RUNNING:
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Pete Loveridge was the first admit he didn’t have much left in the tank after clinching another Gunnedah Gallop title on Sunday.
The multiple-time Gallop winner and local triathlete who is in training for next month’s Hawaiian Ironman, sprinted the 8km town course in a time of 26.36 minutes.
“I worked as hard as I could out there,” Loveridge said post-race.
“I was spent but I wanted it to be a hard hit-out, that was the goal. I didn’t want an easy race.
“And to look at the numbers it’s just shy of a minute off my best time here.”
Second home was Chris Barnes (30.12), followed by the evergreen John Hickey (31.37) in third.
The victory called on all the stamina Loveridge could summon, particularly in the last few hundred metres when energy reserves were running on empty.
He originally planned not to race in Gunnedah due to the demands of an intense training schedule for upcoming, long form races in his lead-up to Hawaii.
In the end, the 11th hour decision appears to have been a good one.
“We made the call 10 days out not to race and just with the way my week’s training had gone, we thought it would be an advantage to my program and not a disadvantage to race,” Loveridge said.
“It made sense and if nothing else with a local race, you’re not travelling so you can make those last second calls.
“It was just a matter of looking at my program and the bigger races further afield.
- Women's race wrap, magpie mayhem ... scroll down for more Gallop coverage below...
“We decided I needed a bit more shorter, harder work as opposed to long weekends that I’ve had in training the last few weeks.”
The very nature of competition added an extra element to the run which he wouldn’t normally be tested by in training.
“You’re always going to step up in a race and that’s the idea of doing it,” he said.
“I could go and do a hard 8km in training but it’s never going to be at the same level.
“It’s that little bit of adrenaline and nerves so I wanted to take advantage of that and push the body a little bit more than I other wise would.”
First-time gallop runner and first woman past the post on Sunday, Kelly Moore, can tick another box on her competition calendar.
The Tamworth triathlete completed the course in 31.50 minutes, a little more than a minute in front of Megan Isbester (33.03) in second and Cath Murray (33.30), third.
“The hills were hard but it was great coming back down the other side,” Moore said.
“It was really nice weather out here today too.”
The open women’s division winner was running off a half marathon at the Tamworth Ten fun last month and full marathon in South West Rocks in June.
Moore is now eyeing off a strong result at the Port Macquarie 70.3 triathlon in October and other in Penrith at the end of November.
She thought the Gallop distance was the good variation she needed for competition later this year.
“This was a good hit out, good to mix it up,” Moore said.
It wasn’t just their fitness many competitors in the Gunnedah Gallop were fighting last weekend.
A good handful also had a tale to tell from the aerial assault waged by the town’s nesting magpies.
Shane Lutze copped one of the worst sprays from the feathered flock and was left sporting an impressive bloodied gash from his ordeal.
Another, John Hickey, was caught by a nick from the swooper as well.
But the quote of the day goes to 78-year-old Gerry Bartlett, who trotting home in his 33rd Gallop, summed up best why he thought he had avoided the magpie mayhem.
“(The magpie) had already hit the other 80 people in front so I don’t think he had much flight left in him by the time he got to me,” Gerry quipped.
The veteran competitor and keen fitness enthusiast has missed only five gallops since the event’s inception.
He has a personal best time of 34 minutes, 20 seconds, but admittedly has slowed a little in recent years.
This year, he told the NVI, he finished the race eight minutes faster than last time.
Related coverage: "Mega gallery: 2014 Gunnedah Gallop Fun Run in pictures."