speedyvicki

A real star of last track season was Vicki Matthews. Vicki was a regular winner in her age group despite having other excellent performers to contend with - such as Marlene, Sharon, and our very own Alex and Annemarie. Vicky showed us that it is possible to compete week after week at a high level for a whole season! Her events included sprints, jumps, throws, the occasional middle distance event, and pentathlon. She won six titles at the ACT championships this year - the 100 in 14.12, the 400 in 68.68, the shot in 7.87, the 200 in 29.50, the javelin in 21.76, and the Pentathlon. Vicki also took out the annual Boag sprint series, which is based purely on performance relative to age standards.

It is a pleasure to have Vicki doing much of her training with us, and despite us being primarily a middle and long distance group, she has found our training sessions useful and beneficial, sometimes adapting the sessions to her needs (as we all do anyway!).

Unusually unassuming for such a talented athlete, Vicki is worthy of our praise. She doesn't seek it out. No false modesty either; she competently goes about her training and racing without fuss and with plenty of grit and determination.


Vicki and her Boag award

Finally, to crown a great season, Vicki was awarded the Silver Fristad trophy. I reproduce in full the write-up from Vetrunner she received then. (No apology if there is repetition: I did not refer to the write-up when expressing my own thoughts so far)

"VICKI MATTHEWS W45: Vicki was a regular at the track participating in a variety of events including sprints, hurdles, relays, jumps, javelin throw and pentathlon. She performed well in all sprints, including a close second in the “Gift”, with all her times earning high 70 to low 80% of WMA standards. Her score of 2465 points in the pentathlon was best of the women."

Vicki also competes in the monthly running handicaps. Truly an all round top performer!
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How to vote

The long awaited AGM of the ACT Veterans Athletic Club will be held this Thursday. I cannot advise who to vote for, for the simple reason that the normal practice is that candidates won't be revealed until the night. But I can say that there has never been as much interest and discussion before an AGM as there has been leading up to this meeting. Not to mention contention.

For whatever reason, the current "executive" has decided during the last twelve months to make important decisions and try and implement them without attempting to consult with members directly or through the very good subcommittee system. Even in many cases, without meeting with the management committee, although I should add that there has been little or no attempt at the committee level to reach consensus; the committee has been treated as if composed of two political groups, a governing group and an opposition group.

Crazy days! Never before has this club been run in this way. Everything the office bearers on past committees have done have been openly communicated; transparent; and facilitating club unity.

If this state of affairs continues for a second year, it is obvious, to me anyway, there will likely be a mass walkout of members, including many key people responsible for the day to day operation of the club, and the likelihood of a second masters athletics group being formed in the ACT.

So who to vote for? Well, there is not a single person in my training group I would not trust to be responsible, accountable, effective, and have their heart in the right place. Should anyone in the training group stand for any of the positions, vote for them!

Vote 1 Team Moore!
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Time for recognition

The best runner in our training group over the track season past was without question Colin Farlow. He proved himself to be the best middle distance runner in Canberra when he won - for the second year in succession - the prestigious Pennington series, which is handicapped according to age, and therefore a good measure of one's relative ability.

Colin turned in top track performances week after week, and also set a fine example of regular training and of encouraging other runners in the group.


Colin putting in a big effort.


Colin's wife Amanda, also an accomplished middle distance runner.

Also in our training group, the best middle distance female runner in Canberra was Maria O'Reilly. Maria broke the W50 1500 metre record during the season. Her high places in the Pennington series too marked her as the best performed woman.


Maria and her mother

Congratulations to all our track stars. Many of you set records, notably in relays, and many of you placed in championship events.

At our dinner last night we recognised you all; and we singled out both Colin and Maria for special mention.
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Thursday Training

I have decided there will be no training at Dickson next Thursday 19th May. First of all there is the ABS Fun Run on at lunchtime (check out the link), and secondly the Vets AGM is on that evening. In regards to the latter, I feel a post entitled "How to Vote" coming on real soon now.

Training at Dickson oval the last two Thursday nights has been well attended, and not easy!
Thursday of last week the training session consisted of a continuous relay with teams of three, each team member running twelve 200 metre intervals. At the end of each interval while the other two team members were running the runners jogged down the 100 metre straight and back again as a recovery. Teams were chosen so that in each team of three, the runners were of approximately the same standard. This session works the slowest runner of the three very hard.

Last night we ran with teams of three again but this time each runner ran 8 lots of 300 with a 200 jog recovery, and teams were chosen so that each team had a faster paced, a medium paced, and a slower paced runner, with the expectation that teams would finish fairly close together.

Finally I must congratulate Thea for taking a full five minutes off her 10k pb last Sunday (check out the link!). This was run on the Acton course, which is a fairly quick course although not as fast as the Canberra Times one.
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A sub two hour ½ marathon!

For some reason which escapes me at the moment, I have entered Sunday's ½ marathon.

As my achilles won’t be any better then than it is now, I have decided to pace anyone wanting to break two hours. There are already two entrants who will join me and there may well be more. It should be a fun thing to try and do.

I figure on taking exactly 1:59.34 at even pace, unless I find myself quite alone, in which case I may be tempted to go 10 or 15 minutes quicker.

If you want to run along with me, please contact me now or at the start. Or if you know anyone who might want to tag along, please feel free on my behalf to invite them along!
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The sixty second sit-up test

Abdomens are one area distance runners neglect, to their peril. Strong abdominal muscles are needed to give you lift off the ground as you run, and to take pressure off your back.
Endurance sit-ups are recommended. Try the 60 second sit-up test.
How many sit-ups can you do in 60 seconds? Take a position on your back on a level floor with both knees bent. Feet not anchored.
With arms out in front of you, raise your head and shoulders using mainly the abdominal muscles so that your fingertips reach just over your knees, then lower yourself back down again. That's one. Repeat until you cannot continue, or 60 seconds, whichever comes first!
Try to keep the head looking up; don't strain forward.
If 60 seconds is too easy, go on to 90 seconds.
Then start doing some abdominal work - there are many varieties of crunches that can be done - and see how much you can improve over time.
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Context

With so many posts about my family in the last few days, I thought I would contribute this as well, before returning to more mundane matters in future.

The following is an excerpt from my niece’s weblog. She posted this a few days ago and heads it “Anzac Day”.

The “grandfather” she refers to is my father-in-law. I have read his war diary and it is interesting as well as challenging. Three and a half years as prisoner of war, mostly in Changi. And he stayed positive and hopeful throughout. But always thinking that it would soon be over and he could go home.

This sort of puts into context many of our more petty frustrations and trivial successes!

My niece is a 27 year old doctor currently working in a refugee camp in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand.

So here is her Anzac journal entry.

Anzac Day
I've gone all patriotic.

After reading the transcription of my grandfather's diary, and some changes of plans that allowed me the time, I managed to make it to Hellfire Pass for the dawn service.

My grandfather spent 8 months (of 3 years POW) working on the "Death Railway". He mentions a few places - Wampoh, Kinsayok, Kamburi, Rin Tin - in his diary, and I have been able to place these. He then talks in miles, and my brief calculations make me think that he was based around Sangkhla. He talks of friends dying, and working 15-hour days in boiling heat with no tools. The grandfather of one of our local staff died making this railway; the Thai, Mon and Burmese people are not often mentioned in our Australian memorials.

So, I stayed overnight in the only available hotel nearby, with busloads of other Aussies on group tours (a cultural shock in itself). We left at 4 for Hellfire Pass.

The site is at the end of the cutting through the rock, and you walk down about 200 stairs to get into the cutting. The path was lined with bamboo lanterns and we were each given a candle at the start.

So, at 5am on a humid Thailand morning, I followed a line of glowing candles into the dark of the cutting. 62 years ago the torches that gave the place its name burned here, and 700 of 1000 prisoners died making this short break in the rock. About 400 of us came to remember, and when the Thai soldiers played the Last Post, I admit that the tears came to my eyes.

So, Grandpa, even though you didn't talk about it and, as a teenager, I didn't get to know you very well, I am trying to understand a little what it must have been like.
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Another new starter!!??

Yes it's Olivia Falconer, 8th grandchild, 8:24pm on the 9th. How about that - girl cousins two days apart with mother's day in between!
I'm off to Shellharbour in the morning.
I think I'll do a few chinups while I'm there; that's about it.
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The Chinup Challenge

Just two or three more weeks to "practise" your chinups before the chinup challenge on 23rd (or possibly 30th) May. (Could it rain by the 23rd? We can only hope.)
We will see who has improved the most since we began them at the start of April.
I am tipping Katie, since she is the only one (I know of) who has been working on her chinups in between Monday training sessions!
Go KT go!
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New Starter

"You can always spot the beginners. They can't resist store windows".

Announcing another addition to Team Moore!
Amelie Joy Hall entered the world today - 7 lb 8oz, mother and baby super well.
This is my, and my wife Jenny's, seventh grandchild.
We are still awaiting number 8, which happens to be a couple of days overdue!

There will be photos.
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21 visits per day

It is nearly four months since I started this blog. A couple of weeks ago I added a counter, which tells me we are averaging 21 visits per day.

When you visit you are welcome to write comments. Simple instructions follow.

