RUNNERS from Port Stephens’ sister cities Bellingham in Washington State and Tateyama in Japan have much to be proud of after participating in the Hunter Valley Marathon (Winery Run) on 20 July.
Two visitors from Bellingham (Molly and Nathan Bock) and one from Japan (Toshiyuki Hirayama) ran the full marathon while Masashi Abe ran the half and Carol Frazey ran the 10.5km leg.
Masashi and Toshiyuki finished first in their respective age groups, Carol came second and Graeme was third – superb results all round.
All the runners were home hosted by Port Stephens Sister Cities members.
Formed in 1988, the Port Stephens Sister Cities Committee, a 355c committee of Council, is dedicated to arranging sporting, dance, visual arts, choral, student and environmental exchanges between the cities, with an emphasis on home hosting.
According to the Port Stephens Council Arts and Heritage web page, the Sister Cities Committee, “aims to promote communication between cities leading to friendship and understanding between nations, and worldwide peace”.
In addition to Bellingham and Tateyama, Port Stephens’ sister cities also include Yugawara in Japan.
For further information, contact Nigel Dique, Chairperson of Port Stephens Sister Cities Committee on 0423 024 819.
By Simon EKINS
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
