It’s been nearly 6 months now that I was the only one to not refuse being nominated as Club Captain and what a roller coaster it has been.
My main goal has been to try to get more of our members running together in the same events and to that end, I’d say so far, so good.
I’ve been encouraging / cajoling / pushing the Club Championship events (which strictly speaking should be called the Club Endurance Championship, but there you are) and to date we have had what seems to me to be a healthy increase in the number of people taking part. We had 54 finishers at Upton House, 44 at Purbeck, 36 at Blandford Bridges,d 32 at the Maiden Castle Loop and 27 at the Egdon Easy. Further statistical analysis shows that at the one race I have analised, 2011 finishers at Maiden Castle were double that of 2010’s, which was also a CCR I think.
We’ve also started encouraging more people to events – including putting on a coach to races. It was well received at Egdon Easy, with dinner at the Seven Stars afterwards, and we’re doing the same for Gold Hill 10K (£1 per member; £5 for non members) with a stop off for Sunday lunch and drinks on the way home. The race is on 9th October.
Mike is also organising another long point to point club Sunday run in October, this time from Shillingstone and Blandford. These are really popular runs, and I remember when I was running (yes – I used to run) were among my favourite runs of the year, as they’re different, refreshing and very social. Last time we had 58 runners, it would be great to see that get over the 60 mark next time.
Talking of club championship, many of you will have been asked by me for “the race you’d most like to see in the club championships” to give Geoff and myself an idea of what races we should be putting in. It did produce some interesting results and we will be using them to select the 2012 races. Geoff and I were quite surprised with some of the favourites, with two quite separate themes – those who wanted the shorter, fast races, and then those who wanted it as brutal as possible. We have also looked at what races had the most participants from the club over the past year. We hope to build a sensible 2012 series in the next months, and some good small tweaks to the rules. In case you’re not sure what the club (endurance) championship is, it is a series of 20 races selected and which we would like the club’s runners to target/run, as a club and as a team! We only count Poole Runners, but if you were first male or first female, you gain 50 points, second you get 49 points etc etc. Your top 8 scoring races count and at the end of the season anyone who has done at least 8 races is considered for prizes and the 3 with the most points in each age category wins a prize, usually something nice made out of crystal which Geoff selects. I hope that in 2012 we can encourage lots more members to take part in these races
As well as the running at road races many of our members have been performing on the track and field this summer and although I write this before the summer season ends our track teams have performed admirably. The stand out performer has to be Jack Partridge, who managed to win the England Athletics (the old AAAs) Under 20s Championships, the English Schools Championships, and was also selected to run for Great Britain for the first time, all at steeplechase. He has run 7 steeplechase races so far this, of which 6 are on the internet due to their high profiles, so if anyone is curious and wants to see him perform, let me know and I’ll show you how to get to them. The most impressive performances are the two titles he won. In fact Jack’s little training squad on Mondays at Ashdown are now increasingly popular with runners from several other clubs coming along with a dozen sometimes there. This month alone we’ve had Bournemouth AC, Poole AC, Purbeck Runners, Weymouth St Pauls and Wimborne AC. In amongst that group are two GB internationals, one English international, three medallists at English Schools and many more. If anyone has ever fancied trying steeplechase, but doesn’t know where to start, let me know. However, there have been some outstanding performances throughout the club. In among the youngsters Isabel Fumpston and Lauren Cooper are nationally ranked, while the likes of Ben Wilson, Andy Smith, Dan Mulryan, Bess Bickel, Abigail Jones and Verity Ockenden have all impressed seniors when they have been put in amongst them. Watch out for those names in the future (and many more of course). Not a true youngster, but also really well done to Helen Dyke for winning the UK Quadrathlon Cvhampionships in Lincolnshire. As I write this she is off to Austria and then Slovakia to try to regain her World Quadrathlon Championship title, which she won twice in the past five years. PS Quadrathlon is a triathlon with a kayak thrown in too, as well). Similarly well done to Sarah Barrett for her Masters Triathlon title.
Our Southern Mens League team had their first season in the top Division and have coped well, despite a few injuries along the way. The fact that I have had to step in occasionally does not detract from what a strong team it is. Jon Boyle is a beast, sometimes competing in ten or more events a day. The Southern Womens League team are also on the up. Possibly my favourite days out this summer have been at their competitions, in which we want to do well but there’s little real pressure and everyone is there to enjoy themselves and to support each other.
As we move into the winter, our track team will be replaced by our cross country team, especially the Hampshire Cross Country League. All runners are welcome here and although the standard at the front can be impressive, all runners are made welcome and part of what is always a good day out. This year at least one race is at Kings Park, Bournemouth, so that at least should have a good turn out.
