April 20, 2010
Time to register for 'XCR 10
It is now less than two weeks to the first event of the AV winter season, the Cross Country Relay Championships at Jells Park. Unlike previous years, you will not be able to register on the day of the relays. If you wish to compete at Jells Park, you must have registered with AV by Thursday, 29 April.So get your forms to your club registrar as soon as possible.
April 20, 2010
Chip technology and online entry
Once AV processes your registration, you will be sent a link to a page which requires you to set up a user name and password. Your user page will allow you to enter all races online. Your team manager will no longer undertake the task of entering athletes in races and collecting entry fees, except in the case of relays. Race fees have increased substantially to $25 per individual event and it is recommended that athletes purchase a season ticket at a cost of $85. A season's ticket gives entry into all six individual races ($150 in value).
Once you have entered a race or purchased a season ticket, AV will issue your running chip. Most runners are familiar with this technology. You will be able to collect your chip at your first individual race for the season.This chip will be yours to keep and wear at all AV races. You will need to treat it carefully, as there is a $50 charge to replace a lost or carelessly damaged chip.
October 31, 2009
State medals to Michelle and Ant (again)
This year's Melbourne Marathon was also the State and National Championships for the first time since the early 1990's. Two of our runners were among the fancied contenders and both came through with the goods. Michelle Bleakley ran superbly to clock 2:41.21 and win National bronze and State gold medals, a magnificent effort. Serial medal winner, Ant Rickards, also performed very well with 2:27.09 and a State bronze medal.
Nick Wallace-Smith (3:35.54) and Chris Worsnop (4:05.53) were other APSU finishers in the Marathon, while Selim Ahmed recorded a time of 1:20.59 in the Half Marathon.
September 21, 2009
Relegation avoided at the Tan
A fighting team effort by our top men's team has seen APSU retain its place in division 1. In an incredibly even performance, all team members clocked between 11:55 and 12:08, which was enough to defeat Melbourne University by five places and put us one point ahead on the final ladder.
Although we did not have sufficient runners for a women's team, Natalie Geddes distinguished herself by winning a gold medal as part of the winning M40 team! All our teams performed well on the day, giving hope for a big year in 2010.
Results - Final Ladders - AV YouTube video
September 7, 2009
Division 1 men fight back
Facing the prospect of relegation, our men have produced their best performance of the season around the Burnley Boulevard in the half marathon. in perfect racing conditions, Damien Angus(12th), Ant Rickards (16th) and Rob Schwerkolt (25th), ran brilliantly and combined with Chris Bridge and Andrew Edwards to give APSU second place in division 1. This has brought the team within 3 points of avoiding relegation and everything will now hinge on the outcome of the Tan Relay on 19 September. Obviously we must field our strongest possible team at the Tan.
In the women's race, Michelle Bleakley also ran superbly to place second in the Victorian Championship. Michelle continues to show that she is one of the best distance runners in the state, particularly over the longer distances and is clearly in great shape to tackle the Melbourne Marathon next month.
August 5, 2009
Relay round up
Late withdrawals again hurt the men's division 1 and 3 teams, and both placed poorly. But both the M40 and M50 teams added to their medal collections by placing third in their respective divisions. The women's team, led by a fast run from Anna Kapasis, recorded a solid fifth placing despite missing several of their stars.
As for individual performances, Damien Angus was our fastest runner. Justin Wilson showed welcome improvement. It was good to welcome another recruit, Rene DaSilva, in his first run for the club.
August 5, 2009
Anna saves the day
Anna Kapasis arrived home from Europe mid-morning on Saturday and made it to Geelong with ten minutes to spare. In so doing, she ensured that the women's division 1 team had sufficient runners for a team. As a bonus, Anna took the women's team to first place in division 1, and for her great team spirit, she receives this week's sock award.
The men battled hard, but continue to lie in the relegation zones of divisions 1 and 3. It is important that we field strong teams in the remaining three AV events if we are to avoid relegation. In contrast, the M40 team continues to carry all before it and has virtually sewn up yet another premiership.
