Perth 10K

Robert Gilroy won this year's Perth 10K in style and the rest of the field were, literally and metaphorically, blown away.

Bright and breezy was something of an understatement for this year's 10K; the sun shone and the course was strewn with fallen trees and broken branches from strong overnight winds which had only abated slightly by the time the race got underway.

Course
Starting and finishing on the running track at the George Duncan Memorial Stadium the course is an off road route that includes two laps of the scenic North Inch.

Men's Race
Robert Gilroy was in a class of his own. Seemingly unhindered by the near gale force winds Gilroy stormed around the course to stop the clock at an impressive 32.46. Behind him the battle for the minor places couldn't have been closer; Grant Wilkie (Corstorphine AAC), Andrew Orr and Anthony Jackson (Perth Road Runners) ran the entire race no more than ten seconds apart. Wilkie finished in second place in 34.36, a mere five seconds ahead of Andrew Orr, who in turn was just three seconds ahead of Perth's Anthony Jackson.

Women's Race
Not to be outdone by Gilroy's domination of the men's race Claire Coupar was stamped her authority on the women's race in similar style with a winning margin of over two minutes.
Coupar 's winning time of 39.08 was well clear of second placed Amie McKimmie who, despite the strong winds, managed to knock one and a half minutes of her PB with a time of 41.24.
Just behind McKimmie, Jo Kirby completed the women's podium with a time of 41.36.

Tough
This year's Perth 10K will be remembered by the 271 finishers for the strong winds that turned an ordinary – run of the mill 10K – into a tough personal battle of runner versus the wind. The runners planning to compete in next weekend's 24 hour race on Perth's North Inch will have their fingers crossed for better weather. 10K completed in strong winds is tough going but 24 hours would be ....

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