You can add a comment to a post. Try it now!
Anybody can add a comment to this page.
The process is - decide which post you wish the comment to be added to.
Go down to the end of the post and you will see a comment count (e.g. "- posted by speedygeoff @ 10:26 AM 0 comments").
The last (blue) part is a link to any comments.
Click on the link and just the post and its comments (if any) appear.
Now you can see at the end another link - the words "post a comment" in blue again. Click on it!
If you write an anonymous comment, please include your name so we know who you are.
Or if you are registered with www.blogger.com, you will be able to add a comment under your registered name.

And you can create a post not just a comment.
But you will have to email me (speedygeoff at bigpond.com) first if you want to write posts.
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Cold Weather Running

I much prefer running in cold weather than in hot. It is easier to warm yourself up than it is to cool yourself down. On top of that, Canberra isn’t usually cold in the extreme, although visitors from elsewhere in Australia often seem to think so.

Generally, cold weather makes running easier. Since there is less heat buildup, there is less body fluid lost, and the cool temperature makes running more invigorating. But when the mercury drops down towards zero degrees C, however, we have to start thinking about taking a little care.

Cold weather running tips.
1. Wear a series of thin layers. And close to your skin, you’ll need material that is warm and does not retain moisture.

2. Men, you may be thankful of an extra layer of underwear.

3. Over heating can still occur when it is cold! As you warm up through running, peel off each layer before you start sweating. Too much sweat accumulation will freeze and cause problems.

4. It may be advisable to warm-up indoors before venturing outside. You may walk, jog in place, use an indoor track, or exercise on the machines (cycle, rowing, stair, etc.). Before you start sweating, go outdoors and you’ll have a reservoir of warmth to get you down the road.

5. Start your run going into the wind. This allows you to come back with the wind behind you, and if you tire or get sore, you will be less cold if you have to slow down.

6. If your outer garment has long sleeves it is easier to remove and tie around your waist as you heat up.

7. Consider dividing your run into two sections and ducking inside in between, where you might want to remove an outer layer.

8. Run where there is shelter available. Getting caught in the open in hail, freezing wind and rain, or lightning is no fun at all.

So there you have it. Canberra has not had any cold weather yet this year. But it will come with a vengeance. When it does, be prepared!
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Running Bloggers

There are some really good running blogs on the internet. Many of them are simple on-line journals recording the runner's plans and progress, dreams and achievements, excitement and frustration.
There is a large network of runners interacting and communication via these public weblogs.
You could browse some of them; and many more of you might be tempted to start your own. They are very easy to start up.
If you want to see an excellent example of an active and interesting blog being written by an existing Team-Moore-ese, have a look at the blog belonging to FlashDuck. Not only does she record her thoughts about training and racing, she includes a calendar of events linked to source sites; as well as maps, tables of kilometres run, a list of pbs, and a record of health.
Her enthusiasm is infectious; you will just be swept along.
Well Done FlashDuck!
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ABS Centenary Fun Run

The Australian Bureau of Statistics and its sponsors invite people of all ages to participate in the ABS Centenary Fun Run at 12.30 pm on Thursday 19 May. This is one of the special events marking the ABS celebration of 100 years of statistics. Entrants may race, run or jog a 7.3 km course or walk a 6.2 km course on cyclepaths passing through parkland around Lake Ginninderra in Canberra’s northwestern suburbs. The course starts and finishes in John Knight Park, adjacent to Lake Ginninderra College. Entries are invited from individuals, small teams, schools or organisations.

Entry form and information is on the website

www.lunchstakes.webathletics.com.au/absfunrun/about.htm
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Fine, warm and sunny

I don't think we have ever experienced such a warm and sunny April in Canberra! Beautiful days for running; not so good for the garden though.



Click on the photo to see a much larger version - blue sky, blue lake, Charmaine blending in with a blue top.
Where is winter? Not far away!
Stay tuned for some writing on "Cold weather running". I feel a temperature plummet just may be around the corner!
Canberra - warm and sunny one day; beautiful the next!
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Women's Jogalong rankings

After today's women's jogalong, here are the rankings for Team Moore (members and family) .. official results now available (9 May) - Consie ran a six second pb; Helen was 2 seconds outside hers; Pam only 17 seconds outside her pb despite having run the marathon.

Weston Park course only
01 Maria O’Reilly 24.52 Sept 2003
02 Carol Ey 25.06 Oct 2003
03 Lisa Wilson 25.21 Mar 2003
04 Kathy Sims 25.58 Mar 2003
05 Annette Sugden 26.14 May 2004
06 Michelle Wells 26.36 May 2003
07 Rae Palmer 27.11 May 2003
08 Cathy Montalto 27.17 Sept 2003
09 Helen Larmour 27.24 Sept 2004
=10 Annemarie Calnan 27.47 Sept 2004
=10 Katie Forestier 27.47 Mar 2005
12 Mary Ann Busteed 28.06 June 2003
13 Charmaine Knobel 28.53 May 2004
14 Cate Winning 29.44 May 2005
15 Gabrielle Brown 30.11 Sept 2004
16 Margaret McSpadden 30.21 Aug 2003
17 Carolyne Kramar 30.33 Sept 2004
18 Carolyne Campbell 30.36 Sept & Oct 2003
19 Clare Gunning 30.58 Nov 2004
20 Pam Faulks 31.55 Mar 2003
21 Alison Sims 32.16 Nov 2004
22 Mandy Chew 32.36 May 2004
23 Philippa White 32.41 Sept 2004
24 Amanda Knobel 33.03 July 2004
25 Marian Blake 33.50 June 2003
26 Consie Larmour 37.57 May 2005
27 Judy Blake 47.46 June 2004

Today Cate excelled running 29:43 first up, well above expectations. The other brilliant performer was Helen, now totally back to form again with a time just about equal to her pb of 27.24

Back In Town.
I ran across Susan Hobson "jogging" on the course. She is back in Canberra after many years of living in Perth. Susan is probably the best known of all the people who used to train with my group back in the 1980's. She ran with us for four years then, before going on to the AIS and achieving Commonwealth and Olympic selection.
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Training Group Dinner- take two

How many sound technicians does it take to change a lightbulb?
Two ... two ...

The 13 May Training Group Celebration dinner - marking the end of a very successful track season and the beginning of winter training. As well as a few birthdays. Will be at 7:30pm at the Addis cafe/restaurant.

Cost - just $20 for a banquet including vegetarian and meat dishes.

Numbers - now 40, so just ten places left. Contact me to book.

Addis is an Ethiopian restaurant in Cape Street Dickson.

See you at Mt Tuggeranong Saturday or the jogalong Sunday.
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False Start

False start rule to be tightened.

Any athlete making a false start could soon suffer instant disqualification.

In a bid to "prevent gamesmanship", athletics' governing body the IAAF is proposing to disqualify any athlete making a false start.

At present, an athlete can false start once, but any competitor who does so a second time is disqualified.

The proposal will go before the IAAF Congress in August for confirmation, just ahead of the World Championships in Helsinki.

"The opinion of a majority of council members was that this rule change would prevent gamesmanship, by penalising those athletes who deliberately false start to unsettle their rivals," said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai. "But this is just a recommendation, and Congress will take a decision in Helsinki."


Jon Drummond protesting after disqualification at the 2003 Worlds
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John Morton Everyday Canberran

From Sunday’s Canberra Times:



"This week’s column on how everyday Canberrans keep fit focuses on two-time 800m and 1500m Australian Masters champion, John Morton, 46, from Kaleen."

As you get older, what kind of things do you need to do to keep your body in tune?
The most important things are to make sure you drink lots of water and every day empty that stale air sitting in the bottom of your lungs. I am running as fast now as I did in my school days but I need to train smarter, plan further forward and include longer recoveries.

How important is warming up/cooling down?
It becomes even more important as you get older. Too many beginners and veteran runners suffer an injury because they are in too much of a hurry to train.

I believe running is particularly hard on the knees?
Actually I had more trouble with my knees when I was playing rugby in my teens than now. Knees are a major mind block for many would-be-runners who are too scared to break out of a brisk walk. The best thing you can do is to lose any excess weight, look at how you stride when running, keep off hard surfaces while training and wear appropriate footwear.

How does running compare to other sports?
Running can be harder on the joints but is the fastest way to improve fitness.

What’s the best piece of advice you would offer someone?
Don’t be down on yourself if you miss a session or you have a poor session. Train hard enough to feel rewarded but not too hard that you need more than two days of no exercise.

What is your philosophy when it comes to sport?
I had an active childhood, then stopped any sort of physical routine because I thought I was too time-poor to participate. Now I see just how wrong that thinking was. Spending even two hours a week on regular exercise will make you more productive and happier.
Interview with Lucy Gibson
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Music on the run.

I have always liked to listen to music on the run. Music which is inspirational, has a solid beat, and drowns out most other thoughts!

But it is many years now since I donned a headset and listened to a CD of my choice. Although these days it's an MP3 player people carry?

Maybe you can tell me what is good value and will survive a real pounding at the awesome pace at which I run !?

So I don't have a headset currently, but it is usually the last song I listened to that keeps on reverberating through my head as I run along.

Just about my favourite song at present is the Newsboys singing "Landslide of Love", off their latest album, Devotion.



