Media Releases

GEORGE, GERAGHTY DOMINATE HALF

23 May 2010

Dominate performances by local Sunshine Coast triathlete Tim George and Brisbane long distance running sensation Clare Geraghty earned them the 2010 Noosa Half Marathon titles this morning.

Breaking into the winners circle after finishing fourth here last year George clocked a one hour 10 minutes and 50 seconds for the 21.1km course ahead of Sydney's Barry Keem and Steven Page.

After a disappointing race at the ITU World Cup triathlon in Japan when mechanical issues hampered his race George trailed Keen for the first 8km of the race before moving into the lead at the half way point and worked to establish a 200m gap from the specialist half marathoner Keem.

George then worked himself into a winning position with 5km to go before taking his foot off the pedal. The move almost letting Keem back into the race.

Despite being off the front runners pace Page's performance earned him a podium position.

"I saw Barry coming again at me with 2km to go so had to put in a final surge at the end.

"It's a bit slower than last year but when you're out in front your running for the win not a time," said George.

George will now take a well earned break and concentrate on finishing his law degree before returning to Japan.

"Unfortunately my result at the last race put me down in the rankings and consequently lost funding, so my parent will be funding the next triathlon trip," added George.

Pocket dynamo Clare Geraghty made a welcome return to her preferred distance of the half marathon after claiming victory in the 10km race last year. Geraghty beat home local rising marathon star Roxie Schmidt and Glenda Banaghan.

Geraghty last won the half marathon back in 2006 and dominated the race from the start and was then racing the clock.

"I haven't done a half since winning here in 2006. I've been injured and concentrated on ten and five kilometer distances," said Geraghty post race.

Geraghty claimed the 10km title here last year but backed herself for the half this year.

The win was even more amazing after being told she would never run again after three back and two foot fractures due to low bone density.

"I had a great year last and was able to step it up, my ultimate dream is to represent Australia in the marathon," said Geraghty.

Geraghty's time was nearly four minutes faster than last year's women's time set by Tanzanian runner Sara Maja and placed her fourth outright.

Local rising marathon start Schmidt was once again relegated to second in this event for the third consecutive year.

But the 27 year old was delighted with the result, going into the race with no expectations Schmidt bettered her time from last year by over two minutes.

"I'm so stoked, that's a one minute PB for me. Clare was too good today, she took off from the start and I never saw her," said Schmidt.

In the Mizuno 10km race it was former Noosa Half marathon winner Helen Stanton who claimed the women's event from local triathlete Kirra Seidel and Emily Donker.

"I tried going out at 3.30 minute pace and felt really good, I went out with a few girls in the first 1km and then cleared out from there.

"I ran a marathon a few months back so I'm trying to get some speed back in my legs and really enjoyed it," said Stanton.

In the men's event it was Jackson Elliott who showed a clean pair of heels over the rest of the field to cross the line first ahead of Tasmanian David Thomas and Jay Twist.

Elliott, a teacher who just enjoys doing fun runs and keeping fit said that everything just went right for him today.

"I wanted to run as evenly as possible as I haven't run a 10km in a while," said Elliott.

The final event on the Noosa Running Festival program was the 5km run/walk that produced the closest finish of the day in the women's event between April Sloane and Leshay Wells. Sloane took it out hard from the gun and planned to see how long she could hold on for.

"I felt strong but it was hard at the end, it was very tight.

"I was pretty confident, but haven't been racing just training so I'm happy with that," said Sloane.

16 year old Wells last won this event in 2008 and put in an outstanding performance just coming up short at the end.

Rounding out the podium was young local triathlete Brigitte Fischer.

Another local taking out a title this morning was Neil Labinsky from Nambour who claimed the men's 5km title from Dylan Nankivell and Mudjimba's Cameron Binet.

Four- time King of the Mountain winner Labinsky went out hard early and established a good lead. Tiring over the latter stages he managed to hold on for a good win.

Ages from the very young to the young at heart participated in the event to help raise money for the Cindy Mackenzie Breast Foundation, supporting families across the Sunshine Coast.

For the majority of competitors who made their way along the Noosa River from Lions Park to Tewantin, just being involved was all they needed to be victorious.

USM EVENTS General Manager Geoff Meyer praised his team including the 400-plus volunteers, nearly 3000 participants, thousands of crowd supporters and all the event sponsors for contributing to an extremely successful first time Noosa Winter Festival.

"The weather, the results, the atmosphere and the general running of the event was fantastic.

"I congratulate the race winners who provided so many highlights across the weekend, which was supported by spectacular weather and all participants in the Noosa Century Rides for making the finish line," said Meyer.

Noosa Half Marathon

Male

1.	Tim George	Alex Headland	1:10:50
2.	Barry Keem	Wollongong	1:11:12
3.	Steven Page	Hervey Bay	1:13:03
4.	Brendan Seipolt	Teneriffe	1:14:19
5.	Tim Toner	Petrie	1:15:41

Female

1.	Clare Geraghty	Camp Hill	1:14:18
2.	Roxie Schmidt	Moffat Beach	1:16:44
3.	Glenda Banagham		1:19:50
4.	Caroline Steffen	Switzerland	1:20:02
5.	Belinda Granger	Noosa Heads	1:21:46

Mizuno Noosa 10km Run

Male

1.	Jackson Elliott	Miami	30:49
2.	David Thomas	West Launceston	31:12
3.	Jay Twist	Oxley	31:56
4.	Thomas Kennedy	Carseldine	32:22
5.	David Dellow	Mooloolaba	32:47

Female

1.	Helen Stanton	North Lakes	36:10
2.	Kirra Seidel	Alex Headlands	36:35
3.	Emily Donker		37:35
4.	Danielle Mckenzie	Bli Bli	38:50
5.	Marcia Sheer	Annerley	39:12

5km run/walk

Male

1.	Neil Labinsky	Nambour	16:11
2.	Dylan Nankivell	Tannum Sands	16:44
3.	Cameron Binet	Mudjimba	17:32
4.	Grant Williams		17:52
5.	Luke Farrell	Bokarina	18:06

Female

1.	April Sloane	Brisbane	18:43
2.	Leshay Wells	Banora Point	18:44
3.	Brigitte Fischer	Yaroomba	19:02
4.	Emily Jones	Bellmere	20:08
5.	Elizabeth Bell	Essendon	20:48

For further information or to arrange interviews or photographs contact:

Lisa Pringle              0417 005 743        lisa@usmevents.com.au
Diane Ainsworth      0412 000 606        diane@ainsworthpr.com.au