Another month has passed, and of course, we begin with the River Run!! The 1st of June River Run had 108 people registered to run/walk and volunteer. Sarah and Annie did a terrific job of race directing and had the race vibes going. And woo, we had timing cooperating again! The results were a little delayed.

Because our timing box had to go on a last-minute journey to Darwin for the NT City to Surf!! The Athletics NT timing box was not well at all. Thankfully, we got ours in time so their record-breaking 2000+ participants could get their race times. The box made it back to Alice safely, and the River Run results were processed that week. 

The lead-up to Four Corners was upon us. This is a hectic time for our committee. We had to confirm the courses for each leg, have maps ready, order markers, organize catering, design buffs, market the event, panic over participant numbers, etc.

The weekend came, and WOW, what a weekend. Dave Holmes, Cail Rayment, Sarah Morrison, and Annie Knight deserve a big pat on their backs for Race Directing over the weekend. Over the weekend, an incredible team of volunteers helped us immeasurably. We can’t do this without those people, and we thank them immensely.  We had 52 participants on the first leg, 41 for the second, 57 for the third and 59 for the fourth. Thommo’s Treats helps us cater some of our more significant events, and he brought the goods again; who knew runners loved freshly baked scones and cream so much and those brownies!! Yummmmo!

I got the race results out the week after and have done some further number crunching to work out our overall division winners for the event (please see below). We do have some event buffs available in the online store, too.

I’ve had a minute to begin writing my West Mac's Diary. I have a glimpse for you, too. This is a project of mine that I will do over the next month or two. It was an extraordinary experience, and now I have to get the words to paper!

Now we have Cassia Hill Enduro this weekend!! We’d love to do justice to this event, but we need some more participants. You can run, walk, or stroll around this iconic hill!! - Sign up now!!

Here is some more great news: the Fractel Hat order was delayed, but it is finally en route to Alice!! 

We have some more events upcoming, which we’ll get below. There will be a calendar update release soon, and we’re just waiting to confirm some third-party events, which will be a much-welcome addition to the calendar. 

As usual, we have lots to share with you, and we hope you're all getting out there running or walking in the beautiful place we call home, Alice Springs.

Thanks again to you all for making this so much fun to do :)

Katie

Events Coming Up

• Cassia Hill Enduro
• River Run
• Simpson's Gap Half/10k/Kiddie Kilometer
• The Red Centre Wringer BYU

Four Corners Division Winners

Member of the Month

Katie's West Macs Diary

Events Coming Up

The Alice Springs Running and Walking Club's Cassia Hill Enduro is this Saturday!!

https://www.asrwc.com.au/events/239598

Starting at 7:00am, here is a brief rundown for those who missed last year's fun.

The big question you'll answer is how many laps of the 1.80km trail loop you can run in 1 hour.

Runners will take off at the start of the track near Darken Drive, run in and do as many loops of the hill as possible in 60 minutes.

Last year's highest number was 10 by both our junior and open runners.

Can we go higher this year? Who will take home the prize? This year, we will tackle the trail in the anti-clockwise direction. This is not a highly technical trail, but there are some narrow portions, so runners need to be careful.

There will be prizes for the open male, open female and open junior male and female with the most loops. There will also be a morning tea afterwards.

We also need vollies aplenty to keep track of these fantastic feats, setup and pack up the event

Details:

Adult members: $10.00

Adult non-members: $20.00

Junior members: Free

Junior non-members: $5.00

For further information on our upcoming events, head to https://www.asrwc.com.au/events

Four Corners Winners

Four Corners Results can be found here, and if you'd like to grab an east or west buff, you can find them here.

Series Male Overall Winner - Adult Running Division
Jason Wilmot
2:02:38.7
Series Female Overall Winner - Adult Running Division
Simone Edney
2:33:11.4
Series Male Overall Winner - Adult Walking Division
Benjamin Taylor
3:45:04.8
Series Male Overall Winner - U18 Running Division 
Asher Lennie
2:03:50.6

The May Member of the Month is... SIMON DUKE!!

Simon stepped in as event director for West Macs Monster 2024, and boy, he put on one fantastic monster. Every participant and volunteer we spoke to was proud of the event Simon put on. His speech before each startline was so inspiring. He kept calm, cool, and collected throughout and navigated through the event without issue. He brought the finish line vibes and energy needed after a massive three days!!

Incredible work, Simon! The ASRWC committee profusely thanks you and your crew and greatly respects the job you all do. Well done on WMM 2024!!

'you've got it! if your legs say no, do it with your brain. if your brain says no do it with your HEART' - Simon Duke

Katie's West Macs Monster Experience

Day 1, part 1 – So It Begins...:

I set out from home nice and early to head to Mt Sonder for the participant photoshoot at the lookout near Glen Helen. There’s a white campervan ahead of me, I’m curious if they’re tourists or a participant and their crew making the journey out, I overtake either way , I want to make it in time! As I get further out, a few more cars join the parade eastward. The view on this drive while watching the sunrise is spectacular, and I reflect on how these participants will be running/hiking/crawling their way back to Alice.

The lookout is a hive of activity, with the crew running around getting everything ready for Oliver to capture this moment in time. The race participants are chatting away with each other nervously, it’s a lot warmer than last year, not too many down jackets in sight. I get some photos for socials and have a chat with participants to start to get to know them. I’ll be seeing them over the course of their journey back and capturing some of it to share. I hope they all make it!  Oliver was quick about the photo this year, and the view was spectacular of course.

The cavalcade heads towards Redbank for the start line, the dirt road is a lot more hectic than last year making it a tricky trip for the 2wd drive cars. Some brave it and others are a little more cautious. ABC are setup and ready to capture the start line, Simon and Dan are getting everything ready. I get some more candid photos, and of course have more chats. I feel like I need to get to know them all, in the coming days I must post about this and in taking these photos and writing these posts, I want to have more of an emotional connection. I take a leaf out of ABC’s book with their elaborate camera setup and plonk the ASRWC Go Pro near there’s to get the optimum position for the live stream. I still can’t get over that I’ll be making my way along the course with a Starlink dish in tow.

Simon gets the participants in line to give a briefing 25 minutes before the start time. I can feel the nervous energy building; some have no idea what awaits them, and for others, it’s a familiar journey ahead that they know each time throws new hurdles in front of them. The Larapinta is spectacular, but the environment is ever-changing out there. There are parts that burnt in January, removing greenery that saved you from some of the sun’s harshness, there are water crossings to contend with, and the weather over the weekend is all over the shop. The goal today is to survive the day’s heat and stay as hydrated as you can.

Some people are wisely sitting in shade, others are getting some last-minute time with their crew talking strategy. The time has come for the participants to line up again; the live stream starts!  Simon knows all the right things to say having been in their place himself the year before. Oliver and James F are capturing the moment. And they are off!! First, they have to make their way up Mt Sonder, say g’day to Anne Schmidt, and make it back down, and then the Larapinta journey starts....

Well, that's us for the month,

See you all soon!

ASRWC Commitee