All-rounder in historic win

Ian Mccready turned 51 years of club history on its head when he won a Stawell and Ararat Cross Country Club open championship without winning one of the four championship races.

The 52-year-old taekwondo black-belter, sheep-shearer and part-time thespian with Ararat Musical Comedy Society earned enough points from thirds in all four races to edge out Peter Gibson and Chris Barwick for the award.

He also collected an over 50s champion trophy.

Mccready acknowledged that Anthony Mellors, who won three of the championship races but was one race short of the 13 club races required for eligibility, should have been standing in his place.

“I didn’t expect this. This should never have happened,” Mccready said humbly.

“I don’t run to win, only to do the best I can because I haven’t the time to train more than once a week.

“I feel for Anthony who was faster than all of us all year. He would have been a more than worthy champion.”

Five hundred and seventy six start veteran Adrian van Raaphorst ran in all 19 races, as he invariably does, to win his second club aggregate from Keith Lofthouse and Mccready.

“Keith said to me early in the season that he would miss a couple of races and thought I would win the aggregate,” van Raaphorst said.

“It was then that I started to think about it seriously, which probably put me under a bit of pressure, so I’m relieved the prediction came true.”

The club’s youngest runner, fifteen-yearold Emma Mccready, emulated her dad when she was announced female champion in only her second year with the club.

Emma won two of three championship races she contested to account for Sandra Barwick and Julie Hertz.