The Napier Harrier Club has once again returned from the prestigious Dorne Cup Cross Country Races in Wellington with some hard earned silverware.

Laura Smidt, running in the combined Boys and Girls under 12/14 race, crossed the line in 6^th place overall, leaving the majority of Wellington�s best boys and all of their girls in her wake. Running in difficult conditions with the wind sometimes reaching gale force, Smidt�s run was nothing short of superb. She showed tremendous strength over the entire 2.4-km lap and was still pulling away from her opposition when she crossed the line to take the Under 14 Girls title. Also competing in the G14 was Shayna Heywood, who produced a superb effort to finish 8^th and gain the junior runner of the day award, which was selected by some of the non-competing parents.

In the same race but competing in the under 12 boys, Eric Speakman crossed the line together with one other boy in a sprint finish which saw them accredited with the same time. Eric was eventually given the second placing, gaining him a silver medal. Little brother Brendan, still only 8, finished in a remarkable 10^th place. Andre Smith was the sole Napier runner in the B14, running a very determined race he finished just 10 seconds behind his arch rival from last season, Eric, for 9^th place in his grade.

The other title to come to the Napier Club was in the opening event of the day, the open walk, where Paul McGettigan easily accounted for the rest of the field. Setting a cracking pace right form the gun, McGettigan quickly put a big gap on the field and continued to extend it, to lead by almost 5 minutes at the end of the 5km event.

Kane Green collected a third placing to spearhead the B16 team to a third placing. The team consisted of Green, Stefan Smith (12^th), Andrew Prosser (18^th) and Aaron Corney (22^nd). An excellent effort since some of them were backing up from the provincial secondary schools champs on Thursday.

Sonya Clark was our sole representative in the G16 race. She also was backing up from the secondary schools champs, but also very well to record 7^th.

Sheila Smidt, and Wayne Smith flew the flag in the vet races. Always an honest racer Sheila once again did the club proud for a fighting 11^th place, while Smithy had the best run he�s had for along time to finish in 35^th � a point not missed by the club handicapper!

The senior men�s race had the added interest of a little side bet that Chris Asterix Corney had laid with Leo Heinekin Pearce. The being that Leo couldn�t finish within 4m07s of Asterix. Going through halfway, Asterix was 13:09 and Heinekin 14:44. Asterix eventually crossed the line in 19^th place (first Napier runner) with a time of 26:49. Eager eyes were cast back into the field, and as the clock ticked by Craig �Forest� Mathers (27:19 28^th), Sparky Speakman (27:50 35^th) and Brent Jones (29:08 54^th) crossed the line, but no Heinekin in sight. Had Asterix won the piss after all? No, for although ashen faced, and blowing harder than ever before, Heinekin reached the line in 30:12 -�3:23 behind. A bet well won, Asterix has now only to worry about the same being taken for the Nth Is Cross in a few weeks time!

It is a fantastic experience to race amongst such large numbers, and I believe it is this experience that sees our club perform so well at this event. Even the Seniors produce superb results. The combined under 12/14 race had 109 athletes, the under16 boys and girls had 46, the open/Vet women had 55, the Vet Men 125 and the senior men 110! Fantastic!

There are some photos in the photos section - click above