Athletics and Cycling Masterton [ACM] harriers ran away with two gold medals and a bronze in the gruelling Vosseler Shield cross-country race at Mt Victoria, Wellington, last Saturday.
Regarded as one of New Zealand’s toughest cross-country races, with several challenging ascents and tricky descents, the Vosseler Shield is prized by Wellington harriers, attracting the best competitors across the region.
A morning cloudburst actually put the event in jeopardy, but the races did go ahead in what were very wet and slippery conditions on the steep slopes.
The early 5km races for women and masters men were run in dry overhead conditions, but the 10km event for senior men was run in heavy rain.
Due to injuries and other commitments, a slightly smaller-than-usual number of ACM runners faced the starter but came home with some outstanding results.
Graeme Butcher dominated the men’s 60-64 5km race winning in a time of 23 minutes 36 seconds. Malcolm MacDonald recorded 28min 56sec to win the gold in the men’s 65-69 grade, and Franky Spite ran 36 min 45 sec to take bronze in the women’s 60-64 grade. Another notable performance was Brooke Duffy’s fifth placing in the women’s under 14 grade with a time of 5min 11sec for the 1.1 km course.
The next interclub event is the Dorne Cup at Trentham Memorial Park on Saturday, June 10.
Correction
The Wairarapa Times-Age Sports Award for Para Athlete finalist Josh Taylor, published in the Times-Age on Monday, May 29, incorrectly stated that he represented New Zealand at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games.
It should have read: Josh Taylor was selected to represent New Zealand at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin in June 2023 after outstanding results at national and regional events.
We apologise for the error.
