Putting club before self

Athletics

Lloyd Millar played a key role in Athletics Cycling and Masterton coming second in the men's 50yrs teams event at the Dorne Cup cross-country meet held at Trentham last weekend.

Millar was eligible to compete in the veterans' 60yrs grade over a 6km course - but lined up against his younger rivals in the 50yrs grade over 8km so Masterton had the required number of runners to make up a team, a classic example of putting club before self.

The Dorne Cup is an interclub cross-country competition run among Wellington regional clubs each year, with races for club athletes of all ages held mainly on sports grounds with occasional stream crossings or low fence jumps.

Nine members of the Masterton club travelled to this year's event and they produced pleasing results considering the number of competing clubs and the calibre of the competition.

The senior women's races were the first of the day and they were preceded by a minute's silence in memory of Lesley Cantwell, the New Zealand walker who passed away after competing at the Oceania championships in Tahiti.

Jane Flowerday was the only female member of the Masterton club to compete for the Dorne Cup. She lined up in the 6km vet grade, turning in a gutsy effort to finish in a mid-table position.

Senior men and veteran men were involved in the last race of the day, the 8km two-lap race, with the senior men racing for the Dorne Cup itself.

Ben Winder started with uncertainty, having not trained for a week because of cold symptoms, but eventually finished 11th, four places better than the previous year.