Landslide Of Love
opening salvo
didn't help solve anything
every time we shout our rights out
we get all grouchy and gray

it's all about me, me
it's all about what I can take
and if that doesn't ring true anymore
maybe it was our first mistake

and since we don't believe in Santa Claus
maybe we'd best stay awake

CHORUS:
every time a teardrop falls
it's kicking up dust in our world of pain
let's get drenched under God's good rain
caught in a deluge of mercies
like a pebble clings to dirt
we're still clinging to bedrock sin
let's get swept off our feet again
caught in a landslide of love

it's all about me, me
it's all about all I can take
the good I try to do goes nowhere
the bad just seizes the day

and if we're here for something bigger, baby
there's gotta be some better way

- CHORUS -

BRIDGE:
no, not angels or devils
no, not famine or war
no, not the past or the present
not even the ground separates from God's love
not even the ground separates from His love

'cause every time a teardrop falls
it's kicking up dust in our world of pain
let's get drenched under God's good rain
caught in a deluge of mercies
and like a pebble cased in dirt
we've been anchored in bedrock sin
let's get swept off our feet again
caught in a landslide of love
caught in a landslide of love


I have seen the Newsboys move in the many years they have been recording their music, from a position of defensiveness, bitterness and resentment (as in the "Take Me To Your Leader" album) to one of pure joy and exhilaration.

A bit like my own journey over the years.

Great running music! Let's absorb ourselves in the positive lyric and get swept along as we run. There's nothing like it!
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Sunday's Majura Handicap Results

The official results are available on the actvac website, although they may not stay there permanently. They will also appear in Vetrunner next month. But I thought I would copy the "important" names and keep them on this website.
There is an interesting new data item in the official results, a field "Corr Rt". This field is a km rate corrected for the degree of difficulty of the course.
In the results below, I have deleted a few of the columns, and the non-Team Moore rows.

Tony was first eligible and won the Thomas; Angelo although not eligible was first across the line in the Frylink.

THOMAS 10k
Place FirstName LastName GpActual Start NetTime
4 Tony Booth 19 20:00 46:36
6 Cathy Newman 13 15:00 55:26
8 Helen Larmour 23 23:20 47:48
9 Graeme Small 18 19:10 52:36
15 Alice Scott 6 08:20 1:03:58
24 Christopher Lang 20 20:50 52:11
28 Mary Ann Busteed 23 23:20 49:54
30 Rod Lynch 38 32:55 40:26
34 Alan Duus 23 23:20 50:10
37 Geoff Moore 30 29:10 44:43
39 Peter Hogan 24 24:10 49:51
40 Bill Leyden 26 25:50 48:23
41 Diana Schneider 18 19:10 55:06
43 Kent Williams 38 32:55 41:27
45 Lynn Williams 8 10:50 1:03:36
46 Colin Farlow 38 32:55 41:31
49 John Alcock 24 24:10 50:24
57 Margaret McSpadden 13 15:00 59:58
66 Charmaine Knobel 22 22:30 53:44
68 Geoff Barker 22 22:30 53:48

FRYLINK 5k
Place FirstName LastName GpActual Start NetTime
1 Angelo Cataldo 19 12:30 27:04
9 Katie Forestier 35 19:10 22:47
10 Marian Blake 23 14:10 27:48
11 Ellen Lloyd 29 16:40 25:19
14 Cathy Montalto 33 18:20 23:58
23 Sarah Pau 30 17:05 25:47
26 Consie Larmour 16 11:15 31:47
29 Vicki Matthews 23 14:10 29:12
34 Kevin Matthews 31 17:30 26:14
35 Neil Boden 35 19:10 24:35
42 Kerry Boden 24 14:35 29:29
43 Maureen Rossiter 24 14:35 29:31
45 Francis Harris 21 13:20 31:29
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Happy Birthday Ewen.

This photo is of a younger Ewen. Really! If you want to know all About a Ewen, check out this website! There will be something worth reading there.
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Happy 60th Birthday Rod Gilchrist

Rod turns 60 today! (Anzac Day) Congratulations. The picture is of him learning to run before he decided walking was a better option.
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Guo Cairu's apprentice

Here's Tony Booth last year wondering if he would ever win a Vet's Thomas Series handicap. Well he did so today! Congratulations Tony. Team Moore Strikes Again!

And Graeme was third.
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World's fastest 105-year-old?

A 105-year-old man is to make a challenge on the world record for the 100 metre sprint for centenarians.



Guo Cairu, of Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, has just been chosen as torch runner for the upcoming 10th National Games, reports Dahe Daily.

The current centenarians' 100 metre record is held by South African Philip Babinowitz with a time of 30.86 seconds.

He became the world's fastest 100-year-old last July when he slashed more than five seconds off the previous record.

And you thought it would get easier as you got older?
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Training at Dickson - 3x1k PVP

Another mild night at Dickson oval last Thursday, and twenty-one runners attended training, including first-timers Katie and Eloise.

After our two big laps warmup and stretching, we ran 3 lots of one-km runs with a 600 jog between each.

I called the kms "Pace Variation Practice" (PVP) because we ran them as follows -
a 200m stride (40% effort), then
a 100m float (25% effort),
400m fast (90% effort),
a 100 float, and
a 200m sprint (95% effort) to finish.

I let the "sprinters" in the group skip the middle km. Which they appreciated and can show their appreciation by turning up again next week!

Colin raced away from everyone else and seems to be almost fit. Sunday from a back mark will sort him out.

The session was voted a success and I plan to repeat it next Thursday.
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Record Breakers

(Click on the photo for large version)

Three Team Moore members showing off their medals after breaking a relay record earlier this year. Note the cheesy grins. The fourth person in the relay team, not a Team Moore member, contrived not to be there for the photo. Explanation follows.

This photo originally appeared in March 2005 Vetrunner, which was the only issue which failed to get published on the web, owing to a "transition" from one provider to another. I thought you might like to see the colour photo, as the snail mail copy of Vetrunner contains just black and white photos.
The Vetrunner caption read - Record Breakers. Three members of the relay team that broke the ACT M40 record in the 4x200m, from the left, Michael Rutter, Ken Gordon and Kevin Matthews. They came third in the Open Men’s Relay. The missing member, Leo Kennedy, had quite a nasty fall at one of the change over stations and had to seek first-aid. He eventually had to go to Calvary Hospital where it was found that it was a broken wrist.
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Training at Parliament House

Circuit training at Parliament House was GREAT last Monday night. We have certainly had mild and enjoyable running weather recently (although some rain as soon as training finishes would be welcome!). Nevertheless, five more people were introduced to the fitness circuit, including newcomer Carolyn fresh from her debut marathon. Great to see her join the group; anyone who has been around for more than a couple of years will know what struggles she has had with her health.

At training I couldn't manage more than two chinups in succession, so THAT'S IT! I have joined a gym. This time to do some upper body training so I can work towards minimum respectable upper body strength. Fancy - fifteen years ago I could a dozen chins no problem. Now only two and no longer "no problem". Anyway, I was tossing up which gym to join when on Tuesday Kathy Sims suggested Canberra Uni; I checked it out and it seems ideal - always open, lots of room, not expensive, aerobics class options thrown in, and a contemporary feel to it. Stay tuned (highly tuned!) and you may read how it goes!

Back to Parliament House - yes it's on again as usual on the 25th; despite it being Anzac day. Oh yes, it was getting darker this week too, so if you are coming along you may need to bring a TORCH.
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CANBERRA HALF MARATHON WEEKEND EVENTS 14/15th MAY

From Ken Eynon, Race Director - a reminder to everyone that entries for the Canberra Half Marathon close on Monday 2nd May. This year for the first time we will be having events on the Saturday afternoon and of course on Sunday morning the half marathon. We would like to make this a great weekend of running in Canberra and emulate last weekend's Marathon Weekend. Of course the weather won't be so hot but nice and cool and great for PB's. Please pass this advice on to your family and running friends interstate, get them to come to Canberra for a great weekend of running. The great thing is it all happens the weekend before the Sydney Morning Herald Half. You can enter online at www.canberrarunner.com.au or you can download the entry form and post it in. Details on accommodation and places to stay can be obtained from Australian Capital Tourism (www.visitcanberra.com.au). The backpackers accommodation in Canberra is some of the best accommodation in Australia and well located. Don't forget you can if you like run the 5k Fun Run on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday all for one cheap price.

Just what IS success?

“Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it” – Mark Twain.

Everyone talks about success, but nobody really knows what it is.

On Sunday 13th February I proposed in this blog that success could be understood in terms of the journey and not just the destination.

I said the Macquarie Dictionary defines success as 1 The favourable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavours; 2 The gaining of wealth, position or the like; 3 a thing or person that is successful. I said I disagreed, because my definition would also include - having set achievable goals, showing focus and commitment by working industriously towards achieving the goals.

There were no bites, and I had better come clean and say that on deeper reflection I no longer feel that success is equivalent to goal-achievement, even.

Think of this image of the addicted athlete – never satisfied, always striving to do better, but living a life of frustration and unhappiness.

And compare this with the endless pursuit of money. “Money has never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness” – Benjamin Franklin.

Or of fame. “The sound of a great name dies like an echo; the splendor of fame fades into nothing; but the grace of a fine spirit pervades the places through which it has passed” – James Thurber.

Or power. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” - Abraham Lincoln. In fact Plato says “he who seeks power is not fit to hold it”, in other words, if power comes to you, let it come to you as a result of what you have achieved, not simply because you have spent your life chasing it.

“Contrary to what some people think, sharing power increases your power… the more you empower others, the bigger you become in their eyes. There is a law in the universe which says that power shared returns; power withheld diminishes” - Sheila Murray Bethel.

