The over-60 age group at the end of Sunday's Peter Snell Mile Challenge.
Athletics is alive and well in the North Island as evidenced by Saturday’s Round 2 of the Central League at Cooks Gardens where 223 athletes from lower North Island clubs competed.
This was an increase of more than 100 athletes from Round 1 in Inglewood a week earlier.
The 4.5 hour programme is demanding on officials and volunteers as all track and field events, except the pole vault, are covered.
The more than 40 officials and numerous volunteers are to be congratulated on completing a dense track programme just minutes behind schedule and all but the final men’s javelin finished on time.
There were 61 entries in the 100 metres, six long throwing events (discus, javelin and hammer), big fields in the 1500m and an encouragingly large field in the women’s steeplechase where Caitlin Kirk (Hastings) set an impressive personal best to win in 7m 01.21s. But for the increasingly stiff breeze, she would almost certainly have run under 7 minutes for the 2000m race.
Whanganui athletes had a good day, moving up from third after the first round to second behind the Palmerston North team.
Jonathan Maples again produced standout performances, consolidating the form demonstrated in Inglewood a week earlier where he won all three sprints with excellent times.
The intention on Saturday was to run the 100m and 200m. He won the 100m in 10.90s in glorious sunshine but had to battle a 2.1 metres/second headwind.
With a forecast that predicted strengthening winds, Maples chose to substitute the 400m for 200m later in the programme where he would at least have a tailwind on the back straight. The forecast proved accurate and, by the time the 200m was run, the wind had risen to a gnarly 5m/s. Maples was rewarded with a personal best of 47.20s for the one lap which is third on the New Zealand 2025 rankings and the fastest run in the current season. Maples should be delighted with his progress early in a new season.
The format of the competition, with heats graded by ability rather than age with large fields, helps provide a raft of personal bests.
Whanganui athletes featured in the many personal and season bests. In the opening 300m hurdle event, all three Whanganui athletes set personal bests with Hannah Cameron recording 50.59s, Olive Coombs 51.29s and Alrese Maree 51.81s.
Bruce McGregor provided another in the boys’ 300m hurdles minutes later, with Charlie McBride securing a season best only just shy of his personal best.
The windy conditions were not conducive to fast middle distance times but nevertheless four of the Whanganui 1500m athletes (Sean Frieslaar, Lennox Brotherton, Darcy Johnston and Toby Gill) set new best performances. Year 9 800m runner Sophie Dunlop won her B heat in the windy afternoon with a personal best.
Lucas Howard set five new bests in his triple jump series, finishing third (11.79m) with Whanganui teammate Presley Bretherton also setting a best for second (11.93m).
Two Whanganui Collegiate School boarders scored valuable points for their home clubs. New Zealand under-18 heptathlon gold medal winner Juliet McKinlay contributed 38 points for her Palmerston North club with wins in long jump (wind-assisted best of 5.60m) and 100m hurdles, second places in javelin (struggled in the conditions) and triple jump and a third place in the 100m. Year 9 Phoebe Corin, competing for Kapi/Mana, scored well in throws for second in the shot, third in the discus and fourth in the hammer with a new best of 33.63m.
The league concludes in Masterton on November 22, just two weeks before the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Hastings on the first weekend of December.
There was no rest for some of the officials with the Peter Snell Challenge back at Cooks Gardens the following day.
The community-based event gave participants a chance to walk or run a mile on the iconic Cooks Gardens, following in the footsteps of Peter Snell and 78 other athletes who have run under four minutes at the “home of the mile”.
The 60-plus age group at 9am had the most participants with 20 completing the four laps, either running or walking. The first across the line on Sunday was Sally Gibbs who, a day earlier, had run 5000m for Whanganui on the track. Ninety-two-year-old Leonie Symes featured strongly in the walking section.
Club captain Jonathan Maples, who had performed with distinction on Saturday, returned to run in the 20-29 group as part of his Sunday recovery.
All runners were recognised with a commemorative medal and there were spot prizes, with Lincoln Beamsley taking the major prize.