Athletics: Welcome return for Whanganui's Round the Lake Relay

Oliver Jones stepped up superbly to run an outstanding second leg. Photo / Rob van Dort

The weather may have been bleak, but the cheerful response of athletes and the positive post-race comments confirmed participants were delighted to be part of the 42nd Round the Lake Relay.

The popular relay returned for the first time since 2019, with both the 2020 and the 2021 events having been cancelled due to Covid-19, and runners rejoiced in the return. Their peers taking part in the first Tournament Week since 2019 a week earlier shared that joy.

It was a pity that the weather did not come to the party, with the very accurate Norwegian weather forecasting site Yr.no correctly predicting persistent rain from noon, whereas our own network predictions had not been so pessimistic. It was cold and the rain was persistent. It is to the credit of both officials and runners that all four races were completed on time.

The Senior Boys race became a classic battle between Havelock North High School and Whanganui Collegiate School. The schools had finished in third and fourth respectively in the three-to-score teams race at the New Zealand Schools Championships, with only four points separating them.

Monday's race at Virginia Lake proved to be just as close. Karsten Vesty, running first, narrowly headed Daniel Sinclair for the fastest lap, recording 6 minutes and 35 seconds. Vesty was seventh at the Schools Championship; Sinclair fourth. However, Vesty, coached by former Hawke's Bay New Zealand representative Richard Potts, has a vastly superior 1500m track performance. Potts held the course record for more than 20 years, and still sits second on the all-time list. Sinclair did well to finish within metres of Vesty.

Oliver Jones, still in Year 11, ran an outstanding leg against older opposition and lost little ground on the Havelock team. The well-performing Toby Caro (Year 11), running third, handed the narrowest of leads to James Hercus, who battled throughout the 2.25 kilometre lap but was finally outrun, leaving the hosts only five seconds behind Havelock North High School (28 minutes, 36 seconds).

Perennial Virginia Lake winners Wellington College, who were fourth at the Schools Championships, were third. Wellington College won the Junior A Boys, and their B team won the Junior B division. The strong Wellington College Year 9 team had to bow to an impressive New Plymouth Boys High School team in the Year 9 grade.

The Whanganui Collegiate Senior Girls took the senior title but not line honours, with Wellington Girls Juniors running impressively to win the combined race. The team from the capital had the best of starts, with Poppy Healy taking the fastest lap in the combined Junior/Senior race with an impressive 6 minutes, 53 seconds. Healy had finished sixth in Nelson at New Zealand Schools, leading her team to a silver team medal.

Rosa Meyer, who has made a massive improvement over the winter, saw the host team in second after lap two. New Zealand Schools international Louise Brabyn put her Whanganui Collegiate into the lead on the penultimate leg. Pascale Bowie, who had been brought into the team following injury to the original selection Harriet Douglas, ran well but was overhauled by the strong junior Wellington Girls College anchor, New Zealand and Schools representative Ava Sutherland. Although passed by Sutherland, Bowie was able to hold second place in the combined race to win the senior division.

The fastest runners in lap one of both Senior races were the only individual prizes and were kindly sponsored by Bates Watchmakers and Pak'nSave.

There was local interest and success in the Intermediate Schools divisions. The Intermediate Schools teams ran with the Year 9 and Junior B teams. The first girls' race was won by the Sacred Heart Lower Year 9 Girls team race from Napier Girls High School. The Hutt Valley team's winning margin was eight seconds (32:34), with Wellington Girls College third. Napier Girls were winners of the Junior B Race from the Harvey House team, who were part of the Inter House event run in conjunction with the schools' event (Harvey won the overall House event). Nga Tawa were third.

In the Intermediate Schools division, St George's were convincing winners, with Huntley School second and Westmere School third in a grade which attracted 11 teams. The boys' Intermediate Schools race was won by Westmere School after a tight battle with Ohakune Primary School, with Huntley School finishing third.

It was great to be back at the lake in spite of the rain. Schools and athletes new to the event vowed to return, and hope to be joined by new schools and schools who have run in the past. We hope that will include more from our own secondary schools, who were not well represented in an event that saw 120 teams from nearly 30 schools from throughout the lower North Island.