Port Macquarie Pacers Running Club

As the year closes and the weather heats up we are finally being able to prepare for Port RunFest in the humidity resembling what we are likely to face next March. December saw the usual set of competitions with Ryan and Fi standing atop the Mile podium, Rolfy being crowned the Pursuit champion for the quarter and repeat winners of the Age Grade Port parkrun championships. Special mention in the Port parkrun PB’s to Emily M and Josh S who each lowered their personal bests 3 times in the month. Congratulations to all.

Out and about we had Steph and Timo parkrunning in very different parts of the world and in very different sets of weather. Timo must have had cool feet in Germany which resembled the weather of our UTMB runners had at Kosciusko. Ryan, Alana and Jessica had major parkrun Milestone celebrations.

Lastly as we enter the New Year one of the great things to reflect upon is the success of our targeted training programs (special thanks to the organisers and coaches). The impact it has had on times can be seen in the Port parkrun fastest Pacer runners. Of the top 10 Pacer Men and Women 17 of the 20 PB’s run by our speedsters were run in 2022. Take a bow all 20 runners. Take a bow Jon and James for your programs.

November saw the resumption of our speed week activities with the continuation of the Super Series. We had a couple of big social celebrations which everyone raved about. Training continues at our sessions but with a little less emphasis on speed. With Port RunFest training in the spotlight come January we are in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment. The only event I am aware of this month was the Pan Pac Masters which were going well until the lights went out metaphorically.

October began with amazingly strong performances in the Beach 2 Brother event and finished with Hugh’s brilliant result in the 70.3 Ironman World Championship in Utah. In between there were many memorable and inspiring runs. The efforts of Pacers at the long distance trail events (Blackall100 and UTA) were full of standout determination, grit and ability while the Melbourne marathon crew revived a Pacer presence down south. The 10k was October’s Super Series distance and kicked off our new competition season. All this when our short distance monthly events were in hibernation in what counts as the Pacer off season.

Our weekly training sessions continue to be enormously popular with impressive numbers of members training at each. Particularly pleasing has been the surge in Junior numbers and the amazing number of parkrun PB’s and speed. We should mention Natalie who bettered her Port parkrun time on 4 Saturdays this month. Outstanding efforts.

This month was full of remarkable running in so many different venues. The RAV teams each successfully logged their 1300km virtual run from Broken Hill to Sydney, PPL4 wound up with Team Chef becoming the probable last winning team (unless another health crisis locks all away again soon), the 8k Pacer Pursuit Handicap race was concluded for the season with Jenny Tarbox engraving her name in Pacer folklore as the 2022 winner, the group of Pacers performed remarkably at the Sunshine Coast 70.3 triathlon, Pacers took on the Coffs Harbour Running Festival and dominated, Pacers travelled to Sydney for the Blackmores Sydney running festival with a Gun Time Age Group first past the post (top 10 outright) and an outstanding past photo grabbing the media spotlight in the marketing of this year’s event (imagine we knew them before they were that famous). Then to finish the month off Ryan and Trent went to the NSW All Schools Championships and each came home with Gold. So good and so deserved.

On top of all this Carly and BJ went on a club record breaking blitz. Carly lowered the club record times in the mile and the 10k distances while BJ is now our fastest half marathon runner. What amazing efforts.

The Pacer Awards night was a huge success with everyone enjoying getting to know each other in a social setting minus the lycra. We now wait for the new month and the Beach To Brother running festival. Can October match September for performances?

So many amazing running achievements within our club in August it is hard to know where to start. The end of the month has been dominated by the outpouring of love and affection for Lyndsey and Leigh as they take their leave of us and move back to family in Bendigo. Go well with the best wishes of all in the club.

Dominant runs from President Binny, (Buster), Carly (Half Marathon), Kate (10k) and Trent (5k) saw Pacers at the top of each of the open races. Many other podiums, age wins, PBs and brilliant returns to competitive running were scattered throughout the races. Club records are being rewritten with the training program a major contributing factor so if getting faster is your goal come down to our interval sessions which are also a very friendly place for all athletes regardless of their plans. Port parkrun saw Ed, Mark and Hunter break their personal records 3 times in August while Mechelle and Karina bettered theirs twice.

