Bellbird Dell
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Close to 150 people turned out to the season’s second Score
event, which meant a different way of thinking for the runners, as points and
time penalties came into play. Course
setter Pete had thought the points placement out well. He put temptation nearby with no 19 close to
the start but isolated, and the competitors who then headed due north into the
park, then looped around to the east, fared better than those who headed
towards 20 via 6 and 12. The Dell
itself always requires concentration, with its myriad small tracks, creeks,
ponds, fences and boardwalks – and it’s nice to enjoy flat, shady
running along the gully, a big relief after the surrounding hills of suburban
Vermont (aptly named – Green Mountain).
It was business as usual for the 48 Power Walkers, with
familiar names at the top of the results – Len on 56, Peter D on 54, and Janet
on 51. Ian J, Greg and Helen also did
well. Len now has 10 perfect scores and will be pretty tough to beat from here. Clifford looks a comfortable second, but the
great rivalry between Janet and Peter looks set to continue to the end of the
series. In PW2, Steve has a big lead
but Sandy and Bernie are only separated by a point. Ilze looks good in PW3 but watch out for a late charge by
Helen. Gwennyth is in front in PW4, and
Schon, completing her 999th event, leads PW5.
On E course, Pat’s win over Jenny S secured her place on top
of the overall standings. D course was
won convincingly by Lanita with 43 points, over Ewen with 37, then a good gap
to yours truly on 31. Ewen remains
overall leader, but could be overhauled by Janine, Lanita or Asha, who might
take out a family clean sweep. In D2,
I’m keeping a close eye on Teri and Peter K, and in D3, Henk looks
unassailable.
Martin was the winner again on C course, and will move into
the overall lead ahead of Gary and Jay when he completes two more events. Martin scored 52 points, ahead of Chris on
46 and Jenny on 45. Simon scored well
to move to the top of C2 ahead of Greg, and looks like he will stay there. Jenny C is well ahead in C3. On B, Bruce and Stephen both scored 59, but
Bruce got back first to grab the 100 points. Ron was third with 54. Bruce has a solid overall lead over Roy, and
doesn’t appear to have any other challengers.
It’s a different story in B2 where Roger and Kristian are neck and
neck. Ian has a good margin
over Dale and Noel in B3.
Nine runners scored the maximum 70 points on A course, and a
further 3 missed just one 2-point control.
Bruce was back first in 46 mins 30 seconds, in a distance of 10.9
km. Andrew’s course was 20m shorter but
he had to settle for third, with Bryan slotting in between, mirroring their
order in the overall standings. Ian and
Rachel also had good runs. Nick did
enough to keep on top of A2 but will need to watch out for Alex, who will
benefit from being able to drop a 75 in a couple of weeks. In A3, Phil is breathing down Hugh’s neck. Mark has the lead in A4, as does Ray in A5.
Wattle Park is the venue next week. This one always draws a good crowd. It features a hilltop start in an extensive
area of parkland, and is great for a post-event picnic or bbq.
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