Cool conditions earn warm praise from runners

 PORT Moresby Road Runners relished the unseasonably cool conditions at the Holiday Inn, Waigani, on Saturday afternoon. 

It was the opposite of the previous Saturday at Ela Beach when the runners wilted and cursed under the scorching sun. 

This time, there was drizzling rain, cloud cover and a wafting breeze that comforted a serene bunch of athletes as they wound their way leisurely around Lamana Heights, Waigani Drive, Ward’s Road and Islander Drive.

Female runners were prominent. Laurin Jane scored second place in 22 minutes and 33 seconds in the 3.3 kilometre event, behind Buda Awowari (14.36), while Julia Mayersohn was a comfortable fifth in 26.02 just behind Graeme O’Flaherty (25.36) and Simon Nutley (25.37). 

Nicci Stilwell tackled the two-lap 6.6 km event in her Road Runners debut and nailed a solid eighth placing in 47.12 after keeping Paulus Opus (46.06) and John Greenland (44.11) on their toes throughout.

Simon Schwall started slowly but finished in a characteristic flourish in 37.38 and Phil Holcombe hit the comeback trail with a vengeance in 32.48.

Ben Williams started his new year with a resounding sub-30 minute 29.25 and James Gurumi was back looking strong after a month away in 28.36.

There are no prizes for guessing the winner as Silas Ukuma, in 28.20, notched up his sixth straight win, which included what was, at the time, an upset win over Jethro Mana in the Christmas Crawl. 

The Ijivitari tearaway is enjoying a purple patch of form and no one can at the moment hold him back. At 5pm on Saturday, the Road Runners will return to the popular Koroboro School venue on Gagoma St, Korobosea. 

Who knows if there will be a repeat of last weekend’s delightful running weather? 

Three courses are on offer, over 2, 5 and 10kms. 

New runners and walkers are welcome.