Held in cool, slightly windy and rain free conditions, this year’s 15 kilometre road championship did not attract the depth of field that it has in previous years, possibly due to the proximity of the Olympics and the Gold Coast Marathon and Half Marathon races.
The junior age groups’ 5 K road championship was held first and attracted a good turn out of under age Box Hill competitors. In the junior Men’s Under 14 race, Aaron Holmes competed, running well to record the time of 19 m. 15 for 6th position.
In the Under 18 section, Matthew O’Connor recorded 18 m. 15 for 12th position, less than two minutes behind the winner, and looks to have a good future in the sport.
In the Under 20 junior Men’s race we had a solid group of competitors. Andrew White was the first Box Hill competitor over the line in 6th place, in 16 m 02, followed by Ben McNab, 13th, 16 m. 21, just edging out Michael Bourne, recording 16 m 22 for 14th place. Iain Reitman completed our Under 20 team, placing 15th in 16 m. 53. Graham Craigie was a little further back but also ran well to place 17th in 17 m. 17. Daniel Clark also ran by invitation running the smart time of 16 m. 17 for the 5000 m. Our team won the Gold medal for the second consecutive event.
In the Under 14 junior Women’s section, Grace Thek was just pipped within 50 metres of the finish for the bronze medal, placing fourth in the time of 19 m. 21, an impressive effort.
The Open Men’s and Women’s 15 K. road race saw eight male and four female athletes representing Box Hill.
The race commenced slightly late. A large bunch of runners ran clear of the field after the first kilometre. Leading in the early stages was Julian Marsh (OX), who later paid for his early exertions. With Peter Hulbert (GH), Martin Fedmowski (Ment) and David Ruschena (GH) close at hand at the end of the first lap. Box Hill’s leading male contenders were Marcus Tierney, 10th, John Meagher, 12th, and Adrian Vincent 22nd, with Graeme Olden, 30th, David Jimenez, 32nd and Paul Boxshall, 41st, making up the Section 1 team in the first lap. A running calculation showed Box Hill to be in second place in the team’s race at this stage. Unfortunately for Box Hill, Paul Boxshall had been struggling with his health during the week, and this showed as the second lap progressed. Paul was unable to complete the second lap and retired.
Marsh still led at the end of the second lap but was not looking as fluent, with Ruschena having made up ground, looking ready to pounce. Hulbert was in 3rd position ahead of Fedmowski. Marcus Tierney had picked up 3 places and was holding 7th, with John Meagher 12th, Adrian Vincent 22nd and Graeme Olden 29th. David Jimenez was 35th and Chris O’Connor, having been advised he was now the sixth member of the Section 1 team running in the 90s. Adam Pepper was mid-field.
The completion of the third lap saw Ruschena open up a long break from Peter Eason (Ball Harriers), with Fedmowski slightly ahead of Peter Hulbert. Marsh had put in a disappointing lap and was 70 metres clear of Marcus Tierney, in 6th position. John Meagher still held 12th position,
Adrian Vincent had dropped a place to 23rd, one place in advance of Graeme Olden. David Jimenez was running 34th, with Chris O’Connor 104th. Adam Pepper was running steadily further back.
Davis Ruschena (GH) maintained his lead and won the race from Martin Fedmowski (Men), and Peter Hulbert (GH) was third. Our runners held their positions in the final lap apart from Adrian Vincent improving one place, David Jimenez slipping four places, and Chris O’Connor picking up three places in the concluding lap. Our calculations showed Box Hill in third place in the teams’ race, but this was disputed by AV who claimed that one of our point scorers was not registered.
Of special note was John Meagher’s great performance, which won him the state title in the 40+ age bracket, a fine performance.
Keeping the men’s times in perspective, one only has to think back two years to 2002 when Susie Power’s effort in completing the course in 48 minutes 37 seconds impressed many onlookers. This effort would have placed her 9th on the day this year.
Lisa Jane Weightman won the Women’s race in 52 m. 40 from Julia Edwards, with Lisa Dick finishing third. Jessica de Bruin finished in 15th place in the female section in 60 m 07, running strongly all the way. Joc Keage placed 24th recording 62 m. 23 for the full distance. Fiona Turner was the next Box Hill woman across the finish, after have a tussle with Megan Sloane throughout the race, placing 30th in 65 m 07. Megan Sloane was next, coming 33rd in 65 m 13 (Megan was second in the 45+ age division and the first 50 plus runner across the line). The women’s team finished 2nd in an encouraging performance, one of our best in recent years.
| Name | Club | Time | Final Place |
| David Ruschena | GH | 46:12 | 1 |
| Martin Fedmowski | Men | 46:24 | 2 |
| Peter Hulbert | GH | 46:36 | 3 |
| Peter Eason | Ball Harr | 46:45 | 4 |
| Julian Marsh | OX | 47:11 | 5 |
| Marcus Tierney | BH | 47:49 | 6 |
| John Meagher | BH | 48:59 | 12 |
| Adrian Vincent | BH | 50:33 | 22 |
| Graeme Olden | BH | 50:47 | 24 |
| David Jimenez | BH | 51:38 | 38 |
| Chris O’Connor | BH | 56:34 | 101 |
| Adam Pepper | BH | 63:25 | 196 |
| Paul Boxshall | BH | DNF |
Teams
Glen Huntly 1
APS 2
Box Hill 3
| Name | Club | Time | Final Place |
| Andrew White | BH | 16:02 | 6 |
| Daniel Clark | BH | 16:17 | 10 |
| Ben McNab | BH | 16:21 | 13 |
| Michael Bourne | BH | 16:22 | 14 |
| Iain Reitman | BH | 16:53 | 15 |
| Graham Craigie | BH | 17:17 | 17 |
Teams Box Hill 1
| Name | Club | Time | Final Place |
| Matthew O’Connor | BH | 18:15 | 12 |
| Name | Club | Time | Final Place |
| Aaron Holmes | BH | 19:15 | 6 |
| Name | Club | Time | Final Place |
| Lisa Jane Weightman | Knox | 52:40 | 1 |
| Jess de Bruin | BH | 60:07 | 15 |
| Joc Keage | BH | 62:23 | 24 |
| Fiona Turner | BH | 65:07 | 30 |
| Megan Sloane | BH | 65:13 | 33 |
Teams Box Hill 2
|
Name |
Club |
Time |
Final Place |
|
Grace Thek |
BH |
19:21 |
4 |