Or pleasure. “Do not bite at the bait of pleasure until you know there is no hook beneath it” – Thomas Jefferson.

Pursuit of fortune; fame; power; pleasure are detours that keep people from achieving and enjoying true success.

So let’s bite the bullet. What do I think success is? Well, I am still thinking, but here’s a start at describing what I see as true success.

Five key things –
1 Success is not having to “control everything” yourself. It seems to come as a result of sharing everything with others!
2 Success is doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
3 Success is always doing your best.
4 Success is always seeking to do new things, always wanting to stretch and grow.
5 Success is the balance between putting no limits on what can be achieved, while setting yourself targets and goals which are achievable.

I want to refine this further. To help me, I would like to hear your ideas of how “success” can be defined. There are probably as many concepts as there are Vetrunner readers! You may like to add your comments here.

To finish I will “originate” a quote of my own.

“When you want to play to win, remember that if everybody wins, so do you”. – Geoff Moore
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4x1500 national records

The following ACT relay records have been officially recognised as national records.
Team Moore members are in bold!

M40 4x1500 18:57.9 Dale Moore, Colin Farlow, Paul Considine, Bryce Anderson
M45 4x1500 20:24 John Morton, Gary Bowen, Nigel Coldrick, Rod Lynch
M55 4x1500 21.42 Garry Maher, Trevor Cobbold, Kevin Chamberlain, Geoff Sims
M65 4x1500 25.42 Tony Booth, Ian Kenny, Ray Bramwell, Roger Abbott
W50 4x1500 25.06 Kathy Sims, Cathy Montalto, Maureen Rossiter, Charmaine Knobel
W55 4x1500 29.02 Alice Scott, Jill Brown, Margaret McSpadden, Rae Palmer.

We all know we can break these records next season! and come on the M50s! Victoria holds that record at 20.02.

Next season the plan is to conduct 4x800 relays. Meaning we should be able to snare some of those records as well!
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Training Group Dinner

Announcing our May Training Group Celebration dinner - marking the end of a very successful track season and the beginning of winter training. As well as a few birthdays.

The dinner will be at the Addis cafe/restaurant on Friday 13th May, at 7:30pm.

A discount has been arranged and a banquet is being negotiated!

Please contact me when you know you are definitely going to be there. Numbers however are limited, so you had better get in touch as soon as practicable.

Addis is an Ethiopian restaurant in Cape Street Dickson. Hey, these guys know how to run!

Cover-up!

Thank goodness for the banner.
Click on the photo to see the full size version, if you dare.

A highlight of today's Cross Country race at Reconciliation Place was Helen's 5k pb of 22.12.

Tomorrow (Sunday) a group of us are meeting for a long training run from the rowing shed at Black Mountain Peninsula, starting at 8.30am.

This is usual for Sundays when no race (eg Vets handicap or women's jogalong) is scheduled - we decide the day before on a fairly ad hoc basis where and when we would like to meet.

Anyone can join us.
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What distance should I train for?

Answer - Train for the longest distance you have time and energy for; but race the shortest distances you enjoy.

Training for longer distances gets you fitter; and when you race the shorter distances you are testing your fitness levels without having the extra stress that comes with a longer race.

Your shorter race times will improve as a result of the longer training. Guaranteed.

The Time Predictor below is pretty good if people are trained up for the longest distances - but building up to the workloads involved takes years and is probably only possible for the younger runners.......

I raced at a high level for 13 years before I ran my first marathon .. I was 30 when I ran my pb but had been running for 17 years then.

Deek raced and trained hard for ten years before he ran his first marathon, and look what he became.

I advise people to do marathon training if they want to, but to race shorter distances and avoid marathon races until they have achieved their shorter distance targets.

Then the Time Predictor works really well.

Because if you a fit for a particular distance (eg 6k), then you are also fit for all shorter distances (eg 3k to 5k). But not necessarily for any longer ones (eg 10k and up).

Time Predictor

Assuming you are fit for the longer distance being compared, the following chart should enable you to predict an expected time for one distance based on your best recent time for another distance:

3000 5000 10000 1/2Mar Marathon
9.45 16.40 34.30 77.00 2:41.30
10.00 17.05 35.20 78.50 2:45.20
10.15 17.30 36.10 80.40 2:49.10
10.30 17.55 37.00 82.30 2:53.00
10.45 18.20 37.50 84.20 2:56.50
11.00 18.45 38.40 86.10 3:00.40
11.15 19.10 39.30 88.00 3:04.30
11.30 19.35 40.20 89.50 3:08.20
11.45 20.00 41.10 91.40 3:12.10
12.00 20.25 42.00 93.30 3:16.00
12.15 20.50 42.50 95.20 3:19.50
12.30 21.15 43.40 97.10 3:23.40
12.45 21.40 44.30 99.00 3:27.30
13.00 22.05 45.20 1:40.50 3:31.20
13.15 22.30 46.10 1:42.40 3:35.10
13.30 22.55 47.00 1:44.30 3:39.00
13.45 23.20 47.50 1:46.20 3:42.40
14.00 23.45 48.40 1:48.10 3:46.30
14.15 24.10 49.30 1:50.00 3:50.20
14.30 24.35 50.20 1:51.50 3:54.10
14.45 25.00 51.10 1:53.40 3:58.00
15.00 25.25 52.00 1:55.30 4:01.50
15.15 25.50 52.50 1:57.20 4:05.40
15.30 26.15 53.40 1:59.10 4:09.30
15.45 26.40 54.30 2:01.00 4:13.20
16.00 27.05 55.20 2:02.50 4:17.10

Happy Birthday Pam

Pam Faulks turns 45 today - welcome to the new age group! Pam, I hope you enjoy the celebrations, as you continue to celebrate that wonderful marathon run last Sunday, 4:36.27 on debut. You gave it everything and fully deserve everyone's heartfelt congratulations. Your performance and effort was as good as anyone's on the day. Well done! It was a lot of hard work to get there, but you did it!

Pam has been running in Canberra for at least 15 years, running 6k jogalong times in just over 30 minutes, and 10k times just over 50 minutes. That 5 minutes per k rate has always been a bit of a target and a bit of a challenge. Who knows, with a good marathon run under her belt, there may be some good shorter races on the horizon, and maybe a chance to get down under that 5 minute barrier.


Another Team-Moore-ese who has just moved into a new age group. Ray Bramwell turned 70 last week.
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2005 Canberra Marathon

Last Sunday saw the running of the 2005 Canberra Marathon. In very hot conditions the biggest field in twenty years struggled to run the times they had marked on their forearms. A few ran PBs, while for many it was their very first marathon.
I am pleased to say that all in our group did well - not one dnf.

Here are our training group performances.

112 David Webster M ACT 53 3:14:27
221 John Kennedy M ACT 54 3:31:15
313 Ken Eynon M ACT 59 3:44:54
337 Bill Leyden M ACT 59 3:48:46
392 Cathy Newman F ACT 44 3:54:38
512 Ruth Baussmann F ACT 54 4:09:31
541 Gabrielle Brown F ACT 41 4:14:23
674 Pam Faulks F ACT 44 4:36:27
681 Ewen Thompson M ACT 47 4:37:39
721 Karen Collins F ACT 57 4:50:03

Full results are available at http://www.canberramarathon.com.au/images/cm2005marathon.html.

There are also quite a few other friends whose performances were of particular interest to me.

11 Nick Walshe M ACT 26 2:43:10
16 Trevor Jacobs M ACT 53 2:45:39
22 Angela Bateup F NSW 35 2:47:15
80 Richard Faulks M ACT 45 3:07:30
126 Bob Harlow M ACT 57 3:16:27
200 Rob Ey M ACT 45 3:27:42
231 Carol Baird F ACT 56 3:32:49
233 Graham Burke M ACT 58 3:33:13
244 Debbie Cowell F ACT 45 3:34:43
327 Carolyne Kramar F ACT 40 3:47:56
568 Mario Larocca M NSW 55 4:18:22

p.s. Just what IS success?
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ACTVAC SGM - Constitution

In regards to this Thursday's Special General Meeting to discuss IT issues (see post of 7 April, below), and the AGM on 19 May, I have a copy of the club's constitution, and I will email it to you should you contact me and request it.
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Success pursues Team Moore members

JIM O'DONNELL submitted six pictures, two in each category, in a photographic competition that was running in conjunction with Seniors Week (last week) and won the first prize in active seniors that was worth $600 in the form of a Minolta digital camera and the second prize in humorous seniors that was worth $130 in the form of free enlargements and free framing.

Jim says "not bad for a strictly part time photographer that has to take more than 10 shots to get one good one that can be used in Vetrunner!
"Thank heavens for the digital revolution!"

Success continues to pursue Team Moore members this year.

Marathon results tomorrow!

p.s. Just what IS success?
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Ricciuto Rout in Rivalry Round

Off subject, but I cannot help it! Adelaide Crows 18-16 124 defeated Port Adelaide Power 8-8 56 2005 Showdown Medallist Winner captain Mark Ricciuto Best On Ground in his 300th game. YAY! See comment for Ricciuto interview.
Yes, alright, I will have a marathon report soon.
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newsflash - Roy Jones the big winner

Roy Jones was the big winner at the marathon eve 10k. No, I don't mean he crossed the finish line first on the lead bicycle. This time he ran the 10k and won the random draw prize of free entry to this year's Gold Coast marathon!
THEN just as I was telling Thea that joining our training group guarantees you win big prizes, and mentioned that Jill Brown was the winner at the Women's and Girls' Fun Run prior to Roy being the winner today, Thea's name was drawn and she won a t-shirt and cap!

