Race Previews 2022

Race seventeen of the PCCCT – Running Club Season will be run on Sunday with members heading to Romaine Park for the Sea-Lyons Swim School 6km Handicap.

The quiet and scenic course has proven popular in the two years it has been used and is conducive to good times, despite the undulating conditions and loose ground underfoot.

This looks like a perfect race for Turners Beach runner, Darlene Jacques who has indicated lately she is close to another victory.

Her best result in recent weeks was an eighth at Stanley and she will have fresh legs having avoided the hilly courses of the last couple of weeks.

Her biggest competition looks to be Sabrina Shields, who was an excellent second last week indicating that she is returning to her best form.

Many runners have been consistent all year without breaking through and with the pointy end of the season fast approaching they will be looking for a victory

Chief among these are Aaron Robertson, Steve Tammens, Gerard Lowry, Selina Crispin and Nick Young and any of these could win without surprising.

Entries and membership registration are online only and will close on Friday at 6pm with the race starting Sunday at 9:30. New members are always welcome.

The nominated time event will be run at 9am.

Competitors are reminded that entries for the “Ironman Classic” 25km handicap to be run on July 17 close on Sunday at 11:59pm.

Race begins on North side of 3 Mile Line, opposite Burnie Council works depot

Proceed up 3 Mile Line on RHS of road, heading West

Cross over Mooreville Road under the direction of the marshal, at the roundabout and continue West, staying on the RHS

At West Mooreville road, turn Right and remain on RHS

West Mooreville will take you past E Cam road and continue up to the junction of Brickport road at Umina Park.

Turn Right and continue up Brickport Rd on RHS

A marshall will cross runners over to the LHS between witches hats at Freer farm. Continue to the roundabout and turn Left.

A second marshall will cross runners over the road approx. 200m from the roundabout

Continue up over the hill on RHS and down the the finish outside the Council depot car park.

Notes:

• Imperative that runners remain on RHS of road and only cross at marshal points where they can be easily seen by traffic
• Coming down off W Mooreville near TLC aquatics can be slippery, depending on weather: be alert.
• Toilets can be accessed 200m East of our starting point at McKenna Park Hockey Complex
• Please be careful crossing the road near the start and finish area and ensure children are well supervised also.

A tough task lies in wait for members his week as the PCCCT heads to Burnie for the Paine Family Memorial ten-kilometre handicap.

Members will meet at the McKenna Park Hockey Complex ready for a start on Three Mile Line and will complete a circuit taking in the many hills of Mooreville and West Mooreville Roads.

Although it is a challenging course, it is very popular with runners wishing to test themselves over the classic distance and most will be very fit heading into the second half of the season.

Following a string of top runs while showing continued progress, Andrew Lucas will be a top chance on a course that will suit him. After breaking into “the ten” at Stanley, he has continued to improve finishing a great fourth over a similar course at Somerset before a sixth last week in a less suitable event.

Adrian Mann was sixth in the tough twelve-kilometre race two weeks ago and will be very hard to beat while Rhian Miles is well overdue for a win

Others with strong chances are Aaron Robertson, Steve Tammens, and Jason Scott while David Murton and Gerard Lowry can’t be discounted.

Entries close on Friday at 6pm with the race starting at 9:30.

This week also sees the running of the nominated time “Feature Race” to be held at 9:00 with extra prizes provided by the Paine Family. The Club is looking for strong support from members to make this a great event

Handicaps will be posted with the results after the race on Sunday.

Mass start at Tobruk Park, Helen St. All runners will start at 9:30am. The Handicap race results will be calculated at the conclusion of the race. The first three males and females across the line will be the placegetters of the Championships.

Stay on cement path all the way, under the bridge, beside the river, behind basketball stadium and past legion Park. Heading along Maud St turn right into Braddon St then follow path till you get to a PCCCT finger sign. Follow path behind the tennis courts until you turn north prior to the train crossing. Continue through the Apex Caravan Park until you hit Picnic Point Rd.  Follow this road to the   turn point witch’s hat.  Then return the same way you went out.

