For the second successive year, top middle distance runner Rob Schwerkolt was the star of Doncaster Masters’ Athletics venue’s feature one-hour run, The Sixty Minutes.
Last year Schwerkolt, 46, set a Victorian record of 17.621km when he dominated the event, completing the longest distance of the 16 starters. He missed the Australian record by only 138 metres on that occasion and set out this year determined to better that mark. He was similarly dominant this year but after being right on target early in the event he faded slightly in the closing stages to finish with what was still a most creditable 17.069km. – 42 laps plus 269 metres.
Schwerkolt’s performance proved again what a remarkably versatile athlete he is, his other successes in recent times having included the Australian Championship at 800 metres, the 1500 metres at the World Championships in Sacramento, US, and a 1000 metres heat of the prestigious Landy Trophy at Doncaster earlier this year before finishing fifth in a top class field in the final over 400 metres.
This year’s second-best performance so far as distance covered was by Aberfeldie runner Shane Draper, 39, who ran 15.621km, with Antonio Giuliani, 40, next on 14.751km.
The best-performed woman in the overall field of 15 was Doncaster’s Elizabeth Grover, 49, who covered 12.573km in her first appearance in the event. ‘I was probably hoping for a little bit more,’ she said later, ‘but running on the track is very different to running on the road.’
One of the features of the event was that it drew entries from nine VMA venues, the strongest representation coming from Knox, which had five starters, the best of them being John Graham, 60, with 14.400km.
The oldest competitor, well-known veteran distance runner Ted Paulin, 74, also turned in a creditable performance to complete 12.416km.
This year’s was the ninth edition of The Sixty Minutes, which now appears to have established itself as a permanent fixture on the Victorian Masters’ Athletics calendar.
View the full list of Completed Distances in the 60 Minutes – 2012.