After spending the chilly winter season hitting the roads and hills, Otago athletes are back on track after the opening of the track and field season at the Caledonian last night.
About 30 runners competed in the Otago Spring 3000m challenge, hosted by Athletics Otago and the University of Otago, testing their endurance early on.
Janus Staufenberg was the fastest man, finishing in 8min 36.58sec, while Olivia Thornbury was the fastest woman with her time of 10min 10.80sec.
The triathlon athletes, who also won the Otago senior road championships, also both won the Lovelock Medal for the first university students home.
Many of these early runners will get together again this weekend, when the Athletics Otago squad head to Wanaka for a camp supporting athletes’ growth and culture.
The squad, comprising 42 athletes aged 12-30 and eight coaches, were all selected based on their track and field performances from last season.
The camp will include training sessions, team building activities, pool sessions, seminars on competition strategies and time management — and the squad will be split into different teams for a challenge behind the scenes.
Holly Robinson, Dyani Shepherd-Oates, Todd Bates, Cam Moffit and John Gerber, who have all competed internationally, will also share their knowledge and experiences in their disciplines across the weekend.
The camp will be followed by the opening senior track and field interclub competition on October 7 and the opening junior event the following week.