We have also had some great socials recently - the 30th Anniversary Dinner the highlight. If you haven’t seen the small clip of Reinhard and Keith dancing together, then this is a must and is already a Poole Runner viral hit. The Agency (the band) were great and although I wasn’t there, I believe the Childrens Party went very well too. Many huge thanks have to go to Annette, Steve and Charlotte for organising the day.
Finally, on non running matters, a huge congratulations to James and Lynne Baulch on the birth of Zachary Egan on 29th July, to Jamie Christopher and Francesca Kenway on their recent marriage (to each other) and on a much sadder note, the passing of Adrian Drake, who had been a member for several years and had struggled for years to fight his illness.
The autumn is coming thick and fast (did summer ever arrive) and I’d just like to encourage everyone to take part in some things that the club puts on. No one expects someone to be at all of the events (unless they’re Dave Heath, who seems to be at every race I attend) but some would be a great way to keep getting involved. The Wayfarers Relay is always a popular event for the juniors to show the seniors how its done, and I know they are looking forward to it already – they’ll have several teams. We have the Club Handicap and the Club Mile Champs coming up, Club Championship events, track and field, the club’s Sunday run, cross country and I’m sure before we know it we’ll be getting asked about Christmas events. So keep running (or jumping, or throwing), don’t forget to warm down, eat well. And keep enjoying whatever you enjoy doing.
22/03/2011
This is the first of what may or may not become a regular feature, but at least here is a little update on what everyone is up to.
First of all, let me introduce myself, for the benefit of those who do not know me. I "used" to be a runner and quite serious at times but due to a mix of injury and other interests within the sport have now quite clearly become a jogger.
What’s the distinction? I don’t think anyone has ever come up with a real definition that sticks, so mine I guess is as valid’s as anyone else’s. It’s not about what speed you run, I think it’s about state of mind. So if you go for a run just for the sheer pleasure of running in the open air, you don’t care how fast you go, how long it took, how often you go or even if you’ll do the same again tomorrow, then you’re a jogger.
If you have any interest whatsoever in whether you run 7 miles (or was it 7 ½?), how it compares to last time, then you’re a runner. If you keep a training diary, enter races because you think that’s a fast course, if you wear a stopwatch let alone a Garmin 305 Roadrunner or even, these days, if you have a MyRun account, then you quite clearly and definitively in my mind, are a runner.
I am a jogger. But I used to be a runner once, and loved it. Well done to all who still run.
I digress. So jogger, ex-runner, coach, sometime Team Manager, and as of 2nd March your club captain – an honour of which I am very proud.
So we are now approaching the most serious time of the year for many of our members. For those training for a spring marathon now is the time of the last few weeks of fine tuning. Depending on which one you’re doing (Brighton 10th April, London 17th April, North Dorset later still) there are a number of weeks to go, and either the last and longest run is done, or is coming up at the weekend, or you’re still building up. Hopefully however the distance looks “doable” and your body is attuned to the several hours of effort it will take.
Many of us however aren’t doing a marathon this spring, and there’s still lots to be getting ready for. With the sun getting higher, the weather’s warmer, the days are longer and off road running becomes a much safer and more pleasurable experience. Many are now rehabbing from the Rhayader weekend.
For others this is the time of year when the much shorter stuff starts and for some of our members, the track and field season is just round the corner. In coaching speak we are right slap bang in the middle of the pre-competition phase of the year. For them, just like for marathon runners, April is a big month as they will see whether all those days training in the cold, dark evenings have paid off and their performances reflect their endeavour. Our teams in the T&F leagues will be kicking off their season in the next month or so, with another busy year ahead.
If focussing on the shorter stuff there are now races galore with several each week to choose from. Even if not racing competitively.
Over the next few weeks and months I’ll be trying to speak to you, the members, introduce myself when necessary and talk to all to get some opinions and feedback on some ideas on how we can make the club deliver what you would like it to be.
With the juniors, and my own coaching groups, we’ve had several training and race weekends “away” in places such as France and Italy, and I’ve got one lined up to Guernsey in April, plus we’ve had several ‘fun’ days and events and a strong team spirit and friendship has developed on these trips so I hope to transfer some of these ideas to the whole club. Keep your ears close to the ground, but I will run them past the committee before revealing all.
Finally, as the days get lighter, it would be great to see our members publicising the club by training in our kit, especially with the new fleeces and jackets that have been released. I understand many like to keep their club vests for “races” but it does help publicise the club enormously, especially to the unattached runners we often pass going the other way, if we are wearing the jackets, T shirts, sweat-shirts etc that the club has produced over the years rather than always the most recent race we’ve done, the club’s profile will rise and hopefully we can attract some of the unattached runners going the other way. We should be dead proud of our club, and wearing its kit is one way to show it.