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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

King of the Mountains 2016 Handicaps

This Sunday, members of the Professional Cross Country Club will head to Burnie for the race which is arguably the toughest of the season. It is also the second “blue ribbon” race for 2016. The High-on-Penguin Burnie to Ridgley “King of the Mountains” is a hard, challenging 16.5 kilometres which starts at Burnie Park and makes its way to Ridgley via Mooreville and West Mooreville Roads. But this sort of challenge is what most endurance runners relish and a big field is expected.

The winner is likely to be a runner who has been training in similar conditions and doing big kilometres and Sally Haynes fits the bill. Haynes ran second last week over a hilly 10 kilometre course and looks even better suited this week. She has been consistently the fastest woman this year so her fitness cannot be questioned. Women have quite a good recent record in this race, winning three of the last six runnings. Other women with great chances include the two Rebeccas – O’Garey and de Groot – along with Anna Murton.

Mark Saint John won the event two years ago and a second win would not surprise, while other strong chances include Gerard Lowry and Matthew Greenhill who was a strong third last week.

Evan Brett was well fancied last week but didn’t end up competing. He is another with a strong chance if he is able to run on Sunday.

Club champion Thomas Murton has been starting from the extreme backmark and passing nearly every runner, week after week. This Sunday it would not surprise if he were to pass everyone and take out the prestigious event.

Entries for the race, which will commence at 9:30, have already closed but there will be nominated time events a little earlier this week at 9:00 sharp.