NORTHBROOK ATHLETIC CLUB COMMITTEE MEETING
held on 7th September 2009 at Bob Adams' residence
Present: B. Adams (Chairman), M. Baker (Secretary), A. Critchley
(Ladies Captain), P. Stead (Treasurer), J. Hosie (Mens Captain), T. French (Members Sec),
R. Ladbury (Guest – Website).
- Apologies – A. Fodor (Social Secretary), B. Awcock (President), A. Houston (Running Advisor)
- Matters From Last Meeting –
- Youth Hostel trip – Thanks to Jerry Trill for organising Dimmingsdale training weekend.
- London Marathon Club Places – these have been requested for 2010, but not yet received. The draw can be made when all runners have received replies, with the condition that we do not yet know if we will be allocated 3 places.
- Good, Bad & Ugly Relay –Thanks to Mark Baker for organising. Next year the day, date and venue may change to increase turnout (eg a Wednesday at 7pm at the White Lion).
- Treasurers Report – Paul Stead circulated details of the accounts.
- New Website Update –The new website is live and has been well received. Thanks to Roger Ladbury for all his hard work. A link may be created for members professions if desired, and another link may be created for future races. Eligibility rules for the London Marathon club draw will be updated on the website. The new website is getting great reviews, and has attracted lots of ‘hits’. Roger Ladbury will investigate the generic email links for the committee, as some emails were not received. Also a javascript browser error is to be investigated on some platforms.
- Ladies' Captain's Report – Ladies ran in the Massey 5 mile, Autumnal 5 mile, Coventry Fun Run and summer handicap. The 4-stage relay is on 19/9/2009.
- Men's Captains Report – John Hosie won the Massey 5 mile race. The 6-stage relays are on 19/9/2009. The Senneleys Park XC race is on 24/10/2009. Read the Men's Captain's detailed report below.
- Social Secretary Report - Events are: Holyhead drink (25/9/2009), December curry (provisionally 5/12/2009), Earlsdon Xmas drink (tbc), Presentation Night (6/2/2010).
- Allesley 5 Km Race Review – This was the first year as a measured 5Km race. Many thanks to Bob Adams, and all the helpers on the day. There were 64 entries, plus 22 entries for the children’s run.
- Runner of the Month – July 2009: Pete Fellows, August 2009: John Wilson (both did many excellent races).
- Any Other Business –
- AGM – provisionally planned for Wednesday night – 20/1/2010 at 8.30pm. Training runs will start early at 7pm.
- Bleep Test / Shuttle Run – could be arranged for Springtime.
- 10Km Race – Next year’s race is already being discussed. No further details yet.
- Taster Sessions – John Hosie suggested emailing unattached runners from the 10Km / 5Km races, and offering training towards next year’s Coventry Half Marathon, on a non-club night.
- New Members –Tony French suggested concessionary rates for new members joining at this time of year. James is invited to the next meeting to discuss the new members pack. The minimum age of members must be clarified.
- Kit Order – Alix Critchley can place a Xmas order for kit.
- Training Groups – Andy Houston reported that these are functioning well.
- Membership – 142 members (99 men, 43 ladies).
- Winter Cross Country – a one-off club race may be considered to boost XC interest.
- Jaguar Fees – These are due in the next few weeks. Check the noticeboards.
- Next Meeting – Monday 5/10/2009 at Bob Adams.
Minutes prepared by Mark Baker
Men's Captain's Report August 2009
My intention when taking on the position of Men’s Captain was to write regular monthly reports. The reality has been that the reports would have centred more on how I have improved my physio’s bank balance, and reduced my golf handicap. Such is the joy of injuries.
However July saw me finally able to find my running shoes again, and start the painful process of starting to get fit again. First up was the August handicap, and the first thing that struck me was how many runners were now turning out for this, Paul Andrew must have seen most of them as he ran from the back of the field to finish an impressive 10th. Tony Williams and Alan Beeby keeping their rivalry going at the head of the handicap field, with both of them recording PB’s.
The rest of the racing month of August was relatively quiet. John Wilson taking the Northbrook vest to Idle, and the running close to a PB on the Wedgnock off road 10K. Always a very enjoyable race this one and hopefully we will see more Northbrook runners there in the future. Wedgnock also marked my racing return and I was surprised to find that I was able to run reasonably well to finish second. I was even more surprised the following week when I was able to win the Massey Corporate 5.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly was well supported and I’ll leave it up to individuals to work out which categories they fitted into.
Northbrook vests were also taken to Leek, Torbay and Rugby during August, which seems to be a pretty wide geographical spread not least because I have no idea where Torbay is. I also have no idea where Dimmingsdale is, neither, I believe, does Shaun, but Jerry tells me that everyone enjoyed themselves and survived his youth hostelling weekend, and that there is great enthusiasm to do it again next year.
Pete Fellows broke 90 minutes for the Newark half, proving that his strong showing in the Warwickshire Road race league so far is well deserved, and in the longer races coming up he should continue to score well.
The month ahead sees the resumption of the Warwickshire Road Race league, with the Godiva 5 and the Nuneaton 10. We then have the 6 stage at Sutton Park, for which I have entered 2 teams, I have about 13 names at the moment, but I would anticipate that by the Friday night I’ll be down to 10 names, so if anyone else is available then let me know.
Finally on 3 October sees the resumption of the cross country season at Wolverhampton for the Midland 4 stage relays. An event we have done well in in the past and it would be good to get some practice in before Senneleys. If you want to run the please let me know.
John Hosie