Whanganui's Lucas Martin in action at the Wellington half-marathon walk held in conjunction with the Wellington Half Marathon.
A car breakdown in pouring rain on a remote road to Loch Buie on the island of Mull provided a sharp reminder of how dependent we are on modern communication.
There was no mobile coverage, miles to the nearest house or village and few other vehicles on the road.
Mary from Arkansas, the first of only four cars that passed in an hour, came to the rescue, driving my brother 11 miles (17km) for help, reversing her direction of travel – a saviour.
For most of the rest of my time in Scotland, modern technology has allowed regular contact back to New Zealand and I have been regularly updated.
Modern video conferencing allowed me to join a final selection meeting for a NZ Schools cross country team to compete in Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast at the start of September.
It is pleasing that NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Association continues to support our leading young athletes.
I was sorry to have missed the fifth anniversary of Whanganui parkrun on July 5 but have been updated not only through the website but by founders Judy and John Mellsop via email during their northern hemisphere travels.
Cara Muir and Michelle Selby organised the planting of a pōhutukawa in the park by the start line, with original run directors Anne Bernard-Bennett and David Mellsop helping with the planting.
Volunteers from the first event, who were also volunteering at the fifth birthday, were Anne Bernard-Bennett, Maureen McMillan, Mignon Stephenson and David Mellsop.
Runners at both the first and fifth anniversary events were Steph Laird, David Mellsop, Bill Charnock, Jeff Smith and Lorna Sigley. The celebration involved 110 participants on last weekend’s damp Saturday; 76 participated in the first event in 2020, with weekly averages in the opening year a small fraction of the present weekly average.
It is always pleasing to hear of the success of former Whanganui athletes.
George (Geordie) Beamish has clearly overcome injury and has qualified for this year’s world championships in the 3000m steeplechase.
Hammer thrower Lexi Maples set a personal best of 66.57m in California and, after a year out of competition, Louise Brabyn ran an encouraging 1:25.20 for her half-marathon debut on the Gold Coast.
The performance will cost me as I suggested that 1:30 would be a good target and, if achieved, would be rewarded (I should have gone for sub 1:25).
Canterbury University-based race walker Lucas Martin, who is still a member of the Athletics Wanganui committee, sent me details and images of his successful half-marathon walk in Wellington.
His 1:42.31 effort set the course record and he went through the 20km mark setting a personal best by 3 minutes. He also finished ahead of Toby O’Rorke (Taranaki) who had the wood on Martin all summer.
Athletics NZ’s Athletic Roundup each week records performances both at home and overseas and, while interesting and useful when in NZ, becomes invaluable when overseas.
It is good to see encouraging performances in a world championship year with a late championships in Tokyo on September 13-21.
Maddison-Lee Wesche (shot put) has such a great competitive record in major competitions, including 16 national medals, a World Junior bronze, Commonwealth bronze and Olympic silver. She has just had her first 20m shot at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, an important milestone in the build-up to Tokyo.
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs, who in her career has set 27 NZ records, broke her NZ 100m record at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike, Mestsky Stadion, Ostrava, on June 24. She ran a 10.94s personal best, surpassing her 10.96s set in 2023. It was also an Oceania record.
The best news of all was confirmation that, following a bidding process to allocate a third World Athletics bronze level meeting in NZ, Cooks Gardens will host that event.
As a full World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze Event, the Pak’nSave Cooks International Classic brings the opportunity for athletes to earn valuable world-ranking points at the bronze level and compete against leading international athletes right here in NZ.
Along with the bronze status comes higher prize money for athletes, more internationals travelling to the region and a bigger spotlight on the event.
The 2025 edition of the event drew the biggest crowd in more than a decade, as the sport of track and field continues its rise in NZ.
A big drawcard to the event was Olympic high jump champion Hamish Kerr, competing on home soil for the first time since winning his historic Olympic gold.
Hopefully, many leading NZ athletes will join a host of international athletes in January.