The Victorian Half Marathon Championships at Burnley on Sunday 12 September 1999 brought the winter season to an end on a disappointing note for Box Hill. Only three Box Hill male athletes completed the course, with no women running the event. This capped off a very disappointing winter season for the Box Hill men’s team which failed to finish any teams in the last three races of the season after such a promising start to the season. The Box Hill senior women’s team dropped from second position which they had held for the whole season, to third overall for the season due to not scoring any points in this race.
The three Box Hill athletes that completed the race all took advantage of the cool, calm conditions and flat, fast course to run good times, with Graeme Olden (68:07) finishing 15th, Jeff McNeill (77:36) finishing 91st and David Boyd (80:13) finishing 128th. There was considerable discussion after the race about the accuracy of the course as the 3 km northern loop seemed to be much shorter than the 3 km southern loop!
Many thanks to all those who have helped with organising teams during the winter, in particular Ian Sloane, Dave Bullock and Rob Falkenberg. There have been many successes during the year by our junior athletes which gives us all hope for a successful season next year. Thanks also to Megan and Ian Sloane for providing afternoon tea after most of the races this winter which is greatly appreciated by the athletes who stay to enjoy it.