The 2010 Coburg 24 Hour Carnival was expanded in concept and spread over 2 weekends, with the 6 Hour events being held on Sunday 7th March and the 24 Hour events being held on the weekend of 17th - 18th April.

Coburg 6 Hour Track Championships
Harold Stevens Athletics Track, Coburg
Sunday 7 March 2010

The 6 hour races had been held 6 weeks earlier on Sunday 7 March. Of the field of 35 entrants, there were 14 walkers and, while few of our top walkers were there, it was still an enthusiastic group of participants, ably led by centurion member Terry O'Neill. Special mentions to Alex Poore who came second in the men's event at 71 years of age and to Michelle Thompson who won the women's walk in her first ever competitive walk (Michelle is a well credentialled ultra runner) and broke the Australian W40 6 Hour record into the bargain. The placings were as follows

Coburg 24 Hour Track Championships
Harold Stevens Athletics Track, Coburg
17-18 April 2010

The Australian Centurions was pleased to see Peter Bennett (C 24) reach the 100 mile mark for the ninth time in his career but he was the only walker to do so, alas, we have no new Centurions to report so far this year.

A total of 35 walkers and runners contested the 24 Hour weekend with the starter's gun being fired at 10AM on the Saturday morning in sunny and warm conditions. As the Melbourne temperature quickly soared towards 30oC, competitors were faced with the daunting prospect of some 7 hours under full sun before any relief could be expected. Although most started conservatively, the effect was soon obvious and by 4PM, the scene was reminiscent of the final few hours on a Sunday morning rather than the 6 Hour mark. When the day finally gave way to night, most were able to respond but for many the damage was done and the night saw a number of key withdrawals or extended rest periods. Most were back on the track on the Sunday morning for the final few hours and a good crowd was on hand to witness the final gun sound at 10AM.

Peter Bennett, with a PB of 214km, was expected to be in a class of his own in the men's walk and so it proved. Passing the 6 Hour mark with 51.750km, he was already some 5km ahead of fellow centurion walkers Ian Valentine with 46.368km and Terry O'Neill with 45.540km. By the 12 hour mark he had covered 96.876km as against 87.768km for Ian and 81.972km for Terry. But the second half saw him slow like so many of the other competitors and his eventual winning distance of 171.968km was well below his expectations. But it was still his 9th walk in excess of 100 miles and it did allow us to see this wonderful walker for the first time at Coburg. Behind him, devastation reigned as the field imploded with experienced ultra walkers dropping by the wayside. Amongst the carnage, John Timms, better known for his running exploits, kept his eyes straight ahead and worked his way through the field, eventually finishing second with a very creditable 142.162km. Doug McKay, another walker who managed to keep going, took third with 133.983km.

Like in the run, only two starters toed the line in the women's 24 Hour walk, centurion walker Karyn O'Neill and former ultra running star Dawn Parris. It was Dawn who strode to an early lead, covering 42.642km in the opening 6 hours to lead Karyn by some 6km. By the 12 hour mark, she had increased her lead to 8km with a split of 79.488km. But soon after midnight, she stopped for a rest, allowing Karyn to take the lead after another couple of hours and pass the 100km mark first, thus winning the associated Australian 100km walk championship. Dawn, now back on the track, slowly clawed the lead back as daybreak came. She then went on to win with 134.119km while Karyn took a number of breaks, content to stroll through to 121.263km.

AUSTRALIAN 100 KM WALK CHAMPIONSHIPS

CENTURION WALK QUALIFIERS

The Jack Webber Trophy was awarded to Peter Bennett for the most meritorious Centurion performance on the day