language hasn t changed a great deal. School children still read the Icelandic sagas from the twelve hundreds and earlier in the original language with much greater ease than we read Shakespeare. High tech is the norm. Strolling beside Tjornin, the small lake next to the CBD, a two metre high, bright red pillar came into view, standing by itself beside the road. A car pulled up and a young man got out and grabbed a hose attached to the pillar. He was recharging his electric car, a Nissan. I asked him how the cost compared to petrol, and he assured me the electricity was free help yourself. Because of the geothermal and hydro abundance, energy is not a problem. With our piping hot morning showers, came the strong smell of rotten-egg gas, free with the water piped from somewhere underground. I guess the locals don t notice it. There are many large commercial geothermal hot-houses in the country where most of their vegetables, berries and Signing Off - The Top End Trip By Robert Kennelly Moya and I commenced our 4WD adventure in May this year and returned home after three and half months; I think we can safely say we are off our 4WD L plates. The first part of this report was published in the August Vetrunner and now I write to share with you the experiences of our last four weeks of the trip including the highlights. So just linking the two reports: We continued on to Darwin, had a break and then started down the track on 10 July, going into Gregory National Park, Tennant Creek and then out east on the Plenty Highway. some fruits are grown. Even bananas are being trialed but are not presently commercial - the bananas in our supermarket came from Costa Rica. Thirty kilometers out of Reykjavik is one of the jewels of the country: a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the Viking settlers established the world s first democratic parliament, the Althingi. Not only that, but the site itself, Thingvellir, is where the North American tectonic plate abuts the Eurasian plate. These plates are moving apart at up to 18 cm per year. A path runs along below a barren exposed cliff face (perhaps a natural amplifier) for nearly half a kilometre, and there are fissures, small ravines, crevices and house-sized chunks of bare rock all about. The landscape has a lunar look although, against the odds, a few stunted trees are hanging on. With a steady sleet coming on the wind, we had all the gear on that we could muster to keep out the cold few other people were about. No permanent structure was put up by the settlers, so their deliberations were held in the open air. Each family, group or individual attending was left to their own devices for shelter and supplies. The sagas talk about these assemblies and mention the temporary shelters or booths which were set up annually. Sure enough, stone foundations of such booths have been found. For two foreign visitors, history, geology and climate came together to make that day quite special. We looked into the Reykjavik City Library, modern and with a very good collection of books in English, including a few current Australian authors. But what took our attention was a photographic exhibition, upstairs, of the Westfjords Region of Iceland. This is a remote area of fjords, stark mountains, back country skiing and with more sheep than people. The photographer, using black and white, had recorded the steady and ongoing effects of depopulation of the area, with its deserted houses, decaying fishing boats and infrastructure: the decline of local community. She was clearly lamenting the loss of traditional ways of life. The images were of Iceland, but they mirrored what is happening world-wide: the drift from rural areas to cities for their greater opportunities. Iceland is not immune from this, which helped explain the new high -rise apartment blocks visible around Reykjavik. But all is not lost. The visitor can still see the functional harbor, fishing boats, rural life (Icelandic horses are a unique hardy breed), geysers, volcanoes, lava fields and so on. Icelanders seem a pragmatic lot, straight-forward, confident - they don t bother with a standing army. Who s going to invade? With imported cacao beans they are now creating their own special - if expensive - chocolate, so they seem to be heading in the right direction. From Gem Tree we travelled via the Binns Track (a road we first encountered right at the very beginning of the trip, Timber Creek) down to Ruby Gorge on the Hale River, a very remote location where we camped for two nights. It was bitterly cold (two degrees) but the fire which burned throughout our stay provided some comfort. The scenery stark red rocks, narrowing gorge walls and the water in the upper reaches of the Glen Annie Gorge provided great walking and photographic opportunities. We then made our way through the old gold mining town of Arltunga with its many fascinating ruins and on to Trephina Gorge for a night. While there we visited N'dhalia Gorge and its petroglyphs and the beautiful old homestead of the Ross River Resort. We continued on a remote section of the Binns Track and into Alice Springs for the first time. Continued next page

13 After fuelling the cars (and in our case welding our radiator framework), the fridges and our souls, we were off to the west MacDonnell Ranges: Simpson's Gap, Standley Chasm and into a beautiful camp spot called Birthday Waterhole. The next day, we explored Serpentine Gorge (with a ranger-guided tour) and the spectacular Ormiston Gorge before camping for the night at Glen Helen. On to Kings Canyon and one of the real highlights of the trip the rim walk. It took three hours to walk the six kilometres and of course take in the spectacular views of the 440 millionyear-old canyon. The group - now only seven humble souls - all did the rugged rocky walk. Thence to Yulara, Uluru and Kata Tjuta! This was Moya s first visit to the red centre. For me? I was returning after 39 years. We all joined the ranger-guided tour to Kanija Waterhole at Uluru. Moya and I walked around the rock, passing the Brain and the old Connellan airstrip that used to be at the base of the rock. It was quite a spectacle watching the climbers, even though the local Aboriginal elders have a preference (not a rule) for not climbing. Then on to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and a 6km walk through the Valley of the Winds to lookouts and views of the extraordinary domes, a little like Purnululu (Bungle Bungles). Back in Alice we serviced and repaired cars again and had a birthday cake for those who did not have a birthday during the trip. We also went out to an Italian restaurant for an early celebration for my birthday. So with Moya and I leading and the odometer on 15,000km+ we headed out on the final stage of our trip back down the Binns Track. We stopped at the art gallery and the church at Santa Teresa, the last Aboriginal community we would visit. Our final camp after 12 weeks in the Northern Territory was the iconic Old Andado, made famous by Mollie Clark who received visitors for over 40 years and is buried at the station. We continued over the border to a lunch stop at Mt. Dare, where the celebrated pie was eaten watching the Olympic Games. On to Dalhousie Springs and a swim in the warm water before continuing on to the ruins of the old Dalhousie Station and a bush camp a few kilometres east of the old Pedirka Rail siding. We had a camp fire, as was How to get there: The location is in Hackett just off the Mount Ainslie end of Phillip Avenue. There is a Google map of the course on the ACTVAC website under Events/Calendar - Run/Walk Handicap program. Course Description The three events start and finish at the mobile phone tower. The 7km event is a double out-and-back course while the 3.5 km events are single out-and-back. Thomas Series (long course) 7km The course heads north-east crossing the disused dump road and turns up the hill. After about 500m it turns left and runs behind the Hackett houses, proceeding along the undulating fire trail as far as the MacKenzie Street entrance to the Nature Park. There it takes a short leftright dogleg and continues behind the Hackett houses on the undulating fire trail. It continues to the left of the large water tank for a short distance before doubling back on a similar track converging from the right. It returns on the October 2016 Vetrunner Page 13 often the case when the group was in the bush; as Tim Elliott made his way to the fire the following morning he sang a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday for yours truly. It was a different but very enjoyable birthday as we headed to Fogarty Claypan with beautiful flowers for mornos*. The trip was tracking John Macdouall Stuart and the old Ghan line that closed in I have a particular interest in this line as my father went north on the line in 1942 and I went south in An hour stop at the old Oodnadatta Railway Station Museum was most informative. We lunched at the Pink Roadhouse, many of us enjoying the standard pie and sauce. We continued on the rail trail to the spectacular Algebuckina Bridge, the longest rail bridge in South Australia, then on to a birthday campsite on Nealls Creek near the Peake ruins, telegraph, pastoral station and copper mine. We had chicken and champagne followed by port and fruit cake, ice cream and sparklers. We followed the old Ghan line to William Creek and then detoured to Halligan's Bay on Lake Eyre. There was no water in sight, but 200m on to the lake it was soft and damp. On the second last day of our four-month trip we came back to the Oodnadatta Track and on to the ruins of Strangways Telegraph Station; Beresford rail siding and Coward Springs siding for lunch; then to a lookout over Lake Eyre south and camp and dinner at Marree. We drove on to Leigh Creek via the ghost town of Farina for our last night out a campfire, a few stories and then the seven said goodbye. The highlights include the sunset at Ubirr in Kakadu, the night market at Mindil in Darwin, the Bullita Homestead, the camp at Ruby Gap, the rim walk at Kings Canyon, getting back to the Rock and the campsites of Longreach Waterhole and Old Andado. At another level highlights also included: our engagement with Aboriginal Australians at the six art galleries we visited; the birthday celebrations; the group camaraderie; the leadership of Geoff and Diane; and the ready willing support of all our fellow Top Enders. October Run/Walk Handicap Ainslie Woodlands - 30 October 2016 other side (again left) of the water tank and proceeds to the MacKenzie Street entrance where it turns left and goes easterly up the gravel road for about a kilometre. At a short distance past a large water tank on the right side of the road the course returns back down the road. After the downhill run the course turns left near the MacKenzie Street entrance and proceeds behind the Hackett houses to finish back at the starting point. Frylink/Waddell (short course) 3.5km The course heads north-east crossing the disused dump road and turns up the hill. After about 500m it turns left and runs behind the Hackett houses, proceeding along the undulating fire-trail as far as the MacKenzie Street entrance to the Nature Park. There it turns right and travels up the gravel road, proceeding under the power lines for a short distance as far as a large overhanging tree. There the course returns down the gravel road, turning left near the MacKenzie street entrance and proceeding behind the Hackett houses to finish at the starting point.

