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The older I get the better I was... but after many years of idle burrowing the candle of desire is still burning and I have come to realise that running is as much a part of me as my heart and lungs... In Christmas 2008 I was 82kg and was not running a step..This is my journey , the journey of the wombat...Dogged...determined...persistent...and maybe a little grumpy.. but like the wombat my journey is territorial, its about running and I am going to work to protect it...Come along for the ride and see if I can become the wombat warrior. 2009 was a mixed bag for the wombat's journey.A top ten placing in both the Bridges and the City Surf brought a small sense of achievement but also a degree of frustration.... I think I can do better and better I will in 2010. A better run in the Busso Half iron man in support of TV in his swim and bike ride and that was about the extent of my racing. Lets see what happens in 2010 as "My journey Continues". Now in 2011 the wombat will continue his journey, but not alone the wombat has a youngling who knows how to dig. 2015 and its a new beginning , time goes on and the journey to the 2016 World Masters is under way.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Getting back what you put in: Guts and Glory


Our 2015 Squad ready to go head to head with Hale
We say it every year, distance running is a tough sport. A cross country runner has nowhere to hide on race day. Their efforts, be they good or bad, are there for everyone to see and while this is a team sport, each boy’s attitude and effort is a direct reflection of the work that they put in at training and that measure of intestinal fortitude that we call ‘guts’. The boys have shown considerable strength of character to endure what the coaches, myself and Jackson Passeri, have put them through this year, more importantly; they have experienced first-hand, a sport that demonstrates clearly the reality of what you put in, is what you get back.

Like the rowing program, the dream of winning involves time and persistence, however, this is something that is slowly moving towards being realised  despite what the final score board indicates each year. Already, this season, the squad has outdone all of their previous bests while competing against the other PSA schools.

The PSA Cross Country Season  has started with a bang and, as with each season over the last 5 years,  the boys can again all be very proud of the work that that they have done heading into round 5 and 6 of the competition.

Stacey has been a consistent performer throughout the first part of the season
In the first races of the season a number of our runners have continually featured in the top ten during the home and away component of the competition and there is a degree of excitement about the improvements that Ben Armstrong, Declan White, Cameron Adams and Marcel Niutta have shown so far. Further to this, the squad has gained some valuable additions to the team in both terms of top end quality and overall depth. Bailey Gillam has demonstrated considerable talent at endurance sports and the determination that he displayed during the rowing season, a sport that is extremely complementary of this discipline, has transferred easily to the cross country program. He creates a dominate presence on the start line alongside Declan White (captain ) and Marcel Niutta (Vice) and has earned him the tag of BFG from some of the year 7 and 8 boys in the squad, such is his domineering height. 

Gillam's motivation has been 
contagious and has added to the
culture of excellence
In has been fantastic to see a larger group of young runners selecting the sport over some of the more popular team games in the last few years, and the addition of Jake Manolini, Heath Collins, Rory Adams and Aiden McLaughlin are all very exciting prospects, in terms of future potential, if they decide to stay with the squad while Dillion Foppa, Liam Stacey, Cameron Adams and Nick Rollo, to name but a few of the squad, have all picked up where they left off. This being said, possibly one of the greatest aspects of the cross country program, is the fact that every runner  competes against themselves in the pursuit of bettering their time each week, and moving up the ranking list over the Guildford home course. This ranking list includes every athlete who has covered this course since it was established by longtime coach, Darryl White, when the squad, now in its 40s was only team of 8 during its earlier days.

Throughout the 2015 PSA Winter Competition the squad, aside from competing for the Moyles Trophy, also contests a number of Guildford Grammar Cross Country Awards, these include:

  •    Final top 10 ranking for GGS Cross Country Runners involving the culmination of their 5 best home and away places and the total of their places in the 4 All-School competitors.
  •     Douglas Barrett-Lennard Trophy:Senior Champion
  •     M.W. O’Malley Trophy:Junior Champion
  •   H.E. Whiteman Trophy Short course 5km Cross Country Champion
  •     E.J. Warren Trophy Long course 8km Cross Country Champion
  •     Fastest GGS leg 5man 3km Relay
  •     Fastest GGS leg 3man 5km Relay  

The fastest athlete over the Guildford course has been B.O’Connor from Aquinas in a time of 17minutes 26 seconds. The fastest Guildford runner ranked 6th has been Mason Zappavigna (18min 13 sec) with Jackson Passeri (18min 18sec) ranked 8th.
Gillam and White have pushed each other to personal bests while the chase the
senior boys title and the Douglas Barett-Lennard 
Barrel on wombats...
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