Random Ngaroto Relay 2020 Results
Report by Dave Gunn
Well summer is almost upon us, and Saturday was a near perfect day for a hard run around a picturesque lake. As an alternative to the NRR racing in Fielding we held our own NRR (Ngaroto Random Relay – or NgarotoNowhere….) out near Te Awamutu – a 3 person mixed relay event around the 5.9km track circumnavigating the lake.
Once (almost) everyone arrived – we set to, picking teams of matched ability – no mean feat – but Glenn had a plan…Line up fastest to slowest, split into 3 groups, shuffle, move about re-group and hey presto we have 6 x teams of 3, and 3 teams of 2 in the kids race…!
And with the invite extended to a couple of other clubs, Cambridge dispatched a team of hot shots to come and take us down…(Well it was actually the Reece-Jones family – but they all did really well..)
Then once racing order was decided within each team, names were taken, bibs handed out, and the first runners gathered at the start line in anticipation…
And off they went…
Once out of sight around the corner, the rest of us could relax and await their return….which should be around 26 mins for the first runners. However the kids 2 person race was a 1.5k out and back – so they were back in a flash, handed the batons over and the second and final runners were off…! Some really good racing here with some slick times, and 4 of the 6 runners within 10 secs of each other for their 3km – well done all…
The first of the adult runners back was Maureen in a great time of 26:35, followed by Sandra. Before long all the leg 2 runners were off, and by the time they got around the back of the lake, we could see there was only a few hundred metres separating them all at the midway point.
Back at base Rob was listening to all the ribbing and smack talk (all from fellow Hawks I might add…) about how Steve RJ was plotting his downfall, changing into racing flats etc, not helped by some mean fellow showing him how Steve was the current holder of the Strava CR for the full lap…Anyway, before you could say “head games” they were all back and the third and final lap was underway…Joe was first runner back from lap 2, followed closely by Chloe, with Gary hard on her heels. This meant Rob had a slender 5 second lead over Steve RJ, with the Lilly leading them out by 15 seconds…Well the inevitable happened and Steve RJ ran a blinder to take the win for his team (Wendy F, Garry, and Steve) in a respectable time of 1:16:57 for the 17.7km race…Congratulations.
Rob managed to maintain second spot (for Kaye, Chloe and himself) around 2 mins behind, but Chris Smith had another solid run to take the fastest lap time of any of the Hawks to bring his team of Maureen, Emily and himself home in 3rd.
Once the racing was over we stayed around to enjoy the weather, the outlook and a selection of sausages (vegetarian, gluten free, and meaty) from the BBQ.
In summary it was a really fun day with everyone in good spirits, and I think the consensus was we should definitely make it happen again next year…
Link to event photos <<here>>
No Ngaroto No
Report by Sandra Jensen
I’ve run around Lake Ngaroto plenty of times but have never raced around it.Its been well updated and cared for so the course is easy-ish to run with no hills and you cant get lost. I did prefer it when it was more ramshackle and random. When you’d have to climb a stile and run over what seemed like a paddock (are we allowed here?) and it had a few more bumps n lumps and character.
I don’t think too many people were lamenting the lack of road relays this year. 2020 has been the year of which we do not speak of. A soon to (hopefully) be distant memory of a year that bypassed us and shall be forgotten. Stuck in the back of the cupboard like those 80’s school photo albums.
But hey its always cool to do a new event and relays are the new black don’t ya know.Teams of three were picked and myself, Shona and Mark were the glamour squad. The president, a tattooed lady and a bodybuilder. Which also meant that poor Mark had no say in the order of the running. Who would argue with the president of the club?
I started, and brought us in at second place not too far behind Maureen. It was harder to race than I thought mainly as I didn’t like the very loose gravel for quite a bit. I had issues getting traction and by the time we got to the board walk of shame my legs were jelly. A slight sprint finish was necessary tho possibly not very glamorous. Dave had hoped to get a photo of me vomiting but not today Dave, not today…
Shona in all her ladylike splendor lost our lead but hey its a sunny day, we are out n about and who cares. Mark tried his damndest (we hope) and alas we did indeed come last but you know what…it doesn’t matter. we looked pretty good out there and we ran our hardest on a sunny, beautiful day. Kaye had beers for after, the snags were being cooked and I walked away with a near full loaf of gluten free bread.Its a win win!
6 out of 10 would run again.
Lets make it a new regular event.
| Adults Race | Place | |
| 20 | 1:16:57 | 1 |
| Wendy Fox | 32:29.2 | |
| Garry Wilson | 24:07.3 | |
| Steve Reece-Jones | 20:20.7 | |
| 22 | 1:19:29 | 2 |
| Kaye Sharp | 31:22.4 | |
| Chloe McDaniel | 25:10.3 | |
| Ron Townsend | 22:56.7 | |
| 23 | 1:20:22 | 3 |
| Maureen Leonard | 26:35.0 | |
| Emily Fyfe | 32:04.1 | |
| Chris Smith | 21:43.2 | |
| 27 | 1:21:26 | |
| Carenza Elley | 28:08.0 | |
| Vaughan Kestle | 29:47.8 | |
| Kevin Knowles | 23:30.4 | |
| 24 | 1:25:57 | |
| Peter Horan | 33:32.0 | |
| Joe Mace | 22:46.6 | |
| Lily James | 29:38.1 | |
| 25 | 1:26:09 | |
| Sandra Jensen | 28:06.4 | |
| Shona Dewson | 31:17.6 | |
| Mark Cornaga | 26:44.5 | |
| Kids Race | Place | |
| 26 | 25.56 | 1 |
| Jake | 13.33 | |
| Layton Mace | 12:23 | |
| 25 | 27.02 | 2 |
| Olivia | 13.31 | |
| Thea Mace | 13.31 | |
| 27 | 29.34 | 3 |
| Bronwen Reece-Jones | 13.23 | |
| Evan Reece-Jones | 16.11 |
