THE VIEW THROUGH MY OLD EYES

Another club year has begun and as usual there are many things to do for all those members who are good enough to volunteer for the unbelievable number of tasks, be they big or small, that make Wesham into a successful club. I mean that in every way and not just in our success on roads, trails, fells and tracks.

Talking of volunteers, it is nice to welcome some new members on to the 2008 Committee with Russ Mabbutt taking on the Mens Team Captain, Kath Hoyer the Ladies Team Captain, Julie Cruise the Ladies Cross Country Captain, Alan Glasgow the Men’s Cross Country Captain and Dave Young moving into the Vice Chairpersons position and of course there is Peter Earnshaw, not satisfied with being Sub Editor of the club magazine, he is now the incumbent of the newly created position of Membership Secretary for which I believe he is admirably suited. That of course means that we have had to say goodbye to Reg Chapman, Julie Murphy, Yvonne Russell, Lee Barlow, Ian Cosh and Andy Yelland; they have all done a wonderful job during there time in office and I thank them, one and all, on your behalf.

So what about forthcoming events? Well first of all there are the inter club races which, for the uninitiated, are six evening races organised by local Lancashire clubs over courses of between 4 and 5 miles. They are totally free to all our members but you must wear a club vest at all the events. The first one is at Blackpool’s Stanley Park athletics track on Wednesday 2^nd April at 7.15pm, an early start because of the light. The others all starting at 7.30pm except for the last one on 3^rd September in Worden Park which starts at 7pm.The other dates and venues are 1st May at St Annes behind the Pleasure Island complex, 11^th May at Vernon Carus Club, Factory Lane, Penwortham, 14^th July at BNFL Social club, (that’s our race), and 13^th August at Astley Park, Chorley.

The change of seasons means that we have at last got rid of winter and April is of course the start of Summer Handicap. So all you fair weather runners, get down to the club on the first Monday of the month, (some have to be moved to the 2^nd Monday for Bank Hol’s) and try the scenic 4.9 mile course.

Another one of the club championships starts shortly and this is the Fell Running one. The first race is on the 10^th May namely the Belmont Winter Hill starting at 1.15 pm. This is followed by a very popular one, the Harrock Hill on the 28th May at 7.30pm. The next one is Paddy’s Pole on the 3^rd June at 7.15pm and this will be the inaugural Inter Club Fell Championship race, if the powers that be can agree it and its format, but it is definitely our third club fell championship race. The fourth race in the series is the Gibson Grind, a well organised and easy to follow race and ideal for any one looking to try fell running, and this starts at 2pm.

For those of you who have partaken of the delights of the Three Person Round the Park relays then I do not need to emphasise the calibre of the prize table nor the excitement of the race but if you have never tried it before then jot down the 11^th July in those diaries and get sorted into teams. You will enjoy - “I promise”.

Two proposed dates for your diaries are 23^rd June for the Predictor Race. Yes I know it is the day after Freck so adjust your times; it’s not meant to be easy. Then the 18th August is when I thought we could have the Birthday Race, during the school holidays and no problem with light nights. Note I have said these are only ‘proposed’ dates.

Some of you may find that getting your magazine early is often a problem due to the circumstances of your personal lifestyle and the fact that to post them out is something the club cannot afford to do due to the high cost of postage these days. So, what I am prepared to do is offer you a service that will guarantee you get the magazine within five days of it being printed. All you have to do to receive the next three magazines on time is to send, or give me a cheque for £4.00, (made out to WESHAM ROAD RUNNERS), and I will post you a copy just after they have been received from the printers. Don’t forget that if you have not paid your current subs before the June magazine is sent to the printers then you will not receive a magazine at all and the above offer is not available to you unless you have met this requirement.

So what about those of you who are unfortunate to be injured or poorly at this time. As you know we try our best to keep in touch but of course we are not always aware of individual dilemmas unless, of course, you pop down to the club or to a race and someone gets a chance to speak to you. One such person who I know you will all wish well is Jenny Thompson who, just a short time ago, went for a training run during the daytime on her own. During the run she fell seriously ill. Fortunately she was carrying her mobile phone and that saved her life - literally, as the injury she suffered was so serious that only the skill of the surgeon at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital saved her. I am sure you will all wish her well in her recovery but her message to you is firstly, try not to go out on your own if at all possible but secondly, carry a mobile phone if at all possible. I know both these things are not always easy to do and could even lead to other problems like the propensity of people being attacked for a mobile, but there are things on the market which will allow you to conceal them and which many runners do use. Mick Edge is another of our walking wounded following the surgery on his back and progress seems very slow for him but it is hopefully just a matter of time before we see him back in full swing.

I did hear the other day that Barry Peatfield had resumed light training; it would be nice to see him back again. Another one of the regulars who I have not seen for a while is Mike Owen; perhaps we will see him again in the near future. If I have missed somebody out then I apologise but one and all we wish you well and look forward to seeing all of you soon.

My last word is for all of you to take a little time to giving a thought to those members of the club, and also many who are not members of the club, who give there time to the benefit of the club, even though they can no longer run or have never ever run. Without their help and enthusiasm, the club could never be as good as it is. So next time one of them is there doing another of those time consuming little tasks, just give them a smile or a wave, a quick “thank you” or a shake of the hand, but don’t ever take them for granted, because without them we do not have “a club”.

Written by: Dave Waywell

Submitted; 18^th March 2008

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor