Hamilton Marathon Clinic

Newsletter. January 2021.

Little did we know this time last year what was ahead of us. Hopefully 2021 will give us a bit more certainty
in the club and our events. We were fortunate to get the Blueberry and a few half marathons in when
everything came to a grinding halt. Thousands of non-runners and walkers were pounding the streets to
get out of the house during lockdown. Then the new type of event “The virtual” started and everyone who
entered could find distances to suit.
Cancellations and postponements were numerous, events with spread out starts of bubbles of less than a
hundred, Aucklanders not allowed to run during their second lockdown, and a congested finish to the year
with multiple events the same days, we had it all.
Sadly, our Patron, Bernie Fitz-Gerald passed away in November. Bernie was an enthusiastic runner and
keen supporter of the club and will be sadly missed by the club members.

Jago Cup.

This event was started in the late 80s by Hamilton Roadrunners – then Y road runners. It was the traditional
relay for runners of the three clubs HMC, RR and Te Awamutu Marathon Clinic. John Jago was a jeweller in
Frankton and a very keen Road Runners Stalwart.
HMC recognised the need to separate the walkers from the runners so donated the HMC walker’s trophy in
the 90s. The events are rotated between the three clubs year by year.
Following the unfortunate death of Percy Lawn at the Jago cup relay at HMC clubrooms (he was a member
of Te Awamutu Marathon Clinic) they donated a trophy for the host club to present to a deserving member
of their choice.
This year the clubs agreed with a suggestion by RR to tweak the rules to revigorated the event. Teams
had to estimate their total combined time for the event and no timing devises used, with the team finishing
closest to their estimated time the winners.
The event was held in good spirit and had the desired effect with Te Awamutu winning the walking section
and HMC the running. Next year will see Te Awamutu hosting the event, so it will be interesting to see if
there is any fine tuning to how it is run.

Running

Team Estimate Time Actual Time Faster than Slower than Placing
expected expected
HMC - Michael 1.52.17 1.52.02 0.00.15 1
HRR - Rebecca 1.58.50 1.57.12 0.01.38 2
HRR - Glen 1.44.20 1.41.50 0.02.30 3
HRR - James 2.00.00 1.57.10 0.02.50 4
HRR - Vicky 2.00.00 1.56.11 0.03.49 5
HMC - Denyse 1.53.30 1.47.21 0.06.09 6
HRR - Sonja 1.57.00 1.49.16 0.07.44 7
Walkers

Team Estimate Time Actual Time Faster than Slower than Placing
expected expected
TAMC- Hillary 2.12.23 2.11.34 0.00.49 1
HRR - Marlin 2.06.00 2.09.45 0.03.45 2
HRR - Heather 2.07.10 2.11.28 0.04.18 3
TAMC - Ross 2.31.22 2.24.37 0.06.45 4
HRR - Lee 2.02.00 1.54.29 0.07.31 5
HMC - Carol 2.13.00 2.03.39 0.09.21 6
HMC - Ross 2.00.00 1.50.00 0.10.00 7
HMC - Wilf 2.23.00 2.11.27 0.11.33 8
HRR - Neil 2.05.00 2.20.07 0.15.07 9
TAMC- Christine 2.11.54 1.55.42 0.16.12 10
Coming Events December and early New Year.

9/1 River Trail Summer sizzler Mangakino 6, 11, 22

12/1 Club Tuesday night restart Clubrooms 5.30pm
17/1 Club Sunday walk /run restart Clubrooms 8.00am
17/1 Womans Half Marathon Villa Maria
Mangere
19/1 Club Run or walk Clubrooms 5.30pm
23/1 Mount run Mt Maunganui 5, 10, ½ marathon
24/1 Club Walk /run and Blueberry Jarys Road Meet at Blueberry Country –
pick Jarys Road Ohaupo – 8.30am
8km and blueberry picking
/coffee
26/1 Club Run or walk Clubrooms 5.30pm
30/1 Tussock Traverse Tongariro 6, 12, half, 32, 50
31/1 Sunday walk /Run Clubrooms 8.00am
5 -14th Feb NZ Masters Games Whanganui Various
13/2 Tarawera Ultra Marathon Rotorua Various
14/2 Blueberry walk/run trial for club Ohaupo 8.00am Ohaupo School
helpers
21/2 Blueberry run Ohaupo We need all club members to
assist with this on the day.
27/2 The Goat Adventure Run Tongiriro
28/2 Glenview run Glenview club 5, 10km
6/3 Mauao Half Marathon Mt Maunganui Half Marathon, Half Relay
7/3 Rotorua Off road Half Marathon Rotorua 5, 10, 21
7/3 Waipa Fun Run Cambridge 5, 10
14/3 Maraetai Half Marathon Beachlands - Auk 5,10, 1/2
14/3 Run the runway 5km Hamilton Airport
20/3 Pauanui Half Marathon Pauanui 5, 10 , half
20/3 -21/3 Rotorua Walking festival Rotorua various

