Malvern headed out to Nortons Park for the third club race of the season, the 8km cross country, with the Trevor Robbins Handicap and the William Donald Championship up for grabs. With Little Athletics and Glenhuntly also booked into the park on the day, setting up was a challenge, but thanks to the help of Glenhuntly we were able to get racing.
On one of the toughest courses of the season, Damien Bertram (30:45) never looked fazed, finishing first to take home the championship trophy. Tracey Austin, taking the foot of the pedal before Gold Coast, was the fastest woman with 31:22. Also putting in good runs were Lisa Dommisse (39:36) and Mark Bartholomeusz (41:09).
The handicap race was a close contest, with Eimear Fox (41:09) beating Jaco Kukkuk (31:22) by three seconds, with Damien Bertram a further eight seconds behind. Best known as a track athlete, Eimear's run showed that a big improvement in cross country racing could be on the cards.
