Chloe's sprint to win 5km race | Northern Rivers Athletics | Track and Field, Running and Marathons in Northern Rivers

Gary Nichols | 9th November 2009

Chloe Hackett

Daily Examiner

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A FLIGHT from Sydney to Coffs Harbour, a mercy dash by car to Waterview Heights and a 50-metre sprint to the start line – not an ideal warm-up for a marathon.

But Grafton’s Chloe Hackett took it all in her stride when she took out the Women’s 5km race in the annual Jacaranda Fun Run yesterday.

Hackett crossed the finish line in a time of 19 minutes 38 seconds, leaving other female competitors in her wake.

Coached by Greg Watkins, Hackett competed in the NSW All Schools Athletics carnival in Sydney on Saturday. Proving how dedicated she is to her sport, Hackett entered Sunday’s fun run knowing she would be tired and sore after competing in the 1500m and 3km events in Sydney.

After her performance in Sydney, Hackett qualified for the Nationals in the 3km event.

She won the 2km fun run last year and, who knows, she may take out the trifecta next year if she competes in the 10km run

Coffs Harbour’s Matthew Berrington was the first male across the finish line in the 5km race in an impressive time of 19:17 just ahead of team-mate Daniel Campbell. Both Matthew and Daniel are members of the Coffs Coast Flyers who had a strong contingent of runners on the day.

The gruelling 10km race was taken out by Grafton’s Andrew Black in a time of 40:13, while Christina Hancock won the women’s 10km in 50:44, just edging out triathlete Debra Tennant.

Event organiser, Penny Burgess said the event was a huge success and the change of location was positive. “The course at Waterview Heights received positive comments from runners although it was more challenging then our previous location,” Burgess said.

“The runners were tested by the hills and the humid conditions.

“It was an exciting day for the 160 competitors who took part.”

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