Race Previews 2017

The Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania heads to Railton this Sunday for the Anvers Confectionery 10 kilometre handicap. The picturesque course comprises a circuit which starts at Goliath Park and traverses tracks and country roads including one tough hill at about half way.

With the Feature Race just two weeks away, runners will be looking to test their fitness and some excellent performances can be expected.

After an unlucky run last week Ken Troughton will start favourite. Troughton finished a close fourth being caught with about two hundred metres to run after missing a turn early in the race, and losing valuable seconds. He has also had some other close finishes, including a second just two weeks ago.

Brad Taylor finished hard into third last week from a back mark. The extra distance will suit him perfectly and could see him break through for his first win.

Other runners who have been very consistent and who could easily break the tape include father and son, Dwayne and Lachlan Barry while Anna Murton and Kerrie Murchie could win without surprising.

Entries close at 9:30 with the race commencing at 10:00. There will be nominated time races at 9:05.

Members are reminded that entries for the Feature Race close this Sunday.

The third in the series of four trail races will be the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania’s next event.

The Wilkinson’s Pharmacy 6 kilometre handicap will be conducted in the park area near Hellyer College at Burnie. The course is completely on unsealed areas and provides a hilly challenge for competitors.

Those that completed the marathon last week will no doubt have tired legs still, so the main chances should come from those who undertook the much easier 5km handicap and who will handle the hilly course.

Peter Elphinstone has been slowly creeping up the places each week and was seen running a very nice fifth last week. Elphinstone is normally travelling on the mainland this time of the year so will want to take advantage of being able to compete by pushing hard for the win.

Andrew Bates and Andrew Aichberger are two of the large group of young runners competing with the club and showing terrific promise. Both have been close-up in several races and a win by either would be well deserved. They could well fight out the race.

Ken Troughton ran an excellent second last week and will want to emulate his nephews, Isaac and Ewen Troughton, who have both won races this year. Rebecca O’Garey also must be given a great chance and a win would not surprise.

The race starts at 10:00 with entries closing at 9:30. There will be nominated time events of 2-3 kilometres at 9:05.

The longest race on the PCCCT calendar takes place this Sunday. The G & D Woodhouse Marathon Handicap is run over the full marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres and travels from River Park at Ulverstone to Turners Beach and back twice.

Each year a small but select group of hardy runners challenge themselves over this classic distance. In 2015 the winner was Thomas Murton who went on to win the Tasmanian Marathon Championship in Hobart in January.

Murton is a starter again this year and will start from the back mark giving 1 hour 45 minutes to the go-markers, David and Christine Wright. Despite this, Murton has shown he is in terrific form and could very easily win again.

Greg Smith is proven over this distance and will be a top chance, having run a great time in the Gold Coast half marathon last Sunday. Others with great prospects include Kim Denwer, Gerard Leary and Brad Taylor. However, it is a very even field and any of the starters could win without surprising.

For those not entered in the marathon, the much easier Tyreright 5 kilometre will be run at 10:30 with entries closing at 10:00. This looks a suitable race for veteran Alan Bakes who ran a close second last week. Rebecca O’Garey and Ricky Brown will also be in contention.

There will be nominated time races at 9:45.

Marathon 2016 Handicaps

A hilly course over country roads faces the members of the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania this Sunday when they head to Somerset for the Raymond Spinks/CRC 12 kilometre handicap.

The event starts and finishes at the Somerset Soccer ground and takes in a circuit which starts with a long haul up the Murchison Highway before turning into Village Lane.

At this stage of the season, race 18, most runners have many kilometres in training under their belts and the course should pose no problems.

There will be many chances but the strongest hopes look to be Dallas van Rooyen, Matthew Greenhill and Mark Saint John. All three have been consistent and threatening to win a race, particularly one of the longer events. Saint-John will probably start favourite. His best recent result was a fifth over 10 kilometres two weeks ago and this race looks made to order.

Other possibilities include Kelly Baxter, Rebecca O’Garey and Bryan Tuit, who won this race last year. Dwayne Barry, Anna Murton and Patrick McMullen are worth keeping an eye on as well.

Entries close at 9:30 with the race starting at 10:00.

There will be nominated time events at 9:05.

Members are reminded that marathon entries must be in this week. The marathon is next Sunday, 17 July.

Members of the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania will head to Devonport for their next race this Sunday.

The Molly Malone’s 6 kilometre handicap is a popular run as it takes a course along Victoria Parade to the Bluff and return via the climb up to the Bluff Lighthouse. Being mostly flat and also scenic, a big field is expected.

Following her great effort to run second in a tougher race last week, Kelly Baxter will start favourite. Baxter has been consistent all year but shown improvement in recent weeks.

Anna Murton is another of the female runners who is getting close to victory and it could be this week.

This is Alan Bakes’ home territory and the veteran could easily take it out. He was a very close third last week.

Other with strong chances include Owen Britt, who put in a great effort last week, Dwayne Barry, Matthew Greenhill and Patrick McMullen. The backmarkers look to have their work cut out, with Brad Taylor probably their best chance.

Runners should note the later time for entries this week of 10:00 with the race starting at 10:30.

There will be a nominated time event at 9:45 to which all are welcome.

The Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania members this week tackle the Paine Family Memorial 10 kilometre event at Burnie.

