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Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon, 5-Mile and 2-Mile Race Report
9 June, 2008: This year’s annual Half Marathon event saw a record field – easily the best turn-out in the event’s 20-year history. (It was DOUBLE last year’s field.)
In the past, it has been one of the more relaxing events for race officials, in which the only concern was the possibility of freezing to death while counting laps in the mid-year Canberra winter. This time, however, we were given an unseasonable warm, sunny morning – and happily, one of the busiest.
In this large (by our standards) field, James Minto won the
Half-Marathon in a time of 1:19:36, followed by Gavin Keating (1:20:01)
and Alex Miller (1:21:23). Natalie Wood was easily the fastest of the
women (1:24:33), despite valiant efforts from Emma Adams (1:35:10) and
Carinna Tong (1:38:43).
The shorter races also produced some excellent results. Tim Shipstone won the 5 Mile in a time of 29.31, followed by Geoff Ives (31.05) and Ruben Caley (31.06). The fastest woman (19th overall) was Nicola Torley, of the formidable Torley clan, with 35.01.
In the 2 Mile, teenager Shane Farrant blitzed the field with 11:29, though adults Adam Forsdyke (11:43) and Paco Iglesias (11:47) weren’t too far behind. In fact, of the top 10 runners, seven were under 17 – and what’s more, three were girls! Not that anyone back in the field had any reason to be ashamed. After all, tiny 12-year-old Rebekah Sawkins gave a truly prodigious performance, becoming the fastest female (and sixth overall) in an incredible time of 12:28. Even the impressive races of teens Natalie Archer (13.32) and Georgia Hardy (13.59) were no match for her (though they comfortably beat all the women in the race).
Click here for Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon Results>>