July 19, 2009
Bounce back at Bundoora
APSU went into the Bundoora Cross Country Championships with its strongest squad since the Sandown 10k, as shown by its much improved results. Both the women's division 1 and M40 teams won outright, and the other men's teams all finished higher up in their respective grades.
There were some outstanding individual efforts, highlighted by medal-winning performances by Michelle Bleakley (gold W40), Nat Geddes (bronze W40) and Geoff Holden (bronze M55). It was great to welcome another debutant, Michael Kennedy who ran strongly. It was also pleasing to see our youngest runner, Charlie Blanch, again feature in our division 1 men's team.
July 5, 2009
Coliban catastrophe
It has been a poor season for APSU and the results from the Bendigo have made things worse. Despite having more female members than last year, we could not find enough runners for a women’s team. Then two women ended up running in the division 3 team because we had insufficient men to complete two teams. This is a weak effort when there are up to fifty registered athletes across four clubs who could have run for APSU.
Our two teams, in men’s division 1 and 3, were both last to finish despite the best efforts of our runners, although in div 1, we will get points ahead of two clubs which did not field teams. Two other bright spots were the promising debuts of Charlie Blanch and Cath Turner in a season where new recruits have been scarce. Jason Antonelli performed well on the opening leg and will be rewarded with this week’s sock award.
June 21, 2009
Wily warriors win at Wendouree
After such a strong attendance at Sandown, APSU sent only a small squad of runners to Ballarat for the 15k Road Championships. Unfortunately, we were unable to field a women's team, but the M40's continued on their winning way.
Ant Rickards and Michelle Bleakley, in her first AV race of the winter, were our leading athletes. Scott Lawrence saved the M40 team by agreeing to run at very late notice and for this receives our weekly sock award.
Next race is the Harcourt to Bendigo relay. This is a great day out and all athletes are urged to commit to running this one.
June 2, 2009
Record roll-up at the racetrack
APSU entered 35 runners in the Sandown Skins 10k, the first time that the club has had more than 30 athletes in an AV event. Of these, 30 completed the course, with several recording PBs despite the blustery wind.
Among the highlights were Chris Bunney's debut performance of a silver medal in the M40-44 division, for which he receives this week's sock award. Another solid run by Rob Schwerkolt gave us two M40-44 medallists, as Rob took out the bronze. Nat Geddes followed her gold medal at Lardner Park with a silver medal here.
Because of the increased turnout, the men's teams all achieved their best teams results for the season. Once again, the M40s showed the way with another comprehensive victory. The women were missing three of their top runners, but still managed third place in division 1.
May 17, 2009
Gallant Geddes gains glorious gold!!
APSU has continued its tradition of overage excellence with two more medals at Lardner Park. Natalie Geddes, in her debut run in the W40 division, took line honours for her first individual state medal. Rob Schwerkolt and Geoff Holden won bronze medals in the M40 and M55 state championships respectively.
Our division 1 women had a brilliant victory, with their main rivals, Knox, slipping to third place. Our M40 team won again and have already taken a handy lead in the premiership race. Unfortunately, our men's division 1 team again performed poorly, but is looking for a much improved effort in the next race, the 10k Road Championship at Sandown.
Results and photos from Lardner Park have now been posted.
April 21, 2009
More medals at Jells Park
APSU's M40 and division 1 women's teams have again won medals in the opening round of the XCR '09 competition. The M40 team, despite losing its fastest runner to the men's division 1 team, smashed its opposition in winning by a colossal five minutes. Thanks to late recruit, Natalie Smith, the women were able to field a strong team and were rewarded with bronze medals. Natalie is a worthy winner of the season's first sock award.
Unfortunately the open men's teams struggled, with all three finishing near the bottom of their respective divisions. Our position should improve in later races, however, when our M40 runners count for points in the open competition. But these results show that we need to recruit some new runners if we are to be competitive in division 1.
