It was a war of attrition between a fresh-faced rookie and a wily veteran for 6.4km of the 6.5km Concongella Vineyards Handicap on Saturday. In the end, it came down to a 100-metre sprint, in which Michelle Dunn finally blew the greybeard Terry Jenkins away.
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Dunn's first win with the Stawell Amateur Athletic Club was well overdue after four consecutive seconds. A generation separated her from the 71-year-old runner-up, but five seconds separated them at the finish.
In the sub juniors 1km dash, Jerome Baker held on to win narrowly from Nate Lyons and Charlie Dunn.
The club travels to Horsham this Saturday for the 6.5km Telstra Shop Handicap. All runners welcome.
VAN WINS AGAIN
Stawell and Ararat Cross Country Club's most durable runner, Adrian van Raaphorst has again showed his remarkable resistance to injury, defying five weeks of hamstring issues to win the 8km Thompson Family Handicap at McDonald Park last Sunday.
Shoulders pumping, the former school teacher punched his way to the lead in the last quarter of the race and greeted the timekeepers with a 37-second margin from Sandra Barwick, with Jack Trounson a similar distance behind in third place.
Surprisingly, it was van Raaphorst's first win in the 21st running of the race, one of the very few to have eluded the 585-run veteran.
Van Raaphorst is certain to line-up again in the 8km Trounson Family Handicap at Ararat this Sunday. Fun runners are welcome.