14 Page 14 October 2016 Vetrunner Run/Walk Handicap Results Goorooyarroo - 28 August 2016 THOMAS SERIES Over 10.0km Difficulty Factor 1.07 Pl Name Age Group St Gp Start Gross Net Gp Rate Rate Corr Rt WR% Points Elig Comment New Gp 1 Kent Williams M :00 0:46:40 0:46:40 4:20-4:25 4:40 4: G 2 Desma Butler W :00 1:12:48 1:12:48 6:30-6:40 7:17 6: G 3 Annie Van Herck W :15 1:18:53 0:55:38 5:34 5: Auto Rvw 22 4 William Arthur M :20 1:19:26 0:57:06 5:25-5:30 5:43 5: N Auto Rvw 21 5 Gordon Calcino M :45 1:21:39 0:54:54 4:35-4:40 5:29 5: G Auto Rvw 28 6 Jeff Grey M :50 1:22:42 0:39:52 3:50-3:55 3:59 3: Y Gold 44 7 John Anderson M :55 1:22:54 0:56:59 5:25-5:30 5:42 5: Auto Rvw 23 8 Kathy Sims W :15 1:23:39 0:52:24 4:55-5:00 5:14 4: Y Silver 28 9 Nadine Morrison W :55 1:24:04 0:50:09 4:40-4:45 5:01 4: Y Bronze Stephen Gray M :40 1:24:08 1:04:28 6:00-6:10 6:27 6: Y 11 Angel Marina M :20 1:24:08 0:53:48 5:00-5:05 5:23 5: Y 12 Nigel England M :25 1:24:12 0:45:47 4:15-4:20 4:35 4: Y 13 David Webster M :30 1:24:18 0:46:48 4:20-4:25 4:41 4: Y 14 Rod Lynch M :50 1:24:26 0:41:36 3:50-3:55 4:10 3: Y 15 Robbie Costmeyer M :35 1:24:36 0:48:01 4:25-4:30 4:48 4: Y 16 Carol Masters W :55 1:24:46 0:58:51 5:25-5:30 5:53 5: Y 17 Judi Edwards W :05 1:24:50 1:00:45 5:35-5:40 6:05 5: Y Auto Rvw Bob Parker M :55 1:25:02 1:16:07 7:00-7:10 7:37 7: Y 19 Carol Ey W :30 1:25:30 0:56:00 5:05-5:10 5:36 5: Y Auto Rvw Richard Scutter M :05 1:25:34 1:09:29 6:20-6:30 6:57 6: Y 21 Robyn Saunders W :50 1:25:41 1:07:51 6:10-6:20 6:47 6: Y 22 Alan Mallory M :55 1:25:49 0:51:54 4:40-4:45 5:11 4: Y Auto Rvw John Kennedy M :30 1:26:06 0:48:36 4:20-4:25 4:52 4: Y Auto Rvw Kevin O'Keeffe M :40 1:26:10 0:50:30 4:30-4:35 5:03 4: Y Auto Rvw Robin Whyte M :50 1:26:16 1:08:26 6:10-6:20 6:51 6: Y 26 Jacqueline Millard W :05 1:26:27 1:02:22 5:35-5:40 6:14 5: Y Auto Rvw Bruce Graham M :05 1:26:37 0:37:32 3:15-3:20 3:45 3: Y Auto Rvw Giles Lamb M :05 1:27:08 0:46:03 4:00-4:05 4:36 4: N 29 Peter Brown M :50 1:27:18 0:44:28 3:50-3:55 4:27 4: Auto Rvw Maree Coldrick W :00 1:27:48 1:02:48 5:30-5:35 6:17 5: Y Auto Rvw Bronwyn Calver W :30 1:28:14 0:50:44 4:20-4:25 5:04 4: Y Auto Rvw Hugh Moore M :00 1:28:18 0:55:18 4:45-4:50 5:32 5: Y Auto Rvw Mick Saunders M :50 1:28:27 0:53:37 4:35-4:40 5:22 5: Y Auto Rvw Hugh Crawley M :40 1:28:38 1:08:58 6:00-6:10 6:54 6: Y 35 Jenny Hefford W :40 1:28:45 1:09:05 6:00-6:10 6:54 6: Y Auto Rvw Prue Bradford W :40 1:29:01 1:09:21 6:00-6:10 6:56 6: Y Auto Rvw Beryl Lowry W :30 1:29:10 1:16:40 6:40-6:50 7:40 7: Auto Rvw 7 38 Ian Kenny M :30 1:29:19 1:16:49 6:40-6:50 7:41 7: Y 39 Jim White M :20 1:29:39 0:59:19 5:00-5:05 5:56 5: Y Auto Rvw Steve Bradford M :15 1:29:50 0:50:35 4:10-4:15 5:04 4: Y Auto Rvw Ewan Brown M :05 1:31:32 1:15:27 6:20-6:30 7:33 7: Y Auto Rvw 9 42 Jennie Blake W :25 1:31:39 1:10:14 5:50-5:55 7:01 6: Y Auto Rvw Val Chesterton W :00 1:32:26 1:32:26 7:50-8:00 9:15 8: Y 44 Michael Gardner M :00 1:32:32 1:07:32 5:30-5:35 6:45 6: Auto Rvw Craig Wurtz M :15 1:32:35 0:53:20 4:10-4:15 5:20 4: Y Auto Rvw Will Foster M :55 1:32:58 1:07:03 5:25-5:30 6:42 6: Y Auto Rvw Simon Hruza M :55 1:34:05 1:08:10 5:25-5:30 6:49 6: Y Auto Rvw Bernie Rogers M :00 1:34:42 1:34:42 7:50-8:00 9:28 8: Y 49 George Quarmby M :45 1:35:01 1:08:16 5:20-5:25 6:50 6: Y Auto Rvw Ruth Baussmann W :55 1:36:03 1:10:08 5:25-5:30 7:01 6: Auto Rvw Margaret McSpadden W :30 1:40:40 1:28:10 6:40-6:50 8:49 8: Y Auto Rvw 7 FRYLINK SERIES Over 5.0km Difficulty factor 1.06 Pl Name Age Group St Gp Start Gross Net Gp Rate Rate Corr Rt WR% Points Elig Comment New Gp 1 Charlie Modrak M :35 0:37:19 0:33:44 7:10-7:20 6:45 6: Auto Rvw 18 2 Maria O'Reilly W :00 0:37:22 0:29:22 4:00-4:05 5:52 5: G Auto Rvw 35 3 Alan Duus M :00 0:41:49 0:41:49 7:50-8:00 8:22 7: Auto Rvw 2 4 Jill Brown W :10 0:42:00 0:31:50 5:55-6:00 6:22 6: Y Gold 16 5 Alan Wilson M :10 0:42:30 0:28:20 5:10-5:15 5:40 5: Y Silver 24 6 Marilyn Banfield W :15 0:42:36 0:36:21 6:40-6:50 7:16 6: Y Bronze 10 7 Gary Bowen M :50 0:42:38 0:25:48 4:40-4:45 5:10 4: Y Auto Rvw 27 8 Ian Bowden M :50 0:42:47 0:29:57 5:25-5:30 5:59 5: Y Auto Rvw 18 9 Raelene Campbell W :25 0:42:49 0:30:24 6:05 5: Auto Rvw Carol Baird W :25 0:42:50 0:26:25 4:45-4:50 5:17 4: Y Auto Rvw Katie Forestier W :20 0:43:19 0:22:59 4:00-4:05 4:36 4: Y Auto Rvw Corinne Collins W :20 0:43:22 0:38:02 6:50-7:00 7:36 7: Y 13 Judith Anderson W :00 0:43:25 0:43:25 7:50-8:00 8:41 8: Y 14 Nerelle Harrison-Heard W :40 0:43:27 0:32:47 5:50-5:55 6:33 6: Y Auto Rvw Ken White M :35 0:43:51 0:25:16 4:20-4:25 5:03 4: Y Auto Rvw Doug Carney M :40 0:44:01 0:41:21 7:20-7:30 8:16 7: Y Auto Rvw 3 17 Sue Rymer W :25 0:44:05 0:31:40 5:30-5:35 6:20 5: Auto Rvw Tony Harrison M :15 0:44:12 0:37:57 6:40-6:50 7:35 7: Y Auto Rvw 7 19 Linda Mallory W :30 0:44:22 0:32:52 5:40-5:45 6:34 6: Y Auto Rvw Roger Abbott M :15 0:44:29 0:31:14 5:20-5:25 6:15 5: Y Auto Rvw Peter Cullen M :10 0:44:50 0:26:40 5:20 5: Auto Rvw George Kubitzky M :40 0:45:10 0:27:30 4:30-4:35 5:30 5: Y Auto Rvw Diann Bramwell W :00 0:45:23 0:45:23 7:50-8:00 9:05 8: Y 24 Adrian Krauss M :55 0:45:56 0:45:01 7:40-7:50 9:00 8: Y Auto Rvw 1 25 Frank Kresse M :55 0:46:01 0:26:06 4:05-4:10 5:13 4: Y Auto Rvw Anitra Kenny W :25 0:46:10 0:41:45 7:00-7:10 8:21 7: Y

