Bird, Ogilvie fastest at Johnno’s Run

By Bransen Gibson

Aug 7, 2022

Fantastic four: From left, Jamie Soares, Richard Ogilvie, Will O’Sullivan and Tarli Bird were the fastest four participants to cross the line in the half marathon event. Photo: Steve Huntley

Hundreds of people put their bodies to the test as they took part in Johnno’s Run 2022, with Richard Ogilvie and Tarli Bird taking out the half marathon crowns.

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Ogilvie was the first person to cross the line on Sunday morning after setting off on the 21.1km run, finishing with a time of one hour, 17 minutes and 36 seconds.

Bird reached the finish shortly after, completing the run in 1:30:09, the fastest female competitor on the day.

She was the fourth fastest overall, with Will O’Sullivan and Jamie Soares coming second and third.

Ogilvie, who crossed the line more than 11 minutes ahead of the next finisher, said he was pleased with his time.

“I’m very happy with it,“ he said.

”It was close to a personal best, but not quite there, but it was good.“

“I’m training for the Melbourne marathon, so the goal was to do a semi-fast run and I was pretty happy with my time.

“It’s a beautiful track, it was beautiful to go running along the river and over the new bridge which was nice too, they have done a really good job.”

Front of the pack: Richard Ogilvie leads the way during the half marathon event. Photo: Steve Huntley

Ogilvie used to live in Echuca and made the trip up from Gippsland to take part in Johnno’s Run 2022.

“I’m very happy to come down and support this run. I did the first Johnno’s run when it was part of Run Melbourne and I know it is a really good cause,” he said.

“I did the first four, and given that I did that and I heard that they have branched out to do their own run, I thought I would come and support that.”

For Bird, this was the fourth time she has taken part in Johnno’s Run. She took part in last year’s lockdown edition, and ran twice when it was part of Run Melbourne.

Bird said she wasn’t aiming to finish first heading into the event, adding that she was thrilled with her time.

“I was just aiming to finish the distance. I was aiming to get around 1:35-1:40 mark, so to get 1:30, I am really happy,” Bird said.

“I really enjoyed it, it is a really fun course. You get good views of the river over both bridges so I think I’ll be doing that course again.”

First place: From left, CLRS chief executive officer Leah Taaffe, with half marathon winner Tarli Bird and Moama Bowling Club sales and marketing manager George Santos. Photo: Steve Huntley

The half marathon was one of three categories held on the day, alongside a 10km and 5km run.

Chase Costello-Manning and Rhiannan Brennan were the fastest two 10km runners, crossing the line with times of 41:05 and 47:08, respectively.

It was Brennan’s first time taking part in Johnno’s run. She said she was thrilled with the event and will definitely be returning next year.

“I loved it. It was so good to be back running among the people. The track is beautiful, it is a really nice view and it was really good,“ Brennan said.

“I hadn’t heard of it before, but one of my girlfriends was doing her first half marathon so on Saturday night I thought ‘stuff it’ and I put my name down this morning, it was very spur of the moment.

“I reckon I will do it again next year and I reckon I will try and get a team together as well.

“I loved the positivity — the marshals were cheering and clapping and all the participants encouraged each other which was really nice to see.”

It was Costello-Manning’s first 10km run, with his mother, Simone, running in the half marathon.

“The legs are pretty sore but it was a great course and I am happy with how I went,” he said.

“I’ve been doing a lot of 5km runs so I didn’t really know how I’d go. I just wanted to give it a crack and finish where I finish, and first is pretty good.”

Thomas Ryan and Hendrika Kirchhofo finished first in the 5km event with times of 18:47 and 24:08.