Roy just keeps winning ...

AMA Championships photos

Hundreds of photos of the AMA Nationals in Brisbane last Easter can be found at http://www.pinsharpphotos.com/gallery/AMA

Arthur Brown and Graeme Small finishing the 8K cross country.

Ron Vines powering home in the 10k

Jeni Greenland finishes the 10k

I push on in the cross country

Jo Cullen in the 10k

Training at Dickson

Our first training session at Dickson oval went without a hitch. After our 2.5k warmup we went out on the grass track and ran 5 laps sprinting the straights, had a break and repeated the session aiming to go faster in total the second time. I got my idea for this session from Phil White; although ours was run out in lane 4 of the track. Next Thursday we are back at the track again; however because of meetings and other commitments not many will be there. I won't be - so to those who turn up, please do a repeat of the same session.
I am very pleased to welcome a new starter, Thea, into the group. Thea's run with us last night was her first ever run with a training group. I asked her about what racing she had done and she said her women's fun run time was 26:13, and she has been running even better than that.
Good to see Rod Lynch back training too.
Finally, best wishes to everyone running in Sunday's Canberra marathon. Should you need any extra assistance, I will be around the course somewhere lending a hand.

ACTVAC GENERAL MEETINGS

There is a Special General Meeting at the West Deakin Hellenic Bowling Club, Kent Street Deakin, at 7:00 pm, Thursday 14th April, to discuss IT issues. Please attend if you can.

The official notice from the Secretary says -
"Under Section 25 (2) of the constitution the requisite number of members have called for the holding of a General Meeting for the following purpose: "to enable the ACTVAC committee to explain decisions made and actions taken since December 2004 in relation to the club's website and associated information technology services".

The club's Annual General Meeting is at the same venue, at 7:00 pm, on Thursday 19th May. If everyone who reads this attends, we can make a difference! There are some constitutional amendments to discuss first, followed by the AGM.

newsflash - JILL BROWN THE BIG WINNER

The Women and Girls 5K Fun Run $1,000 Lucky Draw was won by Team Moore member Jill Brown! It certainly pays to join our group! Let's hope Jill can be at our group dinner in May so we can help her celebrate.

Thursday training is at Dickson

Another quick reminder - training on Thursday 7 April is at Dickson oval - Antill Street, the 400m running track. Yes I am sorry to say, winter is on its way already. At 5.30pm we start with a lap of the ovals, then do some stretching before running a second lap. After that it's whatever exciting and challenging training session I can devise.
By 6.30pm we have finished our training and set off for a cooldown lap. These 'laps' are a bit over 1k.
New runners are welcome and you don't have to be a Veteran to participate. Please contact me for more information.

Training at Parliament House

Winter training resumed last night with our first session at Parliament House for the year. In cool conditions - but not too dark to stop us seeing our way around the maze of construction work - we did our warmup and stretching, talked about a couple of different hamstring stretches, and then did a tour of the fitness circuit.
I am going to get the group to do at least 2 sets of chinups, pushups, dips and situps each Monday night for the next few weeks. The chinup challenge - can you increase the number you can do; up to eight the target! The situp challenge - how many bent legged situps can you do in 90 seconds?
I also showed them what an eccentric stretch for the calf looks like; and challenged the group to train as hard as younger people train; BUT ensure proper rest and recovery is built in to the training regime.
After the tour everyone sprinted a lap or two of the circuit, doing their chinups etc on the way. Not too many could do even one chinup; a bit of an eye opener. Really, a good middle distance or cross country runner needs to have a high strength/weight ratio, and as is often observed, weight reduction should not be overdone! Strength improvement is the real answer. Also, you cannot have muscle strength if there is little muscle mass.
It was good to see a new face in Katie join the group; and Gaby had her first run with us at the Parliament House venue.
See you all next week. For those starting then, there will be another tour; for everybody else, it's all systems go!

Womens and Girls Fun Run results

In the annual Women and Girls Fun Run Maria O'Reilly starred; she was first W50 and 23rd over all.

Current Team Moore members -
23 Maria O'Reilly 21:55 -- 1st W50
36 Helen Larmour 23:16
51 Amanda Walker 24:14
55 Cathy Montalto 24:24
74 Charmaine Knobel 25:28
108 Margaret McSpadden 26:56
110 Pam Faulks 26:58
124 Jill Brown 27:46

Gabrielle Brown ran about 24.58 but her name wasn't in the results.

Other Team Moore members -
06 Kathy Southgate 19:40
25 Annette Sugden 22:08
62 Lisa Wilson 24:39
83 Michelle Wells 26:05
157 Marian Blake 29:01
193 Kerry Boden 30:41
211 Cory Collins 31:41
226 Consie Larmour 32:18

..And some family connections -
43 Lauren Boden 23:45
198 Natalie Larmour 30:50
386 Judy Blake 42:55
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Training is at Parliament House!

A quick reminder that training on Monday 4 April is at 'New' Parliament House. We meet in the underground carpark at 5.30pm. We then run a 'lap' upstairs, pick up any latecomers at 5.40 before running another lap.

Then it's up to Geoff as to how he makes us suffer. We finish about 6.30ish. New runners are welcome and you don't have to be a Veteran. Contact Geoff for more information. By the way, I now have the list of marathon entrants and will update the post below when I get a round tuit.

I should write about something

It's Friday and I haven't posted anything all week! Geoff will be angry. I might just say 'good luck' to all those runners in the Women & Girls Fun Run on Sunday morning! It's certainly getting some good promotion.

I heard Marnie Ponton being interviewed on 666 this morning. She sounded bright and happy about the whole event. She said it was just a lead-in to some cross country training. Marnie had a good track season where she excelled in her pet event, the 3000m steeplechase. Rod Quinn asked her "so, will you be looking around for some garbage bins along the course to jump over?" It should be a good battle at the front of the 800+ field. For the Vets I'm tipping Kathy Southgate. She's in awesome form.

In a little over a week there's the Canberra Marathon. Once won a very long time ago by none other than Geoff Moore! I wonder how his 2:26:58 will stand the test of time? Here is the list of entrants from Team Moore - Ruth Baussmann, Gabrielle Brown and Cathy Newman. I'll be putting in a late entry on Saturday afternoon at $99 - ouch!

ACT Results from Brisbane

Following are some results for the distance races. No sprints, jumps, pentathlons or other such foolishness!

10000 Metre Run
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
W30 Results Finals                                                    
  1 Greenland, Jeni          W31 ACT         48:07.62   48:07.63 62.16%
W55 Results Finals                                                  
  2 Cullen, Jo               W56 QLD         51:22.15   42:36.96 70.20%
M60 Results Finals                                                   
  2 Vines, Ron               M61 QLD         43:29.67   35:28.45 76.04%

800 Metre Run
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
W30 Results Finals                                                    
  3 Paabo, Penny             W34 ACT          3:00.02    3:00.02 62.93%
W35 Results Finals                                                    
  1 Brichacek, Jenny         W39 ACT          2:17.18    2:14.63 84.14%
M75 Results Finals                                                
  1 Leovic, Rad              M76 ACT          3:20.16    2:12.81 76.60%
M55 Results Finals
  5 Maher, Garry             M58 ACT          2:32.55    2:04.26 81.87%
M50 Results Finals
  2 White, Philip            M50 ACT          2:13.63    1:56.48 87.35%
M45 Results Finals
  1 Morton, John             M46 ACT          2:07.22    1:54.35 88.96%

400 Metre Hurdles
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
M50 Results Finals                                                 
  1 White, Philip            M50 ACT            63.46      53.72 87.09%

1500 Metre Run
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
W30 Results Finals                                                   
  1 Paabo, Penny             W34 ACT          6:25.34    6:25.34 59.81%
W35 Results Finals                                                  
  1 Brichacek, Jenny         W39 ACT          4:48.27    4:48.27 79.95%
M75 Results Finals                                                 
  1 Leovic, Rad              M76 ACT          7:15.76    4:47.43 71.67%
M50 Results Finals
  6 White, Philip            M50 ACT          4:49.19    4:07.18 83.34%
M45 Results Finals                                               
  1 Morton, John             M46 ACT          4:27.15    3:56.89 86.96%

3000 Metre Steeplechase
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
  2 Morton, John             M46 ACT         11:59.83   10:31.58 76.33%

5000 Metre Run
=======================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading
=======================================================================
W30 Results Finals                                                 
  1 Greenland, Jeni          W31 ACT         21:41.25   21:41.26 66.37%
M60 Results Finals
  3 Vines, Ron               M61 QLD         20:47.12   16:51.79 76.93%
  8 Small, Graeme            M63 ACT         25:35.23   20:21.13 63.74%

M30-69 8k Run CC
========================================================================
    Name                     Age Team          Finals       Age-Grading 
========================================================================
M55 Results                                                         
  8 Moore, Geoff             M56 ACT         41:13.0h   35:08.24 60.66%
M60 Results                                                          
  4 Vines, Ron               M61 QLD         37:03.0h   30:09.97 70.66%
  9 Small, Graeme            M63 ACT         45:40.0h   36:26.80 58.48%

Easter Monday and Championships finishing

It is certainly not chilly here in Brisbane. Canberra will feel freezing when we return next weekend. Well I managed to jog the 8k cross country in 41 mins without too much trouble - course a bit hilly and grass long in places. A four lap course- I crossed the start line after one lap shoulder to shoulder with Arthur Brown and Graeme Small, good team effort that, all in ACT uniform, I hope a photo goes up on the web site as we ran in together after 2k. Then I left them and ran on at 5 min per k for the last 6k. Helped by a good cheer squad of Jo Cullen, Gwen Vines, her daughter Julie, and Jeni Greenland.
They say the championship web site has a photo of me running in the 10k on Friday. If I locate it I will post it RIGHT HERE. Or any taken later, of Team Moore runners .

