BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//APSOC Cross Country - ECPv6.15.17//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:APSOC Cross Country
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://apsoc.net.au
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for APSOC Cross Country
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Australia/Melbourne
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20250405T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20251004T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20260404T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20261003T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+1100
TZOFFSETTO:+1000
TZNAME:AEST
DTSTART:20270403T160000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+1000
TZOFFSETTO:+1100
TZNAME:AEDT
DTSTART:20271002T160000
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260418T143000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260418T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010011Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260317T052157Z
UID:6359-1776522600-1776528000@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:Williamson 5k
DESCRIPTION:Haileybury Athletics Club (or Old Haileybury as it was originally known) joined APSOC in 1989 and was quick to introduce its own teams event into the winter calendar. For the first five years\, the event took the form of a relay conducted over a 4 km circuit of the Keysborough campus of Haileybury College. There were four relay legs of 4 km\, 8 km\, 8 km and 4 km respectively. Old Scotch and St Kevin’s had some epic contests during these years\, with Old Scotch leading 3:2 at that point. \nAfter a few years\, the race came to be named in honour of Jim Williamson\, a physical education master at Haileybury from 1956 to 1975. Jim\, who passed away in 1983\, was the person mainly responsible for the rise of athletics at Haileybury\, being master in charge of the sport from 1956 to 1969. In the mid-1960s\, he\, along with like-minded teachers from other APS schools\, inaugurated the school winter cross country competition. \nFrom 1996 to 2004\, the race become a 6 km scratch race\, still at Keysborough. The Old Scotch men and Old Wesley women dominated this period\, with Paul Patrick (OS) and Anna Thompson (OW) leading the way with outstanding times of 18:14 and 20:57 respectively. In 2005\, the event moved to the school’s Berwick campus\, a move that coincided with Haileybury’s and Old Xaverians’ rise as powers in the open and women’s competition respectively. The race distance was later shortened to 5 km. The change of venue gave APSOC another true cross country course of grass\, mud and hills. \nCourse records: \nMen/Women \nTom Thorpe (OW) 15:00.8 2017/Anna Kasapis (OW) 18:26.1 2019
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/williamson-5k/
LOCATION:Haileybury College\, 138 High Street\, Berwick\, Victoria\, 3806\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APSOC
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260530T130000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260530T153000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010056Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T102441Z
UID:6345-1780146000-1780155000@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:AV 8k/4k Cross Country
DESCRIPTION:St Anne’s Winery\, Bendigo\, hosts the 8km (open men and women) and 4km (U20) heritage round. The surrounds of the winery offer athletes a testing course\, with a mixture of different terrains. The event is a great opportunity for clubs to showcase their heritage and history.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/166k-cross-country/
LOCATION:St Anne’s Winery\, 3 Belvoir Park Road\, Ravenswood\, Victoria\, 3453\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APS United,Athletics Victoria
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260606T093000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260606T103000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010048Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T055316Z
UID:6351-1780738200-1780741800@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:McPhail 8k
DESCRIPTION:Originally staged at the Tan\, this popular event has been held at Yarra Bend Park since 2006. It is named in honour of the late Ken McPhail (OX)\, who was the first APSOC handicapper in the days long before computers played any role in the affairs of the Association. Ken was the APSOC handicapper for 25 years and he kept a close eye on all runners to ensure that no one scored an unworthy handicap win. He also had a fine athletic record\, including competing in around fifty Cooke-McClelland races in succession. \nIt is therefore appropriate that the McPhail event is a “sealed handicap”\, so that all runners start together without knowing their handicaps. At the conclusion of the race\, the handicaps are revealed and a winner announced. \nSo the McPhail is a scratch race over 8 kilometres. The Yarra Bend course is very scenic as it winds its way along the banks of the Yarra\, but contains some testing little hills to keep the runners’ minds on the task at hand. Two Olympians hold the course records – Adam Pyke (OW) set the men’s course record of 24:42 in 2022 and Victoria Mitchell (SK) ran the fastest women’s time of 28:00 in 2011. \nAll athletes are requested to make a contribution to afternoon tea at this event. There is no available electricity and so members are encouraged to bring their own hot water for tea and/or coffee.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/mcphail-8k/
LOCATION:Yarra Bend Park\, Yarra Bend Road\, Fairfield\, Victoria\, 3078\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APSOC
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260613T132000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260613T150000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010028Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T045111Z
UID:6257-1781356800-1781362800@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:AV 12k/6k Cross Country
DESCRIPTION:A trip to Cruden Farm for a hilly cross country hit out.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/4k8k-cross-county/
