2019 NZ Cross Country Champs
Preview
 Wellington listened
to the complaints from the 2018 NZ Cross Country
Championships and for 2019 the NZ Champs course has been
moved to Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt. This decision will no
doubt disappoint the mud lovers but the reality is Grenada
Park is simply not up to hosting two races in a single month
during winter and the Wellington Centre Champs, held a
couple of weeks ago, has already torn up the park. The
ground was in such poor condition the Wellington Champs had
to use a reduced circuit with the long race requiring six
laps. The problem with the increased number of laps was the
ground took additional punishment, cutting up the circuit
even more than usual. There was no way Wellington would have
been able to hold Nationals on this course again.
Harcourt was not
available for Centre Champs so for most runners in
Wellington, this new course will be unfamiliar. Harcourt has
been used by College Sport Wellington for their cross county
champs so if you want the inside scoop, find a youngster.
The numbers are
slightly down on 2018, which as far as I can tell was the
largest field entered in a NZ Cross Country Championships
for at least a couple of decades. With 512 entrants, 2019 is
still the second largest field in that time.
The M35 grade has
grown since last year and we have 17 runners. The 2018
champion is not available to defend his title but all of
last year’s second to seventh place getters are on the start
list. Nathan Foley finished second last year. This year he
has had a good build up, winning the Captain Cook Landing
Trail race, finishing second M35 at the North Island Cross
Country Champs and winning masters at the Taranaki Cross
Country Champs. Competition will be stiff and he can expect
to find Canterbury’s M35 winner Chris Kelly and Otago’s M35
winner Glen Chisholm to be in his pack. Glen was fifth last
year but his Otago Champs performance shows he can run well
with a more reliable surface. Canterbury’s Ryan Kiesanowski
finished 16 seconds behind Chris in Christchurch so will
also be in the mix. Richard Swan, Tom Bland and Simon Wills
(all from Wellington) are another three who could spring a
surprise but the one to watch is Wellington’s Dougal
Thorburn. Dougal has the pedigree but is he fully fit? This
will be Dougal’s first race since he won the masters at the
NZ Mountain Running Champs in April.
NZ’s M40s are a
strong set of runners but those contesting the M40 grade may
be relieved to see the defending champion, Waikato’s
Steve
Rees-Jones, has decided to contest seniors this year.
Steve seems to alternate between masters or seniors and,
after thrashing the masters field at North Island Cross
Country earlier this year, he has decided to test himself
against younger stock. This is a shame for the spectators as
Auckland’s Greg Darbyshire, who contested the senior grade
himself back in 2018, is lining up in the masters. Greg did
not run the Auckland Champs but did two of Auckland’s Grand
Prix cross country races where he finished fourth senior man
in one and won the masters by over a minute (not to mention
taking out all but three seniors) in the other. The other
two big guns in this race are last year’s second and third
placers: Wellington’s Stephen Day and Brian Garmonsway. This
year Brian has had the edge over Stephen so would appear to
be the biggest challenger to Greg. South Island and
Canterbury champion David Fitch, who has finished fifth and
fourth in the last two years, should team up with Andrew
Wharton (sixth in 2018), Dan Nixon (third in 2017), Dan
Clendon (second in 2017) and Mat Rogers (finished between
Andrew and Dan Clendon at Wellington Champs) to form the
chasing pack.
The top two
M45s from 2018 are not running. Race director and 2018
winner Todd Stevens will be in attendance but the word is
he’s sulking at being outvoted on keeping the mud! Nick
Moore was fourth M40 in 2018, when he finished a couple of
minutes ahead of 2018’s third M45 Dean Chiplin, so Nick may
fancy his chances of celebrating a new age group with a win.
He comes into this race having already won the M45s at the
Auckland Champs. Dean will be buoyed by having won gold at
the North Island Cross Country Champs but Waikato’s Jason
Cameron and Joe Fowler from Wellington’s Olympic Harriers
are the ones most likely to lead the charge against Nick.
Otago’s Andrew Lonie didn’t run so well on the mud last year
but he recently finished second master overall (first M45)
at the Otago Champs. On the firmer pastures of Harcourt, he
could be in the hunt for a podium place.
It looks like
there are only two M35-49 teams. Auckland are a man short,
unless they have an unpublished late entry. Wellington, as
you would expect from the hosts, have a complete team and
they should win. Canterbury have one to spare with five
selected but will need a little luck to overhaul Wellington.
The M50
medallists will be a completely new line-up from last year’s
podium; two of last year’s top three are not running and one
has moved up to the M55 grade. There appear to be four main
picks for the top three. Of these, Jim Jones is the pre-race
favourite. Jim has run three cross country races this
season, in which he won the Wellington title and produced
the fastest M50 lap times in two cross country relays. Two
of the remaining picks have swapped places so far this
season: Grant McLean finished ahead of Michael Wray in the
Vosseler and Wellington Champs; Michael won the Dorne Cup
and ran faster times in the relays. Auckland’s Blair Cossey
is also in the mix. Blair beat Michael last year but lost to
him the year before. There could be any finishing order
between these three and they’re not assured of completing
the medals. Wellington’s Dave Kettles and Canterbury’s John
Marshall should, at worst, be pretty close too. John is new
to the age group and finished ahead of Blair last year, as
did Dave. Dave only missed a bronze medal in 2018 thanks to
a sprint finish by Richard Bennett. Best of the rest is
Malcolm Cornelius, who is capable of out-kicking anyone
within range over the final few hundred metres.
