Half marathon effort

Flight Sergeant Warren Matulick checks his time as he crosses the finish line of the 2003 ADF State Teams Half Marathon on a typical autumn day in Canberra. Photo by Michael Weaver

By Michael Weaver

ADF runners recorded several outstanding results at the 2003 ADF State Teams Half Marathon in Canberra on May 18.

Air Force representative on the ADF Running and Athletics Association (ADFRAA) Flight Sergeant Warren Matulick said it was most encouraging to see 35 ADF participants in the field of 299 for the 21.1km journey.

“CPL Stephanie Hall from the Australian Army Band Sydney ran a great time of one hour, 28 minutes and 27 seconds to finish first ADF female runner and third female overall,” said FSGT Matulick. “A couple of our veteran/masters male runners also had a great day out.”

Sergeant Rob Combe, 1HSB, was the first ADF male runner home in a time of 1.17.52 and finished seventh overall.

The 2003 ADF State Teams Championship was closely contested, with points gained in a state of origin format.

Queensland/Northern Territory took the title, closely followed by Victoria. NSW/ACT finished third, with the team from South Australia/Western Australia/Tasmania fourth.

The winning QLD/NT team consisted of the following ADF runners: GPCAPT Warren Ludwig (Air Force HQ), SQNLDR Brian Allsop (Information Operations Sqn), LCDR Doug Griffiths (HMAS Hawkesbury), MAJ Steve Meehan (Land Engineering Agency), LEUT Jeff Rayner (NASPO NAS Nowra), CPL Stephanie Hall (Australian Army Band), CPL Donna Young (Health Services NSW), LAC James McDonald (Federation Guard), PTE Meg Davidson (Randwick), CFN Mark Higgins (RAAFSTT Wagga).

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