After overnight rain, Napier Harriers encountered boggy conditions on Saturday afternoon, on the already demanding Omaranui Road course.

Abbey Green displayed true grit to win her grade, and was justly rewarded with the runner of the day prize. Recently Green has produced impressive efforts reminiscent of her elder siblings. Katie Harris had worked tirelessly to bridge the handicap advantage of Aleesha Heywood, but when the sprint finish was required, there was nothing left in the tank. This reversal leaves Heywood only one point adrift of Harris in the points ladder.

Eight year old James Harris showed once more his undoubted potential, by outsprinting Brendan Speakman for line honours. Speakman's consolation was knowing his second place had already secured the open handicap series with one race still remaining.

Hogan Green and Stefan Smith surprisingly won their races effortlessly. Sadly with runners electing to save themselves for bigger events resulted in many non appearances of candidates in these two grades. Thus Green has jumped to a four point advantage over Eric Speakman, while Smith leads by two points from Rory Diver and Kane Green.

Marilyn Brown scored another impressive win in the women's race. She recorded the quickest time (31.43) for 6km, as she successfully run down all her opposition. Sheila Smidt came through for second, ahead of Cheryl Simpson. Brown has extended her lead to four points in the women's open handicap competition.

Mark Speakman (37.50) emphasized his love for this course by recording the fastest time again. Although the heavy conditions made his time over a minute slower than last year, he didn't have to settle for second place again. Speakman caught pacesetter Stu Mckie on the last hill and finished with a comfortable 11 seconds buffer. Trevor Fulton held on to third place, just ahead of a strong finish from Darryl Strachan and the hapless Peter Gillies, who lost valuable time retrieving a shoe from the quagmire. The victory has catapulted Speakman to the top of the points ladder, courtesy of the absence of previous leader Mark Lane.

report courtesy of Trevor Fulton