Weston Creek Athletics Club ACT

Half Marathon

The 39th running of this iconic Canberra running event was conducted in perfect running weather, despite the forecast of a high temperature, rain and strong winds.  There was some wind during the presentations, but the rain held off and the temperature did not rise until we were packing up.  However, the forecast of strong winds seemed to have halted the Balloonists, which was a pity.  It is an undulating and challenging course, all run on bike paths, with no road crossovers, thus it is a safe and extremely scenic course with views over Lake Burley Griffin for most of it.    

The number of runners who registered for both events was a record with 212 solo runners in the Half Marathon, 5 relay teams and 87 runners/walkers in the 10 km community fun run/walk.   Next year will be our 40^th and we have plans for a special celebration.  It will again be held on the third Sunday in March 2026 (15^th) so please mark the date in your calendar and register early to grab the early bird rate.  This iconic half marathon is a great tester of your condition if you are running the Canberra marathon in April.  Discounts will again be offered to Griffin members, i.e., those who have completed at least 10 Canberra Marathons, ACT Masters and Canberra Runners members.

Electronic timing is used for the event, which allowed the results to be uploaded on to your phone through a QR app immediately after the race again this year.   Thank you to Martin Fryer for setting up our event in Race Results and developing the start list and QR code.  Thank you to Martin Fryer, Michael Corlis and Rohan Lowry who ran the e timing system during the race.  Martin triumphed even with his broken arm.  This year we had scanners at the turn-around points, which gave us progressive placings and provided splits for the top runners.

Thank you to our sponsor, Nick Walshe of The Runners Shop, where bib collection on Thursday to Saturday made the morning of the race less hectic as half the bibs had already been issued.  We provided engraved Canberra Redbacks medals for the second and third runners in the half marathon and for the each of the 10-year age group winners for both events.  The male and female winners of the half marathon got to take the perpetual trophy home for 12 months and they each received an engraved ‘keepsake’ trophy.  There are some very famous names engraved on those male and female perpetual trophies.  Runners Shop gift vouchers were awarded to each medallist in both races.

There were lots of lucky draw prizes to go around with Runners Shop gift vouchers, bags of freshly roasted coffee beans from Two Before Ten and bottles of wine to choose from.

The Club Committee will consider some improvements for next year, including moving the finish line to the presentation area.  This would improve spectator experience, remove the need to walk 300m from the present finish line to where the food and drinks are, and reduce the work required to set up the electronic timing systems.  A finisher’s medal is under consideration for this milestone event.

I must thank all the Weston Creek athletes and their family members who made sure this event was again run smoothly and participants had an enjoyable experience.  I must thank Philo Saunders in particular for coordinating the volunteers, buying the hot cross buns, fruit and drinks and for setting the course.  He only returned from India the day before.  He was also the Emcee for the presentations.  Deon Kenzie was instrumental in recruiting the participants through his email and Facebook campaigns.  Ken Eynon OAM controlled traffic at the entrance of Black Mountain Peninsula to ensure our runners were kept safe when running up Garry Owen Drive.  Thank you also to ACT Masters Athletics for the loan of their e-timing equipment and other items of equipment.  Lastly, thank you to Transport Canberra and City Services for approving the event in a timely fashion and for ensuring the main gate and toilets were open at 0630 on race day.

Full results are available on the website www.westoncreekathletcs.org.au and also via the link https://my.raceresult.com/329760/results

Overall Results for the 39^th half marathon

                           Males                                                                       Females

1^st Place              Jordan Cowley                 1.11.07                             Julia Murphy                   1.28.56

2^nd Place             Shamsher Foley              1.16.40                                         Shelley Cooke                  1.30.25.3

3^rd Place             Stuart Grey                      1.16.58                                         Ellen Bradley                   1.30.25.8

Age Group Results

 < 20                   Thomas Dempster          1.27.20                            Bebe Longhurst               1.38.02   

 20-29                 Shamsher Foley              1.16.40                                           Julia Murphy                    1.28.56

 30-39                 Jordan Cowley                1.11.07                            Ellen Bradley                   1.30.25

 40-49                 James Minto                   1.18.43                            Shelley Cooke                  1.30.25.3

 50-59                 Richard Jones                  1.21.51                            Kylie Malone                    1.38.25

60-69                  Jeffrey Grey                     1.27.11                            Carol Eglitis                     1.52.39

70-79                  Peter Clarke                    1.46.24                            Clare Wall                        1.53.08

Half marathon relay team result

There were five relay teams contesting the half marathon competition this year, one comprising of three runners, the others two runners and the winning team was: 

Team 11: ‘If you are not first, you’re last’ in a time of 1.24.47                

Members: Blake Christofersen and Jack Murphy. 

10 Km Community Fun Run

A 10Km Community Fun Run event was introduced in 2018 to extend those who only frequent Park Runs.  There were 87 runners registered this year, a significant increase over previous years.

Males                                                                                      Females

1     Michael O’Flynn                     34.57                                1   Cecily Reid                                38.18

2    Mark Stevens                          35.17                                2   Sarah King                                38.42

3    James Mason                          35.54                                3   Kathryn Sliwinski                     42.15   

Age Group Results        

< 20      Riley Stanworth              38.13                                Nil

20-29    Justin Wilson                   41.07                                Cecily Reid                       38.18

30-39    Michael O’Flynn              34.57                                Elizabeth Muller             45.53

40-49    John Gamble                   39.32                                Sarah King                        38.41

50-59    James Mason                   35.54                                Kerri Loutit                      55.43

60-69    Nigel England                  50.49                                Mhairi Craig                    46.00

70-79    Nil                                                                              Nil

80 +      Paul Maggs                      1.33.60                             Heather Cooper              1.38.35

Robbie Costmeyer

Race Organiser

17 March 2025

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