Rhonda
Racks Up Mountain Win
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| Rhonda
Clark |
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A grimly determined Rhonda
Clark reversed recent narrow defeats, with a slender
victory in the handicap section of the Advance Bricks-sponsored
King of the Mountain, held at Halls Gap last Saturday.
Gritting
her teeth for the punishing three kilometre climb
after being pipped at the post by Col Barnett at
Stawell last start, and going down by a mere four
seconds to David McAllister at Ararat last month,
Rhonda was steady and resolute in her will to win
and saluted the timekeepers with just six seconds
to spare from the experienced Steve Baird.
In a desperate
fight for third, Paul Atherton prevailed by a solitary
second over the improving Bob Freeland who had trained
for two hours on the demanding course during the
week.
Feeling like a queen, just
for a day, a smiling Rhonda said that she “never
ever expected” to win the notorious King of
the Mountain which had tested the reserves of many
fitter and faster runners over the years. She thanked
her partner, Garry Rice, for a robust training session
prior to the race and praised the mercurial Sven
O’Flynn for challenging her some 200 metres
before the finish “which might have made the
difference between winning and losing.”
Nathaniel Warren speed
over the distance in a blistering 12 minutes, 37
second - 18 seconds faster than his winning time
last year -
and was crowned King of the Mountain. Nathaniel’s
effort was all the more meritorious because Dave
McAllister, the man most likely to press him for
supremacy, was not present on the day.
Earning the
title of Queen of the Mountain for the fifth time
from her past five attempts, Susie Ellis again dominated
as the fastest female in 14.56. A remarkably consistent
and committed athlete, super-Susie recorded exactly
14.37 in two of those wins and 14.34 in a third.
Luca
O’Flynn jumped to a handy
lead in the battle for the Junior Aggregate and Open
Boys Championship by winning Prince of the Mountain
while Layla Atherton became Princess after skipping
away with the sub-junior division of the race.
By Keith Lofthouse
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