A whopping 25-degree drop in temperature from the previous week was much appreciated by all joggers who turned up for race three of the Bacchus competition.
Adrian Piccoli, who has more time to concentrate on his running, completely dominated the 6.2km long course and finished 35 seconds in front of second.
Last week’s public bagging of Moreno Chiappin for not living up to his pre-competition favouritism was well and truly silenced.
He cruised into second place, knocked over four minutes off his best time this comp and posted a personal best on this course.
On the subject of personal bests, Aidan Fattore ran a stunning race in third.
Starting at the back of the pack, he picked off competitors with ease as he clocked the fastest time – 23:22 – seen on this course for many a year. Rodney Savage, who admitted to giving it his all on the weekend, was heard saying after the run "He went past me like I was standing still.”
You have to feel for the remainder of the pack.
Steven Bourke in fourth and Anthony Trefilo in fifth are running exceptionally well but were simply not in it.
Back in the field, John Keenan held out a fast finishing Roy Binks – who clings onto the comp lead – to grab 10th. Tony Gullo performed a cartwheel yet still managed 13th and Jamie Ross's fitness regime is starting to pay dividends with a much improved time.
Narelle Lagergren – fastest lady in 30:47 –Tony Rokov, Stewart Wood and Allan Jones were worthy of their top 10 finishes.
In the 3.2km short course, Connor Bourke put in a powerful final 200m to round up the field and take out first in a great time of 13:59.
Lana Chiappin finished a well-deserved second in front of a fast-finishing Connor Dal Broi. Anthony Salmon and daughter Isabella eyed each other off at the start line and bragged about who would take the win.
The smart money was on Isabella. She clocked the fastest female time of 15:50 and had beaten her old man in every head-to-head run in the past three years.
But today was Anthony's day and didn't he let everyone know it. For the record, Isabella came in seventh and 21 seconds behind her dad in fourth.
Lachlan West is starting to show some form in fifth and James Dal Broi ran a solid race in sixth.
Margaret O’Grady, Jack Marcus and Ryan Pratt rounded out the top 10.
The Feral Joggers run each Saturday afternoon at 5:30pm from the water tower across the road from Pioneer Park. Please arrive 10 minutes early to register.