15 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 15 Pl Name Age Group St Gp Start Gross Net Gp Rate Rate Corr Rt WR% Points Elig Comment New Gp 27 Judy Forbes W :00 0:46:36 0:46:36 7:50-8:00 9:19 8: Y 28 Consie Larmour W :20 0:47:00 0:41:40 6:50-7:00 8:20 7: Y Auto Rvw 6 29 Joan Mallory W :00 0:47:23 0:47:23 7:50-8:00 9:29 8: Y 30 Nigel Coldrick M :10 0:47:39 0:37:29 5:55-6:00 7:30 7: Y Auto Rvw Bob Chapman M :40 0:47:50 0:45:10 7:20-7:30 9:02 8: Y Auto Rvw 3 32 Deb Gordon W :10 0:47:51 0:29:41 4:25-4:30 5:56 5: Y Auto Rvw Gary Moss M :45 0:49:43 0:35:58 5:15-5:20 7:12 6: Y Auto Rvw Ken Gordon M :50 0:50:10 0:29:20 3:55-4:00 5:52 5: Y Auto Rvw Wilf Deck M :50 0:55:45 0:53:55 10:47 10: Auto Rvw 1 WADDELL SERIES Over 5.0km Difficulty Factor 1.06 Pl Name Age Group St Gp Start Gross Net Gp Rate Rate Corr Rt WR% Points Elig Comment New Gp 1 Terry Munro M :50 0:50:05 0:41:15 8:10-8:20 8:15 7: Y Gold 25 2 Ray Bramwell M :50 0:50:28 0:41:38 8:10-8:20 8:20 7: Y Silver 22 3 Graeme Small M :00 0:50:52 0:42:52 8:20-8:30 8:34 8: Y Bronze 18 4 Dorothy Seedsman W :00 0:51:22 0:43:22 8:20-8:30 8:40 8: Y Auto Rvw 12 5 Mary Fox W :00 0:51:24 0:43:24 8:41 8: Auto Rvw 11 6 Cilla Chapman W :15 0:51:42 0:45:27 8:40-8:50 9:05 8: Y Auto Rvw 10 7 Alan Burdon M :25 0:51:48 0:39:23 7:30-7:35 7:53 7: Y Auto Rvw 20 8 Josephine Kulesz W :40 0:51:59 0:49:19 9:20-9:30 9:52 9: Y Auto Rvw 5 9 Michelle Hillard W :00 0:52:11 0:40:11 7:35-7:40 8:02 7: Y Auto Rvw Lorna Burdon W :00 0:52:25 0:44:25 8:20-8:30 8:53 8: Y 11 Lorna England W :00 0:52:25 0:52:25 9:50-10:00 10:29 9: Y 12 Linda Bone W :40 0:52:26 0:41:46 7:50-7:55 8:21 7: Y 13 Suzanne Counsel W :00 0:52:28 0:52:28 9:50-10:00 10:30 9: Helen Munro W :40 0:52:31 0:49:51 9:20-9:30 9:58 9: Y 15 Lynn Williams W :10 0:52:38 0:38:28 7:10-7:15 7:42 7: Y Auto Rvw Monika Short W :30 0:52:57 0:37:27 6:55-7:00 7:29 7: Y Auto Rvw Colin Simpson M :25 0:53:08 0:36:43 6:45-6:50 7:21 6: Y Auto Rvw Marian Hill W :05 0:53:30 0:38:25 7:00-7:05 7:41 7: Y Auto Rvw Rosalind Gentle W :00 0:53:31 0:53:31 9:50-10:00 10:42 10: Y 20 John Alcock M :05 0:53:38 0:38:33 7:00-7:05 7:43 7: Y Auto Rvw Merv Collins M :55 0:53:43 0:52:48 9:40-9:50 10:34 9: Y Auto Rvw 1 22 Keith Johnson M :30 0:53:49 0:42:19 7:40-7:45 8:28 7: Y Auto Rvw Warren Butler M :30 0:54:03 0:42:33 7:40-7:45 8:31 8: Y Auto Rvw Margaret Fenotti W :50 0:55:04 0:46:14 8:10-8:20 9:15 8: Y Auto Rvw John Suiter M :50 0:55:40 0:38:50 6:40-6:45 7:46 7: Y Auto Rvw Peter Kallio M :20 0:56:33 0:51:13 7:20-7:25 10:15 9: G Auto Rvw John Littler M :00 0:57:10 0:38:10 6:15-6:20 7:38 7: Y Auto Rvw John Hunt M :40 0:58:37 0:47:57 7:50-7:55 9:35 9: Y Auto Rvw Margaret Taylor W :05 1:00:17 0:49:12 7:45-7:50 9:50 9: Y Auto Rvw Robert Kennelly M :05 1:02:24 0:51:19 7:45-7:50 10:16 9: Y Auto Rvw Peter Freeman M :50 1:02:56 1:01:06 9:30-9:40 12:13 11: Y Auto Rvw 2 32 Albert Fox M :00 1:03:52 0:55:52 11:10 10: Auto Rvw 1 33 John Bakker M :00 1:04:42 1:04:42 9:50-10:00 12:56 12: Y 34 Alice Scott W :50 1:05:08 0:52:18 7:25-7:30 10:28 9: Y Auto Rvw Tony Fenotti M :15 1:05:09 0:51:54 7:20-7:25 10:23 9: Auto Rvw 19 Run/Walk Handicap Pointscore Competition Note: Full results are on the ACTVAC website THOMAS SERIES Total of best 8 events Name Total Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Rod Lynch Judi Edwards Angel Marina Peter Clarke Stephen Gray Hugh Moore Richard Scutter Bob Parker Hugh Crawley Bernie Rogers Bruce Graham Nigel England Christopher Lang Jeff Grey Peter Thomson Nadine Morrison Alan Mallory Jacqueline Millard Jim White Robbie Costmeyer Bryan Thomas John Kennedy FRYLINK SERIES Total of best 8 events Name Total Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Carol Baird Ian Bowden Alan Wilson

16 Page 16 October 2016 Vetrunner Name Total Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Katie Forestier Frank Kresse Tony Harrison Wanda Stewart Consie Larmour Nerelle Harrison-Heard Jon Donovan Judy Forbes Cathy Montalto WADDELL SERIES Total of best 8 events Name Total Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Dave Mackenzie John Suiter Graeme Small Merv Collins Rosalind Gentle Monika Short Colin Simpson Josephine Kulesz John Littler Lynn Williams Peter Freeman Neil Gentle Jack Thackray Marian Hill Keith Johnson Dorothy Seedsman Linda Bone Run/Walk Handicap Age Standard Competition Average of 8 best Age Standard percentage scores (must do 8 events in the year to qualify for an award). Listed below are the highest scorers who are or can be eligible by completing 8 events. Note: Full results are on the ACTVAC website THOMAS SERIES Name Avg Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Bruce Graham Kent Williams Rod Lynch Robbie Costmeyer Peter Clarke Bernie Millett Jeff Grey David Webster Helen Larmour Kevin O'Keeffe Steve Bradford Caroline Campbell John Kennedy Peter Bourgaize Shane Hutchison FRYLINK SERIES Name Avg Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 Carol Baird Judy Forbes Cathy Montalto Joan Mallory Corinne Collins Katie Forestier Roger Abbott Consie Larmour WADDELL SERIES Name Avg Events 31/1 28/2 20/3 26/4 29/5 26/6 31/7 28/8 John Suiter Dorothy Seedsman Dave Mackenzie Lynn Williams Monika Short Lorna Burdon Alan Burdon Colin Simpson Michael Freer Marian Hill Jack Thackray Peter Kallio Alice Scott

