Sherwood Forrest Runners 30th Anniversary

Brisbane's largest running club will celebrate 30 years of operation on the 4th of February 2012.

Founder, Brian McMillan had been running with the Turramurra Trotters every time he visited Sydney and decided that Brisbane needed a similar club.

He enlisted the assistance of his local Newsagent, John Rasell, and they set out to create a running group along similar lines to the Sydney club.  As they were both Marathon runners they picked a scenic course on backstreets and kept it short so that it became their weekly speed training.

Photo: Runners leaving the start at 25th.

On the first Saturday in February 1982 the first race was held and 37 runners registered and took to the streets at 7am for a 2, 4, or 6km out and back race. This formula has remained since that time and gradually every runner in Brisbane came along to see how fast they could run the scenic course.

When Pat Carroll appeared the standard took a huge step forward and he was soon running times that were world class. The best runners around were all trying to match his times. He eventually lowered the 6km time to 16m 26s.

Only two other runners have broken the 17 minute barrier and his record is looking very safe. It would take a Craig Mottram to get close to this so it is pretty likely to stand for a long long time.

Many other top runners have been regular attendees including the 4km record holder, Alastair Stevenson and womens 6km record holder, Krishna Stanton who won Marathon Silver at the Commonwealth Games.

The Sherwood records at the moment are:

2 km Jayden Russ 5.06 Dec 05

4 km(F) Sarah Deuble 13.03 Aug 08

4 km(M) Alastair Stevenson 10.48 Nov 03

6 km(F) Krishna Stanton 19.08 Jan 01

6 km(M) Pat Carroll 16.26 Jan 1999

6 km(60+) Mike Briggs 22.50 Aug 10

So it's on again big time on the 4th of February 2012.

Come along for a big morning and bring along your friends and all the ex Sherwood runners that you know.

After 30 years of operation there are not many runners in Brisbane who have not competed on at least one Saturday morning. Last year we averaged 99 runners each weekend – same as the Don's batting average – he died in February 2001 aged 92.

Over 250 runners turned up for the 25th Anniversary and we expect at least that for our 30th.

Pat Carroll will be there to keep you honest and despite the added years will still be hard to beat.

Photo: Runners after the 25th Anniversary run. From left Ashley Ehlers, his brother Arnold, Tony Gray and Mick Oriszenko. Second row Andrew Wilson.

Free BBQ and soft drinks will be provided after the run so stick around and enjoy the day with many of the original runners. Start is in the Jolimont St Sherwood carpark.