Yarra Ranges Athletics

We welcome our athletes to Dress up in their favourite Footy Colours for Round 9 of the Cross Country season this Saturday! Join Mr Belli in dressing up and have a run at Lillydale Lake. Chocolate Frogs & Minties will also be on offer for those who achieve a PB!!

Date: Saturday 11th July 2026
Time: Warm up and announcements at 8:45am with the first race starting at 9am.

Parent Duty Sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094BADAF2AA7FDC16-64487129-cross #/

Please - no dogs at Little Athletics.
Please join our private Facebook group for current info, training, photos, results, etc. https://www.facebook.com/groups/yraclubhouse

Some more photos from XCR26 Round 5. We turn our attention this weekend to Round 6 for the National Cross Country Selection Trials. See you there! 🩵💚🤍

It's time to get your entries in for Round 6!

We're back on the slopes of Bundoora this weekend for the National Cross Country Selection Trials. A tradition in the calendar, a challenging and revered course that proves XC champions makes its return this weekend. We need to provide two helpers at the finish line throughout the day, please let Max or Jamie know if you can spare the time to ensure that our teams score points this weekend.

Entries close tomorrow so head over to athsvic.org.au to make sure you are entered now. Go Yarra!

MID SEASON REVIEW:
Big things are happening for team Yarra this season.

Having won three of the first five rounds, our Division 2 Men step into the second half of the season with a 10 point lead against nearest rival Geelong. A fresh rivalry after Geelong's relegation from Division 1 in 2025, and one that is shaping up to see our boys fighting tooth and nail for the clubs first ever Division 2 Premiership. The product of years of team and athlete development, it's gonna take everything from our Men to make this one happen. 🥊

Not to be outdone, Yarra's Division 2 Women sit strongly in third place on the ladder with 44 points, trailing a dominant Essendon on 56 points and Diamond Valley on 48. A pretty stellar effort so far with one round won outright, 3x top 10 runs and 3x top 30s.

Our Division 5 Men sit atop their ladder, sitting on 79 points and holding a lead of 6 against Ivanhoe and VCCL, a team that so far has been made up of 11 athletes who have outright won two rounds. In Division 7, our men sit in third position, only 4 points behind an automatic promotion to Div 6 - and that's off the back of only 3 rounds scored! With 5 more rounds to come anything is possible for these two teams.

Both of our U18 teams show that they deserve to be considered this season, our boys holding onto second place with a narrow margin against Essendon, and only 5 points behind Ringwood, whilst our girls are placed in sixth position. Our other junior age groups show their individual strengths with representations in all age groups.

We pivot our attention to Bundoora this week, what a spectacle that will be! Come on down and watch team Yarra defend their Division 2 points. Junior races begin from 11am with opens kicking off at 1:10pm. See you there, go Yarra 💙💚🤍

We're still buzzing after the Calder Raceway Relays last weekend

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A huge congratulations to Harry and Tynan who lined up against some of the best distance runners in the country, along with a host of world class international athletes at the Australian Half Marathon Championships this morning.

Harry produced a phenomenal run, slicing 33 seconds off his personal best to set a new club record and finish an outstanding 11th in Australia. Here's what Harry had to say after the race:

"I’m actually pretty happy with it. I went out with a good group of guys and felt strong through 10km. I faded a bit into the headwind on the way back but held on pretty well. I think I judged it well."

Tynan, while disappointed with his performance, showed tremendous grit to battle through and record his second fastest half marathon time, finishing 26th in Australia. An incredible effort and a testament to his determination.

Congratulations to both athletes on representing the club so strongly. Keep an eye on these two as they look to back up their outstanding performances at the Victorian State Cross Country Championships next weekend in Bundoora. 🤍💙💚

One of the most anticipated weekends of the year is here. The Gold Coast Running Festival hosts multiple distances from 5km right up to the marathon. It also stands as the Australian Half Marathon Championships and we are thrilled to see two of our top distance athletes competing.

Goodluck to Harry Norman and Tynan Mims as they take on the best distance athletes in the country as well as high classes international athletes as well. Hear what Harry and Tynan have to say as they prepare to take on the roads of Gold Coast. Actions kicks off at 6:30am!!

Listen up, it's race recap time! Hear from Becky Gilmore who raced in our Division 3 Women's team last week at the Calder Raceway Road Relays, making her return to team Yarra for XCR26.

Q: Becky, tell us about the leadup to the race last Sunday?
A: After a tibial stressie in March, I had to spend a couple of months deloading, which was pretty tough after two years of consistent running. After seven weeks of building back up, I was finally feeling strong again and couldn’t wait to get back racing with the Yarra team. I hadn’t done a session yet, so I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I went in with low expectations and a simple goal: just have fun and enjoy being back out there.

