Endurance specialist Matilda Iglesias scored one of the luckiest wins in the Stawell Amateur Athletic Club’s 50-year history when she pipped Gary Saunders on the post in the five kilometre Horsham Physiotherapy and Podiatry Handicap at Stawell.
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Saunders, the 74-year-old club Methuselah, had stopped a few metres short of the line, losing precious seconds.
Once handicaps for the race were adjusted, it was determined that Iglesias had beaten the evergreen by a mere six seconds. Colin Barnett finished third.
It was a classic case of the rabbit chasing the hare when the swift took on the swiftest from the word “go”.
The tactic, however, proved decisive even if fortune smiled on her. The torrid pace meant that Iglesias ran a much stronger first two kilometres than she normally would and a faster five kilometres overall.
The gently undulating course was like a picnic in the park for Iglesias who is a regular on the running event calendar all over the state.
Already this year she has tackled the Peak and Trails Run at Dunkeld, the Wings for Life at night run in Melbourne, the Werribee Mansion 10 kilometre and the Run Forrest Half Marathon through the Otway Ranges; all this from a 36-year-old mum who started running just six years ago, almost on a whim.
Since Iglesias began her five kilometre times have toppled from around 28 minutes to just on 22 minutes. In other words, she is now running five kilometres faster than she once ran four kilometres.
Her next challenge is the Afterglow Half Marathon along the surf coast from Point Addis to Torquay in November.
In the one kilometre sub-junior section of Saturday’s race a smiling Jack Urquhart posted his first win of the season holding off Membrey siblings, Miles and Kayla.
The club travels a short trip down the Navarre Road this Saturday for the Concongella Vineyards Handicap, a unique 6.5 kilometre race among the vines.