We love our regulars here at The O’Keefe Challenge and the Shepparton Runners Club are certainly regulars.
Established in 1979, the Shepparton Runners Club has just over 100 members ranging in age from five to eighty years old. Since our first event in 2015, members of the Shepparton Runners club have competed in every O’Keefe Challenge in all distances from the 5km through to the Full Marathon. When we introduced the Ekiden relay in 2019 they jumped at the opportunity to take place in a team event entering an all women’s team.
We asked club President Chris Nicholson what has kept them coming back year after year;
“The Ekiden encapsulates the fun and relaxed atmosphere that the Shepparton Runners Club strives to foster. The varying distances in the Relay allow all members to potentially take part from the experienced runner to those just taking up the sport. Our members enjoy the course as running on a rail trail through the countryside is a different experience from the majority of the other road races they compete in throughout the year.”
And with only a few weeks to go before this year’s O’Keefe Challenge the club’s training is in full swing with Ekiden teams getting together three times a week throughout the year, twice during the working week with the club and a long run on a Sunday. “Running is normally a solo competition between a runner and a goal (time/distance) but the Ekiden allows club members to have some inter-club competition and friendly rivalry. There is a lot of banter between club teams leading up to and on the day and of course huge bragging rights to the team that finishes first.” Chris says.
These seasoned Ekiden veterans have a few tips for groups entering the Ekiden for the first year; “Keep it fun. Encourage friendly banter either within the team or between teams. The great thing about the Ekiden is that you don’t have to place on the podium to have a fantastic morning out on the trail, enjoying one another’s company, with a bit of friendly banter thrown into the mix.”
Leave A Comment