Chapter Eleven
"The Top Thirty
Westfield Runners"
Many great runners
ran in the Westfield Ultra Marathon between 1983 and 1991. History tells us
that the irrepressible Cliff Young won in the first year. Other winners in the
nine years were Geoff Molloy, Yiannis Kouros (5), Dusan Mravlje and Bryan
Smith. After many hours of calculations I have calculated the thirty greatest
runners in the Westfield. Some of the positions will be questioned and bound to
cause controversy.
The ranking’s were calculated by
allocating points for position finished and the time taken in each race. The
times were also adjusted, so that each race reflected a standard distance of
one thousand kilometres. This stopped the runners from the first couple of
years gaining an unfair advantage. No allowance was made though for course
conditions or any other climatic variables. One will also observe from the
ranking’s that runners, who only had one great race did not rate as highly as
some of the runners who ran and finished on four or five occasions.
1. Yiannis Kouros He was no
surprise in landing the number ranking and I don't think that anyone could ever
dispute the fact that he was the greatest runner to compete in the Westfield Ultra
Marathons. The Greek Ultra Marathon Superstar won the event on five occasions
and almost broke the magical five day barrier. After his win in 1985 the
organisers tried to handicap him for road safety and spectator interest, but he
would still make his way through the field and win the race. 1989 was the only
year that he did not win Line Honours.
2. Bryan Smith Victorian runner,
Bryan Smith was second. He ran his first Westfield in 1988 and ran every year
after that through to 1991. He never finished any lower than forth. Bryan's
moment of glory came in 1991 when he won Line Honours and Fastest time. He had
to make up a tough twenty four hours during the race and won himself a handsome
$60 000 in the process
3. Kevin Mansell Originally from
NSW, but now living in South Australia. Kevin finished the Westfield Ultra
Marathons on five occasions and was one of only two people to achieve this
feat. He gradually improved each year and was definitely a tough customer who
could never be underestimated. Between 87 and 89, Kevin knocked an incredible
67 hours of his time and his pinnacle at the top of Ultra running came in 89
when he finished third and became the forth person in history ever to beat 6
days for 1000km.
4. Mark Gladwell Mark was the second runner to compete and finish the Westfield Run
on five occasions. Mark was a good friend and training partner of Kevin Mansell
and they would regularly run 100k for training every weekend. Mark's highest
finish was ninth, but definitely deserves forth place for his consistency and
courage.
5. Brian Bloomer Brian Bloomer from
Victoria was a Marine steward on the Empress of Tasmania who use to train in
Melbourne and Devonport every other day. He always struggled to find
sponsorship but managed an incredible third, second and forth in the three
years that he competed in the event.
6. David Standeven No one will ever
forget David’s incredible run in 1989 when he crossed the line half an hour
before Yiannis Kouros and won line honours. David was exhausted and had to be
dispatched to hospital for care and observation. He had top ten finishers the
two years before, but was never quite the same runner after 1989.
7. Maurice Taylor Maurice from NSW
was a very consistent performer who had three Top ten performances in the three
years that he ran in the race. Maurice loved the Race and even sold his prized
Violin one year so that he could compete.
8. Tony Rafferty Ultra Marathon
legend, Tony Rafferty competed in the race on seven occasions and finished in
the Top ten four times. The Westfield Run evolved out of the many great battles
that Tony had on the road with George Perdon over the years. Tony Rafferty had
already been there and done that before this race ever commenced.
9. Patrick Macke English runner, Pat
Macke finished with a third, second and eleventh place over the years. In 1986,
he was dead on his feet towards the end of the race and took hours to complete
the last piece of the journey. His crew were exhausted as well and as a result,
Westfield organisers placed a minimum crew of six from the following year.
10. Don Mitchell Don was the
highest-ranking New Zealander. He competed in the event on three occasions and
got two fifth places and a sixth for his efforts. He was a timber worker and
was known as tough and uncompromising who would not give an inch to another
runner.
11. Eleanor Adams Eleanor was the
highest ranking female finisher in the event, which confirms her rating as the
best female Ultra runner in the world. She finished with three top ten
finishers which included a seventh, forth and tenth to her name. She believed
that she was just as good as the men and had the score to prove it!
