“I was so happy to have a win. It’s been a while. In the last few races I have been trailing Sharon Howden,” Vicki said.

The two Horsham runners have been training for marathons, Vicki for the Melbourne marathon next month and Sharon ran in the Adelaide marathon last month. In the past few races, the pair could be seen slugging it out, Sharon in front and Vicki not far behind. Sharon’s win in the previous race cost her, with a bigger handicap giving Vicki enough space to win.

Stephanie Schulz ran second, 52 seconds behind Vicki. Sharon managed third, just one minute 15 seconds behind the winner. This was Stephanie’s second race with the club. In this race, she started ahead of Vicki and was overtaken by her, but Stephanie hung on grimly to retain second place. Vicki is aiming to run the Melbourne marathon in four hours.

In the sub-juniors race over one kilometre, Tom Urquhart prevailed over Olivia Hunter and Jay Jay Nitschke came third. The Lois Trimble King of the Mountain will be at Halls Gap this Saturday for a five-kilometre race. Meet at the oval at Halls Gap at 9.30am. 

Sue Blizzard loves to run. She runs everything from five kilometres to marathons, and she runs them all over the country.

Always in the spirit of the race, she and her running mates are often a splash of colour as they dress to impress and have fun. Not overly concerned with time, Sue is out to enjoy herself and there is always time for a photo along the way.  

In the Stawell Ararat Cross Country Club’s Clem Hall Memorial 5km, sponsored by his family for 40 years, held at Three Jacks Reserve, Stawell, Sue ran with the breeze in her hair, the sun on her back and all her strength training holding firm, she surprised herself with a win.

At the start of the season, Sue didn’t even think she would be able to compete this year let alone win a race. So it was with her usual warm smile and a great sense of achievement that she crossed the line first, with second place-getter Mike Jamieson finishing just 17 seconds behind her. Steven Baird broke a long drought, holding on for third, after a serious injury a couple of years ago.

The President’s 5km Championship, the last race for the season, will take place this Sunday, September 24 at Greenacres Road, Moyston.

Morning tea will be held at the conclusion of the race and invitation runners are most welcome to come along and join us, race starts at 9.45am.