Members Results.
Tois Challenge Run Jenny Brady 3.13.37
Tois challenge walk Steve Spalding 4.05.32
Rotorua Off road 10km walk Luanda Young 1.19.32 4th Overall
Craters 12km walk Keith Flockhart 2 overall. 1st Male (1st Taupo trail series)
nd

Huntly Half Marathon Run Michael Robinson 1.31.37 34th Overall

Huntly Half Marathon Run Denyse Graham 1.57.03 4th Age Group
Huntly Half Marathon Run Anna O’Connell 1.58.55 6th Age Group
Huntly Half Marathon Run Jenny Brady 2.08.11 6th Age Group
Huntly Half Marathon Run Paula Leckie 2.08.17 7th Age Group
Huntly Half Marathon Run Iudina Gibbons 2.38.53 31st age group
Huntly Half Marathon Run Heather Flay 3.08.59 6th age group
Huntly Half Marathon Walk Ross Murphy 2.22.50 2nd overall 1st Male 1st age group
 Huntly Half Marathon Walk Keith Flockhart 2.36.22 5th Overall 2nd Male 2nd age group
Huntly Half Marathon Walk Carol Downey 2.47.03 6th Female 1st age group
Huntly Half Marathon Walk Sarah Campbell 2.53.32 10th female 3rd age group
Huntly Half Marathon Walk Dennis Jordan 2.56.34 8th Male
Huntly 10km walk Neal Utting 1.22.30 13th Overall
Huntly 10km walk Steve Spalding 1.26.16 19th Overall
Omaha 10km walk Keith Flockhart 1.13.12 4th overall, 3rd male, 1st age group.
Whanganui Marathon walk Dennis Jordan 6.14.02
Whanganui Marathon Lex Chalmers 5.36.16

Club Championship and Prizegiving

In line with what was happening this year the club championship ended up a bit of a drawn out affair with
cancellations playing a big part. Our normal half we use, Hamilton was cancelled, Cambridge another
possibility was cancelled, Huntly were cancelled but rescheduling meant it was possible to use their event
but as it was not till end of November it did drag things out, meaning the prizegiving was finally held in
December. As a one off all those who completed 3 rounds but did not do the half marathon and so not
eligible for the championships were recognised this year with being awarded a club medal. This included
our timekeepes and those who prepared the morning teas – a vital part of the events.

Below is listed the final points.

Final Points.
Men Runners 5km 10km 15km 21km
Time Pl Pts Time Pl Pts Time Pl Pts Time Pl Pts Champs Champs
Total place points
Name Pts
Michael Robinson 19:53 1 10 44.31 2 9 1.05.07 1 10 1.31.37 1 10 39 1 30
Joel Collings 19:59 2 9 56.09 6 5 14
Andrew Collings 21:51 4 7 50.53 4 7 14
Lex Chalmers - 73.45 8 3 1.55.15 2 9 12
Mike Ward 24:53 6 5 56.11 7 4 9
Luke McDonald 47.43 3 8 8
Pete Young 51.33 11 1 - 1
Women Runners

Denyse Graham 24:33 1 10 53.35 1 10 1.18.55 1 10 1.57.03 1 10 40 1 30

Anna O’Connell 26:04 4 7 53.38 2 9 1.19.04 2 9 1.58.55 2 9 34 2 27
Paula Leckie 28:50 5 6 65.36 3 8 1.42.57 4= 7 2.08.17 4 7 28 3 22
Jenny Brady 31:25 6 5 70.15 5 6 1.42.57 4= 7 2.08.11 3 8 26 4 21
Dina Gibbons - 70.04 4 7 1.45 6 5 2.38.53 5 6 18 5 18
Kirsten Collings 24:33 2 9 1.30.02 3 8 17
Anneliese Collings 25:25 3 8 74.53 6= 5 13
Junior/lesser competitive

Male
Zavier Collings 12:48 1 10 23.04 1 10 19.53 1 10 30 1 Medal
Female
Analiese Collings 12:48 1 10 23.10 1 10 29.53 1 10 30 1 Medal
Men Walkers

Ross Murphy 33:00 1 10 67.56 1 10 1.41.30 1 10 2.22.50 1 10 40 1 30

Keith Flockhart 34:18 2 9 72.49 2 9 - 2.36.22 2 9 27 2 27
Dennis Jordan - 83.40 4 7 1.59.24 3 8 2.56.34 3 8 23 3 23
Wilf Johnston 36:23 3= 8 76.38 3 8 1.53.39 2 9 16 Medal
Neal Utting 41:37 5 6 84.57 5 6 2.11.34 4 7 12 Medal
Neil Crocker 36:23 3= 8 - 8
Noel Sandford 48:50 6 5 - 5
Women Walkers

