Seymour Running Club celebrates hugely successful return of gift

By Alexander Dabb

Dec 17, 2024

The Seymour Running Club committee celebrates after a hugely successful return of the gift. Photos: Supplied.

The Seymour Running Club has ensured the return of the Seymour Gift was an unbelievable spectacle, with close to 1000 people making their way through the gates at Kings Park on Saturday to witness Victoria’s best athletes in action.

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More than 600 athlete entries were received for the first gift to grace Seymour in more than two decades, and the first held at Kings Park in more than half a century, making the return to the Victorian Athletic League a success even before the local hopes took to the turf.

Kelfit athlete and Seymour Running Club board member Cooper Lubeck moments after winning the Loan Gallery Finance 550m open final.

But it was the efforts of the Kelfit stable, headed by VAL Trainer of the Year Kelvin Lubeck, that made the day an unforgettable one for all involved, with Hayden Anderson, Cooper Lubeck and Ian Porter all saluting in front of a raucous home crowd.

Anderson was the first of the Kelfit crew to nab a sash, with the multiple-time junior state champion sprinter lining up in the Lubeck Plumbing 70m open race.

Winning both his heat and semi-final, Anderson eased through to the final, where, off a mark of 3.75 and wearing the blue silk, he ran the fastest wind-adjusted time of the day to clinch the sash, his first since sustaining an ACL injury, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy.

Kelfit coach Kelvin Lubeck with Lubeck Plumbing 70m open winner Hayden Anderson.

With the masses whipped into a state of excitement following Anderson’s triumph, Cooper Lubeck cashed in, having crossed the line first in his heat of the Loan Gallery 550m open event to proceed to the final.

Running off 32m in the final, Lubeck delivered a barnstorming come-from-behind run down the stretch to edge out competitor Alex Jones, sealing victory by just 0.11 of a second in the fastest time recorded all day, and was immediately lifted skyward as the jubilation spilled over into the crowd.

But the best was perhaps saved for last, with Ian Porter conquering all-comers in a nail-biter to be crowned champion of the world’s richest masters race.

Having taken out his heat by more than a second, Porter took to the line in the Australian Trenching and Excavations 300m over-35 final in the green singlet off 20m and, with a throng of athletes neck and neck at the finish, made a desperate throw for the line.

Ian Porter (centre) with his family after taking out the world’s richest masters 300m race.

Quite literally diving across the finish, Porter won by just 0.087 seconds to walk away with the sash and a handy $2500, capping an incredible day for the Kelfit stable and Seymour Running Club as a whole.

The immaculate state of the Kings Park turf and generally smooth nature of proceedings earned plenty of plaudits from those in attendance, with Seymour Running Club president Blair Collins overjoyed with how the day unfolded.

“In March, our club was incorporated with the hope of bringing back the Seymour Gift, but what has transpired since then has exceeded our wildest expectations,” Collins said.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support shown by all our heat, race program, silk and race sponsors and particularly our naming rights partner, the Seymour Club.