The bulk of the five and 10 kilometre runners started together in 2022 - all 75 of them!
The bulk of the five and 10 kilometre runners started together in 2022 - all 75 of them!
An iconic Dannevirke harrier race that used to attract Olympians will be re-run this month at the A&P Showgrounds.
Dannevirke will host the third of the modern-era Anderson Rallies on June 24, after it was revived in 2019, 42 years after the last race was run.
The iconic harrier rally started in 1934 when the Dannevirke Harriers Club was formed, the field growing rapidly to more than 100 pre-war as harriers from throughout the region flocked to the annual event.
It resumed after World War II and the Anderson Rally became one of the top events in New Zealand harrier circles, attracting at its peak in the 1970s fields of up to 700.
Over those years 11 Olympians and a further 20 New Zealand Internationals competed plus numerous cross-country and track champions.
Slowly interest in harriers dwindled and Dannevirke no longer had enough to support a harrier club so local cross-country runners had to join neighbours to train and compete.
But in 2019 local man Terry Walker persuaded his Feilding Moa Harrier Club and Napier Harriers to once again participate in the event, after a layoff of 42 years.
Last June 150 competitors took part in the revived Anderson Harrier Rally in Dannevirke. There were very strong teams from Feilding Moa, Napier Harriers, Hastings Harriers and a smattering of runners from Palmerston North AHC, Wairarapa Track and Field, four from Dannevirke Athletics and some walkers from Manawatu Striders.
A similar response is expected on Saturday, June 24, with a huge revival in harrier racing in the last decade. Organiser Terry Walker is expecting more than 200 entries and locals are welcome to participate. Entry is free.
The programme starts at 1.30pm:
1.30m Under 7s – I km
1.45pm Boys/girls Under 12 – 2km
1.50pm Boys/girls U14, U18, WomenU20, Masters Women - 5km
1.55pm Men U20 – 7.5km
Open Men and Women and Master Men’s 10km.
Prizegiving and afternoon tea follows and thanks to local business generosity the prize table is great.
The course based at the Dannevirke A&P Showgrounds has a range of contours from flat stretches to rolling hills with some traditional cross-country features such as steeples and jumps a few unique to this course. Previous competitors have rated this course as one of the best.
There are also plenty of great spectator viewing spots.