12. Dusan Mravlje The beer swilling
Yugoslav won in 86 and endeared himself to the Australian running community. In
his only other finish he scored a third and was very unlucky to get injured on
a couple of other occasions. He was definitely one of the few runners that had
the capability of beating Yiannis Kouros.
13. Dick Tout Dick was the second placed New Zealander. He finished third
and second on the two times that he finished the race. He was another runner
who had the capability to beat Kouros, but probably started each of his races
at too fast a pace.
14. Ziggy Bauer Ziggy from New Zealand finished third in the first year and was
one of the sports pioneers. He finished second in the second year of the race,
but due to some problems with the organisers did not compete in the Westfield
after that and has faded into oblivion since.
15. Cliff Young Cliff put the
Westfield on the map in 83 when he won and became an instant folk hero around
Australia. After that he finished with a seventh and a sixteenth and it wasn't
till 1989 when he was ten km out of Bombala and decided that he'd had enough.
16. Tony Collins Tony from NSW finished the event three times.
He raised over $100 000 for the Camperdown Childrens Hospital during his
Westfield Runs. His moment of triumph came in 1991 when he was second runner
across the line.
17. Ross Parker Ross from West
Australia finished the event on four occasions. He wasn’t terribly fast, but
enjoyed the fact of finishing the race each time. He was an excellent sportsman
who played first grade cricket and football in his time.
18. John Hughes Kiwi Policeman, who finished forth and second in the first two
years of the event. The high price of sponsorship was the only thing that
stopped him from crossing the Tasman in 1985.
19. Pat Farmer Pat Farmer was one of the "Young Guns" of the Westfield
and finished the event on three occasions. Pat went on in later years to
rewrite the record books with his magnificent runs across the Simpson Desert.
20. Joe Record Joe from West Australia deserves a ranking much higher than
twentieth. He ran on five occasions and managed two top five placing's in that
time. On the three other times he was injured in the closing stages of the race
and had to withdraw. He was such an aggressive runner that he had an effect on
the placing's every year that he raced.
21. Owen Tolliday Owen from Queensland
was another former Australian 24 hr track record holder. He ran in the event
three times and managed two Top ten placings. In 1991 he was unfortunately
injured in the Snowy Mountains.
22. Ron Hill Ron from Victoria ran in
the event on three occasions. He loved the challenge and was able to finish all
three times.
23. Andrew Law Known as the
"Tassie Tiger", Andrew raced in the last two Westfield's and finished
twice. In 1991 he was third across the line and was headed for a big future in
the sport until Westfield withdrew their sponsorship.
24. George Audley George from West
Australia finished the event twice and absolutely loved the event.
25. Peter Gray Peter from Victoria was
the youngest runner to ever finish the race in 1990. He got two Top ten finshes
in the two years that he raced and would always give one hundred percent.
26. Sandra Barwick Top female runner
from New Zealand who in 1990 claimed the womens race record from Eleanor Adams.
27. Donna Hudson American runner who
competed twice for two top ten placings. Would have been good to see her and
the other two female members of the top thirty in the same race when they were
all fully fit.
28. John Breit Salesman from Moe in
Victoria who ran in the event in 88, 89 and 90. Finished towards the end of the
field in 88 but was injured when he was doing well in 89 and had to withdraw at
the 750km mark. In 1990 he ran very professionally and finished with a well
deserved seventh. Was one of the best twenty four hour runners of his time in
Australia.
29. Geoff Molloy Ex- Victorian Sun Tour Cycling Champion who won the event in 1984
when the race was ran from Melbourne to Sydney. Geoff was the Australian 24
hour record holder prior to the event and was only really pushed in the 84
event when John Hughes closed the gap on the last morning of the race. Geoff
only ran in the race one time after 84 and failed to finish.
30. George Perdon The late great
George Perdon only competed in the Westfield on the one occasion, but managed a
second place. He regrets having so much sleep in that first year and letting
Cliff Young slip away from him. He was the quiet achiever in Australian Ultra
running and was the benchmark to which many Ultra runners try to aspire to
today.
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