Park2park fun run. Ipswich, Qld. 31 July 2011.
10 km Results - Males
Parts of Ipswich suffered the worst effects of the devastating floods back in January this year. But the resilience of Queenslanders is typified by the attitude of the people of Ipswich. They get knocked down but they get up again. They run the park2park again.
The annual park2park fun run is a major running event in Ipswich. The last Sunday on the last day of July was the 7th running of the park2park. The run is staged around Limestone Park and Queens Park, up on the heights of Ipswich.
First, a big thank you to all race officials, SES volunteers and emergency service personnel. Also the water station masters and the secondary school students who chanted and cheered the runners on.
I come a few times each year to Ipswich mainly for work. On previous assignments here, I ventured to Emerald Hill heeding the call of Brassal; checked out Woodend with a friend; sauntered up the hills of the well-heeled in Springfield; strolled along the creeks of Brookwater golf course with no driver; glimpsed the river and leas of Karalee; lunched off a dam near Bundamba; drove the heights and downs of Karana; laughed to the banks of redbank; and saw many of the surrounding picturesque riches of Ipswich. The place has grown from a small provincial city to a bustling and growing centre with industrial and residential growth areas sprouting up all around. The nearby areas in Swanbank, and satellite precincts in Springfield and soon Ripley, all contribute to sustaining the future economic growth of Ipswich. In 2007 Ipswich was voted the most liveable mid-size city (populations between 75,000 - 200,000) in the world.
On the last day of July 2011, runners arrived to a bright though quite cold and sleepy winter morning at the Bill Paterson Oval, venue for the start and finish line. The hardier half-marathoners started a lot earlier, in the still dark hour of 6 o’clock but they’re the serious runners. The 10km and 5km runners are the real funrunners, well most of us are, but that’s speaking strictly for myself. Earlier I looked around for a place to park for the 2011 park2park. This is my first time to run here. I quickly registered, collected a race bib, tied on the timing chip, and just as quickly rugged up again. Soon announcements for the countdown to the 10km run blared over the airwaves. Some runners warmed up with some fun zumba exercise.
We started off at 0800h. From the oval we raced out of the turfed grounds, to the southern bounds of the park. The course went anti-clockwise and uphill on Salisbury Street. Soon we got to the ridges on the lengthy Chermside Road. A couple of crossings intersected the rolling pathways on this eastern bound of the park. Great views of Ipswich and its surroundings flitted in and out of the tree-lined route as we headed north. The route turned left, westerly and downhill at the northern bounds of the park on Brisbane Street. At the intersection of Limestone Street on Milford Street, the fun had all but gone as we turned south to a twisting turning and hilly obstacle course. The uphill stretch on Griffith Road between Queens Park and Limestone Park was painful. A drinks stop was set up along the way between a couple of testing hills. Then we came back to the start line completing a 5km loop.
I stopped for a drink and a rest before I rejoined the 10km runners and ran around the course again. My split time at the 5km was not flash. I tried to keep up the same pace for the second lap, but barely managed a sub-30 min. My total race time (sub-60 minutes) for the 10km park2park, is on the slow side of my average over the past two years. I blame it on the hills, but realistically you can’t run a good run on a mere 5 days of training prior. Maybe I should run to and from the gasfields. It's only 300 km one way.
My time was just better than the average. Cold comfort indeed, but I had some warm breath left. I heard that the local member took part. Good onya Mr Parliamentarian. I hope you will work towards more healthy lifestyle initiatives in parliament. Such as legislating for prizes for everyone joining and finishing a fun run. A vote-getter right there. And a good incentive towards building healthy communities.
The festivities of the park2park came to life in the 5km run where 1000 people lined up to take part. The run is a family affair, but friends and work colleagues make up a great number of runners. Good to see.
And we'll do it again next year.
Place Bib # Name Net Time
1 476 CLAY DAWSON 0:34:20
2 337 GRANT GWYNNE 0:34:40
3 464 BIOR AROK 0:35:24
4 189 TIM GADO 0:35:28
5 245 MASAYUKI ATSUMI 0:36:03
10 km Results - Females
Place Bib # Name Net Time
1 206 BRIARNA MACKIE 0:38:15
2 463 APRIL SLOAN 0:38:46
3 470 EMILY DONKER 0:39:01
4 472 GLENDA BANAGHAN 0:39:27
5 320 RENUKA SATIANATHAN 0:40:24
Polichay's 10 km Rivals. These guys are up to 5 minutes faster than me. They had better watch their backs.
121 158 DAVE MORROW 0:55:14
131 405 JOHN BRADLEY 0:55:39
132 468 JASON DAVIDSON 0:56:01
140 329 STEVEN TOZER 0:57:10
142 236 STEVE SEARLE 0:57:20
147 324 WAYNE STEELE 0:58:04
149 408 RUSSELL EARLE 0:57:47
154 480 JUSTIN WATSON 0:58:35
157 486 ROGERIO COUTO 0:58:58
158 432 JOHN KRAUSE 0:59:03
161 172 SHAYNE NEUMANN 0:59:15
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