Don McLeod, the 69 year old elder statesman of the Napier Harrier Club reincarnated his running career by winning the Laurence Cup on a new 10km 'double out and back' circuit on Marine Parade. The new circuit devised by Craig Anderson ran between Awatoto and the Spirit of Napier statue. Leading off McLeod (50.03) was never caught and finished 29 seconds clear of Alec Fell (40.32) while Nathan Clark-Little (38.57) came through for third.
Meanwhile 16 year old Ryan Woolley (35.30) was impressive in recording the fastest time (35:30). The race placings resulted in Eric Phimister and Frank Busch sharing the open handicap championship series. A controversy later surfaced surrounding Steve Lindsay missing a share of the spoils by a single point, which may have the race series rules reviewed before the dust settles.
Gina Finlayson (24.41) ran her fastest time for many years to claim the Alan Angus Cup, raced over 5km. Finlayson won by a massive 71 seconds from Trish Cummins (25.52), with Joan Vyle (24.21) another 39 seconds adrift. Although Ashley Aitken (19.48) didn't feature prominently in this race, she recorded the fastest time (19:48) and snatched the open handicap series from Marilyn Brown's grasp.
After recent problems, Annie Creagh (8.16) returned to her best form to record the quickest time in winning the 2km contest. Creagh chased down the vastly improved Natasha Town-Warner (9.53) to win by 7 seconds. James Harris (8.28) crossed the finish line in third place just another 5 seconds back. Brendan Speakman had already secured the boys 12 year old open handicap series title.
Over 5km, Mark Harris (22.19) comfortably won the under 16 mens contest by a minute from Andre Smith (20.49). Finishing third with another slick performance and record the fastest time, Cameron Poole-Smith (17.39) again portrayed his development this season. In the end Andre Smith gained the necessary points to claim the open handicap series from Poole-Smith.
Sarah Starkey (22.45) displayed the necessary resolve to win the 5km under 16 women's race by 21 seconds from Aleesha Heywood (25.26). Katie Harris (20.51) recorded the fastest time in finishing third. Starkey's win catapulted her to 43 pts and a share of the open handicap series with Harris.
The biggest disappointment of the day was the lacklustre endeavour displayed by the competitors in the under 19 men's grade. In finishing third Stefan Smith secured the open handicap trophy for 2005. (I believe these boys were saving themselves for 2 races in the coming 6 days - Sparky)
report courtesy Trevor Fulton
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