Race Previews 2021

This Sunday sees the running of the Devonport/Burnie Toyota/Wild Ride Cycles Wynyard to Burnie Feature race.

This event, which is the richest and most prestigious of the season, is run over 17.6 kilometres, starting outside the post office and ends with a lap of West Park oval giving spectators a good view of the finish. The first runner away, Brett Riley, will commence his journey at 9:30 with the winner expected to finish at around 11:15

All members would like to add their name to the honour board listing previous winners, but only one will have that privilege. To win, a number of factors have to come together, but principal is a quality, injury-free preparation to enable a competitor to utilise the handicap provided.

The best of the frontmarkers looks to be Darlene Jacques who will be second runner away and prove very hard to catch while Kathy Franks also has a strong chance.

Best of the middlemarkers look to be Steven Tammens, John Saltmarsh, Nigel Baptist, Gerard Lowry and Rhian Miles. Miles especially will be very hard to beat after great recent results.

Any of several backmarkers would not surprise and be deserving winners. Mark Saint-John, Bryan Tuit, Lukas Pilkington, Shaun Batten and Tom Murton are all top chances but co-markers Ben Brockman and Josh Febey look to be the two most likely to take the victory and could run together the whole way before contesting a sprint finish on the oval.

Following the race there will be a luncheon at The Point for members and their families.

There will be no nominated time event this week.

Race Notes
• Meet at Goliath Park in Giblin Street
• Head down Giblin Street and turn right into Ennis Ave. Stay on RHS of road
• This turns left into Dowbiggin St
• Proceed south on Dowbiggin St and across the mainroad at the marshal
• Continue further on Dowbiggin St and turn right at the marshal onto the old Trainline which will take you through to Sunnyside Road
• Veer right on Sunnyside road and continue back to the main road.
• Stay on RHS of road until crossed over by a marshal.
• Proceed left around the corner of New Bed Road. Cross safely onto the RHS of NewBed Road.
• Take a big breath because here comes the hill!
• Proceed up ….and up…and up NewBed Road. At the top it will bring you along the top of the hill and turn right to bring you back down to a T junction.
• Turn right and stay on RHS of road to proceed back to Ennis Ave. Fingers and witches hats will guide you along the path to the finish in Goliath Park where we started.

Notes
Although Railton is usually quiet on Sunday mornings, keep to the right hand side of all roads and be aware of any traffic.
3 Marshals are required for this event. Anyone prepared to help in this regard, please see Gerard Lowry.
This race is a deferred penalty race; handicaps are done for the feature race.
*Special note, it is possible on this race to take home the chocolates without winning. 😊

The Club will be providing sandwiches but we ask members to support the luncheon.

Could those with family names beginning A to M please bring a plate of savoury to share and those with family names beginning N to Z please bring a plate of sweet to share. Thank you!

Emma Turner will be able to bring your dishes from Wynyard to the function if you want to drive straight through to the start.

Handicaps for the 2021 Feature Race:

Railton is the venue this Sunday for the penultimate race of the season as members compete in the House of Anvers ten kilometre handicap.

The course is a circuit, starting at Goliath Park and is affectionately described as flat with one hill. However, that one hill, is a long and high one and presents a good challenge.

This is the final race before the major race of the season – the Wynyard to Burnie Feature Race – and, as is traditional, the victor will not receive a penalty for winning until the end of the season. Therefore, competitors can go all-out knowing a win will not affect their handicap for the “big one” the following week.

In addition. with only two races left, time is running out for those close to a victory to make use of all the training of the last months.

Steve Tammens ran second last week in his best result for the year so he is certainly one who is peaking at just the right time. He could definitely go one better on Sunday.

Aaron Robertson looks to have overcome a niggling injury and will be a strong chance while Josh Febey has been running strongly every week without breaking through and that could happen here.

Other good chances look to be Michael Taylor, Gerard Lowry, who trains on this course, Lyn Saint-John and Paul Birch.

Entries will close at 6:00pm on Friday, with the race starting at 9:30. New runners are always welcome with information available at www.pccct.org.

A nominated time event will be conducted at 9:00.

Please don’t forget to do your Tassie COVID-19 checkin.

The meeting place is at the Berry Patch at Turners Beach which will be available for coffees/ice-creams and/or brunch after the race.

The course: Starting at the Berry Patch, run towards the river, almost to the train bridge, where you cross the railway line (care needed!) and enter the bush, following the path back to the left around the marshy area.

Please note: there are some muddy puddles in this section so consider wearing old footwear if you want to plough through them rather than go around. Please take care.

When you arrive at Lukin Street, turn right and then right again, into the bush. DON’T run down the grassy lane.

Follow the arrows, witches’ hats and path out onto the end of the Esplanade. Run on the river/beach side of the Esplanade eventually turning left past where the old service station used to be. Continue to Lethborg Avenue and turn right. The turn is about 200 metres along. Return exactly the same way as you ran out, again staying on the beach/river side of the Esplanade (so we don’t have to worry about the streets).

It will be well marked with witches’ hats, arrows and fingers.

La Mar Café is closed for renos so that there will be no issue with traffic there. Just be careful with the traffic on the Esplanade.

This Sunday runners head to the Berry Patch at Turners Beach for the Rod and Judith Priestley seven-kilometre handicap. In contrast to last week’s race, which incorporated the tough slog up Brickport Road, this course is out-and-back and completely flat. It does, however, have a section of trail running which many members enjoy.

This is the last shorter race for the season with the final two races being over 10km and 17.5km so those who prefer this sort of distance have their last chance for a win.

