320-mile relay helps Games fund

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33066, 6 November 1972, Page 18

320-mile relay helps Games fund

A 320-mile road relay from Christchurch to Grey. mouth and back at the week-end enabled the Christchurch Harrier Club to hand over $227 to the chairman of the Commonwealth Games fund-raising committee (Mr N. R. Searell) yesterday. The relay was part of the Christchurch Harrier Club’s jubilee projects to raise funds for the Games. About 60 runners of the club took part in the relay, which began from the Christchurch Town Hall at 8 p.m. on Friday when the first man was sent away by the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (Mr R. S. Scott). The runners were on the road for two nights and a day, and canvassed about 20 hotels both to and from the West Coast, and in the Grtymouth area. The runners brought back

with them a message from the Mayor of Greymouth (Mr O. H. Jackson) conveying West Coast's best wishes to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. He also gave them a goodwill message which a relay from the Christchurch club had taken from the then Mayor of Christchurch (Sir George Manning) to Greymouth during the West Coast centennial celebrations in 1960. The runners arrived in Greymouth about 1 p.m. on Saturday and after collecting in the area left on the return journey about 2 p.m. The summit of Arthur’s Pass was reached about 9 p.m. on Saturday night when D. Mackley and I. Adeoek handed on the Mayor’s message to the club president, R. Fleming, and M. Cole, who ran the downhill lap to the next baton change at the Arthur's Pass youth hostel. Among the runners were the commander of he Christchurch police district (Chief Superintendent G. Tait) and SeniorSergeants E. S. Tuck and G. M. Cleary. According to the club secretary and chief organiser of the run, Mr Mackley, the 50 club members found the run a delightful experience. "Even the light rain between Kumars and the Bealey on the way back was

mild and pleasant for running,’’ he said. It had been a complicated project to organise, said Mr Mackley, because of the variations in ability and age among the run ners—who ranged from Canterbury representative* to veteran, the oldest of whom D. Psnnel l la 66. "But we all enjoyed it and managed to keep fairly well on time throughout,” Mr Mackley said. NIGHT RUNNING He said that some of the run ners who ran through the nighl said the joumrv was exhllarat Ing and less tiring than travel Ung all the way by car. One of them, 3. Hinton, whe ran his last lap about 4 a m yesterday, went on to lake par In the Canterbury Rood Runner, Association's one hour race s' Rugby Park later yesterdsy morning He came eleventh oui of 23 fetartera Another runner, L. 3. Beatty felt so fit after running three laps through the night that h< went for a spin on Lyttalte’ harbour In his hlgh-powstet speedboat. The money was handed ore: to Mr Searell about 8.45 a m yesterday outside the Town Hal by one of the relay organiser and the club president, R. Flem Ing, and the club captain, M Lang.