Good Friday and Good Luck!

Easter is upon us. It arrived very early this year – something to do with the full moon. A number of ‘Team Moore’ members have ventured to Brisbane for the Australian Veterans (Masters?) Track and Field Championships. Amongst them is head guru Geoff Moore! I know Geoff has been dogged by injury during the build-up phase of his training. His 19+ minute 5000m run last week showed he is starting to hit some form. I’m predicting 18:56 in Brisbane for Geoff! Now, I must go and find out if there’s a website for the Championships. Good luck Geoff and everyone else in ‘Team Moore’ over the next four days!

I've found a website. It is here. No results yet! I hope the 10k went well Geoff. 40:20 predicted. My guess 39:47!

Well here I am in Brisbane

....and what a climate for distance running! Today was a maximum of 32 degrees, with more to come over the next few days. And although Friday's 10k run will be at 8:30am, I don't think it will make much difference. For a start, it heats up as soon as the sun rises, from an overnight low of just below 20. Secondly there is no daylight saving time here, so in fact it will be like a 9:30am start (and a 10.10 am finish at the most optimistic!). Bring on some cloud cover, at least!
The first thing I did after arriving at my son's place at Griffin last night, was to go outside with a torch and see if I could spot any cane toads. And sure enough, there was one on the lawn next to the wall of the house. Duly dealt with with a shovel.
But today we went for a swim at Mooloolaba, and NOW I know why people want to live here. Perfect beach, wonderful clear water; and WARM!
I guess I will have to run tomorrow though, rather than swimming again. I haven't run since Gundawindi, and that was a very hot 30 minutes lunch time Tuesday.
I figure I will have to get up around 4am on Friday before the 10k, and IF the achilles holds; IF I hydrate properly, IF I get to the track in time to register and check in an hour before the race; IF I don't get intimidated by the quality of the field, IT SHOULD BE GOOD!
Will keep you posted!

The Quiet Achiever

As I was walking to the back of the shuttle bus queue for the Six Foot Track Marathon I got a huge surprise to see none other than Mick Charlton waiting patiently in line to be transported the start of what would be a very big day out.

He hadn’t mentioned planning to run this event during the many Monday afternoon sessions around North Lyneham. When I think about it, I did notice him running the odd extra 3.1km lap. One particular occasion was the afternoon it bucketed down rain and most people scampered off to the safety of their cars.

I said “Wow – are you doing this?” Which was bloody obvious, he was standing in the queue! I didn’t see Mick at the starting line near the Explorer’s Tree because I arrived on the last bus with a few minutes to spare. I got my next surprise when I finally caught Mick at Caves Road 37 kilometres later. He was doing well and looking in much better shape than the many other walking wounded. This course can bite you if you don’t respect it. I said “Took a while to catch you. You’re doing well”. It had taken well over 5 hours.

I ran as hard as my wobbly legs would let me and opened up a bit of a break. I ran a little scared down the hill to the Caves and sat down as soon as I cleared the crowds around the finish. Mick soon arrived. It had taken him 6 hours 25 minutes. A very long day. The quiet achiever looked fine. I’m sure I didn’t. We’d had a great day.

Racing and the Vets 5000m Championships

A number of medals were handed out at Kowen Forest this morning for the 5000m Track Championships held on Thursday night at the AIS. Over half the runners who competed on Thursday were from ‘Team Moore’ so it was quite a list. Here we go:

M40 – 2nd Colin Farlow 17:29. M45 – 4th John Morton 20:13, 6th Ewen Thompson 21:03. M55 – 2nd Geoff Moore 19:49. M60 – 2nd Graeme Small 24:32. M65 – 1st Tony Booth 21:41.
W35 – 1st Amanda Walker 22:30, 2nd Lisa Wilson 22:57. W45 – 1st Kathy Southgate 18:40 (ACT rec), 2nd Helen Lamour 22:26. W50 – 1st Maria O’Reilly, 20:25, 2nd Kathy Sims 22:14, 3rd Cathy Montalto 22:19, 4th Charmaine Knobel 23:30. W55 – 1st Margaret McSpadden 25:55.

The presentation of awards for the Track and Field season was held shortly after the finish of the 5000m. One of the awards was for ‘The Pennington’. For interstate or international readers of this blog, ‘The Pennington’ is a series of races designed to find the best middle-distance runner in the club. The races are handicaps where you start according to age and sex based on ‘world best’ performances. If the best middle-distance runners in the world competed they all would finish in a tie – the W35 runner would tie with the M55, the W70 and so on.

For 2004/05 the winner of ‘The Pennington’ (and therefore, the best middle distance runner in the club) was Colin Farlow. He actually tied on points with John Morton but won because the rules state that in the event of a tie the winner is the youngest runner.

At the presentation John spoke at length about his great rivalry with Colin. They had trained together and knew intimately each other’s strengths and weaknesses. One race stood out in John’s mind. It was a 1500m event where they both shared the work for the first 3 laps in order to achieve a fast time. After that it would be a race to the finish. They were together with 200m to go and ran shoulder to shoulder around the bend and into the straight. First one then the other would edge a slight lead. They sprinted side by side to the finish with Colin out-leaning John to claim victory. John said this was his most memorable race ever and it defined what racing meant to him.

New Vets Website

I do not know if it has been officially released yet, but the new actvac website appears to be up and running.

Fly! Goose! Fly!

Our athletic club is great for the development of health, fitness, and quality of life, but how do we get the message across to those friends out there who would benefit by joining us? The following story I adapted from an e-book by Danish author Søren Kierkegaard, called "Provocations". (click to link to the website).

Every time wild geese go on their amazing migratory journey, they fly along, not too far above ground, and call out to any geese on the ground to join them in their flight.

When the flight of the wild geese is heard in the air and there are tame geese down on the ground, the tame geese are instantly aware of it and to a certain degree they understand what it means. Some of them even start to run along, beating their wings, cry out in awkward, confused disorder – but they are just mimicking the flying birds, they never lift off.

There was once a wild goose. In the autumn, about the time for migration, it became aware of some tame geese. It thought it a shame to fly away from them, and hoped to win them over so that they would decide to go along with it on the flight. It tried to entice them to rise a little higher and then again a little higher in their flight, that they might, if possible, accompany it in the flight, saved from the wretched, mediocre life of waddling around on the earth as respectable, tame geese.

At first, the tame geese thought it very entertaining and liked the wild goose. But soon they became tired of it, and drove it away with sharp words, censuring it as a visionary fool devoid of experience and wisdom.

In a certain sense there was something admirable about what the wild goose wanted. Nevertheless, it was a mistake, for a tame goose never becomes a wild goose, but a wild goose can certainly become a tame goose. If what the wild goose tried to do is to be commended in any way, then it must above all watch out for one thing – that it itself become like the tame geese. As soon as it notices that the tame geese have any kind of power over it, then away, away in migratory flight.

Our sport is not exactly like this. True, an athlete who is fit and healthy and full of life is as different from the ordinary person as the wild goose is from the tame goose. But for us, there is always hope that a tame goose might become a wild goose.

So if anyone says you are silly and undignified because you are still playing outdoor sport “at your time of life”, you know what to tell them. You are a wild goose and you are proud of it. Resist the temptation to sink back into “wretched mediocrity”!

Fly goose fly!

How different we are!

A Software Programmer, a Hardware Engineer and a Divisional Manager were on their way to a meeting. They were driving down a steep mountain road when suddenly the brakes on their car failed. The car careered out of control down the road, bouncing off the crash barriers, until it miraculously ground to a halt scraping along the mountainside. The car's occupants, shaken but unhurt, now had a problem: they were stuck halfway down a mountain in a car with no brakes. What were they to do?
"I know," said the Divisional Manager, "Let's have a meeting, propose a Vision, formulate a Mission Statement, define some Goals, and by a process of Continuous Improvement find a solution to the Critical Problems, and we can be on our way."
"No, no," said the Hardware Engineer, "That will take far too long, and besides, that method has never worked before. I've got my Swiss Army knife with me, and in no time at all I can strip down the car's braking system, isolate the fault, fix it, and we can be on our way."
"Well," said the Software Programmer, "Before we do anything, I think we should push the car back up the road and see if it happens again."

Alex Geoffrey Osborn

Congratulations to Brad and Jodi on the arrival last Wednesday (09/03/05) of Alex Geoffrey. Proud first-time grandparents Kathy and Geoff Sims haven't stopped smiling - at least now that they have had some sleep!