The race starts at the council depot in Three Mile Line and is a hilly course over Mooreville and West Mooreville Roads

Members who ran the 25 kilometre Iron Man Classic at Forth last Sunday are bound to be still feeling the effects, so the best chances might come from those who gave the Iron Man a miss.

Kerrie Murchie was a close fourth at Somerset in Race 13 and looks well suited. She has had several other top finishes and a win is surely not far away. Richard Lawson in his first year of running surprised with his effort in a recent 5km event and could pull this off, although it is a much more difficult course.

Other runners close to a win include Andrew Bates, Rebecca O’Garey and Ron Chequer and any of the three would not surprise with a win. Patrick McMullen is another who has been consistently improving and is sure to finish strongly.

Front marker, John Purton, has specialised in this race and will be in front for a long way.

Entries close at 9:30 with the race starting at 10:00.

The nominated time events at 9:05 will have extra prizes thanks to the Paine family so big fields are expected.

IRONMAN 2016 Handicaps

This Sunday members of the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania head to Forth for the toughest race on their calendar – the Burnie Trophy Centre/Troy Atkins Accounting “Iron Man Classic”.

Although not the longest race of the season (that being the Marathon in a few weeks’ time) this 25 kilometre race which commences and finishes at the Forth Football Ground is a great challenge. It involves a circuit in the Forth Valley which includes the tough Paloona Hill and the infamous “Hamstring Hill” at Melrose.

The top chances will be runners who have done a lot of kilometres in training and who are proven over this sort of distance and terrain,

Among these, club champion Thomas Murton, Mark Saint-John, Greg Smith and Ben Hoare stand out.

These runners all finished close up in the 16.5 kilometre Burnie to Ridgley run recently and could well fight out the finish. Saint-John was, in fact, a very close second in that race. Murton rang an excellent time of 32:40 in the Launceston Ten last Sunday to show he is in top form, but he will be giving a start to the other three and will have his work cut out.

Other chances include Bryan Tuit while Rebecca O’Garey and Sally Haynes will fly the flag for the women.

Runners are advised that due to the flooding at the Forth Football ground, the club rooms and showers will not be available after the race as usual.

Entries have closed for the race which will start at 9:00am. There will be nominated time events at 9:15.

Runners are reminded that entries for the following week’s 25km Iron Man race at Forth must be in this Sunday.

The Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania is conducting its second trail run of the season at Spreyton this Sunday.

The Spreyton Cider Company 5 kilometre handicap will be conducted mostly through orchards and runners should be prepared for some muddy, wet conditions, especially considering the recent rainfall.

The Trail Run series, consisting of four off-road races is a new instigation for the Club this year with trophies for the best performers across the series.

This looks to be a perfect race for Kerrie Murchie. Murchie followed a close fifth at Stanley two weeks ago with an excellent run into fourth in a tougher race last week. She looked the winner of that for some time before being caught late. Over the shorter distance on Sunday she could well hang on for her maiden win.

There are plenty who will be trying to prevent her from obtaining it however, and foremost among these will be Russell Horton who proved his liking for these conditions when fourth in the first trail run a few weeks ago. A strong second last week showed he has retained form.

Among others with a good chance are Patrick McMullen and Kelly Baxter while Bryan Tuit and Brad Taylor will be storming home from backmarks.

Runners are reminded that entries for the following week’s 25km Iron Man race at Forth must be in this Sunday.

The 13^th race of the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania’s season will prove lucky for someone this Sunday. The Somerset Pharmacy 10 kilometre handicap provides a challenging course using the Murchison Highway and Back Cam Road after starting beside the Cam River.

This looks to be a course suited to strong middle markers and the two that appear to have the best chances are Sally Haynes and Matthew Greenhill. Haynes was second, with Greenhill third, over a similar course at Stowport three weeks ago. Greenhill ran an excellent race in the tough King of the Mountains following that, while Haynes has been close up in may races this year and will be fresh, not having run at Stanley last week.

However, there are plenty of other chances including the rapidly improving Kerrie Murchie, and two tough competitors in Kim Denwar and Shane Hansen. Denwar in particular appears to be getting back to the form which saw him close to a win last year.

If a frontmarker is to cause an upset, it could be David Murton who ran well last week. Among the backmarkers the best chances would be Greg Smith and Bryan Tuit.

The race starts at 10:00 with entries closing at 9:30, Nominated time events will be held at 9:05. All runners or walkers are welcome to compete in these.

After last week’s tough 16.5 race from Burnie to Ridgley, Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania members will be looking forward to a gentler assignment this Sunday.

The WT House Betta Home Living “Steve Hanson Memorial” 8 kilometre handicap will be conducted at Stanley.

The race commences at the Stanley Oval and comprises a beautiful circuit around the Green Hills. It is the next in the series of “Blue Ribbon” races and a victory is prized by members. The shorter distance will suit front and middle markers and it may well be Louise Morse who will be accepting the trophy. Morse has been consistently close in the shorter events and the 8 kilometre will suit her perfectly.

Another front marker who has been showing form is Ron Chequer. Chequer did not start last week, preferring to assist on a drink station, and with his fresh legs will look a chance as the leaders run back into the township. He has been leaving his large group of co-markers well behind early on with very fast starts.

The main chances among the middle markers look to include Russell Horton and Andrew Aichberger – the latter being another of the young up-and-comers in the club. Kerrie Murchie or Kelly Baxter could also win without surprising.

The race starts at the slightly later time of 10:30 with entries closing at 10:00. There will be nominated time events at 9:45. All welcome