Running through water

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
THEY came, they ran, and they had a lot of fun doing it.
This year’s eighth Warburton Up and Running event went ahead despite the wet weather, with many joking the last leg of the journey was more a swim than a run.
The event focuses on a ‘family friendly, affordable, fun run’ and runner feedback showed lots of comments about the ‘beautiful environment’, which keeps runners from all over the place coming back.
Volunteer Sue Hoffman said the damp weather kept quite a few pre-registered participants away, but the total number of competitors was 374.
Competitors came from a wide range of locations, including as far as Diamond Creek, West Meadows, Morwell and Hamilton with age groups ranging from seven-year-old Tracey Whiteside to 80-year-old Bill Page.
The day collected more than $550 for the Warburton CFA and Upper Yarra SES, with any profits going towards the Warburton Advancement League and its work maintaining the riverside tracks.More than 50 volunteers helped on the day, including a team of residents from the Warburton Caravan Park, who look after marshalling on that section of the track every year.
The top three in the 10km run were Adrian McGregor, Ash Watson and Ben Toomey, and in the females Charlotte McShane came first, Karen Barlow second and Lee Furst third. The top three in the 5km run were David Bayley, Paul Wilson and Chris Winter, and in the females Sophie Barjer, Melissa Duncan and Susi Wilson. There was also a 5km walk and a 2km kids run.