2015 COBURG 6 HOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Another great set of results from the 2015 Coburg 6 Hour Championships, contested on Sunday 8th March at the Collingwood Harriers track at Clifton Hill. The 6AM start time proved its worth once again as the early cloud made for ideal conditions and the sun did not break through until some time after 10AM. The last 2 hours saw the temperature quickly climb but everyone was able to knuckle down in the sunny conditions and see it out.
The Men’s 6 Hour Run Championship was a ripper with a high quality field of 27, including some of our rising stars. Little separated Francesco Ciancio, Dion Finocchiro and Barry Keem throughout the race, with the lead changing more than once. But it was Dion who came home the strongest, winning with 85.037km, ahead of Francesco with 83.695km and Barry with 83.511km, ensuring that the Australian Open 6 Hour Track Record of 83.600km (held jointly by Yiannis Kouros and Trevor Jacocs) was erased from the books. As an indication of depth, the first 10 all ran in excess of 70km. It is not often we see that in Australia.
The Women’s 6 Hour Run Championship saw Nikki Wynd and Sonia McDermott matching it early but, as the race progressed, Nikki gradually drew clear, eventually winning with 71.914km to Sonia’s 68.094km.
The 6 Hour Walk Championships saw wins to Michelle Thompson with 55.073km and Robin Whyte with 50.741km and Australian Walk age group records to ACT partnership Robin Whyte (M70-74 50.741km) and Val Chesterton (W70-74 39.965km).
We also added a 100km Run event to the carnival and 3 runners took up the option of continuing on after the 6 Hour finished, to complete the requisite 250 laps. Barry Keen was first to finish with a very impressive 7:13:45, ahead of David Overend with 7:47:58 and Sonia McDermott with 8:54:50.
Thanks to our many volunteers and helpers and thanks to the crews and supporters and thanks especially to all our competitors who made the event so successful once again.
Overall results read as follows:
| FEMALE 6HR WALK | ||
| Place | Name | Final Distance |
| 1 | Michelle THOMPSON | 55.073 |
| 2 | Karyn O’NEILL | 46.308 |
| 3 | Val CHESTERTON | 39.965 |
| MALE 6HR WALK | ||
| Place | Name | Final Distance |
| 1 | Robin WHYTE | 50.741 |
| 2 | John KILMARTIN | 50.479 |
| 3 | Clarrie JACK | 46.195 |
| 4 | Saul RICHARDSON | 43.492 |
| 5 | Gary TURNER | 38.639 |
| 6 | Michael WHIMPEY | 38.247 |
| 7 | Terry O’NEILL | 37.738 |
| 8 | Ken CARTER | 26.111 |
| FEMALE 6HR RUN | ||
| Place | Name | Final Distance |
| 1 | Nikki WYND | 71.914 |
| 2 | Sonia McDERMOTT | 68.094 |
| 3 | Kerrie BREMNER | 63.402 |
| 4 | Cheryl SYMONS | 54.470 |
| MALE 6HR RUN | ||
| Place | Name | Final Distance |
| 1 | Dion FINOCCHIRO | 85.037 |
| 2 | Francesco CIANCIO | 83.695 |
| 3 | Barry KEEM | 83.511 |
| 4 | David OVEREND | 78.548 |
| 5 | Kevin MANNIX | 78.103 |
| 6 | Kay BRETZ | 75.470 |
| 7 | Matthew ECKFORD | 73.922 |
| 8 | Cameron GILLIES | 73.435 |
| 9 | Rob MASON | 72.820 |
| 10 | Wayne CALVERT | 70.881 |
| 11 | Rick COOKE | 69.114 |
| 12 | Daragh O’LOUGHLIN | 68.950 |
| 13 | Justin SCHOLZ | 68.540 |
| 14 | Peter BLACK | 66.838 |
| 15 | Simon AUSTIN | 63.647 |
| 16 | Gabor JAKUS | 63.417 |
| 17 | Omar GAROOQ | 61.731 |
| 18 | Ricardo COSTA | 62.260 |
| 19 | Ken MARSH | 60.226 |
| 20 | Trevor MARSH | 57.546 |
| 21 | Peter MUNNS | 54.890 |
| 22 | Rikus SLABBERT | 54.182 |
| 23 | Kerry CLAPHAM | 51.261 |
| 24 | Jonathon ASPEY | 50.005 |
| 25 | Tony WILMS | 56.600 |
| 26 | Ian HOAD | 37.492 |
| 27 | Ross CLOSTER | 15.200 |
| 100km RUN | ||
| Place | Name | Time |
| 1 | Barry KEEM | 7:13:45 |
| 2 | David OVEREND | 7:47:58 |
| 3 | Sonia McDERMOTT | 8:54:50 |