17 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 17 ACTVAC Uniforms Contact: Jayne Hardy or Tracksuit jacket $66.00 Uniform singlets $40 each. (Compulsory for Australian Masters Athletics events. No uniform shorts.) Tracksuit pants $64.90 Hoody - unisex $70.40 Women s XS to 3XL Also available: 3-in-one jacket with removable hood and sleeves for $ Men s XS to 3XL NB: Hoody and tracksuit items will only be produced when the ACTVAC order is 5 or more. This can cause delays. Bucket hat $20 Full details and colour pictures are on the ACTVAC website; module=home&action=home.uniforms. Heavy Weight Pentathlon - 14 August 2016 By Jayne Hardy Well, Sunday 14 August turned out to be a lovely winter s day. We had 14 members turn up to compete in a pentathlon where you only throw the heavy weights your standard weight, two lighter weights and two heavier weights. A few members were yet to compete in this type of competition and were excited to give it a go. There were 7 men (M45 M85) and 7 women (W50 W75). A few of the newer ones were Caroline Campbell, Jeanette Williamson, Chris White and Steve Jordan. You start with the lightest weight (two lighter than your standard) and the best of three throws counts. Then you go to the next heaviest, then your standard weight. By the time you have done this weight, you are not usually interested in having any warm up throws before the competition starts! The best total scores for the women were: Jan Banens (W70) with 3855 points and Jayne Hardy (W50) with 3933 points. In the men, there was a great competition between Bob Banens (M65) 3131 points, John Reynolds (M70) 3185 points and Kevin Blewitt (M75) 3115 points. Please check the website for the full results. We will have one more of these great competitions in November this year check out the calendar. See you out in the field! Track and Field Program Oct - Dec 2016 See page 25 for the detailed Track and Field program for the first half of the summer season.

18 Page 18 October 2016 Vetrunner Throwing Handicap - 27 August 2016 Reporter: John Reynolds Newcomer Warwick Budd led home the twenty-seven competitors in the August monthly throwing handicap. In only his second competition he scored an easy win with a margin of A much tighter battle for second place saw Jan Banens edge out Wendy O Brien by just six centimetres. With only three more competitions remaining for the year Narelle Blackaby has a handy lead in the pointscore total. She is six points clear of Raylea Rudov with John Reynolds just one point away in third place. Ray Green and Jayne Hardy led all throwers in both events contested, the shot put and discus. Green had a best of in the shot put while his best discus effort was Hardy, who is starting to show some good form for the coming world championships in Perth, threw 8.91 in the shot and in the discus. The highlight of the weight throw events was a new Australian record (to be confirmed) in the 56lb weight throw by Fran Harris. In her first competition since moving into the W75 age group, she easily broke the previous record. The throw was also an ACT record. Ray Green had the best of the standard weight throws and he also led the way in the 56lb weight throw. Jayne Hardy led the women in the standard weight throw. Her best effort was In the shot put event John Hunt had a momentary loss of concentration and thought he was in a ten pin bowling contest. His throw took out several of the cones used to mark the shot put distances. His effort won him this month s Oscar award. The bottle of wine donated by Southside Physiotherapy was won by Mary Wahren. Continuing on with our short profiles on those attending the World championships in Perth, we feature another four of our throwing handicap regulars who have entered the event.. Ray Green The Perth world championships will be Ray Green s ninth participation at the world level. Although an individual medal has so far eluded him, he did receive a place medal for a team s weight pentathlon. Ray has also managed to place fourth on a few occasions, the most memorable of those being in the weight pentathlon in San Sebastian. In a tight competition Ray was just 191 points away from the gold medal. That is equal to about seven metres in the hammer throw and his warm up throws were around nine metres further than he achieved in the competition. If that was a lowlight, Ray does have a highlight off the field among his championship trips. He rates the trip to Machu Picchu in Peru after the Brazil championships as a real highlight. Ray has entered every throwing event except the javelin in Perth. He stands a chance to get that elusive place medal, preferably gold, in the strong M70 throwing group; although the numbers are down on previous championships, the quality of the competition remains high. Jayne Hardy Club vice president Jayne Hardy has gained some valuable experience in her four world championship competitions. On the trip to the 2011 games in Sacramento, she learned that it is better to visit well known sites like the Golden Gate bridge or Alcatraz on a day when San Francisco is not enshrouded in fog, otherwise the best view of them is on a post card. Jayne did learn from that sightseeing adventure. In 2013 in Brazil she took her first helicopter ride over the spectacular Iguazu falls. No fog in sight. Competing in the very strong W50 age group, Jayne hopes to add to her tally of two silver and two bronze medals she has won at previous championships. One of those silvers came in the javelin event in which she had her hands on the gold medal until the final throw. She won a bronze medal in the weight pentathlon (now throws pentathlon) at Gateshead in 1999 and that remains a competitive highlight for Jayne. It would be no surprise if she was on the podium for that event in Perth as she scores well in all five throwing disciplines. Fran Harris Having competed in ten World championships to date, Fran Harris has taken on a big task by entering ten events in Perth. The heptathlon is one of those events and it has seven disciplines on its own. Her previous championships have resulted in six medals, with the highlight being a win in the 300 metres hurdles in Durban in Fran has plenty of highlights and stories to tell off the track on her championship trips, but the one that stays in her memory is the time she gave a handful of coins to a kindly beggar in San Sebastian. The gentleman sorted through the coins and kept only the ones of greater value. Fran says she has given money on many occasions to the poor but this was the first time she ever received change. A couple of months ago Fran entered the W75 age group and she hopes that being the junior in that age group will result in more medals to add to her already impressive tally. Robert Kennelly Robert lines up for his second world championship as a competitor, having previously competed at the 2001 Brisbane championships. He did attend the 1987 titles in Melbourne, but only as a spectator as he was too young to take part. Entered in all the throwing events as well as the 5000 metres walk, Robert hopes that these championships will bring fond memories like the games in 2001 did. On that occasion a hamstring injury restricted his running, but he managed to complete most of the throwing events, particularly enjoying the weight pentathlon event. Marching in Australian uniform at the opening ceremony in his first world championships and attending the Aussie Bush night at the showgrounds are memories that will stay with Robert forever... The next monthly throwing handicap will be on 15 October. Note the earlier time due to the world championships in Perth. Events to be contested will be the shot put and discus. There will also be a standard weight event and a 56lb weight throw. John Reynolds is the only volunteer for October at the moment and, as he is not keen on doing it on his own, we need at least another two helpers. More volunteers are needed for events later in the year, so remember to put your name on the volunteer board which is up at the monthly event.

19 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 19 Throwing Handicap Results - August /08/2016 Shot and Discus Name Age SHcp SDist STotal SPl DHcp DDist DTotal DPl Total Pl Pts Warwick Budd M Jan Banens W Wendy O'Brien W Diann Bramwell W John Hunt M Peter Freeman M Tim Gulliver M John Reynolds M Nola de Chazal W Claire Perry W Jayne Hardy W Duncan Macnicol M Peter Neill M Mary Wahren W Robert Kennelly M Ray Green M Narelle Blackaby W Nick Blackaby M Bryan Thomas M Raylea Rudov W Brian Kingston M Margaret Taylor W Bob Banens M Phillip Toomey M Shé Hawke W Rad Leovic M Frances Harris W Monthly Weight Throw Results MONTHLY WEIGHT THROW RESULTS 27/08/2016 Standard Weights Name Age Weight Distance Brian Kingston M kg Ray Green M kg John Reynolds M kg Jayne Hardy W kg Raylea Rudov W kg 8.26 Jeanette Williamson W kg 8.03 Nola de Chazal W kg 4.89 Heavy Weights Name Age Weight Distance Chris White M45 56lb 5.01 Duncan Macnicol M60 56lb 4.44 Brian Kingston M60 56lb 4.07 Ray Green M70 56lb 4.56 John Reynolds M70 56lb 3.96 Phillip Toomey M70 56lb 3.27 Peter Freeman M70 56lb 2.90 Jayne Hardy W50 56lb 0.00 Jeanette Williamson W70 56lb 2.48 Raylea Rudov W70 56lb 2.17 THROW HANDICAP POINTSCORE Note: Full results are on the ACTVAC website Throw Handicap Pointscore Name Total Evts Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Narelle Blackaby Raylea Rudov John Reynolds Nick Blackaby Mary Wahren Bryan Thomas Jayne Hardy Jan Banens Tanya Colyer Diann Bramwell Ray Green Claire Perry Peter Neill Peter Freeman Wendy O'Brien Duncan Macnicol Attila Spaits Kevin Blewitt John Hunt Bob Banens Tim Gulliver Nola de Chazal Shé Hawke Robert Kennelly Caroline Campbell Frank Nugent