Of course, there can only be three more winners this year, and there are many runners who have been performing consistently well and keen to win one of the three.

One of the best chances looks to be Rhian Miles, an athlete in her first year with the Club and who has only had a handful of starts. However, she has impressed with her improvement and ran a strong seventh last week. A similar effort will make her very hard to beat.

Jason Scott was another who showed up last week and is very close to a win and it could come here.

Steven Tammens has been gradually getting closer and a victory would not surprise.

Others who have been close to a win without breaking through include Josh Febey, Paul Pilkington, Gerard Lowry, Lyn Saint-John and Nigel Lacey and any of these could break through.

New runners are welcome and must register for membership and enter by 6pm Friday on the Club website www.pccct.org.

The race will start at 9:30am while nominated time events will be held at 9:00.

Entries for the Club’s premier event, the Devonport/Burnie Toyota and Wild Ride Cycles Wynyard to Burnie Feature Race to be held on September 12 close this Sunday at 11:59pm.

Don’t forget to do your Tassie COVID checkin.

The race starts at the Howe Street Netball Centre.

Exit Howe street on to West Park Grove staying on the left. Enter the top gate of West Park and stay on the path to exit the gates at the bottom.

Take care going down the path as it may be slippery.

Stay on the footpath until Brickport Road. Please ensure at you run up Button Avenue and then back down onto the footpath. DO NOT run on the road.

Continue up Brickport Road on the left footpath or extreme left of the road until just before the roundabout at Futuna Avenue/Uplands Place where you will crossed to the right. After the roundabout, you will be crossed back to the left.

Please note: you must ONLY cross at the marked points.

Continue to West Park Grove and stay on the left to re-enter Howe Street and on to the finish.

You will be crossing several streets including the main entrance into the hospital. Please take care and always check carefully before crossing. You are responsible for your own safety.

As the season heads towards its pointy end, runners are preparing for race 23 – the McLean, McKenzie and Topfer Big Six 6km handicap at Burnie.

The course is a circuit starting and finishing at the Howe Street Netball Centre and uses West Park Grove, the Bass Highway and Brickport Road. It requires runners to be proficient at steep gradients, both downhill and uphill.

With only three races left in the season, runners without a win this year will be looking to make all the training payoff by taking out a victory in one of those races.

Nigel Baptist has shown good form all year, constantly making an entry into “the ten”. Now in his third year with the club, he looks well due for a win and it could certainly come here.

Two weeks ago, in a race similar in distance and terrain, he was fifth, not far from the winner and was eighth the week before at Gunns Plains.

Other competitors whose recent form gives them top chances include Joshua Febey, Dallas van Rooyen and Nigel Lacey.

If there was a surprise it could come from Rhian Miles who is showing great promise in her first season with the Club.

Entries close at 6:00pm on Friday with the race beginning at 9:30. New runners are always welcome but must register for membership first. Both registration and entries can be done at www.pccct.org.

There will be a nominated time event at 9:00.

This week there are two events being conducted concurrently over the same course – the AJL Heavy Equipment Half Marathon and the Stevo and Salty’s Half Marathon Teams’ Race.

The half marathon races will start at 9.30am. Competitors need to wear a race bib, which will be provided, to identify which race they are in and what team. It is a flat, out-and-back course. As sections of the race is on public roads runners are asked run with caution and obey any directions from race officials. Runners need to supply their own drinks in clearly marked bottles. There will be a tub for drinks at the start which will be taken to the race turn.

The races start at the Turners Beach Football Club, Henry Street, Turners Beach. The course starts with a clockwise lap of the oval heads out of the ground on Henry Street and runners then turn left onto Susan Street and left again onto Boyes Street. There will be a race official at the junction of Boyes Street and The Esplanade to turn the runners left and onto the right-hand side of The Esplanade. Runners continue on the right-hand side of the road to the coastal pathway through to Beach Road. The runners join the Fairway Park pathway near to Ulverstone Surf Club, continue along the pathway past Otto’s Grotto and take the top footpath at the wharf and onto the Ulverstone Bridge. The race heads right off the bridge footpath onto the coastal walkway next to the Leven River to Maud Street. At Maud Street runners turn right into Braddon Street and continue on the right-hand side to the turn just before the Ulverstone Tennis Courts where there will be a drink station. The teams’ second runner commences their run at the turn. Runners return on the same course to the finish at the Turners Beach Football Ground.

Post-race presentations will take place in the Turners Beach Club clubrooms. There will be free soup, tea and coffee available for runners, volunteers and supporters. There are toilet and shower facilities available.

This Sunday sees the running of the AJL Lifestyle/AJLYamaha half marathon.

The 21.1 kilometre event will commence at the Turners Beach football ground and take competitors to West Ulverstone and back using the cycle/walk tracks in the area.

The terrain is mostly flat but the classic distance is a good test of stamina as that flatness usually means faster running rates so care is needed not to go too hard, too early.

There are many Club members who have been in great form and picking a winner is difficult.

One runner who improves greatly over these longer distances and has been showing a win is imminent is John Saltmarsh. He was fourth in the Ironman over 25km in early July and the three runners who finished in front of him in that race are not running this week.

Kelly Baxter was a great sixth in that event and will be hard to beat on Sunday while others who will be well suited include Ben Brockman, Josh Febey and previous winner, Chris Talbot.

Following the success of the teams’ race at the marathon, the Club has decided to hold another as part of this event and there are 22 teams of two which have entered the Salty and Stevo teams’ half-marathon. Each team member will run 10.55km.

Entries have closed for these events, both of which start at 9:30.

There will be a nominated time event at 9:00.