Unfortunately due to the gale force winds on Saturday 7^th  September our final running activity for the season was cancelled.

However some of our members were involved in various running activities in a variety of venues during the week and weekend.

Liam Hinchcliffe 16yrs,  Laylah Connelly 13yrs. and Hailey D’Ombrain 13yrs. were representing the South Coast Region Team  at the Combined High Schools T & F Carnival  held at Homebush during the week. Hailey contested the 3000m event, running up an age group and Laylah also running up, competed in the 14rs 400m.  Qualified in the heat for the final, having ran a national qualifier. Laylah  placed a creditable 5^th in the final.  She was then selected to run in the open 4 x 400m relay for South Coast.    The four girls ran well and proudly were awarded the Silver Medal.

Liam had a very successful carnival competing in three events and was awarded the Silver medal in the Open Steeple Chase and the Bronze medal in the 16yrs 1,500m. We congratulate these three talented young teenagers.

During the same week our champion masters athlete, Cristine Suffolk was also winning medals at the Oceania  Masters Games in Mackay, Queensland. Her tally was 3 Gold and 1 Silver. This was a great effort as this is her final year in the 45 – 49yrs category. She won gold in 5000m, 2k Steeple Chase and the Medley Relay team. Possibly would have also been Gold instead of Silver for the 8k XC but was led ‘led up the wrong track’ and had to double back. Cristine is having a short rest before  flying to Adelaide in October for the Australian Masters Games.

Also visiting Queensland for a two week holiday on the Sunshine Coast are the Burbage Family. Daughters Layla & Cailin enjoyed the opportunity to compete in the Ironkids Sunshine Coast  Fun Run while Irwin competed in the very popular Annual event  ‘Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast’  with 2000 other competitors.

We congratulate Irwin on finishing this tough event, swim, ride & run, completing it in 5.20.37. which was a 25 minute PB.  He placed 114 in his age category 35 – 39 and overall was 649^th. !!  Apparently conditions were warm and windy so the ocean would have been inviting for a quick cool down.

Just a reminder about our end of season celebration on Saturday 14^th. at Willandra, starting at 3pm. We will have some short fun events or the opportunity, if preferred, a longer run, before the presentations of awards and certificates. This will be followed by enjoying some food  and a chat together.

NOTE: Willandra will supply the savoury food side plus drinks, it would be appreciated if members could please bring something sweet to share.

The overall XC Points Score results are listed. Certificates will be awarded to all members who participated, plus the 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd. placegetters will be awarded a trophy.

A very BIG THANKYOU to all whose names appear for being part of Victory Runners inaugural XC Result listing. Special thanks also to our valuable volunteers, Julie Harrison and Bill Seary. Look forward to seeing as many as possible on Saturday.

September  quote of the Month

“You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.” – Winston Churchill

The money that we earn and the things that we buy make us our living. What we give to others and use to better the world give us a life. A living is something we do to create the life that we want. Neither would be completely available without the other.

First a quick report on the Australian Cross Country Championships at Dapto on Saturday 24^th August.

The weather was perfect  and as spectators we  certainly enjoyed watching the top XC runners in the various age categories from all over Australia and New Zealand. As expected, KJ’s had the course looking great and coped well with the thousands of athletes and visitors.

Very proud of our Victory Member, Hailey D’Ombrain as she put in a great effort in the under 14yrs 3k event to finish in 55^th position out of 82 competitors. In the same event, Ivy Boothroyd who has trained at Willandra finished in 12^th position (great result for a track runner!)  Ivy was just 60 seconds in front of Hailey, which demonstrates how close the finish was.

Probably the most thrilling event for us was to witness Jayla Hancock – Cameron winning the under 18 4k event. As this is her last year at school, the win was a well earned reward for her commitment and dedication to the sport.

Competition at Willandra for Week 23  was also our final week of Point Score. We were pleased to welcome home Jon and Razz after returning to Ausie during the week from their tour of Ireland.

The decision to conclude Pointscore a week earlier than the original plan, was due to the fact we needed two weeks to organise trophies and certificates for Presentation Day on 14^th September.

However Week 24 (Saturday 7^th) we intend to have a ‘Fun’ relay over various XC distances. Teams will be organised on the day. Overall Point Score results will also be displayed on the notice board.