20 Page 20 October 2016 Vetrunner By Bryan Thomas This is the 17th instalment of the History. The earlier chapters have already been published in Vetrunner. Because Chapter 7 is relatively lengthy it has been broken into three parts and the second part was published last month. This month the story continues with the third section of 7: LEADERSHIP CHANGES AGAIN AND AGAIN! For the first twenty years the club had two presidents but each of the next five leaders served two years or less Unpopular Decisions In July 2002 a Special General Meeting (SGM) was called to debate whether the club should take on the responsibility for the athletics component of the 9th Australian Masters Games (AMG) that was to be held in Canberra in late Proponents of the for and against arguments had put their cases in the June Vetrunner and also spoke at the meeting. Although the vote was close, the meeting decided not to be involved and the decision was conveyed to both the Games organisers and ACT Government which was underwriting the Games. The announcement was controversial. John Hunt, in his President s Message published in the September Vetrunner, said: The club executive prepared a media release spelling out the concerns which led to our decision. The interest shown by the Canberra media was extraordinary. No less than six articles appeared in the Canberra Times between July 28 and August 12. I gave two radio interviews as spokesperson for the club, and the press kept ringing me for my reaction to rapidly developing events. ACT Athletics was offered the opportunity to organise athletics for the Games but declined. Several weeks later an independent group, comprising individuals from the Vets and other athletic organisations, was formed to conduct the athletics component of the AMG. Our committee agreed announcements about the Games could be made at club events and also in Vetrunner on the understanding that the ACTVAC had no formal role or responsibility for the activities of this group. The newly formed LOC was later aligned with the Canberra YMCA. Despite all the difficulties the 9th AMG held in Canberra during October 2003 were a success and approximately 850 of the 10,000 participants took part in athletics. Canberra Centre Fun Run Our first combined ACT Athletics, ACTCCC and ACTVAC cross-country championship was conducted within Weston Park in August Another joint effort occurred when we organised a family fun run on behalf of the Canberra Centre. This successful fun run and walk, in which all the proceeds were donated to the National Heart Foundation, began in front of the shopping complex, then went into the Commonwealth Gardens and out and back along the lake edge to finish in the Olympic Pool car park. Post-event presentations took place in the Food Court where club president John Hunt, in the role of MC, was able to present many barrel draw prizes (to total value of more than $1000) kindly donated by a number of businesses within the Centre. Fitness Through Fellowship (A History of the ACTVAC) This was an exciting new venture for the club in that our working partnership with the Canberra Centre proved very successful. Much of the success of this event was due to Deslie Kubitzky and Cathy Montalto, who negotiated with the Centre s management and encouraged many of its merchants to donate prizes. A year later (September 2003) a repeat of the fun run promised to be just as successful as the first. However, due to problems with our public liability insurance, the committee concurred it was not willing to place the club at financial risk and the event was cancelled. Whilst insurance was obtained, excess provisions within the policy were such that if an incident occurred for which the club could be found negligent it could face severe financial difficulty. Club president Prue Bradford commented: The cancellation was a lose-lose situation. The Heart Foundation missed an injection of funds, the goodwill and support of the Canberra Centre went unrewarded and the jogging community lost an event. World Masters Games Returns To Australia After the success of the World Masters Games (WMG) in Brisbane in 1994, it was only a matter of time before this multi-sport extravaganza returned to Australia. The 5th WMG in Melbourne October 2002 commenced with a spectacular opening ceremony at which more than 50,000 participants and spectators gathered in the MCG for a memorable experience and closed with a gigantic party within the enclosed Docklands Stadium. Lois Appleby, formerly of Canberra and a friend of several members, was the CEO of the Games and justifiably credited for much of its success. Lois had a distinguished career in successfully managing major sporting events; she was a project manager within the LOC for the 1985 IAAF World Cup held at Bruce Stadium, Canberra and was the CEO of both the 1994 WMG and the Sydney 2000 Paralympics. Forty-five ACT athletes, including four who worked long hours each day as officials, participated in the Games and brought home 55 individual medals and three new Australian Records (Jayne Hardy W35 heavy weight throw and Fran Harris W60 steeplechase and 300m hurdles). A memorable sight for many Canberrans was seeing both Juani O Reilly (a few months short of her 75th birthday) and her daughter Maria together in the athletes enclosure preparing for their respective 800m races. Both mother and daughter won a medal. Long Serving Members Farewelled During the year we said farewell to several members who had played significant roles in the evolution of our club. In March 2002 a large gathering of members attended a special dinner to farewell the club s founder and former president and secretary, Ken Daniels and wife Lesley Hamilton who were moving to Queensland. This was an occasion when most who had served on the club s executive since the beginning were together at the one time. It was also an opportunity to take an important historical photograph of all four club presidents to that time; Peter Frylink, Bryan Thomas, Ken Daniels and John Hunt. (Continued next page)

21 In June a Sunday luncheon at the Tuggeranong Homestead was an enjoyable way for members to say farewell to Lucille Warth. Lucille was one of our original female members and was our first W70. Three months later Pat Mullins, just a month younger than Lucille and our second W70, also moved to Sydney to be nearer family. The Tuesday Group wanted to formally thank Pat for her contributions to the club and wish her well in the future, so they arranged her send-off to be in Stromlo Forest. This venue was appropriate for it was here that Pat and her husband Reg had done much of their running. (Some of the major contributions made by Lucille and Pat are described in Chapter 6). In August Annie Van Herck ran her fortieth monthly handicap at Mt Ainslie. Following the presentations she took the opportunity to say farewell to members by giving an emotional speech describing her time as a member, as she was soon to return home to France. Shortly after arriving in Canberra from Paris in 1991 Annie discovered the Vets and immediately became involved in most club activities. She returned to Paris in 1996 for an eighteen months work assignment, then came back to Canberra and again enjoyed participating in all the varied competition and social activities. During a farewell trek around Australia Annie arranged to be in Adelaide for the National Championships, in which she was a medallist in the 10,000m, 5000m, 1500m and 8km cross-country. On December we lost one of the club s most renowned members with the passing of Peter Waddell aged 71. Peter had been a member since 1980 but his involvement with athletics went much further back, in fact to the early 1950s. In everything he did Peter was noted for his quick wit and wry sense of humour. Over the years Peter had encouraged many veteran athletes, especially injured, frustrated or bored distance runners to have a go at race walking. Our Waddell Series monthly walk handicap is named in his honour. (For more details of Peter s athletics career refer to the paragraphs on the Waddell Series). Wildfire Everyone living in Canberra at the time has vivid memories of 18 January For that was the extremely hot and windy Saturday afternoon when an uncontrollable firestorm raged into the south-western suburbs, burning more than 500 homes, causing four deaths, injuring many and destroying large tracts of parkland, pasture and forest. Because of the relatively small population of our city, almost everyone suffered some degree of trauma for, even if we escaped the direct impact of this horrendous wildfire, we all knew someone less fortunate. The club executive and others sprang into action, contacting members who lived in the devastated and threatened suburbs. Were they safe? Had they lost property? How could we help? As more than 12,000 hectares of pine forest was burned, many of the most renowned running trails were lost for the foreseeable future and some forever. Our beloved Stromlo Forest was no more. Over the next decade the largest section became the National Arboretum, another part was developed as a world class venue for road cycling, mountain bike and cross-country running events and a large portion was set aside for residential development. In March Jim White organised a team of twenty-one runners to participate in the 24 Hour Relay for Life held at the AIS athletics track. This is an annual event to raise awareness of the effects of cancer and to raise funds for the ACT Cancer Council. Most of Jim s team ran a session of October 2016 Vetrunner Page 21 thirty minutes to an hour, but some ran several sessions. Jim himself ran four lots of about half an hour each while Mick Corlis ran for two hours straight late at night then for another hour and a half later in the morning. At the end of the 24 hours Jim s team had completed a record 771 laps (308.4km) and of course raised a considerable sum for the charity. First Female President Eighty members attended the 2003 AGM where they elected an almost completely new committee. Prue Bradford became our first female president and, after a seven year break, Geoff Moore returned to the executive as vice president. Prue had only been a member for four years but in that time she had made an impact. She and her husband Steve soon became regular participants in both our track and field and running handicap programs. All this activity was evidently good for their own running performances as both displayed dramatic improvement in all distances from 1500m up to and including the marathon. Injury had prevented Steve from making his marathon debut along with Prue in the 2001 Canberra Marathon, but he did manage to join her in the 2002 event. At the conclusion of the 2002 cross-country season Prue was awarded the ACTCCC trophy as the Most Improved Woman Runner. Prue had volunteered to help process the results of each Thursday evening s track and field events as well as serving on the running handicap sub-committee. Although she had only been involved with the monthly running handicaps for a little over two and a half years, Prue took on the task of handicapper at the beginning of Thus, after only 24 monthly running handicaps Prue became our eighth (and first woman) handicapper of this popular event. Her outstanding contribution to the continued success and evolution of our monthly handicap program and her own enthusiastic participation were recognised by being presented with the 2002 Encouragement Award. Believing she had more to offer, Prue stood for and was elected to committee in 2002 and the following year was elected president, becoming the club s fifth leader and our first woman president. Only Fran and Rad Make It To Carolina Two years after the successful XIV World Championships in Brisbane, only a small Australian contingent of forty-seven athletes attended the next championships in Carolina, Puerto Rico in July Less than normal interest (only 2700 competitors, the lowest turnout in twenty years, from seventy-eight countries participated in Carolina) may have been due to a combination of concerns about an impending war in Iraq, international terrorism, an outbreak of the deadly SARS virus, a low $A, cost of flights and accommodation, hot and sultry weather and the reputation of a poorly conducted championships twenty years earlier. Despite low numbers, high temperatures, energy sapping humidity and traffic jams, those who attended remember the championships as being friendly and well run. The General Assembly s decision to lower the age of men able to participate in future WMA competitions from 40 to 35 years was popular. W60 Fran Harris and M75 Rad Leovic were our only representatives. Fran participated in several events, winning a silver medal in the steeplechase while Rad finished fifth in the decathlon and in so doing set a batch of new ACT Records. Continued next page