After claiming
the M50 silver medal in 2018, Peter Stevens would normally
be considered the favourite to win the M55s. There is a
question mark on his race fitness after an ankle injury
forced him to sit out both the North Island and Wellington
Champs. Paul Hewitson is racing well at the moment, claiming
second M50-59 (to an M50) in the Wellington Champs and
second M55 (to Hamilton’s Chris Smith, who is not running)
in the North Island Champs. Cliff Bowman, who ran 28:42 at
the Nelson Champs, will be hard to beat. These three should
be the podium but don’t be surprised if Canterbury’s Anthony
Rogal forces his way in. Anthony is another who struggled in
the mud last year and although he didn’t contest the
Canterbury Champs, he won gold at the South Island Cross
Country Champs.
Expect a good
race at the front of the M60s. Geoff Anderson won in 2018,
Robin Grant won in 2017 while Tony Price was second both
years. Robin and Tony also finished first and second at the
North Island Cross Country Champs. This suggests the race
for gold will be between Geoff and Robin, with Tony claiming
third. David Hood, Peter Richards and Todd Krieble will vie
for the role of party poopers.
Just as we
have with the M35-49 teams, the M50 race features only two
complete teams. Manawatu-Wanganui is the centre that is a
man short. The verdict is the same, albeit that the winning
margin will be bigger than for the younger masters men:
Wellington will win with Canterbury second.
Graeme Lear
and Gavin Smith were the first two M65s in 2018 and they are
back again. Graeme won his race in Nelson running 22:55,
which is an impressive time even if other results suggest it
was a fast course. Gavin won the North Island Champs but
finished second in the Waikato Champs (to Dennis Litt, who
is not competing). There are six other M65s. The race for
third seems to be wide open. Max O’Kane and Murray Laird are
possibly the two at the head of the queue.
Last year’s
first four M70s are still recovering from the mud so we have
an open M70 race. All are North Islanders. Waikato’s Fred
Needham won the North Island title and he also had a good
showing at his Centre Champs, which makes him the favourite.
Wellington’s Tony Dawbin is a good bet for at least second
after winning in Wellington over 5km by 2.5 minutes. To
complete the podium, keep an eye on the race between
Taranaki champ Des Phillips and Wellington’s Bob Stephens.
Michael Bond
should win the M75 race, providing he has recovered from the
injury that cost him most of his 2018 season. Michael did
not run at either of the Canterbury or South Island Champs;
is he fit or will he repeat his DNS of 2018? Peter Ellis
will finish with a comfortable margin over the other M75 in
the race, Ray Wallis.
Our two M80s
have already won the race to get to the start line and the
finishing order between them is easy to call. Neither
contested their respective Centre Championships but
Wellington’s Peter Hanson performs better in his age group
over sprint distances, while Dave Eastmond is the reverse
and prefers the longer/middle distance races.
Lisa Cross won the
Senior Women’s title last year and this year she’s entered
the masters. Expect her to win the W35 title and be first MW
overall. Otago’s Kristy Eyles ran the senior women’s grade
in her Centre Champs, claiming second, and she will be one
of two W35s trying to keep up with Lisa. The other is
Auckland’s Anwen Robinson, who finished third in the senior
women’s grade at the Auckland Centre Champs. It’s hard to
see anyone else taking a podium spot. The chasing pack
trying to defy that prediction will be led by Wellingtonians
Anna Douglas and Sally Duffy.
None of last year’s
W40 medallists are running but the W40 field boasts some
talent and we could have some close races. Mel Stevens won
the Wellington and North Island Champs, while Jo Ramsay won
the Canterbury and South Island Champs. Last year these two
finished five seconds apart. The W40 race should therefore
be between these two and it may well remain undecided until
the final few hundred metres. Mel Aitken is another one to
watch. This race may be a tad short for her to make her mark
and she is also running the senior grade later in the day.
Kirstin Foley and Renae Creser are probably the best of the
rest.
The W45s have some
closely matched runners. Wellington’s Katie Jenkins and
Canterbury’s Jin Flanagan are the ones to contend with being
labelled favourites. Katie was the 2018 silver medallist and
took third in the North Islands, although she didn’t run the
Wellington Champs. Jin won the Canterbury Champs and was
second at South Islands. Third is an open race. Michelle Van
Looy should keep clear of fourth spot to win the final
podium place.
There is only one
team in the W35-49 section. Auckland are one short of a
team, so Wellington will have a domestic race between team
mates to decide who gets the medals for the four counting
team spots.
In the W50s,
Auckland’s Sian Dawson starts as the favourite but she will
be chased by team mate Sue Parcell. The battle for third
place is another domestic rivalry: Manawatu-Wanganui’s Dale
McMillan will look to repeat her performance from the Centre
Champs where she finished a couple of places ahead of Di
Matthews.
There’s a good sized
W55 field. Defending champion Sally Gibbs is the obvious
pick for the win. I understand Sally is still not quite 100%
but she won the W55s at North Islands by four minutes and
also took out the Waikato senior title. Wellington’s
Victoria Humphries should be second, with one of Carline
Thomas or Christine Lear following. Helen Willis is the dark
horse hoping to force her way into the medals.
The W60 race is an
all-North Island affair and includes the first four W60s
from the North Island Champs. The winner of that race was
the Auckland Champ Margie Peat. Back running after some time
off is former NZ World Cross Country rep Lesley Graham.
Lesley won the Wellington Champs and has been dominant in
the grade in Wellington interclub races this season. It
should be a great race between her and Margie. For third, Jo
Speary will have Judith Taylor in close attention in a
repeat of their race in Taupo where Jo finished just 11
seconds ahead of Judith at the North Islands.
We only have one W65
and one W70, meaning Joy Baker and Barbara Patrick will need
to look to the W60 racers for company.
In the W50+ ranks,
Wellington are the only centre with a team so they will be
the inaugural W50 Team Champions. Both Manawatu-Wanganui and
Auckland are a single runner shy of a team. One wonders if
the other centres have forgotten about the new W50 teams
division.
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