David Hunter’s tale of woe about his battle to be a cross country runner again almost rivalled that of his wife Naomi’s but all ended well last Saturday when he emulated Naomi’s maiden win from seven days before.
Naomi had taken 12 months to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon while David had his own problems with an arthritic big toe which required an operation to fuse it, followed by weeks of “non-weight bearing” rest, more than a month in a “moon boot” with no certainty about when he could return to training.
“I felt absolutely disgusting at the start of the season. I couldn’t walk and didn’t think I would ever win a race again,” Hunter gasped, exhausted after winning the eight-kilometre Lindsay Kent Memorial Handicap at Stawell from the veteran, Terry Jenkins.
“I’ve had to take it slowly and only started training again, very slowly, last month.” Daughter Olivia completed a success-filled fortnight for the Hunters by winning the one-kilometre sub-junior race
The Lindsay Kent was hosted by the Stawell Amateur Athletic Club which shared the event with the Stawell and Ararat Cross Country Club who conducted their own race within a race.