RACE RESULTS
21.1km male: 1, Liam Lilly; 2, Ryan Willmot; 3, Shayne Dimmer.
21.1km female: 1, Dawn Penney; 2, Meghan Goodwin; 3, Bron Larner.
10km male: 1, Scott Tamblin; 2, Len Hartley; 3, Matt Ware.
10km female: Clare Nyberg; 2, Joanna Turner; 3, Alicia Coles.
5km male: 1, Josh Brown; 2, Albert Turner; 3, Daniel Fisher.
5km female: 1, Robyn Jordan; 2, Nicki Shepherd; 3, Jody McGill.
5km junior male: 1, Albert Turner; 2, Alan Pilling; 3, Campbell Pilling.
5km junior female: 1, Amber Wyatt; 2, Dakotah Barnes; 3, Sophie Noakes.
2.5km male: 1, Fletcher Ridley; 2, Braxton Ware; 3, Bob Hull.
2.5km female: 1, Dakotah Barnes; 2, Brielle Dredge; 3, Paige Dredge
21.1KM Winner - Liam Lilly
Beachside Festival gallops back onto the running calendar
NEARLY 400 runners took part in the four fun runs at the recent Rotary Beachside Festival in Safety Bay. And more would have competed if they could but had to be turned away because of a shortage of timing chips.
The successful event was celebrated at a Palm Beach Rotary Club meeting the following Wednesday. Certificates of appreciation were presented to two newcomers on the Beachside Festival committee, Sharon Chetwynd and Jodie Phillips of Secret Rocky Runners.
SRR had offered to help two years ago, event coordinator Kevin McDonnell told the meeting. Mel Hayes, who is a runner and whose husband’s company APMS sponsored the Cycling Without Age trishaw trailer, made the offer at one of Laurie Smith’s sundowners.
Nothing was done about it last year because the coronavirus brought most club activity — including the Beachside Festival — to a screaming halt. “But we followed it up this year,” Kevin said and this partnership had been of huge benefit.
Sharon and Jodie attended all of the committee meetings, did a huge amount of work, and organised 14 SRR members to handle water stations along the runners’ routes, leaving Rotarians free to concentrate on the festival.
And they said they and their volunteers would be happy to come back next year and do it all again. Sharon remarked that some of her members say they were happy to give up running themselves to help the community with this event.
The Rockingham Triathlon Club did the event timing once more and provided race commentary.
Kevin Fahie, who chairs the festival committee, and Palm Beach Rotary Club president Donna McDonald were ecstatic about the public’s and athletes’ response to the festival.
“A fabulous team created an amazing event and it’s what this club is all about,” Ms. McDonald said. “We had beautiful weather, great teamwork from all the volunteers, happy faces all around, and positive comments.”
The indefatigable Kerilee Dawson sold seven books of raffle tickets at the festival, netting $650, and had a couple of prospective new members in her sights.
Kevin McDonnell agreed this year’s festival was an amazing event but said he would never do the coordinator’s job again. To retorts from the floor that he has said that before, he remarked: “I mean it this time.”
This year’s festival was amended in many ways to prevent any possible coronavirus contamination. There were no formal medal presentations, for example. Runners had to pick up their plastic-wrapped medals from a table.
The festival also had to be spread out over a wider area but these changes did not detract from a very successful public event.
Five times more tickets were sold for the bouncy castle, climbing wall, and other children’s attractions than at the 2019 festival. “We had to shut the till because it was time to close the festival and pack up,” Ms McDonald said before the meeting.
Mr. Fahie added: “We were thrilled with the number of runners and this year’s crowd was bigger than previous years too.”
Exhibitors were also happy with the festival. Wandi Woodturners convenor George Murphy thanked stallholders’ coordinator Neil Wall for inviting them. “John Scarfe and I attended and had a very successful day turning small spinning tops for the children (and some adults) who stopped by our display,” he reported.
“ John had some examples of his work, which were much admired, and we even had a couple of queries about membership.”
The Rockingham-based Greyhound Adoptions WA also had a good day. Two of the dogs on show were rehomed and another looked likely. Toni Donnelly said the group is Australia’s biggest and most successful greyhound charity, rehoming between four and six former (or failed) racing dogs every week.
The coffee van operator also said she had a brilliant day.