I’ll be back! says 2010 Coatesville Classic winner

Coatesville Classic No.8 winner Fleur Walter is pretty pleased she put down the books for a day and hit the startline for the 8km run. Walters smashed the opposition, coming home in 33 minutes, 32 seconds, four minutes ahead of the second-place woman, and taking away a voucher for a pair of Shoe Science shoes of her choice.

The new pair of running shoes delighted 28-year-old Walter, who is on a student budget. She expects to finish her graduate diploma in secondary school teaching in June and be in a classroom in July.

Walters took fifth place in the Auckland Marathon in 2008, but says she hasn’t been running much lately. She was pleasantly surprised to pass some strong male runners, coming in fifth overall.

‘The course is brilliant,’ she said. ‘I really enjoyed all the hills. Often guys struggle on the hills.

‘There’s that killer hill and then it’s undulating – you don’t really get a break until the last 2km and the downhill.’

Walters loved the course not just for its technical challenges, but also its scenic value. ‘I’ve never been to Coatesville before and it was really lovely. We made a day of it and went out to Piha afterwards – I had a snooze on the beach!

‘I’ll definitely be back next year.’

Badminton coach takes men's race

The men’s race was won by thirty-year-old North Shore badminton coach, Gavin Bisset (left) in a time of 29 minutes, 8 seconds. Following the Water in a Box lead car out onto the course, Bisset pulled out to a commanding lead and never looked back, although he only beat second-placed Nick Sutherland by one minute, 44 seconds.

Coatesville Cup
Walters wasn’t the only competitor vowing to be back next year. It was smiles all round in the sunshine with nearly 250 runners from all over Auckland impressed with Coatesville’s beautiful reserve and the views from the course.  The race even pulled in a few disappointed athletes from events such as the Cathay Pacific Half Marathon, cancelled due to the tsunami warning.

That’s a great base to build on for the event, which saw its first year with chip timing and an accurately measured course, enabling a new tradition to be established: the Coatesville Cup awarded to the first man and woman resident home in the 8km run. The man’s cup went to third-placed David Haslam (31) who came home in 31 minutes, 23 seconds, and the woman’s cup to Olivia Stone who turns fifteen in May and pulled off a fantastic performance to place fourth in a time of 39 minutes, 12 seconds.

21 months and running!
The Kids’ Classic 2km dash wound up the event, with 44 children cheered out and back by their parents and the 8km runners and walkers back from their outing. The youngest competitor was 21-month-old Nico Swart (right), who completed the course in a respectable 23 minutes, 15 seconds, in the company of his mother and coach. Nico trained at the beach for the Coatesville Kids’ Classic and is reported  to run with the Harriers.

Fabulous support
The Coatesville community backed the event, coming out in force as marshals and volunteers. Strict traffic management requirements called for 35 marshals out on the course – a big ask for a small community. But it all added to the festive atmosphere as families cheered the runners and walkers round the loop course. The Classic raised nearly $1,000 for improvements to the Coatesville Reserve, and $200 for local schools.

Some great sponsors came to the table including 2XU, Shoe Science, Naturally Organic and Barfoot & Thompson Coatesville. Treescape and contractor TTC did a magnificent job with traffic management. And Tarnia Harman of the Green Gym got the kids warmed up to 'Celebration' before they set out on their 2km dash.

No one could miss the Water in a Box car (below) leading Gavin Bisset around the 8km loop course with the race clock. And Brydie and Olli did a great job at the water table later - it was quite a change from their regular jobs as djs and event organisers on the Spanish party island of Ibeza!

Photo captions
Top: Women’s 8km run winner, Fleur Walter. Courtesy of Ashley Greig/Marathon Photos
Centre left: Men’s 8km run winner Gavin Bisset.  Courtesy of Ashley Greig/Marathon Photos.
Centre right: Youngest competitor, 21-month-old Nico Swart. Courtesy of Ashley Greig/Marathon Photos.
Bottom: Water in a Box car waits to lead the race out. Holly Docherty.

Results (for full results click here)

Classic No.8 8km run

Coatesville Cup winners 

The Coatesville Cup is awarded to the first Coatesville School zone resident man and woman home in the 8km run. The cups are sponsored by local businesses: Windmill Orchard, Coatesville Store, Coatesville Motors, Fernielea Cafe, and Country Elegance.

Women's Coatesville Cup	Olivia Stone	00:39:14	4th placed woman
Men’s Coatesville Cup	David Haslam	00:31:23	3rd placed man

Girls 5-6 years	Tahlia Brown	00:15:00
Boys 5-6 years	Luca Harris	00:11:40
Girls 7-8 years	Bridie McCullough	00:10:12
Boys 7-8 years	James Hickson	00:11:09
Girls 9-12 years	Clodagh McCullough	00:08:55
Boys 9-12 years	Kyle Simmonds	00:08:44