| Now held over 5km the Christmas Cup is always a jolly event, with some competitors dressed with festive decoration, but can rarely have been as exciting and competitive as this year. The first 8 finishers arrived within a minute or so of each other causing great, if welcome, difficulties for the recorders, while the handicap results, on which the Christmas Cup is awarded, yielding net times also only spread over a couple of minutes apart for almost the whole field. The winner of the Cup, coming from the latter part of the race, was Pam Ficken, Immediate Past-President of the Southern Area Race Walking Association, who has hit a run of form. The short distance meant a flat out effort all the way and although the eventual winner started in 2nd place and hit the front after half a mile it was by no means a procession with challenges for the lead all the way. The last lap saw those finishing in 2nd to 6th places demonstrate the benefits of an early controlled pace and come from the back of the group of 8 to almost catch the winner. Behind them King and Flint were less competitive than recently but further back further battles continued with Crane holding off Simmons by 40 metres and his son Stephen, who we have not seen for some months, a little further back. Pam Ficken’s Cup winning efforts brought her within 4 minutes of Hoben while Jack Fitzgerald, now almost 84, completed yet another race. At the other end of the age range Andrew the son of Ian Statter - first home for SWC in the main event - had almost a dead heat which he also did in his last race but this time he got the decision - and was almost 2 minutes faster than a month ago. The presentation was as usual at the Monk’s Hill with the fare appropriate to the season well received by the large turnout over the 3 races – 5km for seniors and also 1 mile and a well supported 3km for the Juniors. |
| Men 5km: 5(2). I.Statter 28 min 35 sec; 6(3). M.Harran 28 min 37 sec; 8(4). P.Hannell 28 min 52 sec; 11(10). P.King 30 min 4 sec; 12(6). C.Flint 30 min 17 sec; 15(5). P.Crane 31 min 45 sec; 16(8). N.Simmons 32 min 7 sec; 17(11). S.Crane 34 min 28 sec; 18(7). D.Hoben 34 min 36 sec; 20(9). J.Fitzgerald 45 min 31 sec. Women 5km: 3(1) Pam Ficken 38 min 21 sec. Junior Boys 1 mile: 1. A.Statter 10 min 19 sec. |