The Port Iron 5k was embraced by the Port Macquarie community on October 27, as over 250 runners participated in the event which forms part of the IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie weekend.
Families, friends, mums, dads, sons and daughters were out in force as they lined up on Clarence Street ready for the 7.30am start, supported by hundreds of fans cheering from the sidelines.
The race got underway with runners heading up Clarence Street, before looping back along the Sea Wall towards the finish line at Town Green. It was local boy, Mark Tucker, who took line honours in an impressive time of 15 minutes and 23 seconds.
“My race was alright today; not as fast as the last 5km fun run I competed in earlier this yea,r as I’m not quite as fit as I was back then,” Tucker said.
Tucker, who has a 2 hour 13 minute marathon PB, is aiming for more podium finishes next year.
“My racing is finished for the season, so I’m looking forward to next year’s Port Macquarie running festival and possibly another marathon in Canberra,” Tucker said.
Winner of the female division was 15-year-old Sophie Keeney of Tamworth (NSW) in a time of 18 minutes 40 seconds. Sophie has aspirations for the triathlon circuit in the coming years.
“It was a really good run today. I’ve been running most of my life. I’d love to make the pro ITU triathlon circuit one day; however I have to work on my swim,” Keeney said.
