Sunday morning brought very cool conditions with over fifty Road Runners and supporters braving the cold for the 30km Club Championship as well as 15km and 5km events.
Starting from the Northview Gardens playground, runners took on the route through the undulating suburbs of Rural View, Farleigh, Habana and Nindaroo.
In the 5km event, multi-talented junior sportsman Damian Rutland revelled in the cold conditions, stopping the clock in 19 minutes 37 seconds ahead of Hamish Donnollan and Toby Rule.
Lily Leven continued her strong form to be first female across the line ahead of her good friends Millie Bishop and Crystal Hawkins.
Veteran runner Ricky Parker once again blitzed the course in 23 minutes 44 seconds with Jeanette Farrugia, Alleny Gorrion, Andrew Leggett and Colin Hardy all achieving great results as well.
Junior runners Luke Leven and Oliver Rule were on fire once again in the 15km, sprinting shoulder to shoulder the entire way with Luke finishing less than one second ahead.
Despite a brief misunderstanding of the course, Ryan Evetts showed great skill and grace to cross the line third behind the two youngsters.
First female Jose Short ran a well-paced and Carolyn Steginga stepped up to the 15km distance in a bid to increase her stamina and endurance before her first half marathon in Townsville in a couple of months.
Alan Zamparutti backed up well in his 15km run after his pacing duties at the Mackay Marina Half Marathon two weeks prior before stepping up to cook the post-run sausage sizzle after his run.
Andrew Short followed Alan to the finish line ahead of Vicki Vickers, Marie Muscat and Ollie Gorrion.
Justin Rule led the quality field of 30 km runners from the start of the hotly contested race with Mick Scholer and Kay Nyenuh hot on his heels. A very focussed Kay finally reeled him in earning himself maximum club championship points as he steamed over the course for the gold medal leaving the silver to Justin and bronze to Mick.
Andrea Conroy set a great pace early in the 30km to retain the lead and gold medal for the entire 30km with Glynis Forse securing silver.
There was a very tight finish for third with Julie Whibley edging out Carmel Mahon by one second.
Runners are now looking forward to The Farmer’s Gallop 5km and 17km this Sunday morning, a historical run that has been a fixture on the calendar for nearly 45 years.
Kay Nyenuh (left) was the winner of the 30km Club Championship with Mick Scholer (right) finishing third. Photo credit: Belinda Rule
Junior runners sprinting the 15km event, first-placed Luke Leven (left) and second-placed Oliver Rule (right) finished less than a second apart. Photo credit: Janelle Tilse
