2014 Yearly Report

26 January 2014 - Tim Erickson gets a Gong

Caboolture Dusk to Dawn, Caboolture, QLD, 8-9 February 2014   

Coburg 6 Hour Track Championships, VIC, 23 February 2014

Coburg 24 Hour Carnival, VIC, 5-6 April 2014

Sri Chinmoy 24 Hour Championship, Blacktown, NSW, 14-15 June 2014

Australian Centurions 24 Hour Walk, Middle Park, VIC, 4-5 October 2014

The weekend of 4-5 October 2014 saw the annual Australian Centurions 24 Hour walk, hosted once again by the Victorian Race Walking Club at Middle Park in inner Melbourne. Alas, the fields were disappointingly small (3 in the 24 Hour, 1 in the 12 Hour and 4 in the 6 Hour) but those who did turn out were well prepared and ready to race!  The gun, which was fired at midday on Saturday, signalled the start for the 24 Hour entrants (Terry and Kary O'Neill and Saul Richardson) and the sole 12 Hour entrant (Michelle Thompson). Unfortunately, they had to endure a long afternoon of very blustery and hot conditions, with the temperature peaking around 30C, and it was not until early evening that the weather abated and the cooler night time hours offered some relief. The 6 Hour walkers (John Kilmartin, Clarrie Jack, Steve Jordan and Ken Carter) joined the fray at the 18 hour mark, walking the final 6 hours of the event on Sunday morning and finishing when the final gun was fired at midday on the Sunday.

The highlight was provided by Michelle Thompson (C 58) in the 12 Hour walk. She set a conservative pace at the start but when the temperature cooled she kept powering on to record a distance of 101.66km for the 12 hours - yet another fantastic achievement.  The 6 Hour walk saw a classic tussle between John Kilmartin and Clarrie Jack  (C 4), nothing separating them for 4 hours until John had to have a pit stop. Clarrie saw his opportunity, put the pace on, built a handy lead and held it to the finish. Both Clarrie and John walking in excess of 50 km and it was a PB For John. In the 24 Hour event,Terry O'Neill (C 18) built a handy lead early before being forced to retire after 10 hours. This left his wife Karyn O'Neill(C 45) to fly the family flag, going on to record the longest overall distance of 133.75km, ahead of Saul Richardson with 100.00 km.

Malaysian 12 Hour walk, Seremban, Malaysia, 6-7 December 2014

VALE Jim Gleeson C3: 1931 - 2014

It is with great sadness that I must advise members of the untimely passing of Jim Gleeson (C 3). Jim, aged 83, was one of our greatest Australian Centurions and the memory of his feats will live long in our memories. You can read more athttp://www.centurions.org.au/centprofiles/03%20jim%20gleeson.pdf.

VALE Steve Jordan C64: 1957 - 2014

It is my sad task to pass onto our centurion walking fraternity the news that Australian Centurion Steve Jordan (C 64) died on the evening of Monday 15 December after a battle with cancer. Steve was also well known to the wider racewalking and fun run communities in Melbourne as he had been a semi-regular walker in Victorian Race Walking Club road races since around 2008 and a regular fun run attendee throughout Victoria for many years. His last race was in the 6 Hour walk event at our 2014 Australian Centurions 24 Hour Carnival in October. He was already very ill by that stage but wished to participate in the sport that he loved as long as he could.

It is hard to believe that Steve has now left us – it was only in June of last year that he joined the ranks of the Australian Centurions as C-64, walking 100 miles in less than 24 hours in the Sri Chinmoy 24 Hour event in Sydney. At that stage, he was a fit as the proverbial Mallee bull. Who could have guessed what was lurking around the corner. At that stage I published a short biography on Steve. I have now updated it to more fully act as a suitable rememberance. It makes for inspirational reading: http://www.centurions.org.au/centprofiles/64%20steve%20jordan.pdf.

Steve's passing makes us reflect on the fragility of life and the precious nature of our relationships with our friends. I had visited him on a few occasions in hospital over the last couple of weeks of his life and was able to make my goodbyes as best I could.

Our thoughts are with his sister Carol and her husband Steve and son Kye. Steve was an integral part of their family as well as ours.

VALE Stan Miskin C23: 1925 - 2014

Coming so quickly after the death of Steve Jordan (C64), it is my sad duty to tell our fellow Australian Centurions of the death of Stan Miskin (C 23) who passed away in hospital around 4AM on Sunday 21 December 2014, aged 89. Stan suffered a serious stroke the previous Wednesday and it was so severe that there was little hope of recovery. He hung on long enough for various family members to fly home to see him, but four days later his body gave out.

Stan was a legend of both the ultra running and of the ultra walking community. I have updated his centurion biography to now reflect his passing. See http://www.centurions.org.au/centprofiles/23%20stan%20miskin.pdf.

In typical fashion, Stan donated his body for medical purposes so there was no funeral but we were able to attend his memorial service on Wednesday 24 December at 10AM in the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Berwick.

Records in 2014

 2014 was a bumper year with lots of records falling to our talented walkers.