2008 Winter Race Fixture & Competition Information
The 2008 VMA Winter Program 
(67kb) is available [left-click to view, right-click to save].
New Calendars for Event Notification and Venue Shedules
Check out:
- the new Event Calendar, accessible via the left-hand menu, to view all programmed events of significance for VMA members - includes major inter-venue events;
- the new Venue Schedule Calendar, to view the night-of-the-week schedule and times for each of the VMA venues - winter or summer seasons; and,
- the Venue Locations and Contacts list for links to venue location maps/satellite photos - zoom in or out for required detail.
World Record in One-Hour Run
A brilliant exhibition of sustained speed and stamina saw Kilsyth runner Lavinia Petrie break the world record for the Women's 65-69 age group one-hour run at the Victorian Masters' Athletics meeting at Doncaster on September 29.
Petrie, who turned 65 only two weeks earlier, covered 13,406 metres in the VMA Doncaster venue's feature event, The Sixty Minutes, to add 939 metres to the previous mark set by Berthilia De Preter of Belgium in 1996. Petrie replaces De Preter as the only dual world record holder in the book, having run a W60-64 record of 13,823 in The Sixty Minutes in 2003.
Petrie, who is club captain of VMA, was delighted with her run, saying it was a bonus after her previous world record. "I thought I could do it," she said, "but it's not as simple as that. You have to be in form and uninjured on the night, then you have to get the right conditions."
As it turned out, the night was perfect for distance running and most of the field exceeded their personal expectations.
- East Burwood veteran Bob Lewis, 80, claimed an Australian record for the Men's 80-84 age-group with a run of 10,850, which added 977 metres to the record set by the late Ken Matchett in the 2004 edition of The Sixty Minutes.
- Collingwood runner Ted Paulin, 70, had the distinction of covering the greatest distance on the night when he completed 13,659 metres to claim the Victorian record in the M70-74 division.
- The sprint part of the program was dominated by one of Doncaster's emerging stars, Katrina Philip, 46, who scored a winning treble, taking divisions of the 100, 200 and 300 metres, her 200 metres in a personal best time of 32.0 seconds.
D & C Browne Shield - Final update - Sep 08
The final results for this year's competitions are available via the 'VMA Championships' link. In the inter venue competition Knox responded to the challenge from Collingwood with a big finish to retain the shield quite comfortably. With the largest number of high-standard distance runners this is going to be the case and congratulations go to them for a fine overall performance. Other venues do have the potential to challenge them, as the scoring in the final round shows but it is up to them to mount a consistent effort over the whole season. Collingwood held on to second by a mere 3 points from Croydon who benefitted from a mighty run by Bronwen Cardy. Other venues such as Coburg, Aberfeldie and Mentone also produced big scores and showed that this could be a great competition with regular support. Coburg actually scored more in one race than they had in the previous 4 races combined.
In the men's competition last year's winner Paul Twining again produced a top line performance with an 85.96% run to seal a very well deserved victory. Special mention also goes to second and third placegetters Bob Lewis (EB) and Bill Page (Aberfeldie). Bob is 80 and Bill 78 and to perform at such a high standard over all 5 events is a testament to their ability and determination. Other runners to complete all 5 events were Mal Grimmett (Springvale) and Ian U'ren (Knox).
In the women's competition the "runaway" winner was Bronwen Cardy who finished with a 96.95% effort to cap off a stellar season. Bronwen averaged an astounding 95% over the 5 events to prove herself as one the world's finest distance runners. Club Captain Lavinia Petrie almost managed to match Bronwen's final % with 96.55% to move into second place. Lavinia was not well on the night of the 10k track run and had to retire so missed out on points in that event. Petrina Trowbridge did not run in the half marathon but did wonderfully well in the other events and took third place.
Over the whole season we had 109 men and 32 women compete in the 5 events. The scoring system was discussed at the recent venue managers meeting and will be discussed at committee level soon. Some people have expressed concern that the competitions cater for the highest performing athletes. Whilst acknowledging this we need to remember that they are new competitions and do not replace anything so nothing was lost when they were introduced plus we have also introduced random prizes so that all competitors have an equal chance of winning worthwhile prizes.
Certainly our medals reward the winners in each age division but as we all know it can be much easier to win in some age divisions than others depending on how the birthdays line up. With these competitions those irregularities are compensated for so that the best and most consistent performers are rewarded. - Alan Lucas