A  reminder and some info. about our inaugural Presentation day on Saturday 14^th.  The afternoon will commence at 3pm with some short fun events followed by presentations of awards for the 2018 Summer activities. Closely followed by awards and certificates for the various distances of  winter XC Pointscore.

To conclude the afternoon we will enjoy some ’tasty treats’ and this is where we require your assistance please.

Willandra will supply the savoury food, plus tea/coffee and cordial. We would appreciate if members could bring a plate of sweet food to share.

However, for catering purposes it would really be helpful on numbers attending. Let us know on Saturday 7^th or email info@victoryrunners.com.au  no later than Monday 9^th.

If you are not able to attend could you also let us know, and possibly organise someone to collect your Certificate  (and award  if applicable.)  Thank you.

Quote of the month for September.

“You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give.”  – Winston Churchill

The money that we earn, and the things that we buy, make us our living. What we give to others and use to better the world, give us a life. A living is something we do to create the life that we want.  Neither would be completely available without the other.

1k Course

2k Course

2k Walk

3k Course

3k Walk

4k  Course  – Sect. 1

4k  Course  – Sect. 2

6k Course

After the gale force winds of last week, Victory members were greeted with near perfect conditions for Week 22. During the week several of our school students had competed in the second level of their Track & Field school carnivals so numbers were a bit depleted in some distances.

However, three Victory members have been congratulated for their success on Sunday morning when they took part in the Husky Half Running Festival. Nine year old Evie Hill competed in the open 5k event and placed an amazing 12^th. overall and not surprisingly won the gold medal for her age category, under 10.  This same event was won by Liam Hinchcliffe who naturally was awarded the gold medal in his category 15 – 19yrs.  Not to be outdone by his son, David Hincliffe contested the half marathon and was 20^th home and also was awarded the gold medal for first in the 50 – 59yrs category.  Considering there were hundreds competing in the various events their results are a great achievement.

Our ‘Top’ masters athlete, Cristine Suffolk is flying to Mackay shortly to participate in the Australian team at the 2019 Oceania Masters Athletics Championships from August 31^st. to September 7^th. The event has a good representation from 14 other countries. We know Cristine will do her best in her three individual events plus the distance medley relay.

While on the subject of ‘Top’ masters athletes, we had the joy of welcoming Erich & Eva Moeller – Duhme back on Saturday, having returning from their great outback and north Queensland touring holiday. Both are looking as fresh as ever and very interesting to listen to some of their experiences and view some photo’s.

Just a reminder, there will not be competition at Willandra on Saturday 24^th.  However, any members not travelling to Dapto to watch the Australian XC Championships, are quite welcome to use the course for training

Week 23 on Saturday 31^st. August, and our final day of competition, Week 24, will be Saturday 7^th. September Saturday 14^th. September will be a Fun & Food day and Presentation of Awards starting at 3pm. Please mark this on your calendar as we would love to celebrate the past 5 months with everyone.

Our plan is to have a few weeks break after the 14^th. September, especially as the school holidays are approaching which effect a number of our families. Activities during the spring & summer months will possibly start after the long weekend in October. In the meantime we would welcome ideas and input from members.

We will also be holding the inaugural Annual General Meeting during October, (date to be confirmed) as the 2018/19 season concludes on 30^th. September.  October therefore signifies the beginning of another financial year for Victory Runners and affiliation with Athletics NSW and the beginning of 2019/20 season.

1k Course

2k Course

2k Walk

3k Course

4k  Course

6k Course

My apologies for Week Twenty’s report & results not making it to our webpage due to a few technical problems, and therefore have combined the two weeks.

Entering our 6^th month of activities for the season means a new quote of the month for August which expresses a very important point. “In a run it doesn’t matter whether you come in first,  in the middle of the pack,  or last.   You can say ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”

In sharing this quote by Fred Lebow I wish to share a little of the history of the author.

Fred Lebow (June 3, 1932 – October 9, 1994), born Fischel Lebowitz, was a runner, race director, and founder of the New York City Marathon. Born in Arad, Romania, he presided over the transformation of the race from one with 55 finishers in 1970 to one of the largest marathons in the world with more than 51,000 finishers in 2016. He was posthumously inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2001.

