Running Vets running

As folk will know I compete with the ACT Veterans Athletics Club.  One of the rules is that everyone has to help out at one event a year.  For reasons that escape me this has resulted in me being an event organiser.

This is not that big a deal and mainly involves me contacting about 20 other members and allocating them jobs.  I also walk the course beforehand with the other organiser (my colleague Roger) who does the set-out of the course.  No big deal and my efforts seem to be appreciated by the punters.

Today was the day for this year.  Brilliant weather: nicely cool but sunny.  Here follow some snaps.  But frst here is a map of the course.

Apparently the mob getting close to the start line meant that some folk - especially newbies - found it difficult to hear the starters instructions.  So we put in an extra line of magic cones to keep the chattering classes at bay.  They worked!

 Here is a wide shot of the start.  In total we had 161 starters over the three events (Long and short runs and a walk).

 There was a rocky patch after 500m but Roger had done a good job of marking it as out of bounds.  The admirable people from St Johns Ambulance had no customers on the day.

As I jogged back from checking the rocky area the walkers were heading off up - and I mean UP - from the start.

Some of the long course people were still starting.  And sufficiently confident that they started a good metre behind the line!

 Here we have the first two to finish the long course.  The front guy not only finished first across the line but was also first eligible so got a medal and the shield.  He will also get a less pleasing reward from the handicappers in due course!

The handicap system is designed to, in theory, get everyone across the line at the same time.  Of course, that doesn't happen but there is a big peak of activity in the midle of the ruck.