2019 Bloomberg Square Mile Relay

So Tommy H wants to hear your running stories heh? Well on a cool and crisp Thursday night in early April, the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay kicked off for its 4th installment. Now I know what you’re thinking, a mile why bother? Well running isn’t just a sport for individuals. Running is as much about comradery and telling great stories over a post race beer as it is about individual effort and achievement. This event encapsulates all those elements as you watch and cheer your fellow team mates around the ‘square’ course in and around the Barangaroo Park with hairpin turns and stairs thrown in for good measure.

Despite being a relatively new event on the running calendar, Macquarie Bank have taken out the last two events in the overall fastest open team category. Going into this year’s event with none other than Olympic marathoner Jeff Hunt and elite Run Crew athlete Matt Hudson (both running 2 legs) as well as top HuRTS triathlete Travis Shields, they were again supremely confident of the trifecta. Now Westpac was a big supporter of the event this year, entering a total of 13 teams of 10 runners to have the biggest corporate representation at the event. ‘El Capitano’ Lachlan Oakes went through the list to hand pick the best to represent a ‘Westpac Whippets’ team to take up the challenge against the Mac Bank team. A group of 10 solid yet largely unheralded runners were carefully selected and ordered in deliberate sequence to give the team the best chance of success.

‘Crack’ the gun goes off and all 113 teams take off like a bull in a china shop down a a narrow and windy footpath towards the waters edge. Most teams had stacked their rosters with one of their fastest up front to get away from the crowds but the speed and intensity is too much for some with falls and dropped batons at the first turn. First baton change and the usual suspects in the lead group. One by one the runners take their turns waiting in the exchange pen for their fellow team mates to come sprinting over the hill with arm outstretched to hand the baton over and the new runner takes off into the darkening cool night. By the fourth baton exchange, Westpac Whippets are in front!  Cheering and hooting as the next runners come through, we increase our lead over Mac bank to 2 and a half minutes by the 7th leg, although knowing they still had their best runners to come. It was an insurmountable lead though, with anchor runner Brendon Fink breaking the ribbon and giving the honours to Westpac for the first time, an overall time of 54:59 vs Macquarie’s 56:27. We are later joined by the Westpac all female team who also took out 1st place as we celebrated on stage with a cheers and champagne sprays ala formula one style. The fun didn’t end there. The after party at the Argyle provided drinks, DJ and plenty of eye popping moments as Timmy, Enda and Birchy all watched on as Enda’s PA bumped and grinded her way through half the team on an impromptu dance floor next to our table. All in all a great fun night and hope to see more faces there next year as Westpac look to defend it’s title.;-

By: Hamish Mountford