Lebow ran in the inaugural marathon in 1970, finishing 45th out of 55 runners with a time of 4:12:09. He ran his last NYC Marathon on November 1, 1992 in celebration of his 60th birthday, after being diagnosed with brain cancer in early 1990, with his friend, nine-time NYC Marathon women’s winner Grete Waitz, with a time of 5:32:35.

During his career he completed 69 marathons in 30 countries. Along with the NYC Marathon he also organized the Empire State Building Run-Up, the Fifth Avenue Mile, and the CrazyLegs Mini Marathon (a 10K road race), which was the first strictly women-only road race. Lebow was also president of New York Road Runners for twenty years.

His memorial service at the finish line of the New York City Marathon attracted a crowd of more than 3,000 mourners, which at that time was the largest memorial gathering in Central Park since the death of John Lennon.

As I have the privilege  of  observing the finish of our various distances conducted each week, I enjoy seeing the satisfaction on each competitor as they finish.   Our very youngest right thru’ to the mature runners,  are all winners, simply because they have finished !  Maybe in a different order each week, which possibly has a lot to do with a handicap start or who improves the most, or  has run a bit slower, these are all contributing facts, but not as important as being able to say  “I have finished”.

Weather wise Week Twenty and Week Twenty One were completely different, as readers will be aware. With extremely very low temperatures and  gale force winds blowing across Willandra start line on Saturday 10^th August, organisers were not expecting any members to show up.  How wrong we were , 12 very brave  competitors arrived and didn’t intend to allow the conditions to stop them from having the satisfaction of being able to say, despite the conditions, “I  finished”.

A  really commendable effort  to  our 11 members and John, Jill Tuckerman’s cousin  visiting from England. Results have been recorded in finish order, each  scoring the maximum 10 points !   Not sure if the  times could be contributed to ‘wind assisted ’  or not.    However congratulations to young Matilda Hewatt who bettered her 1k time and Josef Pichler  who also ran a good PB in the 4k.

The ANSW & NSWLA Short Course XC Championships were conducted on Saturday 3^rd.  August at Rydlemere.  Victory Runners is very proud of our only competitor Evie Hill who was competing for Shoalhaven LA’s  in the  U10 years 1.5k event. This  young  nine year old  finished in  6^th. place in a good time of  6.01.0  minutes. Great running Evie.

On the home course for Week 20,  there were some notable improvements,  especially in the 4k.  Section 1  winner, Jon Schol ran a PB after a morning cycling in training for his tour of Ireland and competing in a number of Triathlons during August.      We wish Jon and Razz a very enjoyable experience as they undertake this Irish  adventure and look forward to their return  home to Australia  in late August.

Section 2 of the 4k was again a great race down to the finish. Go marker Courtney Harrison just managed to hold off  Josef Pichler  over the finish line, who was chased by back marker Cameron Harrison,  both managed to finish on the same time  with less than 30 seconds separating the next five finishers.  Great effort girls and guys.

Our younger competitors in the 1k, 2k & 3k continue to impress with an obvious enjoyment of competition and doing their best. All these are listed in the results and their enthusiasm certainly ensures our future.

With the Australian Cross Country Championships being contested at Dapto ( Kembla Joggers XC course) on Saturday 24^th. August,  Victory Runners will not be holding a competition day at Willandra. This will give members the opportunity to travel to Dapto and witness the event .  Victory Runners has one competitor, Hailey D’Ombrain in the U14  3k,  plus Ivy Boothroyd  who may be known to some having  trained at Willandra before the State XC.   In addition to this,  coach Andae  Kalemusic from  Ulladulla  has seven of her teenagers from the Limitless Track squad named in the State team.  All these athletes have competed at Willandra in their school events and would be great to support them as a club at the National Championships.

Week Twenty Two will be held  on Saturday 17^th.  Also we are in the process of planning our final Winter activity for a date in September with a Presentation afternoon.  Date TBA.

10th. August  2019  ~   Willandra

1k Distance

1k Walk

2k Distance

4k Distance

3rd. August  2019  ~   Willandra

1k Division

2k Division

Walk Division

3k Division

4k Division  – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

Week Nineteen began with saluting some of our members who had competed in events away from the area. The attached photo’s of Laura Burbage and her children as reported last week have captured some of the rugged  terrain Laura had to cope with in her 22k run, the 4 wheel drive track combined with gale force winds certainly didn’t make for an easy run, we are very proud of Laura’s achievement, plus Layla and Cailin who also coped with the gale force  wind in their FunRun and enjoyed the chance to be photographed with mum and their medals.