Sarah Campbell 36:22 1 10 74.10 1 10 1.52.09 1 10 2.53.32 2 8 37 1 28

Carol Downey 39:07 2 9 80.54 3 8 1.59.21 3 8 2.47.03 1 10 35 2 27
Kirsty Murphy 40:03 3 8 77.00 2 9 1.53.39 2 9 26 Medal
Lois Bydder 41:37 4 7 83.40 4 7 2.11.34 4 7 21 Medal
Heather Flay 87.08 5 6 3.08.54 3 7 13
 BERNIE FITZ-GERALD
16-10-1931 to 24-11-2020

Bernie was born to run. Involved with

athletics for over 60 years, his early
interests included javelin and discus
throwing, and running in his teens as he
trained with his brother Laurie.
He joined the Hamilton Harriers early
1960’s and did a lot of cross country
running. Bernie went on to serve as a
Harriers’ Committee member, was their
President for a time, and then later
became a Life member. He joined the
Hamilton Marathon Clinic in 1979, one year after the inaugural Club was formed by Andy Galloway, Dr
Denis Friedlander and Dr Harry Nicholls. The world-wide Marathon boom grew in the early 1980’s with
hundreds joining clubs dedicated to long distance running, fitness and good health. Bernie went with it
- I believe he used to run at night after a normal working day in Hamilton, and then long hours and
distances most weekends with club members. We often finished a run with one or more trips up Radnor
Street, a steep hill near the Club rooms, at Bernie’s insistence!
He was very proud of the fact that he was part of the Ancient Flying Kiwis team that went to America
in 1989 where they ran an 8-day relay across two States.
He ran numerous marathons, his best was just under 3-hours, and he went on to win gold in the 800
metres (Mens aged 55) at the First Australian Masters Games in Tasmania in 1987. Bernie was also a
member of the NZ Veterans’ Athletics Association, L.I.F.E. Unlimited and a member/coach of the Achilles
Club - he travelled to America one year to support one of his Achilles trainees in the New York marathon.
The HMC membership grew within a few years to around 1300 members. Bernie was a group leader
giving good advice and encouragement to all. In time he qualified as a Level 2 Distance Coach, passing
with excellence. Often nominated onto the HMC Committee over the years, he was President from 1999
– 2001 and became a Life Member in 2000. Bernie was very entertaining with his quick wisecracks and
comments on most subjects. He always helped with the running of Club events, he was often last to
leave the Clubrooms after cleaning up, and in later years was always on the side lines encouraging all
Club members.
He was a man of great integrity. He was one of just 100 people of distinction who carried the Olympic
Torch in Auckland on 7th June 2000, part of the NZ leg of the relay to keep the flame going around the
world prior to the Sydney Olympic Games.
In December 2000 Bernie was presented with a Civic Award by the Mayor of Hamilton, in recognition of
his outstanding service given to the City of Hamilton particularly in the field of People and Wellbeing in
Sport.
Bernie the runner, leader, coach, mentor and friend to many – a true inspiration to all who knew him.

Carol Downey
December Member of the Month - Andrew Collings.

Andrew is this months member of the month. He is heavily involved in promoting our hobby, through the
club, the modern Pentathlon Goup and also Achilles Group. Andrew is a guide with Achilles which means he
will be that persons eyes and mentor while they training for the event and during the actual event.
Member of the Year.

Normally this trophy is awarded at the AGM but with the lockdown, the inability to get nominations and
voting completed the trophy was not decided till we got back underway mid-year and we decided we would
wait till the club championship prizegiving to actually award the trophy.

The worthy recipient this year is Ross Murphy who has been a club member for a few years and in that
time has gone from being a runner to a dedicated runner. Ross has been the go-to person the last few
years for organising the blueberry run. He has given a few comments below which are probably a wee bit
modest of what he does and his walking ability.

I want to thank the club for this award coming to me for 2019 – and the Covid delayed presentation. I felt a
bit awkward when presented so didn’t say much. It’s not an expectation when you are president to get this
but that’s often how it falls.
HMC has been part of my blood for 35 years and I have gained a lot from the club and its members so always
try to give back. I can only think this is in recognition for Blueberry and the Uniforms.
In saying this there are a lot of people deserving who do a lot for you all.

Pre-Event Briefings.
A Couple of interesting comments noted in pre-event briefings.
1. The walking section is for walkers. You need to walk the whole of the course. If you run even one
step you are a cheat and we don’ t like cheats.
2. If you are a walker and you start with the runners you become a runner and classified as such. You
want to be counted as a walker – start where you should with the walkers.
3. No form of locomotion other than walking or running is allowed – crawling is not allowed.

FINAL WORD FOR 2020

The committee thanks all of the members who stuck by us for 2020 when events made the world a very
changed place. It also saw us having to have some rapid changes on how the club was run but generally
we got through and were able to run most of our planned events. HMC is a club which caters for runners
and walkers of all abilities but at the same time we do have events such as our away Sunday runs and
coffees and dinners which allow some socialising. The committee is going to have a brain storm session
shortly to plan the year going forward and ask that if any members have any ideas or suggestions, they
would like to include for consideration that they put these in writing and forward to us in the next month.
This could be new events, changes to present events, in fact anything constructive to do with the club.