As the end of the month approaches we await full results from Trent and Ryan at the National Cross Country Championships, RAV kicks off for nearly 3 weeks of intense km accumulating and our guided fitness sessions begin this week at Wayne Richards Park. The Pursuit Final is mere days away and final planning is being done for our annual awards night. On top of all this we have our last month of the 21/22 competitions upon us as well. Enjoy.

July has seen the most amazing set of running achievements in our club in it’s history (in my opinion). With the coaching available at our training sessions adding to the sage advice of our resident tech specialists, Jon and James, the performances continue to improve dramatically. This no doubt is one of the reasons for the surge in memberships as well. How lucky I feel to be involved in the Running Club. Added to this the implementation of Carly and Fi’s running assessments and subsequent exercise programs will benefit us all. By the end of August the Strength and Conditioning Classes will also be up and running which will enhance our running and general health as well. A huge thankyou to all involved.

July started with the Gold Coast Marathon weekend where numerous PB’s were recorded, Pacer club records were threatened, Age Group wins and places in all distances. Amazing.

Our array of monthly competitions were fitted in around GCM and ETR with outstanding results. We have new club records in the 10k (BJ beating the old mark by 90 seconds) as well as the parkrun 5k (Carly bettering the previous record by 14 seconds).

The enormous number of Port parkrun PB’s shows how sharp the training is making our members.

We travelled a long way as well with some members not quite returned from the GCM but we enjoy watching their progress.

The South West Rocks running festival was another highlight for the Pacer team. Outright wins in 7 events was simply outstanding. But just highlighting the podium finishes does not begin to acknowledge the efforts of so many others. Whether returning to competitive running after injury, doing their best on the day or smashing personal bests it was a wonderful event for the club. Well done all.

June saw our array of club events rearranged a little to fit the calendar beginning with the Pursuit on the first weekend and speed week moved to the end of the month.

We witnessed some outstanding performances from a host of Pacers in May. An amazing number of Port parkrun PB’s in junior and senior ranks were recorded. Pacers travelled to parkruns and events as diverse as Ultraman and GC30. Added to this Kate smashed the club 5k record, Christine bettered her Port parkrun Age Grade record not only once but twice and Gary extended his half marathon Age wins to 7 out of 7 with the fastest time at the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon in the 60-64 division. Our club continues to grow and attendance at our many training sessions sees many preparing for South West Rocks, The Gold Coast and the school athletics season. If you are feeling left out be reassured that all levels of performance are catered for at our training sessions. If you need reassurance try to catch one of our coaches for a chat about how the sessions are inclusive whilst remaining challenging for all ability and current fitness levels.

April saw the Pacer family travelling far and wide with holidays in full swing. Gold returned to Port Macquarie from Newcastle, the Gold Coast, Canberra and a little closer to home at Bottlebutt. Whilst all this was going on the normal monthly competitions continued with strong showings from our junior family and a couple of ladies joining the sub 20 bus (congratulations Kate and BJ). The Oxley Oval cross country superstars is in full swing under the guidance of coach Mel with an amazing group of talented and enthusiastic runners in primary and secondary school age groups. If any other Pacer juniors are interested get down there at 4pm on Wednesday afternoons. Next month read all about the Pacer family and the Ironman race.

Pacers dominated on the podium (or would have if there had been one) on the first weekend in March at the Port RunFest. An outright win for Ryan in the 5k, where Trent also placed, were joined by numerous age category wins and other podium finishes. More pleasing was the range of Pacers out and competing from the juniors right through to the vets. Congratulations all whether you were a 3k runner or a 36k trebler. There are too many to name.

Our usual array of club competitions saw new members Katrina (Pursuit) and Tania (Mile) stand atop the podiums while Jack had a great month winning the mile, PB’ing the 5k and winning Port parkrun. Well done to all.

On the social and celebration sides of things many Pacers were touring around while Suzie reached her 250 parkruns milestone which many of us aim to achieve.

Stay well folks and hope to see you out and about.