22 Page 22 October 2016 Vetrunner Carol and Lisa Thrive on Ultra Challenges Always willing to take on another challenge, Carol Baird participated in her first 24 hour run at the Gold Coast in August 2003, where she set five new Australian Records - W50 50miles, 100km, 12hours, 100miles and 24 hours ( km). This was Carol s debut as an ultra-runner but since discovering her remarkable ability as an endurance athlete in 1999 she had already completed five Centurion walks (100 miles in less than 24 hours) as well as setting several ultra-distance walk records. Demonstrating an amazing ability to recover from these ultra walks and runs, she entered the Coburg 24 Hour Run in April 2004 and went on to win the event outright, becoming only the second female to do so in the event s history. Carol s winning performance was km for a new Australian Record. Not content to run for just a day, Carol entered and won the Queensland 48 hour race by completing 232km. Because of this remarkable string of achievements, Carol was recognised as the AMA Distance Athlete of the Year for Since then Carol has completed a number of other marathons and ultras including the infamous Six Foot Track several times. In April 2005 she became the first woman in the twenty-nine year history of the Albury Nail Can Hill 14km race to complete the event in fewer minutes than her age. In August of that year she returned to the Gold Coast and finished second outright and first woman in the National 48 hour Championships by running km (745 laps). Two months later she again finished second outright and first woman in the National 24 Hours in Adelaide, setting a new Australian Record of km. When she completed her tenth Centurion walk in England in July 2009, Carol now had the honour of not only having completed more Centurions than any other Australian but she had also achieved them in four countries - Australia, England, Malaysia and New Zealand. In April 2004 another female long distance race walker won international acclaim. Within five days at the WMA Non Stadia Championships in Auckland, Lisa Wilson won both the W35 20km and 50km road walks. Her effort of 5:23.08 in the 50km event was a new Australian Record. These excellent performances as well as her efforts on both the road and track throughout the year, including blitzing a field of 2600 men and women to win the Gold Coast 7.5km road walk, were recognised by being awarded the 2004 ACT Masters Sportsperson of the Year (all sports). Perry Series Meanwhile a series of six handicapped walking events for both race and fitness walkers known as the Perry Series was introduced during the current athletics season. The series was named after Bob Perry, a long-time member, keen race walking participant, coach and administrator who passed away September 2003 after a long battle with cancer. Terry Munro was the first winner of this new trophy. Terry had taken up race walking after enduring a very long lay-off from all forms of athletics because of having had a double hip replacement. His tentative return to the sport was so inspirational that he was the recipient of our 1999 National Heart Foundation Trophy. Before suffering painful hip problems Terry had been a champion middle and long distance runner, was the club s inaugural treasurer and in 1985 was granted life membership. A New President and Stuart Reid Granted Life Membership Prior to our 2004 AGM, Prue Bradford announced she would not seek another term as president and subsequently Ray Green was elected to the position. Stuart Reid was elected vice president. It was a memorable evening for Stuart, for the meeting voted that he be granted life membership. Ray Green had been a member since He was a champion thrower and a knowledgeable coach who held Australian Records for discus, shot put and throws pentathlon. He had been a multiple medallist in all throwing disciplines at national championships over many years and was awarded the Royce Foley Trophy at the 2000 championships for achieving the highest score in the throws pentathlon. Although yet to win a medal, he was very competitive at three World Veterans Championships (Durban 1997, Gateshead 1999 and Brisbane 2001) but had been successful at the 1994 World Masters Games and at several Oceania Championships. Ray rarely missed a club track and field meet and had an outstanding record in the Fristad Awards for athletics excellence with a win in 2000, being runner-up in 1997 and 1999 and third in 1998 and He was also a regular participant in the monthly throwing handicaps and was one of the Originals who participated in the inaugural event in June In 1998 Ray was awarded the Clohessy Trophy as club-person of the year for this program. Ray was also an experienced administrator. He created the National Winter Throwing Championships in 1996 and has been its organiser ever since. He was AMA Competition Director from 1998 to 2003 and as such oversaw the publication of an operations manual and the introduction of a Champion of Champions handicapped throwing competition as a feature event at all Australian Championships. In the years following, Ray would win both the Clohessy and Royce Foley Trophies for a second time, in 2009 and 2010 respectively. His outstanding performances during our local athletics seasons continued to be recognised by winning the Fristad Award again in 2006 and 2007 and being runner-up in He participated at another two WMA Championships, two more World Masters Games and continued to experience success at each biennial Oceania Championships. In April 2012 he became the fourth member, and first male, to earn the 200 throwing handicaps polo shirt. During the heady years of the running boom an enthusiastic young (M45) long distance runner, Stuart James Reid, decided to participate in a fun run organised by a relatively new club catering for people of his age. Stuart joined in 1981 and commenced his long and successful involvement with the club both as a distance runner and administrator. For six consecutive years from 1982 to 1987 he served on committee. Four of these years (1984 to 1987) he was treasurer, at a time when we faced twin difficulties of cash flow and budgeting for the 1984 Oceania Championships. Fifteen years after retiring from committee, believing he still had the energy and ideas to again contribute, Stuart stood for and was elected to committee for the next three terms ( ). (Continued next page)

23 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 23 During the years between his stints on committee, Stuart was not idle as he maintained a close interest in the club s welfare. He was involved with the organisation of the 1984 Oceania Championships and both the 1991 and 1999 Australian Championships as well as being coordinator of track and field for the 1997 Australian Masters Games. In July 2003 he took on the onerous responsibility as handicapper of our popular monthly running handicap program and continued in the role until December Throughout this period he also spent countless hours improving and updating our website. His outstanding contributions to the development of our club over many years were recognized again in 2006 when he was presented with an ACTSPORT Volunteer of the Year award and twelve months later with our prestigious Encouragement Award. Although a very good water-skier and sprinter in his youth, it was as a distance runner that Stuart made his mark in veterans athletics. He competed successfully at several national and two World Championships (Melbourne 1987 and Eugene 1989) and numerous cross-country and road races, half marathons and marathons. His first sub 3 hour marathon was on the old Nocturnal Marathon course on the lakeside path between the National Library and Yacht Club. His last marathon, the 2003 Canberra Marathon, was especially pleasing for the then 69 year-old because his preparation had been seriously hampered by injury. Stuart has long been a regular at our monthly running handicaps and in June 2009 he became the fourth member to complete 250 runs. Perhaps Stuart s most memorable running achievement was at the track on a bitterly cold and windy day in October 1988, when he completed 250 laps to finish a100km race in an excellent time of 10hrs 31mins. Most people knew Stuart as a quietly spoken gentleman, but midway through the ultra we saw another side of his personality. However, the aggro he displayed to family and friends can be explained and excused because of sore feet, aching muscles, tiredness and low blood sugar. After being coaxed to have a drink, a snack and a gentle massage he was again the Stuart of old and on his way to complete the event. After a relatively short battle with cancer Stuart died in October He was 78 years-of-age. Our prestigious clubperson award - the Stuart Reid Commemorative Award - that is presented at the AGM was named in his honour. Quarter Century Celebrations May and June 2004 were set aside to celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary. The May edition of Vetrunner had an attractive coloured photographic collage as its cover and the feature article was a fifteen page history of the club written by Bryan Thomas. The June edition also had a coloured cover; this time it was a caricature of Jim O Donnell to mark his one hundredth edition (May 1995 June 2004). Dressed in their finery and ready to party, a large gathering of members and friends made our anniversary dinner-dance at the Canberra Club, one of the highlights of the year. An impressive display of historic photographs and memorabilia at the entrance of the room created much interest and stimulated discussions about the various personalities and events that had made an impact during our first twenty-five years. Club historian Bryan Thomas gave a presentation of the club s evolution in the style of the popular TV program This is Your Life. The quickest in this year s ACT Veterans Half Marathon was M35 Roy Daniell who ran the course in the time of The race proved to be an excellent time-trial for Roy, as he is legally blind, and a month after running our half he was a silver medallist in the marathon at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. Four years earlier he had won bronze in the marathon at the Sydney Paralympics and, although he didn t medal in Beijing 2008, he was pleased with his effort. Competition and A Wedding In Rarotonga It was impressive that a small and isolated community such as Rarotonga, the largest of fifteen islands that make up the Cook Islands, could organize the XII Oceania Veterans Championships (October 2004), a week-long international athletics carnival, so successfully. But they certainly did! The picturesque sports stadium, nestled beneath steep forested hills with its excellent grass track, was the main venue for the championships. All seventeen ACTVAC members, along with a number of friends from other Australian states, stayed at the same bay-side motel. Some had hired motorbikes or scooters, some shared a rental car, while Bryan and Trish Thomas rented a quaint tricycle powered by a lawnmower sized engine. The meet was conducted in an efficient and friendly manner and, despite appearing to be low key, there were many memorable performances by the 266 competitors, such as W95 Queenslander Ruth Frith setting three World Records in the throws. Four ACT athletes earned Championship Records Jayne Hardy for the W40 hammer, javelin, heavy weight and throws pentathlon; Fran Harris in the W60 300m hurdles and steeplechase and both Sharon Gibbins W45 and Ray Green M60 set their records in the heavy weight throw. After learning of an urgent need for a permanent breast screening facility in Rarotonga, Trish Thomas sought permission from the LOC to collect donations from visiting athletes to assist the local charity with their fund raising efforts. She was pleased to be able to hand over more than $700 to the local Breast Cancer Society. Apart from the athletics there were many other enjoyable adventures. A couple of examples were attending a local Polynesian festival and a church service where joyful singing and generous feasting were the highlights. But perhaps the most memorable happening was when our two world-class throwers, Bob Banens and Janice Davies, took their wedding vows beneath the palms on the lawns of the Prime Minister s residence overlooking a lagoon. The bride and groom were surrounded by their guests, all the Canberra contingent and many others from around Australia and New Zealand, adorned in traditional colourful Polynesian garb. A presentation of Cook Island dance and music and everyone in attendance receiving an engraved pearl shell to wear like a winner s medal made the Closing Ceremony a special, different and enjoyable way to wind up our visit. October 2004 was a popular month for weddings between members. Not long after our return from Rarotonga ultradistance runner Mario Larocca and Alice Scott, all-round track athlete and former club secretary, were married on their Womboin property. Colin Farlow and Amanda Walker, both keen middle distance runners who met at Geoff Moore s popular training group, were also married in Canberra during the month. Next Month The first of three parts of Chapter 8.

