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- #41
My "claim to fame" with running was for one season in my teens, I ran with the Auckland Presbyterian Harriers club.
Because of my age, I run in the colts class. There were only four of us in the class that season but it included the clear favourite for that year's Handicapped Road Champs, Aaron Strong, who later went on to represent NZ at the World King of the Mountain running events on six occasions. Fortunately, he had a national championship event the next week so he decided to run in the senior class instead. Another runner in our class had to work so didn't show up leaving two of us.
The only other runner had the advantage that he was faster than me except going up hills where I was stronger. Another advantage I had was it was being run around the streets of Mt Albert and because I went to tech out there, I knew the course better than my opponent. Because it was a handicapped race, based on other events throughout the year, I had a 30 second head start on him. There was a reasonably flat section of road before a steep hill where the colts course split away from the seniors course.
It turns out I had another advantage.... I could follow directions, which he couldn't, he got lost when our course split away from the seniors because he was following the wrong runner and carried on straight when he should have turned left. He got disqualified and I became the Auckland Presbyterian Harriers club handicapped colts road race champion for 1989. The fact that the only other person in the race got disqualified may have had something to do with me winning it.
Because of my age, I run in the colts class. There were only four of us in the class that season but it included the clear favourite for that year's Handicapped Road Champs, Aaron Strong, who later went on to represent NZ at the World King of the Mountain running events on six occasions. Fortunately, he had a national championship event the next week so he decided to run in the senior class instead. Another runner in our class had to work so didn't show up leaving two of us.
The only other runner had the advantage that he was faster than me except going up hills where I was stronger. Another advantage I had was it was being run around the streets of Mt Albert and because I went to tech out there, I knew the course better than my opponent. Because it was a handicapped race, based on other events throughout the year, I had a 30 second head start on him. There was a reasonably flat section of road before a steep hill where the colts course split away from the seniors course.
It turns out I had another advantage.... I could follow directions, which he couldn't, he got lost when our course split away from the seniors because he was following the wrong runner and carried on straight when he should have turned left. He got disqualified and I became the Auckland Presbyterian Harriers club handicapped colts road race champion for 1989. The fact that the only other person in the race got disqualified may have had something to do with me winning it.
