Fast becoming a must see sporting event in the Armidale calendar, the Sportspower 400m Invitational Handicap running race, did not disappoint last Friday evening at Harris Park, with last year’s runner-up 19-year-old UNE student Joseph Moore claiming the victory, running 423m, with Travis Stahlhut in second running 419.3m and in third place last year’s winner Huw Knox running 425.8m.
Twelve of Armidale’s premier 400m athletes competed for the prize, with this year’s field boasting the highest quality in the history of the event, with 10 of the 12 starters having broken 60 seconds for the 400m, and eight of the 12 having broken 55. The brainchild of Australian Representative Jay Stone in 2005, it provides an incentive for athletes to train hard over winter. Each year, Stone teams with Armidale Sportspower to provide hundreds of dollars in cash and prizes for the race winners.
Eventual winner, Joseph Moore, was a little shocked by the win after training little during the winter months.
“I was pretty shocked to get the win and only trained about three days before today, so I was pretty lucky and relied heavily on my natural ability,” said Joseph.
“I felt pretty comfortable about halfway through the race and didn’t feel that there was anyone behind me that was gaining on me, so I thought at that stage I could execute quite comfortably but, when I got around to the last straight, I felt everyone coming up behind me and then I really knew I had to push.
“I had nothing left in the tank crossing the line.”
Treasurer/Registrar of the Armidale Athletics Club, Pauline Smith, said the event has become popular with runners and always makes for a close finish.
“This is an event where all the best 400m runners from the previous season, based on their times from the main competitions, are brought together in a handicap system so that everybody has an equal chance of winning,” said Pauline.
“It really comes down to who are the athletes who are improving the most and digging the deepest in the final 50 metres of the race.”
