The Secondary Schools Team Challenge followed by a similar event five days later in the South Island brought down the curtain on the cross country season more than a month later than usual. It is a crazy year in which the New Zealand Schools nationals, postponed from its usual third Saturday in June, was cancelled and the Athletics New Zealand Cross Country Championships was renamed the Athletics New Zealand Cross Country Challenge in recognition that Auckland athletes were unable to attend.
The challenge in Dunedin was also a few weeks later than usual. The later date has led to a condensed Road and Road Relay calendar made more complex with the Rotorua marathon held last Saturday, postponed from April. The New Zealand Road Championships are now after the start of the Track and Field Championships in early November in Auckland.
This closure of the season allows a chance to reflect on a very different season and how our runners fared. George Lambert, featured last week, was the most successful local runner. In April he should have been in Europe at the ISF Schools Cross Country but instead had a longer build-up in which he also successfully mixed with some 2nd XV Rugby.
The target had been the New Zealand Secondary Schools with the Athletics New Zealand Championships an important step on the way. In July he was second in the Manawatu/Whanganui Cross Country Championships finishing behind visiting Wellington athlete Will Anthony who had an outstanding track season following on from his silver medals behind Liam Back last year in the two New Zealand Championships.
Lambert slightly narrowed the gap on Anthony in taking silver in the New Zealand Challenge, winning with a best time over 6000m and although Anthony was not in the field, Lambert indicated he had the ability to be among the leading age group runners.