Timaru Harrier Club
The Squire Cup race is the oldest race still run by the club, with it first being held in 1937 and it has been completed for every year since. The race was held on and around the Squire family farm in Maungati - a tough hilly course, and was moved in 1985 to the Fairview course until 2011.
The cup was donated to the club in 1937 by Tom Squire who went on to become the president and during the 1950's the patron of the Timaru Harrier Club. Duncan Squire (Tom Squire's son) also became Patron of the club during the 1970's (and also won a Canterbury Cross Country senior men's title) and moved the race to its present location when he retired from the family farm. The Squire Cup has been hosted & supported by 3 generations of the Squire family (Tom, Duncan & now Alister Squire & his sister Annthea Copland) and is one of the club's most prestigious races.
The races in Maungati were supported by the entire community with the marking out the course, social events after the race and even several trophies being donated by them - the Maungati Residents Cup (senior colts/under 16 & under 18 boys) and the Silverstream Cup (under 14 boys) - presented in the 1960's and is named after the Squire's family farm 'Silverstream'. Alister Squire even has a trophy in his name - the AT Squire trophy for under 12 Boys
The Squire Cup race has always been a well contested and difficult race to win - especially more than once. Only 2 people have managed to win the race 4 times - Angus Dellow (1948, 1950, 1981 & 1998) - although it did take over 50 years to achieve this feat and Peter Gardner (2000, 2002, 2012 & 2015).
Current club members who have won the Squire Cup are - Ian Clarkson (1972), Mark Peters (1982, 1988), Alister Lester (1984), Michael Fox (2004), Mario Oostendorp (2005), Walter Hume (2006, 2010), Keegan Pullar (2008), Dean McAlister (2009, 2011), Nick Tayler (2013) and Sam Wreford (2014).
Many thanks to Leo & Noreen Hand, Angus Dellow and Eldon Moffatt for supplying names for some of the early cup winners
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