Next on our list were our seven members, also photographed, who competed in the State All Schools Cross Country Championships on Friday 26^th. at Eastern Creek. Despite these students earning a well earned rest and were not present to receive the applause we are certainly proud to acknowledge their results.

Competing against the best XC runners in their age category from all over NSW, their results are a credit to their ability and effort on the day………. CONGRATULATIONS to you all.    Note:  Most events had over 100 competitors.

From the youngest – Joel Harlor placed 20^th. in the Primary schools 11yrs 3k event.

Hailey D’Ombrain – 12^th in the Secondary schools 13yrs 3k event.

Laylah Connelly – 80^th in the same event (Layla is actually a sprinter!)

Blake D’Ombrain – Mid field in the 14yrs 4k event

Freya Robinson – Mills – 31^st in 16yrs 4k event

Maddison D’Ombrain – Mid field in the same event, however sacrificed her placing to encourage a girl who was sick and struggling and helped her finish the event. Lovely unselfish gesture Maddison.

Liam Hinchcliffe – 4^th in the 16yrs 6k event. Liam also was 1^st in CHS boys placings.  An excellent result in a very competitive age category.

In addition to these results we wish to Congratulate Hailey who has just received news of her selection in the Athletics NSW U14 team to compete in the Australian XC Championships at Dapto on the 24^th August. Well Done!!

Competition was a bit light on this week, however two standouts in the junior ranks of the 2k division were Holly Matthews and Charlie Henry crossing the line together for equal 1^st. place.  Well done also to Jill Tuckerman who improved her 4k time by over 40 seconds to place second behind Josef Pichler. Backmarker Cameron Harrison put in a good effort for third place. Jon Schol also managed to hold on to first place in section 1 of the 4k just ahead of Cristine Suffolk and back marker Reuben Pichler.  Josh Henry was the only competitor to run two laps having run the first 2k with son Charlie managed another 4k to achieve a good time for the 6k.

Concluding our July report, a final reminder of our quote for the month:

“If it doesn’t challenge you,  It won’t change you”.     Fred DeVito

1k Division

2k Division

Walk Division

3k Division

4k Division  – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

6k Division

Weather for Week Eighteen was almost too good to be true as the winds abated and the sun was pleasantly warm.

Despite a number of our regular competitors away for the school holidays we were pleased to welcome some visiting families.

On Saturday 13^th. July the Burbage family had a change of scenery for their weekly run by competing in the Raffertys Coastal Run at Lake Macquarie. Laura had entered the 22km run with 301 other competitors on what appeared to be a very testing event on rugged trails along the coast. Laura completed the course in 2:46:20 and was a creditable 25^th in her age category and 75^th female to finish. Keen young daughters Layla and Cailin also enjoyed the challenge of the kids Fun Run which had 57 competitors. Layla finished in a time of 8:26 and was the 10^th. girl with sister Cailin not far behind in 10: 01 and was the 14^th. girl.  We are interested in all members who may compete in other events, anywhere, anytime. Please let us know and send results and photos via the Victory email.

Two keen members, Jon Schol and Razz Morgan will be taking off shortly and heading for Ireland. While touring Ireland they plan to be competing in triathlons and also fit in some Park Runs in their spare time!  Both had a good run on Saturday with Jon taking out line honours for the second week, in Section 1 of the 4k. Jon’s time was just short of his best time. Razz placed second not far behind fast finisher Natasha Spicer in Section 2 of the 4k.
Jon was followed home by our Masters champion Cristine Suffolk who will be heading to Mackay in Queensland late August to compete in the Oceania Masters Games.

Our biggest improver for Week 18 was also competing in the 4k.  Congratulations to Linda Hastedt who managed to reduce her 4k time by almost 1 minute in only her third attempt over this challenging distance. Well done Linda!

With the State All Schools Cross Country Championships being held at Eastern Creek on Friday 26^th August we wish all Victory Members competing “all the very best.”  Have a great run and feel proud to be competing with the very best XC runners in your age group in NSW.

