Illawarra Runners On Pace In Relays
Illawarra Mercury
Monday August 1, 2005
ILLAWARRA runners Kerryn McCann, Russell Dessaix-Chin and Madeline Heiner featured prominently in the NSW road relay championships in Wollongong on Saturday.
A record 150 teams ran in perfect conditions over a 4km course, looping past the Lighthouse, along Flagstaff Point and Marine Drive to near the WIN Entertainment Centre.Competitors ranged from under-12 boys and girls, to over-55 men and women.Sydney University won the two feature events, the open men's and women's relays.Dessaix-Chin helped Sydney University open men's team pip Randwick-Botany by one second, with St George about one minute adrift in third place.Randwick-Botany's Jeremy Roff scorched the 4km course in 11min23sec, the quickest time of the championships.Heiner helped Sydney University win the open women's section, ahead of Randwick-Botany, second, and Kembla Joggers, third. Triple Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist McCann led out the Kembla Joggers side. McCann was the quickest woman on the day, covering the course in 12min38sec.Kembla Joggers' open women's team included promising 14-year-old runner Alana Yardley.The KJs claimed the most medals, with 14 - four gold, four silver and six bronze.The home club struck gold in the under-12 girls, under-14 boys, under-18 boys and over-55 men's.Randwick-Botany was second in the medal count, with five gold and two silver, while Sutherland was third, with two gold and four silver.Nowra performed well to secure silver in the under-18 boys and over-55 women's."This area is continuing to prove itself a powerhouse of running, when you include Madeline and Russell and the Nowra club too," Kembla Joggers president Neil Barnett said."It was a top day in all respects - excellent weather and a great advertisement for the Illawarra region."All the visiting clubs commented on how spectacular the venue was."They also said how well the event was organised."That's a credit to the support we receive from Wollongong City Council and Athletics NSW."
© 2005 Illawarra Mercury