Welcome to the first of an occasional series of Wye Valley Runners Newsletters.
New Members.
Great to welcome back old friends and say hello to new friends over the past few months. Welcome Gordon Truluck, John Mould, Kaleigh Ingram, Kate Green, Leah Lowe, Liz Speake and Richard Evans. Hello and welcome back to Martin Price, Billy Smallwood, Michael Smallwood, Jason Smith,Rich Williams, Maria Miles and Temi Odurinde
Committee
The club committee are: Paddy Nugent Chair, Jeremy Jehan, Vice Chair, Becki Ansfield - Welfare, Dave Sherwood- Treasurer, Peter Nugent - Muddy Woody, Martin Flowers - Regional Council, Laura Tootell- Cross Country Capt, Lou Foti - Social Media, Peter Smith - Secretary and Marc Kendrick. Bill Griffiths also acts as a welfare officer.
Cross Country
The Winter series starts on Sunday 30th Oct - hosted by Wye Valey Runners. We are delighted to have secured Bearwood Farm in Pembridge - courtesy of owner Ed Collins. It is a beautiful setting with a fast 10k course awaiting us all. We will need volunteers on the day to ensure the series goes off with a bang - more details soon. If you are new to the club, the cross country season is one of the highlights of the year - grab yourself a club vest and get involved.
Other dates in the winter series have been confirmed as 20 Nov, 18 Dec, 15 Jan and 26 Feb - details to follow
Jan Edwards
Our appeal to raise money to fund a memorial bench for Jan was a big success, surpassing the target within a week or so. The new bench is currently being handcrafted and engraved ready to be installed on Tillington Common - a favourite spot for Jan and Brian. We will announce details as soon as know more - probably involving an informal unveiling and a social run. Our thanks to Dave Sherwood for leading this project and to Paul Davies for agreeing to install the bench.
Meanwhile up on Lyde Ridge Simon Oliver arranged for an Oak Tree to be planted on one of Jan’s regular routes - the tree is thriving thanks to regular buckets of water being added by passing runners - well done and thanks to Simon.
Club Kit
As the Cross Country season approaches it’s time to check out the new club shop. Provided for us by KITLOCKER - full details here including how to access your club discount voucher worth over £8 on your first purchase.
Training
The winter Wednesday training schedule has now kicked in - meaning every 2nd and 4th week of the month we try our hand at speed sessions on the track and on the first and third week of the month we either do a tempo session or a club run. All of our sessions are for everyone - regardless of ability, age or both! Keep an eye on the club App.
Monday social 4 ish miles runs continue to be popular and will continue through the darker nights - no one gets left behind as ever.
Run Leaders
We are delighted to have been awarded £1,000 from Active Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The money is to pay for a number of club members to be trained as Leaders in Running Fitness (LIRF). The course covers risk assessment, warm-ups, cool-downs, and how to lead running sessions for a mixed-ability group of runners. We are really keen to have as many people properly qualified to look after our run sessions - so far Peter Nugent and Ian Sockett have been on the course. If you are interested there is more detail here. Please think about applying for a place - the course costs £160 and will be fully funded with the grant - for up to 6 people - if interested please email wyevallyracing@gmail.com You do not need to be experienced, just willing to have a go and help out. The course is now online and self-taught using video and online forums. We need to have this all in place in the next three months - so don’t delay - apply today!
Muddy Woody 6
Peter has agreed to be Race Director again - thanks Peter - and the event takes place on 12th Feb. It will be our 25th running of the race - so one not to be missed. Entries open on 1 Oct with full details to follow soon.
Crocodile 8
We have agreed to take on the organisation of the Crocodile 8 Race in the future. The race will take place on 28 May 2023 at 3 pm. The school will sort out the kids’ races and the after-event party. This is a major undertaking for us - so all hands on deck - volunteers to join a small organising group would be very welcome.
Wye Valley Runners 40th Anniversary
2023 is our 40th birthday! We have applied to the City Council for funding to help us pay for some of the celebrations - we should hear the outcome by mid-October. We want to mark our birthday by refreshing and rejuvenating our club for the next 40 years - as well as celebrating the fantastic achievements from the past 4 decades. All ideas are welcome - just lob them onto any social media channel, send an email to wyevalleyracing@gmail.com or speak to any one of the cleverly disguised committee members.
That’s probably enough for now - please let us know what you would like to see in future newsletters. Maybe more on run stories, races not to be missed and any interesting gossip?
Thanks