Another running year nearly over, 7 of the 8 handicap Trophy events completed and we are down to the battle of the titans for the highly prestigious Handicap Trophy. (Vic, feel free to quote any of my update to boost VETRUN sales)
At the beginning of the day Rohan Thompson (#1781) had a 2-point lead over David Adams (#1226) , with Kim Thomas (#798), Clare Wardle (#1255) and Rodney Glossop (#1901) only a few points further behind. An 8th-place finish for the ever-reliable Rohan, extended his lead at the top with 25 points, but Mr consistency himself, Rod Glossop, with a top 5 finish pushed him into 2nd place with 28 points. A top ten finish by Kim Thomas places him 3rd with 42 points, a steady run by David Adams cemented his 4th placing with 47 points, and with the cunning handicapper Tristan Bell, with a “stewards enquiry pending” on his 1st place, earns him 5th place in the table with 65 points.
Despite the heroic efforts of Kim, David and Tristan (Did I mention I won the Sharks race?), both Rohan Thompson and Rod Glossop are uncatchable, so it is now a two-horse race culminating in an epic ‘run off’ in the final race at Nedlands on the 4th September
As both runners have completed the minimum 5 races the only way to improve their scores is to better their worst finishing position in a previous race. Rodney Glossop has the slight upper hand but there are many permutations to consider.
For Rohan Thompson to win he must finish more than 2 places better than Rodney.
If Rodney finishes outside the top 14, then Rohan wins automatically
For Rodney Glossop to win, If Rohan finishes in the top 10, Rodney needs to beat Rohan or be no more than one place behind him. If Rohan finishes outside the top 10, then Rodney needs to finish 12th or better.
Another battle in the quest to find the supreme athlete of the MAWA Running calendar (Vic, front page of the VETRUN, nice headline). After last year’s epic battle between Rashanthi and Zane, we are set for a similar battle this year.
But we all can play our part, it isn’t about how fast they run, it is measured on how many people they pass, the more of us who turn up, the more of us they have to pass if they want to win this trophy. Let’s make them earn it.
See you all on 4th September.
Happy running
Tristan Bell
MAWA Handicapper