ACT Veteran Mountain Running Championships
Lanyon to Mt Rob Roy
Saturday 19 April
JACOBS POISED FOR THIRD WORLD VETERAN TITLE
Canberra’s veteran mountain running ace Trevor Jacobs is poised next weekend to secure his third world veteran title in as many years after a scintillating run in today’s ACT championship. In 2006 he won the M50 world long distance mountain running championship in the USA and last year took out the M55 short distance title in Germany by over a minute after placing third in the long distance championship two weeks earlier in Switzerland. Next Saturday Jacobs contests the world long distance mountain running championship in the Three Peaks race in England as a member of the Australian team after winning the national selection race at the Deep Space marathon at Honeysuckle Creek in the ACT last December.
Today’s ACT veteran championship had two components, a 9km ascent of Mt Rob Roy from Lanyon historic homestead and a return 18km. Australian ultra running supremo Martin Fryer, 11th in the world 24 hour title in 2006 and last month only one km short of the world record for 24 hours on a treadmill, was first o the summit in 43 mins 27 secs, half a minute ahead of Jacobs, with Brindabella Classic champion David Hosking, an M40, a further minute back in 45:10.
Fryer, an M45, held on to the lead on the descent for more than 3 kms before Jacobs gained the ascendancy and went on to win the 18 km run in 76:20, just over half a minute ahead of Fryer, with Hosking third in 79:39.
Open age group runner Vanessa Haverd, 28th in last year’s world long distance championship, was fastest female to the summit in 46:07 and also for the return journey in 82:31. Fastest veteran to the summit was W50 Kathy Southgate in 50:03, with W45 Kelley Flood second in 57:32 and W35 Elle Knight third in 66:48.
The Australian veterans mountain running championships will be conducted over the same course from Lanyon to Mt Rob Roy on Sunday 11 May, the day after the Australian senior and junior championships on Mt Tennent.
John Harding