LOCATION:Cruden Farm\, 60 Cranbourne Road\, Langwarrin\, Victoria\, 3910\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APS United,Athletics Victoria
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260718T143000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260718T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010018Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T054851Z
UID:6186-1784385000-1784390400@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:Jamieson 5k
DESCRIPTION:The Alex Jamieson 5km teams race and sealed handicap at Scotch College is one of the highlights of the APSOC calendar. The event was first held in 1950 and women first competed in 1981. It has been the traditional opening race of our winter season since 1995. The usually kind weather\, convenient location and short course length has proved to be an attractive mix\, resulting in fields of over 200 runners. Check-in is between the tennis courts and the Cardinal Club boatshed at the Yarra River end of Morrison Street. The runners then walk through the school back to the soccer pitch for the start of the race. There is car parking opposite the tennis courts and along Morrison Street. \nThe Jamieson course was changed for the 2015 race with the removal of the famous Glenferrie Road hill. The new course remains a varied one\, with the terrain from flat ground to short\, sharp hills. Running surfaces are generally good. The course commences with a spectacular charge from the soccer pitch across the rugby and around the boundary of the lower ovals\, before a tight U-turn takes runners up on to the Gardiners Creek levee bank. Then it’s back around the soccer pitch before the competitors must climb the service road to the Main Oval. From there\, the runners turn right and head for the Monash Drive past the chapel and out into Morrison Street. Then there is a slight downhill section almost to the river\, where runners cut back left to follow the Gardiners Creek levee bank once again. The same circuit (levee bank-soccer pitch-service road-Main Oval-Monash Drive-Morrison Street-levee bank is repeated until the runners dip down from the levee bank and head back around the lower ovals and across the rugby oval to the finish line on the soccer pitch. \nAs the Jamieson is a scratch race with all competitors starting together\, the handicap event is a “sealed” handicap\, based on runners’ previous performances in the APSOC competition. The Jamieson has a long and proud history. Old Scotch Collegians Athletic Club provides a generous afternoon tea after the race on the Cardinal Club balcony overlooking the Yarra River\, at which the team and individual awards are announced. \nCourse records: \nOld course: Men – Paul Wilson (OS) 14:47 1998; Women – Anna Thompson (OW) 16:03 2006 \nNew course: Men – David McNeill (OX) 15:17.0 2019; Women – Michaela Parsons (OH) 18:10.2 2019
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/jamieson-5k/
LOCATION:Scotch College\, Morrison Street\, Hawthorn\, Victoria\, 3122\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APSOC
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260726T080000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260726T090000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010031Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T044007Z
UID:6374-1785052800-1785056400@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:AV 10k Road Race
DESCRIPTION:A fast and flat 10 km course starting and finishing at Lakeside Stadium\, with a spectacular finish on the track. Two laps out and back from Lakeside Stadium to Junction Oval on Lakeside Drive.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/10k-road-race/
LOCATION:Lakeside Stadium\, 31-33 Aughtie Drive\, Albert Park\, Victoria\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Athletics Victoria
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260801T143000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260801T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010043Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T055747Z
UID:6251-1785594600-1785600000@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:Hare & Hounds 8k
DESCRIPTION:2021 marked the dawn of a new era for the Hare & Hounds. After 51 years\, the Lucas family had done enough for the event and Association. Caulfield Grammarians stepped forward to host the event at Jells Park\, Wheelers Hill. \nSome history – during the 1960’s\, the APSOCAAA (known at the time as the APS Old Boys Amateur Athletic Association) was looking to develop more courses and events beyond the five or six main events then held each season. In the earlier part of the 20th century\, various Harriers clubs had enjoyed a cross country event in which a runner (the hare) would set off on an unknown course\, dropping flour or shredded paper\, followed some time later by the pack of runners (the hounds)\, who endeavoured to catch the hare before he got back home. \nIn 1969\, Neil Lucas\, the Old Scotch cross country captain and later to become Association President\, shared a flat in Berwick and suggested that the area could be a good venue. Neil invited the Association members for a run through the reserves\, paddocks and hills of Berwick\, using the format of the hare and hounds. A track was laid out using white lime\, although it could not be seen very well. Runners were graded and despatched in thirty second intervals rather than as a pack. Neil’s brother Peter recorded times. \nOn this first run\, Tony Lapsley (SK) (4:30 after go) somehow followed the designated course and got home before the rest of the field of about 35 runners.  