Perfect conditions for champs
Southland runners were in fine form as the perfect racing conditions aligned for the Southland Club Road Championships in Te Anau on Saturday.
More than 60 runners, ranging from children through to seniors, turned out for the event that saw them compete in races up to 8km in length.
Organiser Shaun Cantwell believed Queenstown runner Jason Hall and Fiordland runner Dwight Grieve could have set new personal bests if they had been running a 10km race on the day.
The athletes finished within seconds of each other, with Hall crossing the line first.
Grieve, a masters runner in his forties, did an excellent job of keeping up with the much younger senior runner Hall on the course, Cantwell said.
Grieve is going to compete in the Mountain Running World Championships next month in Andorra as part of the New Zealand Senior Men’s team.
There had been a great turn out for the competition this year, with many full fields across the grades, Cantwell said.
Invercargill won the overall club championship this year.
There was a good rivalry between the clubs in Southland that had resulted in the championship changing hands often, Cantwell said.
Athletes from all the clubs had shown good improvement, he said.