2017 Yearly Report
Coburg 6 Hour Championships, Coburg, Sunday 6 March 2017
The 2017 Coburg 6 Hour Track Championships were held on Sunday 5th March at the George Knott Reserve in Coburg, a northern Melbourne suburb. This annual event includes both run and walk divisions and always sees a smattering of our ultra distance walkers in attendance. I was there keeping a business eye on things as usual and all turned out well, with the weather kind and with a total of 35 starters (25 runners and 10 walkers) toeing the start line for the 6AM start. You might think 6AM a bit early to start but it was a good decision, with the sun breaking though the cloud at around 10:45AM, meaning the runners and walkers only had to worry about a relatively small period of tough conditions. As usual, runners contested in lane 2, with walkers in lane 3.
Overall, Australia’s best ultra walker Michelle Thompson won easily with 54.639km while Robin Whyte won the men’s division with 49.406km, breaking the current Australian M75 record. John Kilmartin (48.738km), Albin Hess(46.148km) and Karyn O’Neill (45.738km) all walked well and were each close to their respective PBs.
| Coburg 6 Hour Walk - Men | |||
| 1 | Robin Whyte | NSW | 49.406 km |
| 2 | John Kilmartin | VIC | 48.738km |
| 3 | Albin Hess | VIC | 46.148 km |
| 4 | John Timms | VIC | 38.287 km |
| 5 | Saul Richardson | ACT | 37.117 km |
| 6 | Ken Carter | VIC | 22.078 km |
| Coburg 6 Hour Walk - Women | |||
| 1 | Michelle Thompson (C58) | VIC | 54.639 km |
| 2 | Karyn O'Neill | VIC | 45.738 km |
| 3 | Dawn Parris | VIC | 40.748 km |
| 4 | Kate Sanderson | VIC | 36.215 km |
Canberra 48 Hour Carnival, Canberra, 17-19 March 2017
The annual Canberra 48 Hour Carnival, which was held as the AIS track in mid March, has quickly become the biggest track ultra in Australia. With 113 starters in events ranging over 48 Hours, 24 Hours, 12 Hours, 6 Hours and Marathon, it was a huge affair with lanes 1, 3 and 5 all being used to spread out the many entrants. And of course, there were a small number of walkers in attendance, doing their thing.
The walking highlight came from sisters Linda and Heather Christison who walked together the whole way to a total distance of 236.703km. What makes this effort even more amazing is that Linda was training to go under 2:50 in 2004 when she began to lose co-ordination and was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. She can no longer run but walks well using a walking stick. Last year, she and Heather walked together the whole way in this event to a final distance of 219.496km to set inaugural Australian W50 (Heather) and W66 (Linda) 200km and 48 Hour records. This time around, they have upped the ante considerably with even more impressive walks and new records.
Coburg 24 Hour Carnival, Coburg, Victoria, 22-23 April 2017
A total of 38 athletes (27 runners and 11 walkers) toed the line for the 10AM Saturday start in the annual Coburg 24 Hour Carnival / Australian Centurion Qualifying event. Conditions certainly varied. The Saturday afternoon saw sunny and warm conditions before a change came through, dumping a huge downpour of rain on the track in the late evening. From then on, intermittent rain made conditions tricky. And to add to the fun, the mist rolled in overnight from the Merri Creek, blanketing track and competitors in a dense fog.
The 24 Hour Walk saw wins to Dawn Parris (137.805km) and Ivo Majetic (160.934km). Ivo was the only walker to reach the 100 mile mark, achieved in a time of 21:30:55, to become Australian Centurion number 71. Satisfied with this outcome, he then retired from the race. Louis Commins and John Timms both walked for the full 24 hour period to take second and third in the men’s division with 130.088km and 119.306km respectively. All other competitors seemed happy to stop at the 100km mark, if they got that far. Special mention to first time ultra walker Colin Heywood who walked 100.773km in just under 14 hours before stopping. Colin is better known as one of our top master racewalkers – he won two golds and one silver at the 2016 World Masters Championships in Perth.
| Coburg 24 Hour Walk - Men | |||
| 1 | IvoMajetic (71) | USA | 160.934 km |
| 2 | Louis Commins | NSW | 130.088 km |
| 3 | John Timms | VIC | 119.306 km |
| 4 | Colin Heywood | NT | 100.773 km |
| 5 | Robin Whyte (C29) | NSW | 100.773 km |
| 6 | Terry O'Neill (C18) | VIC | 100.358 km |
| 7 | John Kilmartin (C67) | VIC | 51.423 km |
| 8 | Ken Carter | VIC | 15.616 km |
| Coburg 24 Hour Walk - Women | |||
| 1 | Dawn Parris | VIC | 137.805 km |
| 2 | Kate Sanderson | VIC | 100.358 km |
| 3 | Lorraine Billett | SA | 92.105 km |
A number of masters walking records were provisionally set as follows by Lorraine Billett (W70), Robin Whyte (M75) and Ivo Majetic (M45)
| Lorraine Billett | 50 Miles 24 Hours | W70 All-Comers/Residential W70 All-Comers/Residential | 18:42:40 92.105 km |
| Robin Whyte | 50 Miles 12 Hours | M75 All-Comers/Residential M75 All-Comers/Residential | 10:55:16 85.997 km |
| Ivo Majetic | 100 km 6 Hours 12 Hours | M45 All-Comers M45 All-Comers M45 All-Comers | 12:06:56 52.914 km 99.170 km |
Ivo Majetic (C71): 21:30:55
Ivo Majetic has been awarded Australian Centurions Badge number 71 for his efforts in completing the 100 mile walk at the recent Coburg 24 Hour Carnival in a time of 21:30:55. Results from our annual Centurions Qualifying event follow
LE CERCLE DES MARCHEURS DISPARUS
by Alain Moulinet, published March 2017
I've just received my copy of this fascinating book documenting the history of competitors who have completed the historic Paris Colmar race and the qualifying races that go with it. While it is in French, the tables of race results are very easily understood and the photos are fantastic.
To order your copy, go to the author's website at http://editionslemarcheur.fr. The book costs 23 euros plus 6 euros for postage anywhere in the world - now that's good value.
Records in 2017
2017 was a bumper year with lots of records falling to our talented walkers.
| Robin Whyte Linda Christison Heather Christison Linda Christison Heather Christison Linda Christison Heather Christison Linda Christison Heather Christison Lorraine Billett Lorraine Billett Robin Whyte Robin Whyte Ivo Majetic Ivo Majetic Ivo Majetic | 6 Hours 200 km 200 km 200 km 200 km 48 Hours 48 Hours 48 Hours 48 Hours 50 Miles 24 Hours 50 Miles 12 Hours 100 km 6 Hours 12 Hours | M75 All-Comers/Residential Open All-Comers/Residential Open All-Comers/Residential W55 All-Comers/Residential W50 All-Comers/Residential Open All-Comers/Residential Open All-Comers/Residential W55 All-Comers/Residential W50 All-Comers/Residential W70 All-Comers/Residential W70 All-Comers/Residential M75 All-Comers/Residential M75 All-Comers/Residential M45 All-Comers M45 All-Comers M45 All-Comers | 49.406 km 39:35:20 39:35:20 39:35:20 39:35:20 236.703 km 236.703 km 236.703 km 236.703 km 18:42:40 92.105 km 10:55:16 85.997 km 12:06:56 52.914 km 99.170 km | Coburg Canberra Canberra Canberra Canberra Canberra Canberra Canberra Canberra Coburg Coburg Coburg Coburg Coburg Coburg Coburg | 05/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 17-19/03/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 23-23/04/2017 |