As I said last week it has been a difficult year for us all but runners have been particularly hard hit with the cancellation of the Whanganui Schools Track and Field Championships, quickly followed by the cancellation of the North Island Schools three weeks later.
Events in the immediate future such as the Athletics New Zealand Cross Country next weekend and the New Zealand Schools in Hawera on September 17 have a degree of uncertainty about them as we await what level of alert we will be under.
I broke the news about Monday's postponement to a group of runners on Saturday who had come for a light preparation session for the Schools Cross Country 48 hours later.
We discussed the need to be adaptable and overcome setbacks. Fitness gained up to now will benefit later in the year and with no race 48 hours later we undertook a harder session to replace the light run and barrier practice originally intended.
New Zealand 10,000m under 20 Racewalk Champion Lucas Martin made a quick decision and opted to go to the Taranaki Road Walk Championships which because of Monday's cross country he had chosen to bypass.
He did a light drill session before heading off. His trip to Taranaki was rewarded with a personal best time of 23 minutes and 3 seconds for the 5km race.
The traditional road racecourse is over1km laps with sharp turns at both ends. Not only did this take a good slice from his previous best but also subject to checking the course measurement was considerably inside a series of New Zealand records (under 17, under 18, under 19 and under 20). There were qualified judges in attendance but course measurement will need to be rechecked before any record can be sent for ratification.
Martin demonstrated commendable adaptability and was given a clear indication that he is in good form for whatever challenges lie ahead
Other athletes in the group without the expected race on Monday did a 1500 metre repetition session on the new Collegiate 1500 metre lap instead of the scheduled training.
The inform Mackenzie Morgan was in excellent form with 1500m laps over the undulating course only a smidgeon over 5 minutes each, close to her track best.
Daniel Sinclair, who has eyes on a top under 16 finish in forthcoming events, also looked good with performances not far short of his track best.
Perhaps the best performances came from 13-year-old Theodora Gempton. Gempton was second in the Whanganui Collegiate Junior Championship and was the leading Year 9 runner.
The previous Saturday she had been at the New Zealand Schools Duathlon (bike and run). She fell heavily on the bike leg, picked herself up and ran her second 2.25 km section.
This was only a few seconds slower than her first run over the same distance with a bike ride and fall between the two. Gempton was given a special mention by the North Island organisers who were impressed with her courage and determination.
On Saturday Gempton had a most impressive effort over her two 1500 metre repetitions.
The recovery was only a five-minutes jog. Both repetitions were comfortably inside her track best for 1500m. Gempton, who also is a successful hockey player, is a determined young woman.
She, like other keen athletes, hopes that she will be able to run in both Whanganui Schools and head her Year 9 team at New Zealand Secondary Schools next month.
I hope to be able to report on the Whanganui Schools Championships next week and hopefully next Monday is blessed with the glorious sunshine that greeted us this week.