MARIA'S ACT RECORD

The highlight (for me) of last weekend's Vets Championships was Maria O'Reilly's W50 1500 record. See the blog dated 25 January (in the archives) for a profile of Maria. In that post I said how difficult it was going to be to break any of the records in such a competitive age group. Well, she's done it in the 1500, and on a very hot day too, running virtually by herself.
As far as I know, this is Maria's first individual record.

ACT Veterans Track and Field Championships - full results (so there!)
Day 1 – Friday, March 11
100m Hurdles
W30 Penny Paabo 19.16
Discus
M35 John Donovan 20.72m
M40 Grant Edwards 37.74m
M55 Bob Banens 40.84m
M60 Ray Green 49.87m (ACT rec), John Payne 28.23m, Robin Whyte 24.40m
M65 Attila Spaits 35.09m, Don Fraser 31.64m, Christopher Yardley 19.32m
M75 John Burns 16.41m, Rad Leovic 15.95m
M80 Ewen Drummond 17.71m
W40 Jayne Hardy 35.07m
W55 Trish Thomas 21.24m
W60 Raylea Rudov 20.72m, Jan Banens 19.35m
W65 Jenny Bourke 20.87m
5000m Race Walk
M40 Mark Worrall 28:59.68,
M45 Lachlan Wilkinson 27:24.12
M50 Dez Wildwood 32:05.89
M60 Robin Whyte 28:31.65, Geoff Barker33:53.61
M65 Terry Munro 36:16.15
W45 Debbie Cowell 31:12.43
W60 Val Chesterton 37:34.34
80m Hurdles
M75 Rad Leovic 23.91
100m Hurdles
M50 Conrad Burge 16.06
M65 Don Fraser 19.89
110m Hurdles
M35 Rasalinkam Seeniya 21.68, John Donovan 23.38
Triple Jump
M30 Robert Gerrard 11.09m
M35 Rasalinkam Seeniya 10.22m, John Donovan 8.82m
M40 Andrew Endall 11.57m
M65 Don Fraser 9.41m (ACT rec), Ray Bramwell 8.04m, Warwick Allen 7.03m
M75 Rad Leovic 7.12m
W60 Val Chesterton 5.79m
Long Jump
W60 Val Chesterton 2.81m
Day 2 – Saturday, March 12
100m
M30 Robert Gerrard 13.21
M35 Rasalinkam Seeniya 13.49, John Donovan 14.81
M40 Ken Gordon 12.28, Michael Rutter 13.11
M45 Leo Kennedy 12.05, Kevin Matthews 12.17, Martin Crowe 12.80, Nick Farley 14.20
M50 Conrad Burge 13.39
M55 Peter Gately 15.63
M60 John Payne 13.68, Michael Roche 15.19, Kevin de Smet 17.12
M65 Ray Bramwell 15.39, Christopher Yardley 18.14
M75 John Burns 17.36
W30 Penny Paabo 14.34
W35 Sue Dowling 13.60
W45 Vicki Matthews 14.12
W50 Marlene Reid 14.37, W50 Maureen Rossiter 15.08
W55 Jill Brown 16.41
W65 Consie Larmour 17.64
400m
M35 Rasalinkam Seeniya 1:02.83, John Donovan 1:10.09
M40 Ken Gordon 55.13, Andrew Endall 57.65, David Houghton 58.95, Michael Rutter 1:00.38
M45 John Morton 55.68, Kevin Matthews 58.22
M50 Philip White 56.55
M55 Geoff Sims 59.20, Neville Rodwell 1:07.58
M60 Michael Roche 1:10.87
M75 Rad Leovic 1:26.29, John Burns 1:38.28
W35 Jenny Brichacek 1:00.27
W45 Vicki Matthews 1:08.68
W50 Maureen Rossiter 1:09.67, Marlene Reid 1:09.73
W55 Jill Brown 1:19.04
W60 Francis Harris 1:22.82
W65 Consie Larmour 1:35.03
1500m
M35 John Donovan 6:15.24
M40 Andrew Endall 4:46.19
M45 John Morton 4:29.04, Paul Considine 4:44.36, Don Smith 5:14.86
M50 Ken White 5:06.51
M55 Kevin Chamberlain 5:01.24
M65 Tony Booth 5:41.51, Christopher Yardley 7:56.19
M75 Rad Leovic 7:56.19
W30 Penny Paabo 6:19.39
W35 Jenny Brichacek 4:45.97
W40 Joanne Webster 6:12.12
W45 Kathy Southgate 5:02.19
W50 Maria O'Reilly 5:28.49 (ACT rec), Kathy Sims 5:51.18
Hammer
M35 John Donovan 17.19m
M40 Grant Edwards 46.86m
M55 Bob Banens 38.40m
M60 Ray Green 43.70m, Robin Whyte 21.96m, Bryan Thomas 18.65m
M75 John Burns 20.09m
M80 Ewen Drummond 22.58m
W30 Penny Paabo 20.96m
W40 Jayne Hardy 42.53m
W55 Trish Thomas 25.79m
W60 Jan Banens 36.00m, Raylea Rudov28.18m
W65 Jenny Bourke 22.37m
W70 Mary Wahren 22.20m
Shot
M35 John Donovan 7.48m
M40 Grant Edwards 13.97m
M55 Bob Banens 11.60m, Tim Gulliver 7.88m
M60 Ray Green 13.00m, Bryan Thomas 7.78m, Robin Whyte 7.68m
M65 Don Fraser 9.17m
M80 Ewen Drummond 7.18m
M65 Christopher Yardley 6.41m
W30 Penny Paabo 9.63m
W40 Jayne Hardy 10.37m
W45 Vicki Matthews 7.87m
W50 Maureen Rossiter 6.61m
W55 Trish Thomas 8.56m
W60 Jan Banens 7.88m, Raylea Rudov 7.80m
W65 Jenny Bourke 8.20m (ACT rec)
W70 Mary Wahren 6.04m
High Jump
M35 John Donovan 1.40m
M55 Peter Gately 0.86m
M65 Ray Bramwell 1.23m
M75 Rad Leovic 1.10m
M80 Ewen Drummond 0.80m
Day 3 – Sunday, March 13
3000m Steeplechase
M40 Andrew Endall 12:04.83
M45 John Morton 12:02.20
2000m Steeplechase
M60 Geoff Barker 10:06.87
M65 Ray Bramwell 10:54.94, Chris Yardley 12:12.19
M75 Rad Leovic 12:08.90
1500m Race Walk
M50 Dez Wildwood 8:54.46
M55 Rod Gilchrist 10:01.58
M60 Robin Whyte 8:12.46, Geoff Barker 9:11.66, Bryan Thomas 9:14.01
M65 Terry Munro 10:14.63
W35 Lisa Wilson, 7:40.79
W60 Val Chesterton 10:44.09
800m
M35 John Dovovan 3:51.89
M40 Andrewn Endall 2:13.57
M45 John Morton 2:07.25
M50 Phil White 2:13.35, Ken White 2:21.31
M55 Geoff Sims 2:21.54, Kevin Chamberlain 2:23.49
M65 Tony Booth 2:43.85
M75 Rad Leovic 3:01.91 (ACT Rec)
W35 Jenny Brichacek 2:15.80, Lisa Wilson 3:05.76
W45 Kathy Southgate 2:30.41 (ACT rec)
W50 Maureen Rossiter 2:54.07, Kathy Sims 2:55.84
300m Hurdles
M65 Ray Bramwell 1:03.67
M75 Rad Leovic 1:18.26
400m Hurdles
M50 Phil White 1:02.34 (ACT rec)
200m
M30 Robert Gerrard 27.91
M35 Rasa Seeniyar 27.44
M35 John Donovan 29.91
M40 Michael Rutter 26.41, David Houghton 27.62
M45 Leo Kennedy 24.66, Nick Farley 29.43
M50 Phil White 26.24, Pat Stakelum 27.74
M55 Peter Gately 37.51
M60 John Payne 27.92, Michael Roche 31.57
M65 Ray Bramwell 31.72, Chris Yardley 37.58
M75 Rad Leovic 36.04, John Burns 36.39
W30 Lynette Smith 27.73
W45 Vicki Matthews 29.50
W50 Maureen Rossiter 31.33
W55 Jill Brown 34.39
W65 Consie Larmour 37.67
W75 Gwen Gleeson 45.92 (Est ACT rec)
Heavy Weight
M40 Grant Edwards 14.58m
M45 Andrew Atkinson-Stewart 8.75m
M55 Bob Banens 14.69m
M60 Ray Green 16.23, Robin Whyte 9.52m
M80 Ewen Drummond 9.97m
W40 Jayne Hardy 13.30m
W55 Trish Thomas 9.21m
W60 Jan Banens 13.91, Raylea Rudov 13.45m
W65 Jen Bourke 10.53m
W70 Mary Wahren 7.40m
Pole Vault
M35 John Donovan 1.80m
W60 Val Chesterton 1.50m
High Jump
W30 Lynette Smith 1.48m
W60 Val Chesterton 1.00m
Long Jump
M30 Robert Gerrard 5.28m
M35 John Donovan 4.82, Rasa Seeniyar 4.17m
M40 Andrew Endall 4.82m
M45 Kevin Matthews 5.27m
M65 Ray Bramwell 3.54m, Christ Yardley 2.40m
M75 Rad Leovic 3.22m (ACT rec)
Javelin
M35 Rasa Seeniyar 27.74m, John Donovan 25.10m
M40 Grant Edwards 30.32m
M45 Andrew Atkinson-Stewart 41.00m, Kevin Matthews 35.36m
M55 Bob Banens 50.19m
M60 Ray Green 37.15, John Payne 29.14m, Robin Whyte 27.43m, Bryan Thomas 27.14
M65 Chris Yardley 17.20m
M80 Ewen Drummond 17.23m
W30 Lynette Smith 36.65m
W40 Jayne Hardy 36.86m
W45 Vicki Matthews 21.78m
W50 Maureen Rossiter 14.35m
W55 Trish Thomas 18.74m
W60 Fran Harris 22.78m, Jan Banens 21.32m, Raylea Rudov 18.74
W65 Jen Bourke 23.78m
W70 Mary Wahren 19.73

I did not attend as I had other commitments, although I did manage to fit in a run in the half marathon on Sunday morning - a very late decision! But the 5000 track won't be on until this Thursday evening and I hope to run in that.

