On Sunday 18 August 2002, a small group of athletes gathered on the bike track near the Eastern Freeway to do battle for the Frank Tutchener Shield for the Club 10 mile champion. Sam Hassett and Graeme Olden set off at a brisk pace while Chris O’Connor, Dale Bickham and Chris Bunney settled in behind. Rachel Johnson, Carly Carmody and Kerry Putt started very conservatively, while unfortunately Amanda Harper missed the start by about 30 minutes and ran by herself behind the rest of the field. After about 3 km , Sam dropped back slightly and Graeme Olden pulled away to record a comfortable victory, while Sam managed to hold off a determined Chris O’Connor for second place. Dale Bickham and Chris Bunney had a monumental tussle over the last kilometre with Dale just edging out Chris on the line and both athletes just squeezing under the one hour barrier.
The female entrants in the race decided that 10 km was far enough and finished at the end of the first 10 km lap. Many thanks to Chris O’Connor for setting the course and to Julie Milner for supporting the runners and timekeeping.
10 km | 10 miles | |
1. Graeme Olden | 34:27 | 55:09 |
2. Sam Hassett | 35:55 | 57:47 |
3. Chris O’Connor | 36:18 | 58:33 |
4. Dale Bickham | 37:10 | 59:58 |
5. Chris Bunney | 38:26 | 59:59 |
Rachel Johnson | 49:04 | |
Carly Carmody | 51:12 | |
Kerry Putt | 37:09 (turned back early) | |
Amanda Harper | (missed start) |