Look forward to Week 19 and hopefully enjoyable weather too.  New members always welcome.  Start time: 3.00pm for all distances from 1k to as long as you care to walk or run.

1k Division

2k Division – Section 1 & 2

2k Walk Division

3k Division

4k Division  – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

Brave Victory competitors experienced the winter weather for Week Seventeen on Saturday 13^th. July as windy Willandra threw out the challenge with extremely cold gale force winds.

The Monthly quote for July …. “If it doesn’t challenge you, It wont change you”.  (Fred DeVitto) was quite applicable as runners and walkers were certainly challenged and should be very proud of their efforts in such difficult conditions.

Due to low numbers and the weather conditions, some competitors chose a shorter distance so handicap wasn’t applied for some distances.

However Section 2 of the 4k distance the sealed handicap was applied for points & positions which did have some very close finishes. Line honours went to Josef Pichler, with Stewart Sim and Razz Morgan finishing 2^nd and 3^rd. and to top it off all three managed to improve their times!  Cousins, Cam. Harrison & Patrick Ozolins had a good challenge finishing 4^th. & 5^th. on the sealed handicap with just four seconds separating them. Laura Prince finished on paper just 10 seconds later, closely followed by Kirsten Pichler with young Alyssa Sim placing 8^th.  followed by Di Court.    Reuben Pichler was first home in Section 1 of the 4k with Jon Schol scoring second place points for a good time in the wind.

Sealed handicap was also applied to the 3k Distance which was contested by three young lads, Joel Harlor, Ayden Spicer & Bailey Newham and youngest member of the Pichler family, Johanna, who also ran very well to improve her time and place 2^nd. Great effort Johanna.

Angela Sim, who had already walked 6k earlier in the day, wisely chose the 2k Walk. Louise Harlor was first home in the 2k run with Emily Burinaga taking out second place.  Sister Lexie was first home in the 1k distance with Amelia Sim 2^nd.  and Holly Matthews 3^rd.

The D’Ombrain family holidaying in Sydney took advantage of running in the Georges River Festival of the Feet event on Sunday 14^th. July.  All three entered the 3k event with just over 200 all age male and female entrants. Blake had a great run and finished in a time of 11:04 to place 5^th. overall and second in his age category.   Sister Hailey finished just behind her brother in 6^th place in 11:14 and was the second overall female and not surprisingly won her age category.  Older sister Maddison placed 27^th overall in 13:50 and a creditable seventh in her age category. Congratulations to all three for these excellent results.

1k Division

2k Division – Section 1 & 2

3k  Division

Walks Division

4k Division – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

1k Division

2k Division – Section 1 & 2

3k Division

Walks Division

4k Division – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

6k  Division

1k Division

2k Division – Section 1

2k Division – Section 2

Walk Division

3k Division

4k Division – Section 1

4k Division – Section 2

6k  & 8k Division

Outstanding victory for Victory Runners was recorded at the NSW Cross Country championships conducted at Willandra on Saturday 22^nd June.

In a great day of running, all present witnessed some outstanding performances by many of NSW and ACT top athletes.

Thanks to an increase  from Sydney and country clubs north of Sydney there were over 500 runners spread through age groups from under 12 years to over 80 years who took to the Willandra course which was in good condition despite the dry and then wet weather over the last few months.

Many comments were that the course was the best ever but that is relative to one’s memory of other times over the last 28 years that championships have been held.

Victory Runners performances in a nutshell were outstanding. Three individual medals and three team gold medals, what more could we ask for, especially considering for the majority, this was their first ever ANSW event.

To the 29 athletes who competed in the age Championship events,  we are very proud  of all your  performances, from our youngest ,  eight year old Tori  Hill  who still has three more years in this age category to our oldest,  Kevyn Davis who also has three more years in the seventy to seventy four years.

We honour our individual medal winners, Pam Mason, Bronze in 65 – 69, (6k) Kellie Hinchcliffe Silver in 45 – 49, (10k) and Cristine Suffolk Bronze in her final year of 45 – 49  (10k). However, we did have two males who placed fourth, just missing a medal in a big field of competitors.  Eleven year old Joel Harlor received the same time as third place and David Hinchliffe was just over 30 seconds behind third in the male 50 – 54  (8k) event.

