And the weather once again was perfect for a club race which saw the largest field of riders for a long time at a club event.
The atmosphere in Halcombe was just buzzing as not only was there a local rugby fixture on but also the Moa Harriers had a relay event that started and finished at Halcombe. The population of Halcombe at 3pm was probably around 4 times the normal population.
Special thanks to our helpers on the day – Steve Challies did a great job as race manager. Our marshals included visitor from Auckland Trish Harvey along with Rebecca Allan, Katherine Stannard and John Stewart.
Although there was a chance of close interaction between runners and cyclists ( and 1 dog) there were no eventualities and it was surprising to see that many of the runners are also cyclists and maybe we can convince them to join us for a club race when they are not running.
Part of the large field included the juniors (and some parents) that were attending the 5 day development camp at Massey University. The juniors have been doing some great rides including at flat ride to Ohakea on Thursday and a hilly ride over the track and Saddle on Friday. After biking out from Palmy they were faced with either a 60km race for the boys and a 40km race for the girls. Then they turned around and biked back to Palmy. I am sure they all enjoyed the rest of their stay in the Manawatu.
Next weeks race is again at Halcombe. Registration is at the Halcombe Rugby Club from 12.30pm. Wanganui will again be doing the timing for this event so to avoid the congestion at registration please ensure that you register online before Friday.