D & C Browne Shield Update
Updated scoring for the D & C Browne Shield and individual competitions has been placed on the Results > VMA Championships page. In the teams event Knox has a firm grip on the trophy again but it is clear that the competition could be much closer if various venues were able to have their best runners competing in each event. We urge members to compete in more events, not just those near their home venue.
Given that we only have five events during the winter season for this competition it is not a major commitment. We know that during the winter our masters walkers will travel from the outer east, Geelong, Mornington Peninsula and various country areas to compete at Albert Park almost every week so it can be done. The walkers have been rewarded for their dedication with some great results in Lahti (World Championships) in the last week.
In the Women’s competition Lavinia Petrie has almost secured the title with another great effort. Her performances are truly world class and this is a real challenge for the other competitors. In the Men’s section it is a different story where two time winner Paul Twining holds a small lead over Andrew Edwards and Gary Stewart. However, with only the best four performances to count there is still scope for them to make up the difference and Ted Paulin could overtake all of them if he finishes the next two races.
Let’s look forward to a good turnout at the 10 miles at Princes Park on the 16th August. - Alan Lucas
Flyer from the King Island Imperial 20 Run
This run was attended by several VMA athletes. The flyer is reprinted here to acknowledge the King Island Imperial 20 and the special place Eric Greaves has in the memories of many of VMA's members.
Star Sprinter on the Mend
Ross Kent, one of the stars of Victorian Masters' Athletics, is recovering after suffering a recent stroke.
Ross Kent [right] in winning form
Kent, 66, is a dual winner of VMA's most prestigious event, The Landy Trophy, which is run at Doncaster every February. He won The Landy in 2001 and 2002 and was second in 2004. He is also a multiple Victorian and Australian champion over sprint distances and had considerable success in veterans' events in the professional ranks, having won six races in recent years.
Kent has been on the sidelines for the past two years, however, after tearing the hamstring off the bone in a fall in the 100 metres at the Victorian Championships in 2006. Doctors expect Kent to make a full recovery from his stroke and do not expect him to have any lasting disability. "They told me it was lucky I was so fit," he said this week. "I'd been doing a lot of walking and some gentle running so I was still in pretty good shape."
While Kent's competitive career may be at an end, one of his principal rivals, Doncaster veteran Con Matthews, hopes to return to the track in the next couple of weeks after an absence of nearly two years.
Matthews, 73, a Landy Trophy placegetter and twice a winner of the Consolation, has had a slow recovery from prostate cancer but has done a long gym preparation before returning to running. "I was very lucky I got my prostate checked when I did," he said. "There are so many guys of our age who don't bother and by the time they find out there's a problem, it's too late. "I'd urge every man to go and have the test - it's given me a second chance," he said.
Early entries are starting to flow in for this year's Landy Trophy, to be held at Rieschiecks Reserve in George St, Doncaster, on the evening of Monday, February 16.
- Richard Trembath - 13 Jan 09
Another World Record to Doncaster Venue Walker
Champion walker Andrew Jamieson has completed a full set of world records in the Men's 60-64 age-group.
Andrew Jamieson: 30km - Jul08
Photo: Stu Cooper
Competing in the open class Australian Championship 50km walk at Fawkner Park in South Yarra on December 14, Jamieson recorded 4hr 23m 16s to take 13 seconds off the previous mark, set by German star Gerhard Weidner in 1993.
In doing so, Jamieson, 62, finished third in the Australian Championship behind Beijing Olympian Chris Erickson, who is in his 20s, and former Commonwealth Games representative Duane Cousins, 35.
Jamieson also holds his age-group world records at 3km, 5km, 10km, 20km and 30km. His time in the 50km also bettered the M55-59 world record held by Weidner, but, being out of the age-group, he is unable to claim it. Jamieson, also holds the M55-59 world records at 5km and 30km, and was World Masters' Athlete of the Year in 2007. He won five gold medals at the World Masters' Championships in Riccione, in Italy, last year and broke world records on 11 occasions.
