A WORLD duathlon champion and gun triathlete, Leon Griffin ruled the race for the men’s open 6500m in South Bendigo Athletics Club’s invitational cross-country run on Saturday at Woodvale. Racing in the Bendigo University Athletics Club colours, Griffin charged to victory in a time of 22.19 minutes. The women’s open champion was the consistent Alice Wilkinson from Bendigo Harriers in 26.34 to be 10th overall.
The Bendigo Bats athletics team have made a flying start to Athletics Victoria’s XCR ’21 series in Saturday’s cross-country action at Jells Park. A group of 36 represented Flack Advisory Services Group-backed Athletics Bendigo. Bendigo was victorious in the men’s open division two and also raced to second place in the overall standings with what is considered the region's strongest men's open relay team for a long time.
ATHLETES face a change of venue when the Bendigo Bank Dragon Mile marks a return on Easter Sunday. Despite no Easter Parade, the Bendigo Harriers Athletics Club will run the event for schools at Athletics Bendigo headquarters in Retreat Road, Flora Hill on April 4. Reduced sponsorship has led to no open-age races, but the Harriers were keen to have the Dragon Mile in some form. Intersport Bicknell’s has also kicked in as a major backer of the Easter tradition. Registrations are now open. The Dragon Mile was first run in 1987.
Eaglehawk and Bendigo Harriers again achieved top-three finishes in their respective divisions in Saturday’s ninth round of AVSL track and field action at Flora Hill. Wet weather played havoc with competition, especially in the metropolitan zones. The cold did not phase athletes, officials and spectators at the Flack Advisory Services Group-backed Athletics Bendigo Region round.
Eaglehawk’s ploy to use the PowerPlay paid off in Saturday’s eighth round of AVSL track and field action run by Flack Advisory Services Group-backed Bendigo Region. In a fierce contest to claim a top two spot on the division two ladder and promotion to premier league for next season, Eaglehawk scored 28,646 points in the latest round at the Flora Hill complex.