• This is a shared path so please be mindful of other users.
• Care is needed crossing the boat ramp near the basketball stadium.
• There is limited parking in Helen Street. Please park in the basketball stadium carpark and walk under the bridge to Tobruk Park

This Sunday the PCCCT heads to Ulverstone for the Aviva Parfumerie five-kilometre handicap and many members will relish the short, flat event following tough courses the last few weeks.

Tobruk Park at West Ulverstone is the meeting place and the event will take competitors on paths west towards the Apex Holiday Park and return.

After completing his first marathon in May, former cyclist-turned-runner, Jordan Matthews has finished third and then a great second last week and this race must be his for the taking. The only thing in his way may be that it will be too short for him as he clearly likes the harder events.

There are many others waiting to pounce including Steve Tammens, Andrew Lucas, Kelly Baxter and Darlene Jacques while Stephen Dutton must also be considered.

The race incorporates the Club’s five-kilometre championships, so will be conducted as a mass start with the handicaps being sealed until after the finish.

The SC Concrete Pumping Women’s Championship is quite open. Lyn Saint-John and Felicity Lovatt look to be the main chances but Sabrina Shields, Bec O’Garey and Susan Moodie can’t be ruled out of contention.

Andrew Winkel, Joshua Febey and Hayden Bishop look the strongest chances in the Cahill Family Men’s Championship although Tom Murton and Tom Winkel will become the ones to beat if they compete.

Entries close at 6:00pm on Friday with the gun firing at 9:30.

A nominated time event will be held at 9:00.

Entries must be made at www.pccct.org which also has all relevant information. New runners are always welcome.

This week presents a challenging 12 km course using predominantly back roads behind Somerset, with plenty of hills to test the legs.  The meeting point for this race is the Somerset Soccer Club off Cardigan St, Somerset.

The course starts in Cardigan Street at the western end of the Soccer Club.  Runners proceed west on left hand side of road to Old Cam Road. The course then turns left down Bread and Butter hill.  Past the bridge a marshal will cross runners onto the right-hand side of the road before turning right onto the Murchison Highway.  The course continues south along the highway (runners keeping on right hand side of the road) before turning right onto Village Lane (approx. 4.1 km into the course).  Runners continue on Village Lane until it meets Seabrook Rd.  The course turns right at this point, with runners staying on the right-hand side of the road.  The course continues straight onto Malakoff Street, before crossing a small park.  At this point runners join Cardigan Street on the left-hand side of the road and finally finishing outside Yarrandoo.

Safety notes:

• Apart from small sections at the start and end of the course, all runners are required to keep on the right-hand side of the road
• Runners must not cross from one side of the road to the other outside of the designated crossing points
• Runners are expected to take extra care while running along Murchison Hwy; keep on right hand side road at all times using the verge where possible
• For front markers, a car will lead the way along the Murchison Highway
• Toilets will be available at the Somerset Soccer Club

Following a week break for the Launceston Running Festival, race fourteen of the season takes members to Somerset this Sunday for the Raymond Spinks/Coastal Running Club twelve-kilometre handicap.

The circuit course starts and finishes at the Somerset soccer ground and commences with a four kilometre climb up the Murchison Highway to Village Lane, then continues on country roads until the final stretch along Cardigan Street. The toughness and distance suits strong middle and backmarkers.

Dominic Troughton is one of the great young runners in The Club. The sixteen-year-old won a tough race last year and along with natural improvement has been working his way towards another win. It could very easily come in this event.

His greatest threat will be Jordan Matthews. After completing his first marathon three weeks ago, Matthews followed up the next week with a great third showing he had recovered well. Now with a week’s rest he should be at his peak.

Kim Steven is another who will bear watching. He thrives on the long and hilly courses so he will be very well suited.