24 Page 24 October 2016 Vetrunner The Way We Were By Bryan Thomas 30 YEARS AGO (October 1986) We had two teams of eight in the annual 60km Parliament House to Tidbinbilla Relay. Our teams were selected so as to be equal and they finished only 20 seconds apart. Our winning team consisted of Colin Bridge, Duane Lowry, Bronwyn Mullins (Gardner), Steve Kenny, Terry Giesecke, Chris Higgins, Len Thompson and Marg Mackie (4:10). Our other team was Bryan Thomas, Jim O Donnell, Bev Scown, Ernie Warner, Al Mallory, Roger Abbott, Peter McGhie and Jen Bourke. Ken Eynon reported on the Adelaide Marathon. Peter Kallio 2:37.31 was equal 11th and 1st M50, Ken Eynon equal 11th and 1st M40, Geoff Moore M35 2:38, Bryan Thomas 2:39 1st M45, Keith Butler M35 2:45, Liam Hanna M40 2:46, Dave Cundy M40 2:53, Keith Perroux M60 3:22 and Brian Lenton M35 3:31. M50 Ernie Warner reported on his 100km run around Central Basin in 10hrs 9mins. Mike Adler wrote of the recent Cooma 10km Fun Run. Garry Hand was 2nd in and Mary Ann Busteed first woman 41.11, Bob Chapman was first M50 and Mike Adler best M60. This month we conducted the last running handicap on the streets around Watson. The 7km loop attracted a field of 84 and was won by Bill Ginnich ahead of Mike Dwyer and Anne Young. Frank Green and Jo Cullen were again the fastest. 20 YEARS AGO (October 1996) The inaugural Australian Winter Throwing Championships, organized by Ray Green, were held over the October long weekend at the AIS Throwing Field. Local politician Bill Stefaniak won a gold medal for the M40 discus. Our new track and field season had commenced. Records set in the first month were by Kevin Chamberlain M50 800m , Mick Konemann M30 high jump 1.69m, Grahame Taylor M50 110m hurdles 16.2 and by Rosemary Longstaff, returning to competition after many years lay-off, for the W m and 3000m Thirty-one participated in the monthly throwing handicap in shot and discus. Frank Nugent won the gold medal from Fran Schiller and Attila Spaits. The running handicap was at Stromlo West. The 7.5km course was won by Rob Thorpe from Steve Appleby and Charlie Modrak. Cindy Stewart was first home in the 4km run in front of Kaye Thorpe and John Parker. Alan Burdon and Charlie Modrak earned their 100 runs T-shirts while 50 shirts were awarded to Kevin O Keeffe, Stuart N Reid and Maria White. 10 YEARS AGO (October 2006) This was the128th and last Vetrunner produced by Jim O Donnell. Jim had been editor and involved in the club in many other ways for so long it was felt he would be difficult to replace. And it proved to be the case when trying to recruit a new editor. Club president Geoff Sims, assisted by a small team, produced both the November and December editions. North Canberra Bowling Club was packed with members to reminisce and farewell club stalwart Jim O Donnell and his wife Irene who were moving to Wollongong. Bryan Thomas entertained the gathering by relating stories of Jim s contributions and President Geoff Sims thanked Jim for his efforts and presented Jim and Irene with an engraved clock to commemorate Jim s service. Long time member Al Mallory died of cancer at the age of 75. Al had been an active member since He and his wife Joan were regular participants and helpers in both the monthly throwing and running handicaps as well as track and field. They achieved the unusual double of earning their 50 throwing and 150 running handicaps T-shirts on the same days. They also were joint recipients of the Johnson Trophy as track and field club-persons for the season. A record number of competitors participated in the 11th AMA Winter Throwing Championships at the Masson Street Throwing Field. Fourteen Australian and 42 Championship Records were set during the three days of competition. Ray Green was once again event organizer. The run/walk handicap was conducted on an out-andback course from the Deek Recreation Area within the remnants of Stromlo Forest. The long course was won by Terry Levings from John McMillan and Lorraine Stevens. Maureen Rossiter won the Frylink event in front of David Holmes and Bill Egan. The walk handicap was won by Juani O Reilly ahead of Trish Thomas and Rick Hatcher. Ian Bowden and Kerry Boden were presented with their 100 and 50 handicaps T shirts respectively. This month s throwing handicap, involving shot and discus, was won by George Mencik from Wendy O Brien and Robert Kennelly. W60 Raylea Rudov and W65 Janice Banens set ACT Records by heaving the 56lb weight 3.22m and 2.57m respectively. Margaret Taylor earned her 100 throwing handicaps T-shirt and Janice Banens her 50. Submissions for November 2016 Vetrunner Due by: Saturday 15 October 2016 All copy and queries to: vetrunner@actvac.com All submissions must go to the Vetrunner address to ensure they are included in the next edition. Late submissions may only be accepted if space allows. Editorial Style and Formatting Stories All stories submitted for inclusion in Vetrunner should be created in Word. We welcome any member s contribution which is of an athletic theme, or tells of that member achieving an important milestone or award, or just has a story to tell. Photos When taking photos of award ceremonies, please ensure that the awardees are looking in your direction and the background and foreground of the photo do not detract from the importance of the moment. All in all, check your surroundings before clicking. Action photos are very welcome.

