While the club displayed an impressive depth in its senior men’s ranks to win the 82-year-old trophy for a third consecutive year, it was Rebekah Greene’s run for the senior women’s title that stood out in assisting the club’s two-decade-long dominance in the race. Two months ago, Greene (24) underwent major surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat. She returned to middle-distance running just two weeks ago.
One of the country’s brightest prospects as a junior athlete, Greene opted to take up a scholarship with the University of Florida four years ago before returning to Dunedin last August.
Now, as she appears to be returning to full health, Hill City-University, Otago and New Zealand may be about to witness her full potential. Her focus, stride and unrelenting competitive pace came to the fore on a soft course that had obviously absorbed a lot of rain in previous days.
Although Greene’s time of 4min 47sec for her 1500m leg was 13sec down on the course record of 4min 34sec she set five years ago, it was an indicator of things to come as she returns to full fitness She handed her team-mates, Aly Craigie, Shireen Crumpton and Rebecca Allnutt, a 27-second lead at the first change and this proved invaluable as a competitive Leith No2 team stayed in touch. Greene’s day at the races got off to an indifferent start when she arrived at the ground minus her running spikes. A mercy dash from her mother enabled her to line up at the start.
"It was Mum to the rescue," she said afterwards.
"I better not forget Mother’s Day next Sunday now."
Crumpton, who ran the third of four 1500m legs, had to put in another sprint of sorts in a mad dash to begin a nursing shift at Dunedin Hospital.
It was a successful introduction to the club for Allnutt and Craigie.Allnutt joined the Hill City-University Club only two weeks ago, while Craigie was supported at the ground by family who came to watch her run.
Craigie is the granddaughter of marathon world age-group record holder the late Derek Turnbull.
The Hill City-University women’s team clocked a time of 21min 33sec.
Leith recorded its best result in the event in recent years to finish just 33 seconds behind in second, and a second Leith team was third in 22min 27sec.
The senior men’s 6x1500m event was a titanic battle between the top two Hill City-University teams throughout.
However, the club did not have it all its own way after Leith, through Nathan Hill and Hamish McKinlay, took the fight to it in the first two legs.
But it was Sam Bremer’s run on the fifth leg that secured victory for the Hill City-University No1 team. He recorded the day’s fastest time of 4min 1sec before handing on to Oli Chignell, who then hammered the final leg to bring the team — that included Kirk Madgwick, Ben Wardhaugh, Drew Cairney and Simon Cromarty on the first four legs — home to victory in 26min 11sec.
Hill City-University No2 was second in 26min 18sec and Leith third in 29min 24sec.
