The wheel of time turns, and months and years come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the month that gave it birth comes again. In one year, called 2024 by some, a(nother!) great storm rose over the village of Great Bentley. The storm was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the wheel of time. But it was a beginning…
So just like that 2023 was over. It all seems like such a blur, but there have been so many impressive performances by all of you over the course of the year. Following a post on Facebook by Martin Cotton showing the 20 different parkrun locations that he had run in 2023, I was inspired to take a look back at my own year in parkrun. What struck me was how clearly I was able to recall certain weekends, or certain runs over the past year. Some of these were fast runs, some were slow, some were local, some were far away, some alone, some with friends. The thing that ties them all together is the feeling of happiness while being out on a run. I’d like to think that as members of a running club you are all able to relate to that, and hopefully can look back at your own happy memories in 2023.
Coming back to just December, it was a much quieter month in terms of racing, but a massively hectic month in terms of parkruns and socialising. With the bonus Christmas Day parkrun and the anticipation of the most hungover parkrun of the year on New Years Day the runs came thick and fast. Add in the Let It Stow half marathon, the Witham Boxing Day 5, Runners vs Riders and Craigs own Twixmas Trail event there will have been a lot of wet and muddy runners. Of course, the biggest race of the month was our very own Cross Country at Hilly Fields. You guys did a great job both running and marshalling/supporting for this, and we continue to get excellent feedback on putting on such a brilliant run.
For those of you who receive parkrun emails, you may have noticed that the latest email from Mr. Parkrun himself features a photo from the Highwoods event in the summer for the start of the NHS 75 celebrations. I’ve featured the photo here where you may be able to spot some familiar faces…
We also had our annual awards night at the hall in Great Bentley. This was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of all club members from the last 12 months. In case you missed the results from awards night:
Runner of the Year – Charlie Keitch
Veteran of the Year – Doug McGillivray
Most Improved – Adam Robey
Newcomer of the Year – Craig Slocombe
Performance of the Year – Doug McGillivray, SVP 50
Club Person of the Year – Rodger Alexander
Rodger’s Trail Series Winners – Charlie Keitch/Chris Warren
Mickey Edwards Winner – Stewart Baggs
Geoff Day 5k Winner – Doug McGillivray
While these were the lucky few to be taking home the trophies, I think you can all be proud of what you have achieved over the past 12 months. The club thrives on the support of it’s members and without all of you out there supporting each other we would not be the success that we are. The
Looking ahead into January we have another GBRC race on Sunday 7th (please let me get this newsletter out in time). The race starts at 9.30am, with registration taking place 8.45am – 9.15am, at Great Bromley Village Hall (not Great Bentley!). You will no doubt have seen many emails coming out regarding this one. Firstly, thanks to all those who have volunteered so that we are able to safely stage the race. Secondly, please show up and run. It’s a great flat course, lots of PB potential and it would be great to claim the trophy again. I don’t think anybody wants to see it fall into Harwich hands. Every runner is important to us in this race, and all runners score points. Your club needs you!
There is also the Essex XC champs on Jan 6th, and Harwich XC on Jan 21st. Moving into February we have the final XC of the year at Hadleigh on Feb 18th, but also the big one, our very own GBRC half marathon. This is the race that allows the club to offer everything that it does, so all of your support is essential in making sure we are able to make this event run seamlessly. If there is anyone out there who hasn’t already volunteered but would like to, it isn’t too late. Just get in touch and Mel will find a role for you to help out on the day. We always get feedback that the marshalls out on the course provide a real boost for the runners and really contribute to the positivity surrounding the race. I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. I’m sure the lucky winners of the ballot for a spot in the race will also appreciate your support as they run. These are: Dean Pepper, John Ferdinand, Martin West, Paul Arnold, Dave Jones, Charlie Keitch and Paul Brazier. Good luck on the run, I hope you all enjoy it.
I’m aware that we haven’t had a Gentleman’s parkrun social in a while. I’m working on it, and will put out the date and location in the next newsletter. The weekends in January are likely to be somewhat cold and miserable so maybe by the end of February/beginning of March we might get lucky with the weather and have a warmer and dryer run.
Before I move onto Runner of the Month, I want to announce that I will be standing down as Men’s Captain at the AGM this year (At this stage I am not aware that a date has been set for the AGM, although I imagine that it will be some time in April). The reason that I am letting you all know this now, is so that you can all spend some time thinking if this is a role that you may be interested in putting yourself forward for. I have really enjoyed the last two years as captain and still plan on being around to help out as much as I can, but living in Ipswich and working here and in Norwich means that I have struggled to be around as much as I would like over the past 12 months.
It’s not a difficult job (I certainly came into it without any sort of qualifications!) but the responsibilities cover: Newsletter writing and selection of Runner of the Month (with the Vice Captain); Working with Tom to stage the 5 Mickey Edwards runs on Wednesday nights through the summer; Presentation of some awards at awards night; General cheerfulness and support at events where GBRC members are running; Attending Committee Meetings; Chatting to members (new and old). I am certain that any number of you out there are capable of this, so please take some time to consider if this may be something for you. If you have any questions or would like to know more then catch up with me/call/email/send smoke signals and I’ll happily give you all the info you need.
Finally then, Runner of the Month for December… I love the updates that people post regarding their runs, and it’s always great to see some interesting stats come out of races. At the Let It Stow half marathon there were 2 GBRC men in the top 5. One of those finished in third place and (I’m doubting this knowledge now, because I can’t work out where I know this from) received a trophy for his efforts, his first ever running podium and trophy. Having run Let It Stow previously I know what he went through for this achievement and he should be very proud of his performance in what I imagine were filthy conditions. Jon Mann, well done Sir, Runner of the Month for December! Let’s hope there are many more trophies to come for you.
Great Bentley Running Club 