New Zealand Cross Country Champs - Hagley Park (1st August 2026)

Well done to all the Owai athletes who made the trip down to Christchurch for the New Zealand Cross Country Champs at the weekend. What an amazing turn out from the club and some really good performances in cold, muddy, slippery Christchurch conditions! Liz, Mariano and Nick all came away with individual medals but lots contributed to strong Auckland team performances.

It's always a great event - a good chance to race against the top cross country runners in your category and you get to run in a team with people you've been racing 'against' locally all season. It is also great to be there as a spectator or an official. The last races of the day were 'twilight relays' under lights - huge kudos to our team for lacing up for a 2nd time on Saturday and coming away with bronze!

Masters Women 6000m

MW40 Emily Harvey 25:33 (Auckland Team 🥇)

MW50 Tanya Hammond 27:50 (Auckland Team 🥈)

MW70 Liz Hardley 39:30 🥈

Masters Men 8000m

MM40 Mariano Piagentini 28:53 🥉(Auckland Team 🥇)

MM45 Simon Mace 28:53 (Auckland Team 🥇)

MM45 Dion O'Neale 30:02 (Auckland Team 🥇)

MM50 Nick Moore 27:46 🥇

MM50 Andrew Harvey 32:57

Senior Men 10000m

Ben Anderson 35:01 (Auckland Team 🥉)

Harvey Walsh 35:17

U16 Men 4000m

Harrison Skewes 13:13 (Auckland Team 🥈)

U14 Boys 3000m

Elliot Timmins 11:36

Mixed 35+ 4 x 2000m relay

Owairaka (Simon Mace, Tanya Hammond, Dion O'Neale, Emily Harvey) 31:37 🥉

Full results are here: https://athleticscanterbury.anet.live/meets/75413

A big thank you to all the volunteers at Athletics Auckland for selecting teams, organising subsidised flights and accommodation and especially to Isla Nixon for managing the teams on the day.

If you missed out this year, next year, the event will be in the Waikato, which will be a bit easier to get to. Remember, there is a club travel fund that members can apply for help to get to events around the country. Check the latest newsletter for details.