Darlene Jacques showed a return to form in the last race at Stanley and would not surprise with a victory.

Others to watch include Steve Tammens, Jason Scott and Sabrina Shields.

Entries close Friday evening at 6pm (online) with the race starting at 9:30am.

New runners are always welcome and they can register at www.pccct.org.

A nominated time event will be held at 9:00am.

The race starts at 10.30am from the Stanley Recreation Ground, Marine Esplanade. There are changerooms and toilet facilities at the ground. The race is over 8km and contains one hilly section. As the race is on public roads runners are asked run with caution and obey any directions from race officials. The race heads out of the ground away from the Stanley township on Main Road. After a kilometre or so runners continue onto Dovecote Road which has an uphill section. Runners turn right at Green Hills Road which takes them past Highfield House and a sweeping downhill section with great views of the Nut. This leads onto Church Street through the main centre of Stanley. Runners turn right onto Main Street then left onto Marine Esplanade. From there they re-enter the Recreation Ground and finish with half a lap of the oval. Post-race presentations will take place in the Stanley Football Clubrooms.

The PCCCT heads to Stanley this week for the Dowling McCarthy Tyres/Hanson Family “Steve Hanson Memorial” Ace of the Green Hills.

This is run over an eight-kilometre course which has a short, testing hill early on but then competitors are rewarded with a great traverse of the Green Hills before descending with views of The Nut. After travelling along the main street, runners return to the start at the Stanley Oval.

As for every race recently, there are many runners who could easily break the tape, but one of the stronger chances looks to be Gerard Lowry – “the Railton Rocket”. One of the “Meercroft Crew”, who train regularly together at Devonport’s Meercroft Park, Lowry will be very much suited and could take out a well-deserved win.

After several finishes just outside “the ten”, his last two starts have brought him a fifth and a sixth and he won’t need to improve much more to be very hard to beat.

Young gun Dominic Troughton won this event last year and is running well enough that he can go “back-to-back”. Clearly, he loves the course.

Others with a strong chance are Felicity Lovatt, Isabelle Sharman, Steve Tammens and Jason Fehlberg.

The event starts at the later time of 10:30 with entries closing at 6pm on Friday. New runners are always welcome but need to take out membership first. For entries and membership see www.pccct.org .

A nominated time event will be held at 10:00.

NOTE: The Teams Marathon will start at 7am, not 8am as indicated in the preview and on the entries page. Please ensure you are at the start line for your handicapped start line, allowing yourself time to collect team bibs.

This week there are two events being conducted concurrently over the same course – the “Greg & Di Woodhouse” Marathon and the “Terry Watson Memorial” Marathon Teams’ Race.

Both events will start at 7am. Competitors need to wear a race bib, which will be provided, to identify which race they are in and what team.

It is a two lap out and back course. The races start at the Ulverstone Cricket Club in River Road, West Ulverstone. The course heads east along River Road to the Ulverstone Bridge, under and across the bridge, down past the wharf precinct to Otto’s Grotto and onto Fairway Park walking track to Buttons Creek and along Beach Road to the start of the Ulverstone/Turners Beach coastal pathway where there will be a drink station. Runners follow the pathway to Turners Beach and then along The Esplanade to the turn which is beside the Forth River where there will be another drink station. This is where the second and fourth teams’ runners will commence their runs. Runners follow the exact same course back to the Ulverstone Cricket Club. This will be the halfway point for the marathon competitors and where the third leg teams’ runners will commence.

Runners, both individual and teams’ runners, are asked to provide their own drinks in clearly marked containers – either their name or race number. These can be left at the start/finish and will be transported to the drink stations.

Runners are also reminded that they should not be paced either by another runner not in the race or someone on a bike or other device. In the event of any pacing the runner or teams risk disqualification.

Post-race presentations will take place in the Ulverstone Cricket Club clubrooms. There will be soup served post-race. There are toilet and shower facilities available.