Almost 4600 people turned out for the annual Canberra Times Fun Run on Father's Day morning, with Chris Hamer first across the line for the 10km run, in a time of 30 minutes and 11 seconds.
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Hamer, 28, won the 2013 event in 30 minutes and 4 seconds, but has been out of running since with injuries, including two surgeries on his achilles, one about a year ago when he says he had to have part of his heel removed to stop the tendon rubbing against it.
This was his first event back, with just three to four months of training to prepare. He runs every day, including three fast sessions a week and hill work, for a total of 140-150km a week.
Hamer says the Canberra course is quite difficult, with the toughest moment at the end of the long hill up Adelaide Avenue. "I thought I can't believe I'm only at five kilometres," he says.
His inspiration through the race was his wife, Laura Hamer, who was by his side at the finish line. Now he's back on track, Hamer says sights set on the Burnie 10km in Tasmania in October, and a plan to move to marathons.
Hamer's time was better than last year's winner Bradley Croker, who ran 30:47.
The winner of the women's 10km event was Fleur Flanery, 47, in 37 minutes and 45 seconds, a little slower than last year's female winner, Lissy Duncan, who ran in 33:56. Flanery came second last year and has won the event twice before.
She was neck and neck with three other women at the Kings Avenue bridge and dug in from there to win. "I was thinking, pin your ears back and go," she said.
Flanery, who is director of city presentation for the ACT government, is trained by Dick Telford. Her regime involves at least 20km a day, running at 5am and again at 5pm, to a total of 150-160 km a week.
She was a good junior runner, but had a gap as a young adult, until she took up running again at 30 after having two children, with the aim of dropping her dress size from 14.
"It literally took six months to be able to run 5km without wanting to die," she says.
The night before Sunday's run she had been at a family celebration, where her wheelchair-bound father had told her if she didn't win the problem was in her mind.
For Flanery, the hardest part of her running lifestyle is getting out of bed. It's the same for Anne Young, 81, who ran her 30th Canberra Times Fun Run on Sunday.
Once she gets from the bed to the kitchen, Young says she's set for 5.30am runs in summer and 6.30am in winter. She trains three to four times a week, running anywhere from 3km to 10km, and is preparing to compete at the World Games in October in Perth, where she will do an 8km cross country and a 5000 metre track race.
Young, who has a pacemaker, says her times are slowing in the 10km - she has run the event in 44 minutes and this year thinks her time was about 80 minutes - but other than a few health issues and some aches and pains, she just keeps at it.
Her friend Suzanne Counsel, who runs four days a week for an hour and 15 minutes at a time, says running is an addiction. At 76, she, too, was competing for about the 30th time, and is a regular on the World Games and Masters circuit.
Liam, 11, and Paul Tainsh, 56, are rather less disciplined about their training, having run just twice to prepare for the 14km race. Both made it through, Liam running the entire event and beating his dad to finish in about 1 hour and 48 minutes, even with his wrist in a plaster from a break three weeks ago.
"It was great. I love it," Liam said, nursing a sore knee but otherwise in better shape than his father at the finish line. Paul Tainsh, though, is up for the challenge, doing some walking at work, and competing in a half-marathon last year.
The run attracted 4575 participants, about 1700 in each of the 5km and 10km events, and 1100 in the 14km.
Among 10km runners was independent candidate for the ACT election, Kim Huynh (53:40), who promises a stunt-packed campaign, including the street-side cycling he has been doing for hours each day, in every Ginninderra suburb. He uses pedal power to light a campaign sign, highlighting one of his policies - bike highways in place of light rail.
Huynh, who says his family arrived in Canberra as refugees in 1979, is an ANU academic in politics and international relations, and is running a campaign focussed on "sports, arts and planning".
Winners
14 km
Winning male: Rowan Walker of Canberra, 46:02; female: Rachel Glasson of Lake Albert, 55:51.
Aged 12 and under: Nathaneal Howard, 1:09:20; Ava Smith, 1:19:23.
Aged 70 and over: Peter Wydeveld, 1:14:20; Rebecca Hides, 2:27:32.
10km
Winning male: Chris Hamer of Bruce, 30:11; female: Fleur Flanery of Canberra, 37:45.
Aged 12 and under: Isaac Muscat, 43:50; Chloe Miller 54:47.
Aged 70 and over: Mark Sparshott, 41:21; Helene Boderiou, 54:28.
5km
Winning male: Yosef Gemechu of Florey, 15:40; female: Elizabeth Humphries of Dickson,18:24.
Aged 12 and under: Andrew Camp-Liddiard, 21:43; Jordyne Rauter, 19:28.
Aged 70 and over: Francis Castles, 39:35; Julia Morphett, 39:19.
14km wheelchair
Richard Nicholson of Canberra, 35:51.
The Fun Run has raised almost $90,000 for charity.
More to come
