Athletics: Spring makes for unpredictable season start

Athletes need to be adaptable and prepared for all conditions. Photo / Bevan Conley.

The only thing that is predictable about spring weather is that it is unpredictable.

Geoffrey B Charleswood could well have lived in Whanganui when he said, “In spring I have counted 136 different kinds of weather in 24 hours”.

Such changeable weather makes coaching and competing challenging for athletes, especially for those preparing for major events only weeks away.

However, unlike farmers, livelihood does not depend on it and athletes and coaches have to be adaptable. I remember a particularly windy spring in 2003 when the wind was constant.

The catchword became “it could be worse in Invercargill”. It was, not only was the wind a constant, but the mercury also dropped to 8C. Last year we had a very wet night in early November with most athletes voting with their feet by not attending.

The remainder took part in a truncated programme. Those who did compete were well prepared for what became the wettest Championships on record at Inglewood.

Athletes need to be adaptable and prepared for all conditions.

The rain just prior to this Tuesday’s club night was torrential and a half-a-century record of no Tuesday cancellations looked like being broken.

The rain eased but was a constant companion through the shortened half-hour programme on the track with the cancellation of the two field events shot and long jump. It was pleasing that there were 50 recorded performances on a wet Tuesday evening.

Damian Hodgson in his first race of the season had a great battle in the 100m with Filipe Bayly to win in 11.9 (hand timed) with Bayly’s 12.1 his best when converted to an electronic equivalent.

It was also good to see Whanganui Women’s Rugby player Paris Munro back on the track, finishing second to Paige Cromarty in the 100 metres and holding off the challenge of her young sister Jaime. Speed work over the summer on the track will reap benefits on the rugby field in winter.

Daniel Sinclair continued his early season form after a great cross-country season that saw him win his second New Zealand Schools singlet. He ran from the front in the 1500m splashing through the puddled inside lanes.

He was disappointed with his time of 4 minutes and 4 seconds but is probably being hard on himself as it was basically a solo run from the start, winning by over 30 seconds from his two brothers Matthew and David.

Louise Brabyn looks to be coming back into form and was the leading female in the 1500m race stopping the clock at 4:50.4. More importantly she felt good and five minutes later was first home in the 1000m, running smoothly in 3:11.3 providing a confidence boost as she starts her next phase of training.

Spring is also a time of renewal and already as indicated at the AGM there is a real drive towards acknowledging and recruiting volunteers and upskilling officials.

We were happy to follow the commendable lead from parkrun who thanked officials promptly each week by e-mail. The website also records the number of times the recipient has volunteered.

We are keeping such records for our own club nights and are creating acknowledgement incentives for our officials and volunteers throughout the season.

Prior knowledge is not important as new volunteers will be made to feel welcome whatever their previous experience. It is clear that the sharing of the load and the social side that an increased pool of helpers will bring can benefit the club and the athletes.

There are many parents who are regular spectators and it is hoped more will come across the fence to lend a hand. I am always interested in hearing from potential volunteers and can be contacted on mobile at 021 421 145 by a call or text.

Sadly, one major area of the club’s activity has been postponed from spring to summer and the start of 2024 and that is the children’s section that had been run on Mondays.

Last week I acknowledged the hard work of some of our athletes, notably Maggie Jones, Nat Kirk, Yasmin Christenhusz and Josephine Perkins with this section for the past two seasons.

With no obvious successor, the club is committed to resourcing this important area of our activities but want to renew and reset in the New Year rather than starting now without strong leadership in place. Already there have been offers for assistance as we build a team for a summer start.

For now, we continue to battle the spring gales and changeable weather. The regional league returns to Cooks Gardens on Saturday, November 11, which is our first major involving a large team of volunteers (worth double points in our new scheme).