5 km Handicap

Liam Rourke Crosses Line in First Place

The tenth annual Box Hill Athletic Club 5 kilometre Handicap race was run on Saturday April 28 at the Bennettswood course adjacent to Gardiner’s Creek. We had 18 starters and over 10 supporters at the starting line, whilst we were preparing to get proceedings under way just after 1.00 p.m. After all last week’s rain we appreciated the drier conditions, although it was overcast and cool.

The first runners, Kate Mortimer and Kerry Walker started on 2 m. 45, closely followed by Stephen Murphy, running again after an absence of a few years. Georgie McCallum strode off next and all the other runners were dispatched periodically over the next six minutes. Once Graeme Olden was sent off, being the highest ranked runner and last to start, the officials and observers crossed the creek or the bridge to reach the finish on the other side of creek.

Liam Rourke was leading as he passed through the finishing line, with Chris O’Connor straining to peg him back. Dale Bickham and Adam Pepper also seemed to be running well and Kerry Walker was well up in the field too. It was clear that Scott Jackson would figure highly in the race as well as he steamed through running very strongly.

By the time Sam Hassett warned us that the leading runner had come into sight to finish the race, it was clear that Liam Rourke was going to win the event by a secure margin from Chris O’Connor who surprised himself with his own performance, with Dale Bickham just failing to catch Chris on the line by two seconds. Scott Jackson recorded the fastest time on the day, running 15 m. 36 for the five kilometre distance.

Official photographer, Sam Hassett, managed to take a number of action shots of the start and during the first lap. We had a number of recently joined athletes competing in the Handicap event including Liam Rourke, Audra Papworth, Patrick Kelly, and Kate Mortimer. A notable effort was expended by David Ayers who sprinted from his car and reached the starting line just in time to start at the correct handicap mark. He noticed that he had left his headlights on when he completed the first lap. Another highlight was Rob Falkenberg’s ultimately successful attempt to cross Gardiner’s Creek. There were a number of occasions when onlookers thought that his swimming skills might have been called into play.

The BBQ and presentations occurred at the club later and those present were appreciative of Julie Milner’s efforts to provide sustenance.

2001 Race Performances

Race History