Q: How did you go in the event?
A: I went out super conservatively and held back as much as I could, but every Km got quicker. After seeing Jamie on the second lap I said, “I suppose I better kick down now,” and he nodded! From there I gradually let the pace build. The best part was seeing some of the Yarra crew with about 600 metres to go. I couldn’t stop smiling and just kept thinking how good it felt to be back. I’m definitely not as fit as I was before but being able to feel strong, finish strongly, have the sun beating down and your teammates cheering you on… what more could you ask for? I trust the PBs will come again down the track.

Q: How sore were you on Monday?
A: I pulled up perfectly after Sunday! The only soreness I had was DOMS from the strength session I’d done the day before 😂

Q: What are you looking forward to next? Any specific races on the cards?
A: For now, it’s just about continuing to enjoy every run while I build my fitness back up. I think I’ll know when the time is right to set some “real” goals, but for now I’m just grateful to be back doing what I love.

XCR Round 5 – Road Relays
The halfway mark of the 2026 XCR season saw Team Yarra head west to a brand-new venue for the Road Relays at Calder Raceway. The fast and fierce course had competitors tackling not one, but two race circuits, with our open athletes racing 7.2km and our juniors taking on 3.5km.

All eyes were on our Men's Division 2 team, who came into the round sitting on top of the ladder. Tynan, Max, Pierce, Dan, James L and Harry formed a formidable squad but faced stiff competition all day from Geelong and South Melbourne. Tynan got the team off to a flying start, averaging an incredible 2:57/km to hand over in fourth, with the top four teams separated by just 10 seconds. Max, Pierce, Dan and James all produced strong runs to move the team into third heading into the final leg. Harry anchored the team brilliantly, sitting on South Melbourne until the closing stages before kicking clear to secure second place behind Geelong. A special shoutout to Tynan, who recorded the 11th fastest open men's time of the day. The boys remain on top of the Division 2 ladder, but with five rounds still to come, every point will be crucial.

Our Women's Division 2 team was once again locked in a close battle with Essendon. Liv got the girls off to the perfect start, changing over in first place, with the next Division 2 athlete over two minutes behind. Her outstanding run also earned her the 9th fastest women's time of the day. Grace showed she's in exceptional form, racing at 5km PB pace across the full 7.2km, proving she'll be one to watch in the second half of the season. Brig continued her breakout year, while Lily showed she's back to her best after an injury scare, bringing the team home in second, just 30 seconds behind Essendon.
A fantastic result sees the girls remain third overall. There were also some exciting returns and debuts in our Women's Division 3 team, with Bonnie and Becky making their comebacks from injury, while Susan and Brigid made their Team Yarra debuts as the team secured an impressive fifth place.

Our Men's Division 5 team continued to showcase the incredible depth within our men's squad. Luke, Sam A, Jack and Brinn stormed around the course to claim another Division 5 victory and extend their lead at the top of the ladder. A huge shoutout goes to Jack and Brinn, who stepped up from the Under 18 ranks to fill the Division 5 team. Still only under-18 athletes themselves, they more than held their own and proved they're two very exciting young talents. In Men's Division 7, Adrian returned from holidays to lead off, with Craig, Bryan and Michael combining for a strong fifth-place finish.

Our junior athletes also produced some outstanding performances. Bri stepped up into the Under 18 Women's team alongside Zoe and Tori, with the trio finishing fourth, just 30 seconds away from a medal. Ryder, Mitch and Blake continued their impressive season in the Under 18 Men's competition, placing fifth, with Ryder recording the 13th fastest junior men's time of the day. Our Under 16 boys fought hard to finish 12th, while the girls claimed sixth, with Maiya making her Team Yarra debut.

Congratulations to everyone who raced and represented the club so proudly. Stay tuned for our mid-season reviews as we take a look at how our teams are tracking against the best distance runners in the country. As always, if you're interested in joining Team Yarra, no matter your ability, we'd love to have you. We'll see you all in two weeks for the return to Bundoora Park.
Go Yarra 🤍💚💙

Teams are locked in for the road relays at the THUNDERDOME tomorrow. ⚡

Get those engines ready, racing slicks on, and fire up because it is going to be a fantastic day of high-octane racing. Athletes should ensure that they arrive with plenty of time to warmup and check-in with teammates. If you are running late, please let Max or Jamie know asap!

Teams will be officially entered on ResultsHub tonight, so athletes please ensure you check here for the running order and race times. See you at the THUNDERDOME.

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