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Harrier Club

The 1950 season promised to be a good one on both the athletic and social side: runs were well attended and membership increased. Unfortunately, the athletic side was not quite successful. The club team occupied moderate positions in most inter-club events. Sixth place in the Wellington-Masterton relay was a creditable performance. J. Goodwin led the field during the first lap, but V.U.C. fell away to fourth in the next lap. This placing was maintained until the eighth lap, and finally Vic ended up sixth. The tournament team was expected to do well but mishaps during the race marred any chance of the team winning, but even so they finished only a few points behind Auckland and Massey Colleges. J. Hunt ran splendidly to come in second.

During 1951, membership increased and several new young runners started to make their presence felt. The performance of the club improved: a close fourth in the Wellington-Masterton relay and similar placings in all other events. The club just failed to head off Canterbury at Tournament. Of particular merit was the performance of D. Pringle, who though only a junior, finished a close-up seventh. Good team-work by other members enabled V.U.C. to win the North Island Trophy. A newcomer to the club, R. Rawnsley. performed with much credit throughout the season; in addition to breaking J. C. Hawke's record for the third lap in the Wellington-Masterton relay, he dead-heated for first place in the Dome Cup, was second in the Vosseller Shield, fourth at the Provincial championships, fifth in the Barrett Road Race and Gold Cup event at Trentham, and first man home in the club championship race.

Very much the same pattern was followed in 1952. The club improved to third in the Wellington-Masterton relay, was second in the Vosseller, Rawnsley winning the individual title, second in the Dome Cup, Rawnsley running a great fourth after having been led off the course, and close up in all other events. J. Holden proved the adage 'an old dog, for an old road" by winning the B grade provincial championship; the team finished second in the final aggregate of points. Tournament was held in Christchurch and the team gained third place; G. Ward, a newcomer to the club, finished a good seventh, with the others close behind. Many of the younger runners were gaining much experience. Several well-performed runners of earlier years were returning to the club and it appeared that the club was headed for success in the coming season.

The next year, (1953) was the most successful in the club's history. It was most appropriate that V.U.C.'s rise to the top in inter-club events should coincide with the club's twenty-first anniversary celebrations. However, this year also marked the death of Mr. G. F. Dixon, our president, a position which he had held since the club's inception. No man had done more to encourage the sport of harriers in the University, and his death was a bitter loss to the club. The success of the club could be attributed to solid team-work. R. Rawnsley and J. C. Hawke, two of the finest harriers the club has known, formed the nucleus around which the runners rallied. The club gained second place to the strong Lyndale team in the Wellington-Masterton relay, both teams breaking the record. V.U.C.'s win in the Dorne Cup ten-man team event was only the second inter-club victory since the club had been formed. Gilberd (who ran splendidly in atrociously muddy conditions). Rawnsley, Truebridge, and Candy laid the foundation for success.

R. Rawnsley was first home in the Vosseller Shield event of ten miles, and the club achieved double honours by annexing the teams event as well. Hawke, Candy, Truebridge, and Beaglehole were all in the first ten to finish. The Provincial championships proved an overwhelming success for both our A and B grade teams. Rawnsley was placed second, and with Hawke and Gilberd represented the province at the national championships. Both teams won their events at the provincials, and it was indeed a remarkable performance for the B grade runners to fill the first six places in the race.

Mahan followed his win in the provincials with a notable victory in the N.Z.U.CC. at Auckland. Good teaming by Gilberd (5th), Candy (6th), and Gow

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(7th) enabled V.U.C. to win the Dixon Trophy for the first team home, and the twelfth placing of Beaglchole gave us the North Island Challenge Trophy—in other words, a clean sweep of all trophies. A magnificent performance by the B grade team in their section of the Marton-Wanganui relay more than compensated for the third placing of the A team. The Shaw Baton event was won (or the sound time. and a comfortable win in the Barrett Road Race set the seal on the season's success. Rawnsley, who had shown himself to be the best ail-round harrier in the province, deservedly won the club championship, winning two of the three events on which the title was decided. His transfer to Roxburgh at the latter end of the season was keenly Felt by the club.

The present season started on a very high note. The first inter-club event of the year, the Shaw Baton relay, proved notable in that the A and B teams finished first and second respectively, a performance that the club thinks unparalleled in this event. Two weeks later the club realized its greatest ambition: success in the Masterton-Wellington relay. Despite an early setback, the members of the team reached the lead at the end of the seventh lap, Gilberd, Truebridge and Stevens finishing the course to bring victory to V.U.C. Stevens, the N.Z.U. three-mile title holder, recently transferred to V.U.C. and is indeed an acquisition. If the club gets the influx of keen newcomers that it needs, the future will remain very bright for V.U.C. running.