CROSS COUNTRY –
The Central Coast Cross Country Club undertook Round Five of this season’s races around Point Wolstoncroft on Saturday, May 15, with a great display of athletes from across the region.
There were four races on the day, the 2km, 4km, 6km and 12km, with four winners representing age groups from Under 11’s to the 40+.
The first two winners were both young members of the Norris family: Stella Norris winning the 2km in 8:24.9 minutes, and her brother, Bryson, following this up with the 4km win in 16:20.0.
For Stella, the win was a good start to her return to long distance running after spending time away due to injury.
“This was my first Central Coast Cross Country back and I was really glad to be running again,” she said.
“I found the 2km course to be tough – definitely a Cross Country course – and it was great to come away with a win.”
The positive result has given Stella confidence as she looks forward to competing in the 2021 World Triathlon Multisport Championships to be held in Amsterdam – Almere, Netherlands, in September this year.
After qualifying for both the Duathlon and Aquathon teams, competing in the Central Coast Cross Country will help Stella develop her fitness and performance levels before the Championships.
“For the ‘Worlds’, I’m not putting any pressure on myself because I’m really proud to have made it this far, it’s been a massive goal for me.
“Central Coast Cross Country has given me acknowledgement and support through my running which has been awesome.
“They provide not only racing opportunities but training sessions where I can push myself to my limit.”
A part of this support is also the extra competition that Stella gets from her family members who compete in these races with and against her.
In ninth place for the 2km came Flora Norris, the first six year old to cross the line in 10:26.1 minutes.
“It’s definitely great to be able to have your siblings to push yourself against,” continued Stella.
“I love to see my younger sister do well and I feel like I help create a pathway for her to follow.
“That’s very important to me so I’m very proud to see her get out there and give it a go, she’s a really good runner and has come so far.
“My whole family is getting involved, showing participation and support for each other and it’s really great to see my brother follow in my footsteps too.”
Bryson Norris was the youngest competitor on the weekend to come away with a race win, finishing 20 seconds ahead of second place and almost three minutes ahead of his father, Deane, who came in tenth.
“I raced against a lot of my friends and they are normally faster than me, but I tried extra hard this time and I beat them,” reported young Bryson.
“I sprinted at the start until I was out with the front pack.
“We were running up a hill and I decided to try and make a gap between us.
“I went up ahead and made that gap and then I won.”
With a regional level Cross Country race coming up for Bryson on the weekend and the chance to qualify for State, this win has given confidence to the Norris family 4km champ.
The 6km race left alongside those in the 4km, with race winner Matthew McKay overtaking five competitors in the shorter run and finishing only nine minutes behind Bryson with a time of 25:24.8.
In the 12km, Green Point local, Mark Warren, did the Masters competitors proud by digging deep to achieve a (close to) ten minute clear victory, posting an end time of 42:58.2.
Mark was another winner on the weekend to have come back for his first Central Coast Cross Country of the season.
Meniscus surgery after a football injury took Mark out of play for 12 months, but he returned to training in February and has now posted this positive result within his preparations for the Cross Country State Titles to come in a few months.
“It’s taken three or four months for me to get back into decent shape after I was out for surgery, but form wise, it will still take three or four months until I’m back to where I was previously,” said Mark.
“I just have to keep showing up for training and racing where I can and the results will come.
“The aim now is to find a few more events with Central Coast Cross Country to compete in ahead of State.
“I really enjoyed running on Saturday, it’s always really well organised and a great opportunity for us distance runners to run some good times in our own back yard.
“I will be targeting a few more and lining up a few guys for some more competition over the next few weeks.”
This season of Cross Country is now in full swing, with 14 more rounds to go.
This Saturday, the Central Coast wide athletes will travel to the Pearl Beach Arboretum for Round Six.
Haakon Barry