Now in semi-retirement, Jamieson, a prominent surgeon, has been able to devote more time to training during the past couple of years, which has resulted in him producing some of the best performances of his glittering career.
Jamieson also won a bronze medal in open class in the Australian 20km Championship last year. Australia's top two walkers, Nathan Deakes and Jared Tallent, were missing from the field on this occasion, Deakes still recovering from the injury which forced him to miss the Olympic Games and Tallent, who won two silver medals in Beijing, using the first 30km of the event as a training walk.
Jamieson is a long-term member of the Doncaster venue of Victorian Masters' Athletics, although he seldom competes there these days since moving from North Balwyn to Fish Creek, in South Gippsland, about four years ago.
- Richard Trembath
World Record in One-Hour Run
A brilliant exhibition of sustained speed and stamina saw Kilsyth runner Lavinia Petrie break the world record for the Women's 65-69 age group one-hour run at the Victorian Masters' Athletics meeting at Doncaster on September 29.
Petrie, who turned 65 only two weeks earlier, covered 13,406 metres in the VMA Doncaster venue's feature event, The Sixty Minutes, to add 939 metres to the previous mark set by Berthilia De Preter of Belgium in 1996. Petrie replaces De Preter as the only dual world record holder in the book, having run a W60-64 record of 13,823 in The Sixty Minutes in 2003.
Petrie, who is club captain of VMA, was delighted with her run, saying it was a bonus after her previous world record. "I thought I could do it," she said, "but it's not as simple as that. You have to be in form and uninjured on the night, then you have to get the right conditions."
As it turned out, the night was perfect for distance running and most of the field exceeded their personal expectations.
- East Burwood veteran Bob Lewis, 80, claimed an Australian record for the Men's 80-84 age-group with a run of 10,850, which added 977 metres to the record set by the late Ken Matchett in the 2004 edition of The Sixty Minutes.
- Collingwood runner Ted Paulin, 70, had the distinction of covering the greatest distance on the night when he completed 13,659 metres to claim the Victorian record in the M70-74 division.
- The sprint part of the program was dominated by one of Doncaster's emerging stars, Katrina Philip, 46, who scored a winning treble, taking divisions of the 100, 200 and 300 metres, her 200 metres in a personal best time of 32.0 seconds.
D & C Browne Shield - Final update - Sep 08
The final results for this year's competitions are available via the 'VMA Championships' link. In the inter venue competition Knox
VMA President, Russ Oakley presents the Browne Shield
to Knox Venue Manager (and VMA Club Captain)
Lavinia Petrie – Nov 08
In the men's competition last year's winner Paul Twining again produced a top line performance with an 85.96% run to seal a very well deserved victory. Special mention also goes to second and third placegetters Bob Lewis (EB) and Bill Page (Aberfeldie). Bob is 80 and Bill 78 and to perform at such a high standard over all 5 events is a testament to their ability and determination. Other runners to complete all 5 events were Mal Grimmett (Springvale) and Ian U'ren (Knox).
In the women's competition the "runaway" winner was Bronwen Cardy who finished with a 96.95% effort to cap off a stellar season. Bronwen averaged an astounding 95% over the 5 events to prove herself as one the world's finest distance runners. Club Captain Lavinia Petrie almost managed to match Bronwen's final % with 96.55% to move into second place. Lavinia was not well on the night of the 10k track run and had to retire so missed out on points in that event. Petrina Trowbridge did not run in the half marathon but did wonderfully well in the other events and took third place.
Over the whole season we had 109 men and 32 women compete in the 5 events. The scoring system was discussed at the recent venue managers meeting and will be discussed at committee level soon. Some people have expressed concern that the competitions cater for the highest performing athletes. Whilst acknowledging this we need to remember that they are new competitions and do not replace anything so nothing was lost when they were introduced plus we have also introduced random prizes so that all competitors have an equal chance of winning worthwhile prizes.
Certainly our medals reward the winners in each age division but as we all know it can be much easier to win in some age divisions than others depending on how the birthdays line up. With these competitions those irregularities are compensated for so that the best and most consistent performers are rewarded. - Alan Lucas
