Rising to the challenge in Nairobi

By Kath Gannaway
WESBURN athlete June Petrie has recently returned from representing Australia in the 2008 Nairobi Marathon in Kenya.
Ms Petrie, a member of the Ringwood Athletic Club, got the Australian women’s team off to a flying start in the marathon in late October. The event was the first round of the 2008-09 Greatest Race on Earth series.
The race was run around the Kenyan capital, 1700 metres above sea level. To make conditions even more challenging, Ms Petrie said humidity was more than 80 per cent.
The Greatest Race on Earth is a challenging team relay series conducted across four marathons – the first in Nairobi, followed by Singapore this month, Mumbai in January and Hong Kong in February.
Teams of four runners of the same gender compete in one marathon each and are ranked according to the fastest cumulative time the four athletes record over the series, which is in its fifth year.
Countries can enter a male and female team.
With a time of 3:05.32 in gruelling conditions, Ms Petrie was second behind China in the North Asia/Rest of the World division.
Ms Petrie took the tough conditions in her considerable stride. “I was rapt with my result, and handled the conditions well,’’ she said. “The high altitude can cause problems for runners, especially those used to running at sea level as there is less oxygen available than normal, but I seemed to take it all in my stride.
“Kenya is home to the best distance runners in the world and it was a great thrill to be competing against them.’’
Coach and husband Bert Pelgrim was as thrilled as his wife with her success, which he attributed to her strong mental approach and good preparation.
“With adrenaline pumping at the start, you have to resist the temptation to start too fast otherwise you will suffer later on when you begin to feel the adverse effects of the thin air,’’ he said. “June settled down to a good pace early and sustained it, running through the field. Her performance exceeded my expectations.’’
With two marathons to go, Ms Petrie said the Australian women were hoping to hold their second overall position to claim a portion of the prizemoney.