Re Team Medals, It was not the intension of ANSW to present Team medals on the day, however when the results of the first event, Under 12 girls was published  with a team result being  Victory Runners, the official in charge of the printed listing of results, gave the order that Team Medals would be presented throughout the day where possible.

What a thrill when the first two team medals were won by Victory, with the Under 12 boys just clinching the win from Randwick Botany team.

The two photo’s above show these teams on the victory dais just after receiving their medals.

Girls in their finish order were Evie Hill, Alyssa Sim, Lexie Burinaga, and Tori Hill.  We thank Elis Onsel who also completed the 2k.and served as a very handy back up.

Boys finish order, Joel Harlor, Dylan Hinchcliffe, Ayden Spicer and Cohen Matthews.

Not to be outdone by our youngsters, four of our mum’s, plus Crissy Suffolk were willing to take up the Women’s 10k challenge, and certainly did us proud by winning the 30yrs + team event. Their finish order being Cristine, Kelly Hinchcliffe, Natasha Spicer, Laura Burbage. Ros Matthews also completed the 10k and a handy back up if required for the team.

Competing in the most competitive age group of the day were our four Under 14 girls, Hailey D’Ombrain, Laylah Connelly, Amelia Sim & Selin Onsel, three of these girls don’t normally race over 3k so we are very proud of their willingness to participate and place 5^th in the Team section.

Rather short on teenage boys Cameron Harrison competing in his first ANSW event in the Under 14 3k was our lone competitor  and ran exceptionally well to improve his time by over a minute. Another first timer was Reuben Pichler in the Under 16 4k also ran his best time by over a minute.

Unfortunately, Blake D’Ombrain in the same event was well below what he is capable of, nevertheless we are proud he managed to finish the event.

In the competitive Under 18  6k our two tri – athletes, Liam Hinchcliffe and Brooklyn Henry continue to improve their time over this distance  and  their  17^th and 28^th placing  is certainly very commendable  against the best athletes in the State.  Two other commendable results were our two sixteen-year-old girls flying the Victory colours in the girls Under 18 4k event. Freya Robinson –Mills and Maddison D’Ombrain were certainly racing with the top athletes in the State and both also ran PB’s. Freya is also a first timer in an ANSW event.

The open male 12k event was very well represented throughout a good variety of clubs.  Not to be completely outnumbered by our women in the 10k , Victory did field one entrant . Also a first timer to ANSW events and more comfortable as a tri-athlete competitor, Irwin Burbage managed to work around his work shifts and willingly entered the 10k challenge proudly finishing in 8^th place in the 35 – 39 category.

Unfortunately, two athletes were unable to compete, Stewart Sim suffering from a nasty bout of the current ‘bug’ and Pam Henry had work commitments.

However, we also had some very important Victory members compete in the altogether All Age fun run.

Tackling their well-known 1k distance, 6-year-old flyer Layla Burbage was first home in a time of 5:20 which would be her best time. Sister Cailin was second and 4-year-old friend Riley Prince placed third. In the 2k our three representatives were Leela Matthews 10: 30  Ashley Spicer  11:30 and Johanna Pichler, possibly running with friends finished in 17:40.  Just to even out Victory’s presence in the fun run, Josef and Kirsten Pichler and Laura Prince made up the final  threesome for the 4k distance.

While reporting all competitors in the running events, the day would not have been successful if we did not have the great assistance from our very valuable volunteers.  These 20 volunteers were made up of Victory members and family friends.  Various tasks  were, assisting on the course, parking cars,  manning the drink station, handing out programs, assisting in the bib collection tent, working in the BBQ area, canteen and cake stall and donating  goods for selling,  please accept a very big THANK YOU from the Willandra caretakers. We value everyone.

We have been asked by the new CEO of AthleticsNSW, Kirin Lindop to pass on an earnest “Thank you everyone for your involvement to make 2019 XC Championship  event an outstanding success.”

In reflections over the days following Saturday 22^nd I was reminded of a quote shared with Victory Runners on an occasion in 2018.   “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.”  (Henry Ford)

Victory began, we have progressed and Saturday we experienced success through working together, as a ‘team of competitors’ and a ‘band of volunteers’.  Thank you ALL for contributing to the success.