Weston Creek Half Marathon

Big "winners" in today's Weston Creek Half Marathon were Ross Gregg and Kent Williams, who were two of the free Canberra Marathon entry barrel draw winners. They both said they hadn't entered, and proceeded to fill in an entry form. That will push some other marathon runners in their age groups back a place!
Our training group results -
24. Kent Williams M60 1:25:56
48. Peter Cullen M40 1:33:08
72. Geoff Moore M55 1:39:11
103. John Kennedy M50 1:45:53
108. Bill Leyden M55 1:46:45
111. John Alcock M55 1:47:55
112. Cathy Montalto W50 1:48:08
135. Alan Duus M55 1:51:18
147. Gabrielle Brown W40 1:54:36
166. Ruth Baussmann W50 1:58:43
184. Margaret McSpadden W55 2:05:29
186. Pamela Faulks W40 2:05:52

AMA championships

John Morton - one of the Canberra athletes competing at the AMA championships in Brisbane at Easter. Others from Canberra include Phil White, Graeme Small, Garry Maher, Bryan Thomas, and myself. John, Phil and Garry are "certain" medallists in their age groups. For the rest of us, it depends on who shows!
(Don't you love the number on John's singlet? When HE looks down at it, it's the right way up!)

Additional - I am hoping to catch up with Mick Konemann, Jo Cullen, and Ron and Gwen Vines while in Brisbane. They all live very near where I will be staying, and I am told Mick, Jo and Ron are all entered in the championships. Mick trained with us here in Canberra and was the fastest member of our training group before he moved away; Ron also used to train with me and Gwen occasionally too; Gwen being Margaret's identical twin sister.

((12 + 144 + 20 + (3 * 4^(1/2))) / 7) + (5 * 11) = 9^2 + 0

A Dozen, a Gross and a Score,
plus three times the square root of four,
divided by seven,
plus five times eleven,
equals nine squared and not a bit more.

This little poem replaces a post on taking ACTION (buses) which I might repost later on ...

THIS WEEKEND'S TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Program: The Program for the Championships is almost complete and will probably be up on the ACTA website - http://www.actathletics.org.au/ - by now.

Change of Time: The Women's Triple Jump has been moved up to the Friday night. There are only two competitors and they will be notified. Late entries will still be available up to two hours before.

Parking: The Brumbies (whoever they are) are playing on the Friday night and there will be very few parking places allocated to us. If you are there too late to obtain one of our usual spaces go to the football car park where you will be permitted to park free (just explain why you are there - it's probably helpful to have your track suit on).

Officials & Volunteers: A number of you have volunteered as officials - Alice will notify by email if possible (or phone) what time and position you have been allocated to. All officials and volunteers must sign on for insurance purposes. Those signing on for Saturday and Sunday will receive meal tickets. Food and drinks will be on sale by ACT Athletics in the Javelin Room.

Sign on & Call Room: ( Hurdle Shed) A reminder that all athletes must sign their intention to compete at least one hour before their events and then return to the Call Room 20 minutes before Field Events and 15 minutes before track events.

Chest Numbers: If you do not already have your chest number they will be available for collection when you sign on. Don't assume there will be enough pins - bring some if you have any.

Uniform: Please wear your uniform if you have one (or borrow if you haven't). We have the best uniform of all the clubs and it looks good to see everyone in it. If you are officiating if would look great if you could wear one of the Vets shirts or any royal blue T Shirt to identify yourself.

Late entries: Late entries will be accepted on payment of late entry fees at least two hours before the event. Late entries cannot be accepted for the Men's Long Jump or Triple Jump, or both Men's & Women's Discus - these events are full and have been closed. Late entries will only be accepted for laned events if there is room in the event and at the discretion of the Competition Manager.

And remember there is NO Track & Field Meeting this evening.
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What's orange and sounds like a parrot?

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All right, it's the old parrot joke. The internet is a source of some terrible jokes and this is no exception. What's orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. (It must be the way you tell it). But I keep on laughing!
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Where We Train

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Here's the latest information on training venues.

Monday 14 March - last session at North Lyneham
Thursday 17 March - last track meet at Bruce
... then a break from formal training sessions ...
Monday 4 April - first session at Parliament House.
Thursday 7 April - first session at Dickson Oval.
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Common Sense and Self Assurance

There's nothing like being a national champion at 16 years of age.
You will remember when, at the Telstra A Series meeting here in Canberra earlier this year, you saw Lauren Boden run a magnificent 400 hurdles race to break 60 seconds for the first time and to be beaten down the straight by Victoria's Lauren Jauncey.
Well, in the Melbourne A Series meet on 17 February she ran second again to Lauren Jauncey, this time in a new pb of 59.19 seconds.
And next, this weekend she has been down in Sydney competing in her first open Australian Championships. The rivalry with Lauren Jauncey continued. On Saturday they both won their heats; Lauren Boden's time was 59.73, her third run in succession under 60 seconds.
Then in her final on Sunday, Lauren Boden pulled out the big one, clocking a magnificent 58.59 to win the gold medal and turn the tables on her rival.
I see Lauren demonstrating so much common sense in her training, and she always appears to be completely self assured. She is a credit to her parents; it is a privilege to know Lauren and to be able to follow her career from close range; it is great to have her parents running with our training group as well!
Well done Lauren, and enjoy the good times!

Today's Jogalong

In sunny and relatively cool conditions three of our number had strong runs well under 30 minutes - Michelle Wells, Helen Larmour and Charmaine Knobel. Sarah Pau ran just over 30 minutes for her first run on the Weston Park course. A feature of today's race was that several women fell during the run: and several others stopped to assist, so not all the times (when they are published later this week) will reflect actual performance.
One good result I noticed from other runners there today was Karen Daniels who broke 30 minutes for the first time. She has been doing cross training for triathlons which has got her a lot fitter. She only started swimming and cycling in October last year. Something worth thinking about?

Are you swimming upstream?

Probably my biggest passion is music, even bigger than running, and although I don't play any instruments these days, there are quite a lot of contemporary songs and artists I like listening to.
Today I was thinking about all the songs I like, and realised that quite a few of my favourite songs have lyrics about being strong and uncompromising, such as "Walk On" by U2, and many others.
What a great thought - you have set some goals - fitness and exercise say - and you won't be diverted from these goals by any distraction, particularly by people who may want to push you around to fit their idea of what you should be doing.

Here's one of the songs.

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground
Won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground.
And I won't back down.
Well I know what's right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground.
And I won't back down.
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I won't back down
Hey, baby. There ain't no easy way out.
Hey yeah, I will stand my ground
And I won't back down.
- Tom Petty

Pennington 1500 times

Some but not all of the times from the 1500, as timed by me from a distance. "From a distance, The world looks blue and green.." sorry, Midler'f crisis.

1 John Morton 4.31
2 Colin Farlow 4.26
3 Kevin "you can't keep a good man down" Chamberlain 5.10
4 Maria "faster at fifty" O'Reilly 5.35
5 Ken "five minute barrier" White 5:06
6 Tony "he's back!" Booth 5:42

and Jenny Langton 5:14
Kathy Sims 5:54
Ken Eynon 5:34
Neville Madden 5:30
Charmaine Knobel 6:19

NOT A BAD RESULT FOR OUR TRAINING GROUP! Where have all the training groups gone? "long time passing.." sorry, PPM crisis.
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Final Pennington Results

Well it's all over now bar the shouting. (at the pub to celebrate the outcome, that is.)

The final race in the series, the 1500, was at 7:15 pm today.

After two races, Colin Farlow was one point in front of John Morton, with only today's race to go.
Because Colin is an M40 and John an M45, Colin gave John a start, 8 seconds.

Could Colin catch John's 8 seconds and thus clinch the series? John's recent times were better than Colin's, BUT Colin gained most of that time! The first time he has run faster than John in a race this season, if my memory serves me right. *Can't check! Website gone again!

Additionally, although Colin finished behind John, no-one finished between the two, the score was tied, and Colin won on a count back owing to the simple fact that John turned 45 more recently than Colin turned 40.

What if Damien, Phil, Jenny P. had run?

If I had been John, I would have been rounding up as many other starters as possible.

Well done Colin!

More results to be published tomorrow
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Exercise

Triathlon winners

Some triathlon training group results from Sunday - Cathy Newman, W40 winner also outright winner in the short tri; Annemarie Calnan W45 winner; Ruth Baussman W50 winner. These girls set a fine example of consistent training and a positive and happy approach to their sport. AND I understand Amanda Walker was a member of the winning team!