Results and photos from Jells Park have now been posted.
April 7, 2009
Welcome to XCR '09
It is now less than two weeks to the first event at Jells Park, so there’s a few things that you need to do NOW!
- REGISTER with AV through your club registrar. This is critical if you wish to run at Jells Park. If you run without registering, your team will be disqualified. If all else fails, however, you can register on the day at Jells Park.
- Look at the program and decide how many events you are likely to run. If it is most or all of them, tell Mark that you require a SEASON TICKET and he will buy it for you. It is preferable that as many athletes as possible buy a season ticket, as it saves the team manager a heap of work during the season.
- Watch for emails calling for race entries. As in previous years, Mark will enter ALL athletes and teams (yes, he knows he's a control freak, but most of you are used to it by now).
- If you need a new singlet or have a recruit who will need one, let Mark know now as there will be a delay in fulfilling the order.
- Let Mark know if you wish to run at Jells Park no later than Easter Monday 12 April.
January 12, 2009
Looking for more glory in 2009
2008 was an outstanding season of team success for APSU. On November 16 last year, a small group of APSU athletes and friends attended the AV awards function at Olympic Park in order to collect Michelle Bleakley's W40 Athlete of the Year award and State Marathon Champion trophy (pictured left) plus our M40 and women's Division 4 pennants. All those attending the event enjoyed an entertaining address from former marathon world record holder Derek Clayton.
Some more photos from the AV awards function appear in the gallery.
AV has now published its calendar for 2009 and the club will be looking for back to back premierships and more individual glory in the various championship events. Now is the time to be thinking about recruiting so that we can build on our 2008 success. If you have any family, friends, work colleagues or training partners who may be interested in joining us this season, please let Mark know.
October 13, 2008
Michelle's magnificent marathon
Fresh from her stellar AV season, which included a PB at the final event, the Tan Relay, it was clear that Michelle Bleakley was in career best form leading into the Melbourne Marathon. Her fitness allowed her to triumph over the extremely tough conditions to win the Victorian Championship in a magnificent time of 2:49.02.
Michelle's friend and training partner, Kirsten Jackson, had also showed with a PB at the Tan that she was ready for a big performance, and this is what she produced with another brilliant PB of 2:58.52. Kirsten was rewarded with a bronze medal in the Victorian Championship.
Among the men, established marathon star, Ant Rickards, added to his already bulging trophy cabinet by winning a silver medal as the second Victorian and seventh overall in 2:32.24. Ant has described this race as the toughest marathon that he has done to date.
So APSU ended up with a medal of every colour. Other APSU finishers were Damien Angus, Selim Ahmed (debut), Nick Wallace-Smith and Chris Worsnop.
October 12, 2008
Schwerkolt, De Castella & Bleakley take major prizes
After the counting of votes in the male and female Athlete of the Year awards for 2008, Rob Schwerkolt came out on top in the men's while Izzy De Castella and Michelle Bleakley shared the honours for the women. In the female award, the voting came down to the last race where Michelle picked up three votes to draw level with Izzy.
Votes in the respective awards were:
| Men | Women | |||
| Rob Schwerkolt | 12 | Michelle Bleakley | 14 | |
| Ant Rickards | 9 | Izzy De Castella | 14 | |
| Paul Wilson | 8 | Anna Worland | 11 | |
| Pete Simm | 6 | Nat Geddes | 5 | |
| Mark De Luca | 4 | Kirsten Jackson | 6 | |
| Jason Antonelli | 4 | Annie Harrison | 2 | |
| Damien Angus | 3 | Regan Logan | 1 | |
| Ryan Taylor | 3 | Juanita Liston | 1 | |
| Chris Bridge | 2 | |||
| Justin Wilson | 2 | |||
| Andrew Edwards | 1 |
Special awards were also given to members of our premiership-winning M40 and women's division 4 teams during a successful and enjoyable evening at the Carringbush Hotel.