25 Date 6:00pm 6:00pm 6:00pm 6:20pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:10pm 7:20pm 7:30pm 7:45pm 7:40pm 7.50pm 6-Oct Wdn 13-Oct AIS 20-Oct Wdn 26 Oct 6 Nov 10-Nov Wdn Weight outside circle Hammer - LTF Hammer main arena High jump 3000m (GM) 200m 1000m/ 3000m 1500m Pole Vault High jump (QA) 3k/5k <20mins short Hurdles 3000m (GM) 100m (D) Walk Throw 1 Throw m/ 2000m 1000m 3000PH 5000ms<30mi ns WORLD MASTERS ATHLETIC CHAMPS PERTH 100m (B) 1500m javelin / shot shot / discus discus / javelin 100m Long Jump 400m 800m Triple jump 200m (D) 200m Long Jump 800m javelin / shot shot / discus discus / javelin 4x100m 4x200m 4 lap spiral (A) 2k/3k steeple Low height pre World Champs 400m 3k/5k October 2016 Vetrunner Page 25 Weight Weight Weight 17-Nov AIS 24-Nov Wdn 1-Dec Wdn 8-Dec Wdn 15-Dec AIS 22-Dec Wdn outside circle Hammer - LTF outside circle Pentathlon High jump 1500 (P) Pole Vault 3000m (GM) High jump (QA) 6 lap spiral (A) short hurdles 1200m 3000m 5000m 10000m Ch 6:15pm 800m 2000m PH 60m (hand timed) (6.20) 200m (B) 60m (B) 1000m 3000m 1500m Men: Long Jump, Javelin, 200m, Discus, 1500m. Women: 100m, Shot, Long Jump, Javelin, 800m javelin / shot shot / discus discus / javelin 200m 100m (D) 200m hurdles Triple jump (QA) 4x800m (hand timed) Long Jump (QA) Hour run Triple Jump 400m javelin / shot shot / discus discus / javelin 4x100m (hand timed) 4x200m 5 lap spiral (A) 3000m (GM)/ 5K Pentathlon events take precedence, and the other events will be fitted in around them Discus High jump 100m mile 1500m PH 200m shot Long jump 3k/5k outside circle Hammer main arena Caber Toss High Jump Pole Vault Standing Long Jump (A) 3000m (GM) 5K<20mins 3000m (GM) 5K<20mins 2k turkey (run & walk) Adler spiral handicap 100m short hurdles (B} obstacle race 800m 2000m 1000m 3000m 5000m WC Ch 8 x 100 Relay (Walk) 400m 200m (D) 100m President's h'cap javelin / shot discus / javelin 800m Higgins (P) 1500m LH/RH shot 800m Best 5 of 8 2 x 4 laps 2 x 5 laps 2 x 6 laps 2 x 7 laps (B) Boag Best 5 of 10 2 x 60m, 2 x 100m, 2 x 200m, 2 x 400m Short Hurdles (D) Daniels handicap Best 5 of 8 4 x 100m 4 x 200m (GM) Geoff Moore Best 5 of m (P) (QA) (PH) Pennington handicap Quentin Anthony Perry walk handicap 800m 1500m 3000m Best 5 of 9 3 x triple 3 x long 3 x high Best 4 of 6 2 x 1500m 2 x 2000m 2 x 3000m triple jump (QA) Long jump (QA) Standing Triple Jump 200m President's final Long Hurdles (200/300/400 depending on age) javelin / shot discus / javelin 4x100m 400m (B) 400m 3k/5k 7 lap spiral (A) 2k & 3k steeple

26 Page 26 October 2016 Vetrunner Calendar ACTVAC events are shown in bold, other events are run by different organisations. Please check with organisers to confirm details, especially for non-actvac events. Oct 2016 Sun 2 Oct: YCRC Women s and Girls Jogalong Tue 4 Oct: Social Dinner, Hellenic Club, Civic Thu 6 Oct: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Sun 9 Oct: Throws Pentathlon Thu 13 Oct: ACTVAC Track and Field, AIS Sat 15 Oct: Throwing Handicap Thu 20 Oct: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Wed 26 Oct - Sun 6 Nov: WMA Championships, Perth Sun 30 Oct: Run/Walk Handicap, Ainslie Woodlands Nov 2016 Wed 26 Oct - Sun 6 Nov: WMA Championships, Perth Tue 1 Nov YCRC Spring Series 2/5km, Weston Park Sun 6 Nov: YCRC Women s and Girls Jogalong Tue 8 Nov: Social Dinner Tue 8 Nov YCRC 2/5km, Barrenjoey Drive Thu 10 Nov: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Sun 13 Nov: Throws Pentathlon Tue 15 Nov YCRC 2/5km, Boathouse Thu 17 Nov: ACTVAC Track and Field, AIS Tue 22 Nov YCRC 2/5km, Black Mountain Peninsula Thu 24 Nov: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Sat 26 Nov: Throwing Handicap Sun 27 Nov: Run/Walk Handicap and annual presentations, Weston Park Tue 29 Nov YCRC 2/5km, Stromlo Forest Park Dec 2016 Thu 1 Dec: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Sun 4 Dec: YCRC Women s and Girls Jogalong Tue 6 Dec: ACTVAC Social Dinner Tue 6 Dec: YCRC Christmas Relays, Old Parliament House Thu 8 Dec: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Thu 15 Dec: ACTVAC Track and Field, AIS Sun 18 Dec: Throws Pentathlon Thu 22 Dec: ACTVAC Track and Field, Woden Weekly, Bi-Weekly and Monthly Events Please check with organisers to confirm details ACTVAC General Committee Meetings monthly on the second Wednesday of the month at Belconnen Soccer Club, Belconnen Way, Hawker at 7.00pm. Contact Secretary Shane Hutchison, secretary@actvac.com. ACTVAC Monthly Weight Pentathlons at 9am at Masson Street, Turner Contact Jayne Hardy Customs Joggers meet every Friday at Stage 88 in Commonwealth Park at 12.15pm. Mike Stracey Lake Tuggeranong Stakes every Tuesday on the lake edge near KFC at 12.20pm. Peter Thomson BBQ Stakes Handicap every Wednesday from the Senior Citizens Club in Woden at 12.10pm. Adrian Plunkett YCRC Women s and Girls Jogalong at Weston Park on the first Sunday of the month at 9am (8am in summer). Lake Ginninderra Handicap, last Tuesday of the month, from outside the Lighthouse Bar at 12.20pm. Simon Wall Mount Ainslie Run Up, first Tuesday of the month, from Treloar Crescent behind the War Memorial at 12.45pm. John Harding Black Mountain Run Up, held on the third Tuesday each month at 12.45pm, Clunies Ross St, 100m east of Botanic Gardens Entrance. John Harding Join a Training Group Improve Your Fitness Groups of veteran athletes conduct training sessions around Canberra. To train with any one of the groups you should contact the group coordinator listed. It s always fun to train with others, to share skills and knowledge. Runners, throwers, jumpers and walkers of all levels are welcome. Val Chesterton: Strength, speed & general fitness for runners, jumpers & walkers, Calwell Playing Fields, Fridays 9am, 8.30am in summer Katherine Fitzpatrick: FIT (Females In Training). Tuesdays 12.15pm at the AIS Track Fran Harris: Strength, sprints and hurdles training at the AIS track (h) John Hunt: Jumps. Sundays, 11:00am at the AIS track (h) Chris Lang: Long distance pack runs. Sundays, 9:00am (8:00am November-February) Stromlo Forest Park when no ACTVAC events are scheduled. Saturdays 7:00am in summertime at Treloar Crescent Campbell. 7:30am in wintertime at Cotter Reserve (h), (w) Geoff Moore: Distance interval training. Mondays 5:30pm, Parliament House underground carpark. Thursdays 5:30pm, Dickson Playing Fields Sundays 7:30am at Stromlo Forest Park (all hours) Brad Osborn: Sprints and hurdles training. Saturdays 10:00am at the AIS when no other track meets Greg Stretton: Middle distance training. Sundays except long weekends, 9.00am, Grammar School, corner of Mugga Way / Flinders Way (h), (w) Tuesday group : long distance running and walking. Tuesdays 9:00am at Black Mountain Peninsula.

27 October 2016 Vetrunner Page 27 ACT VETERANS ATHLETIC CLUB INC. (ACTVAC) Membership Form To join the Club or renew membership, you can use this form or (our preferred option) go to our website at - Club Pages - Membership, click on ONLINE PAYMENTS and follow the prompts. New memberships and renewals for the year starting 1 October are accepted from 1 July. TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP New: Single ($65.00) Double ($110.00) Been a member before? Yes / No Renewal: Single ($65.00) Double ($110.00) Membership no(s): FAMILY NAME GIVEN NAME(S) GENDER DATE OF BIRTH ADDRESS STATE: TELEPHONE HOME WORK MOBILE POSTCODE: EMERGENCY CONTACT NAME: PHONE: ADDRESS: RELATIONSHIP: FIRST/SECOND CLAIM CLUB ACTIVITIES VETRUNNER Are you a member of any other Masters Athletic Club? (eg NSW Masters Athletics) If yes, which is your first claim club? Note: Records can only be set for an athlete s first claim club. The Club s membership fee covers participation in regular Club events including fortnightly Track & Field meets (in summer), monthly Throwing Handicap and Throws Pentathlon and monthly Run/Walk Handicaps. The more Club activities you participate in, the greater value you get from your membership. The Club s monthly newsletter, VETRUNNER, is posted in colour on the website each month and there is a link to it in the ACTVAC Bulletin ed to members on Tuesdays. PAYMENT BY: CASH / CHEQUE / BANK DEPOSIT (BSB , A/c number ) (Please include your name in the direct deposit transaction) In submitting this membership form, I acknowledge my rights and responsibilities as set out in the Club s constitution and I agree to act in accordance with the Club s conditions of membership and policies as presented on our website ( SIGNED:... /... APPLICANT 1 APPLICANT 2 DATE:..