Winter club events
The winter season begins in late March/early April and concludes in late September/early October. Note that subscription covers 12 months from April to March.
Saturday afternoon club pack runs and walks
During the winter months, if there are no racing events, club members meet at the Caversham clubrooms (or at one off special location) and gather in the following packs:
Runners
- Fast
- Medium
- Slow
Walkers
- Fast
- Medium
- Medium/Slow
Ted Brown Memorial
The Ted Brown Memorial consists of a number handicap races, normal on a specially marked 400m track at Kaikorai Valley College.
- Ted Brown – 1500m handicapped run for runners who have previously won any winter club championship race (cross country, road or the J.W. McStay)
- J.W. McStay – 1500m handicapped run for runners who have not previously won a winter club championship race
- 1500m handicapped walk
- Colts Challenge – 820m handicapped walk for juniors/children
VP5k
The Vice President’s 5k (previous names VP5000, VP 3 miler) is a handicapped race for walkers and runners, that was previously held at the Forbury Park trotting club – 5 times around the approximately 1km lap. The final event at Forbury Park was held in 2021, before the trotting club was closed. The event was subsequently moved to the Bayfield Inlet.
Events:
- Vice Presidents 5 km for youth and adults
- Colts Challenge 1 km for children
Club Cross Country Championships
Cross country championship races at 8km, 6km and 4km for runners and walkers depending on the age and gender of the club member. The race is currently held at Island Park Reserve (goes around the outside of Beachlands Speedway). The terrain of the course includes grass, gravel and beach sand.
In 2017, while repairs were being made to the Island Park course, the race was held on the hilly gravel tracks beside Walton Park in Fairfield and finishing on a very muddy stretch on the edge of the park. The race returned to Island Park Reserve the following year.
Brighton to Green Island
The Brighton to Green Island road race is a handicapped race for walkers and runners starting at the Brighton Domain and finishing on Burgess St at the beginning of Green Island. The distance was originally 6 miles and was recently changed to 10 km.
The children’s race is a shorter run from the Brighton Domain to Ocean View and back.
Brighton Green Island Race History, by John Stinson.
The Brighton to Green Island Road Race (first race nearly 90 years ago) was originally run by the Abbotsford Harrier Club which became defunct in 1933. Through the efforts of Caversham Club Member R.C. Knox the cup donated to the Abbotsford Club by Mr. H.Cuthbertson (Cuthbertson Cup) for the Brighton Green Island Race passed into the possession of the Caversham Club. This Cup awarded to the person gaining fastest time honours in the Brighton Green Island Race was retained for the same purpose by the Caversham Club by the inclusion of the road race in its syllabus.
The winner of the first Brighton to Green Island race conducted by the Caversham Club in 1934 was W. Darling in a time of 38mins 15 seconds and the fastest time of 36 mins 1 seconded was recorded by G. R. Colston.
The Brighton to Green Island Race was first opened to all Otago Harrier Clubs in 1955 as part of the Caversham Harrier Clubs 50th jubilee celebrations. The winner that year was K. King of Mornington running off a Handicap of 6min 30sec and the Fastest time honours went to Kerry Williams of Leith in a time of 30min 22sec. The Caversham Club has endeavoured to run the Brighton to Green Island Race as an open event on a five yearly basis and in line with special years in the Club History e.g. The 100th Centenary in 2005.
A special feature of the Brighton to Green Island Race is the Butterfield Trophy featuring a carved map of the course presented each year to the first Caversham competitor in the race. The trophy was presented to the club in 1938 by the Dunedin firm of Butterfields Ltd. M. Butterfield was a Caversham Club Member from 1932 to 1938. The first winner of the Butterfield trophy in 1939 was D.C. Simpson with a winning time of 37mins 28 seconds. The connection with Butterfields Ltd was shown at the end of the 1936 winter season when all Caversham Harrier Club trophies were displayed in the window of Butterfields premises in the Octagon.
Winter – events run by other clubs and/or Athletics Otago
- Barnes cross country races
- Edmond Cup cross country races
- Otago Cross Country Championships
- Winding Vine Relay
- Port Chalmers to Dunedin road race
- Otago Half marathon Championships
- Lovelock relays
- Ponydales: Leith Cross Country Relays and the Ponydale Challenge
- Clyde to Alexandra road race
Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon – Otago Marathon Champs
The Dunedin Marathon has been organised by the Caversham club since 1985. The full marathon race doubles as the Athletics Otago Marathon Championships for runners registered as a competitive athlete at Athletics Otago (via registration at a club affiliated with Athletics Otago). The annual event was started in 1979 by the New Zealand Federation of Sports Medicine (Otago Branch).
More details at the Emerson’s Dunedin Marathon site.
Summer Athletics by Athletics Otago
In the summer months from October through to late February/Early March, members registered as competitive athletes can compete in the Caversham uniform at Athletics meetings, mostly on Saturdays at the Caledonian Ground.
- Saturday morning meetings – Children’s Athletics (Aged 7 to 14)
- Saturday afternoon meeting – Youth and adults (U16, U18, U20, Masters 35-49, Masters 50+)
- Otago Children’s Championships – normally held in February, includes races distances up to 1500, shot put, discus, long jump, high jump for older grades, vortex for younger grades
- Mini Multis for Children’s Athletics – children compete in 8 events where points are awarded based on the time, distance or height achieved using a system similar to the decathlon/heptathlon system.
- Otago Senior Championships – normally held in February, includes all Olympic Track and Field events