Our host\, Neil Lucas (20:30 after go)\, with a distinct home ground advantage (he had marked the course in the morning)\, took fastest time honours. There were no particular prizes\, just the glory and a bottle of local wine. \nDuring the first decade of the event\, the course varied from time to time. A system of wider time intervals between slower runners and shorter intervals between faster runners was introduced. Early runs started near the showgrounds opposite the Haileybury campus and followed a muddy course of approximately 9 km along the Cardinia Creek reserve. Invariably runners got lost and\, if you think “the hill” at about the halfway point of the current course is tough\, next time you are there\, check out where the hill finishes. It is a further kilometre to the peak\, which explains Peter Bruce’s fastest time in 1977 of 38:33 compared with 21:39 three years earlier. The 1977 course is politely referred to in the handbook as the “long course”. There were also a number of unprotected barbed wire fences to negotiate\, which even tended to slow down the steeplechasers in the field. \nIn time\, and with Neil Lucas becoming the City of Berwick Chief Executive (and later the Member for Eumemmerring Province in State Parliament and Mayor of the City of Casey)\, the start moved to the Arch Brown Reserve. The start/finish was adjacent to the football club pavilion and the distance was nominally 9 km\, following much the same ground as the current course. Neil\, his wife Margaret and their family\, and brother Peter continued as our hosts. When Peter moved to Sydney with his employment\, he continued to set the day aside to be timekeeper for the event. \nAs Berwick developed and traffic on the roads increased\, it was decided to make the start/finish on the side of nearby Inglis Road\, thus creating an 8 km circuit along the roads and through paddocks without the need to cross any intersections. This course was used between 1992 and 2019. \nThe event has presented a number of highlights over the years.  When running through the property called “The Downs”\, runners had to follow the lane traversed by the cows when being brought into the milking sheds. Watching where to put your feet was one thing\, but having to hurdle a dead cow on the track was an unexpected extra one year. But probably the best bit of excitement was the year that a horse came out of the farm gate and ran alongside the leading runners\, then took the last turn and cantered through the finish line. Handicapper Field Rickards disqualified the horse for not carrying a tag. \nThe Berwick course was always considered a true cross country run\, although most of the roads are now sealed and there may be only one fence to negotiate. Over the years\, a number of athletes have managed to record the fastest time more than once – Ewen Wilson (OS)\, Peter Bruce (OX)\, Steve Brennan (OX)\, John Cormack (OS)\, Richard Hope (StK)\, David Lightfoot (OS)\, Paul Wilson (OS)\, Dean Gasson (OH) and Adam Pyke (OW). The hardest man to catch was Murray Wilcox (OC)\, who won from a mark of 1:10 after go in 1979. The best run from a backmarker was James Lightfoot (OS) in 2018\, who ran down everyone from a mark of 24:15. \nThe Association is indebted to Neil and the Lucas family for not only initiating this event but their continued interest and support for an incredible fifty-one years. \nCourse records: \nBerwick: Men – D Lightfoot (OS) 25:58 1993    Women – A Thompson (OW) 28:55 2002 \nJells Park: Men – A Pyke (OW) 25:28 2023   Women – A Kasapis (OW) 29:45 2023
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/hare-hounds/
LOCATION:Caulfield Grammar\, 74-82 Jells Road\, Wheelers Hill\, Victoria\, 3150\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APSOC
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260809T090000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260809T110000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010049Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260324T043658Z
UID:6382-1786266000-1786273200@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:AV Half Marathon
DESCRIPTION:A fast\, flat course around pretty Lake Wendouree\, previously the venue for the 15k/6k road races\, but now hosting the half marathon.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/15k-road-race/
LOCATION:Lake Wendouree\, Wendouree Parade\, Ballarat\, Victoria\, 3350\, Australia
CATEGORIES:Athletics Victoria
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260829T133000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260829T150000
DTSTAMP:20260417T232423
CREATED:20240217T010015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260313T060153Z
UID:6396-1788010200-1788015600@apsoc.net.au
SUMMARY:Cooke-McClelland 8k
DESCRIPTION:It is fitting that the event which started it all back in 1931\, when the first challenge race took place between Old Xaverians\, Old Scotch and Old Wesley through the paddocks of Kew and Hawthorn\, usually takes pride of place as the final race on the APSOC winter calendar. The Cooke-McClelland is also the last of the five premiership races\, which means that the results of the event often determine the champion teams and athletes of the year. \nThe race is named after two of the founding members of Old Xaverians Athletic Club\, John “Jack” Cooke and Tom McClelland. It is run over a testing 8 km course around the Kew Boulevard and Yarra Bend. The course rises and falls several times\, and many athletes have suffered late in the race after going out too hard on the early hills. \nThe Cooke-McClelland course has remained relatively unchanged over almost half a century until 2022\, allowing direct comparisons between performances during that time. Only five male athletes have broken 25 minutes\, with Nick de Castella (OX) doing it twice and setting the course record of 24:37 in 1981. The outstanding quality of this run explains why it remains the oldest record on the APSOC books. Anna Thompson (OW) dominates the fastest women’s times\, with 27:25 being her best in 2002. The open team’s race is always hotly contested\, with Old Scotch holding the three lowest team scores under the current scoring system.  \nRoad safety considerations necessitated changes to the iconic course and the race is now run over two laps of 4 km\, but retaining the tough uphill section to the finish\, which will be completed twice\, once on each lap. \nPerhaps because it is the last event in the season\, the afternoon tea at Burke Hall is always one of the best of the year.
URL:https://apsoc.net.au/events/cooke-mcclelland-8k/
LOCATION:Burke Hall\, Studley Park Road\, Kew\, Victoria\, 3101\, Australia
CATEGORIES:APSOC,Old Xaverians
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR