Tauranga Cross Country 2019 Results

Report by Tanja Miller

The annual Tauranga Cross Country was held on Saturday 25th May 2019 at Waipuna Park.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and if anything it was a little too hot! There was lots of sunshine, no wind and the track was firm underfoot.

Unfortunately I was injured and unable to run, which left me feeling a bit sorry for myself!  However I did get to watch some great racing from the sidelines and cheer on my children when they ran. It was disappointing to see small fields this year but those who did compete raced with enthusiasm and dedication.

The highlight for me, as a triathlete myself, was the women’s 4km event. The race was dominated by up and coming youth triathletes who were the 1st, 2nd and 3rd runners home. A very strong Hannah Knighton ( U/20) was shadowed by Charli Miller (U/18) for most of the race. Hannah managed to get away to take the win in a time of 15 mins from Charli who was 8 seconds back. Third place went to Olivia Cummings (U/18) a talented triathlete from Tauranga in 15:23.

Once again Tauranga Ramblers produced a well run event with lots of prizes. It was especially exciting for the younger runners who each received a little goody bag after their race. My son enjoyed the banana, mini bag of chips and Mars bar that were in his. It was a nice reward for having to run up the dreaded Waipuna hill!
Thanks Tauranga Ramblers and see you in 2020! (hopefully I’ll be able to run at the next one!)