With more than 40 teams and 20 individuals taking part, the event was a significant success, Leith president Chris Sole said.
He said he felt inspired seeing people running their first event, and that the "success of the day was seeing the running community out there pushing themselves and encouraging one another".
He was delighted to see children and families have "such a positive interaction with our sport, being outdoors and connecting with different age groups".
"We thank all the volunteers, a long list of people, who designed, and then constructed and deconstructed a real testing cross country course with outstanding organisation."
Hill City-University (HCU) claimed their first senior men’s title since 2021, covering the 4×4km in 57min 47sec.
The race began with a battle between secondary school talent Dan Kelleher (Caversham), Otago masters record holder Graham Fisher (Leith), and 800m specialist Matt Bolter (HCU), with the HCU athlete pulling away in the closing stages to hand off first to his compatriot Tommy White.
HCU continued to build the gap, with third-leg runner George Hamilton showcasing a strong return to form, while Leith moved into second when Cameron Livingstone laid down the third-fastest split of the day.
Leading his team home first, Jake Owen built upon the strong form he demonstrated at the Lovelock Relays.
His leg of 13min 33sec was the fastest of the day by 49 seconds, a promising start to the season.
Leith and Caversham rounded out the podium with cumulative times of 1hr 1min 3sec and 1hr 2min 51sec respectively.
Leith reiterated their prowess in Otago’s senior women’s races, adding the 4×4km title to their win at the Lovelock Relays two weeks ago.
The team’s fastest leg was again run by Florence Reynolds, with a time of 17min 36sec (second overall) on the first leg, passing the lead to Juliet Downs, who held off triathlete Olivia Sutherland, of Leith’s B team.
Sutherland’s 17min 19sec split was the fastest leg of the day.
Accomplished masters athlete Kirsty Eyles widened the gap before handing over to Stephanie Wilson, who led the team home for a cumulative 1hr 11min 05sec. Leith’s other two teams claimed the remaining top spots.
The mixed under-18 4×2km race was won by a Hill City team consisting of Eva McLean, George Solomon, Julia Hodgson, and Caleb Dobier.
All four athletes have had a strong start to the season, with Dobier and McLean recording the fastest legs of 7min 01sec and 8min 24sec respectively.
The Ponydale Challenge brought a unique competition to Otago’s cross-country calendar, with competitors completing as many 2km laps as possible over a three-hour racing period.
Sandor Toth and Chris Jervis (both Leith) found themselves tied on 18 laps, a total of 36km. However, Toth claimed the men’s title, as his time of 2hr 52min on the last completed lap placed him four minutes ahead of Jervis.
Toth spoke highly of the event: "there is something special about being on the XC course for three hours ... you opt out of the sidelines and instead witness the entire event in motion".
Grace Perry won the women’s race with 15 laps, totalling 30km.
By Matthew Bolter
