Horsham hospital worker Selina Heard-Price ran eight kilometres for the first time in her life on Saturday and it netted her an astounding win on debut with the club.
Battling near exhaustion for the last two kilometres of the race, Selina made the most of her generous handicap and held on grimly for her 30 second win over the luckless speedster Col Barnett in the Howdens of Stawell-sponsored handicap.
For the third time in four outings this season, Col again recorded fastest time, a scintillating 32.23 minutes, but is yet to post a win.
The lean, long-legged Selina, who only joined the club on the day of her win, said that three kilometres is as far as she had ever run. Having trained on the flats of Horsham, she had never encountered the hills and dales she was confronted with in Stawell’s Ironbarks Forest.
“I’ve been involved in sport, netball, badminton and squash all my life but never been the member of a running club. I came into this race with only a couple of casual two kilometre runs and a couple of three kilometre runs behind me, so I’m staggered in more ways than one,” she said.
Club president Gary Howden, whose wife Sharon finished third in the event, said at a post-race gathering that Selina was proof positive that “anyone could walk off the street” and win a race.
“That’s the beauty of our club. The handicaps give everyone a chance. All it takes is a bit of will power and determination and that’s exactly what Selina called on today to land the prize,” added Howden.
Reine Mackley returned to form to defeat Tobias Blair in the junior division of the race, held over four kilometres, while Layla Atherton was just too nippy for her sister Cella in the sub-junior race, held over two kilometres.
By Keith Lofthouse