Duty: Gary Fox & Shane Gavin. CM: Angeline Snell.
Park at the club and jog over, or at St Gab’s PS carpark or on Rangeview Drive Traralgon.
The start and finish is at the school.
Check the plotaroute https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1898078
Next week’s run is Breed St Netball Courts 5km
Duty: Liz Kenney & Matilda Lappin. CM: Kate Mayer
27 Sept Latrobe City Sport & Recreation Expo (Volunteers needed: please see Andrew Legge)
5 Oct Newborough Track Night (Volunteers needed)
8 Oct Memorial Run (12k & 6k Road Events, Morwell) (Volunteers needed)
3 Dec King & Queen of the Mountain (30k Individual + Relay Teams, Mt. Tassie)
The Victorian Teacher’s Games last Sunday was an excellent day a real opportunity for the club to showcase how well we do events. The support from members was fantastic, and the feedback from the Games organisers and participants was nothing but positive. Overwhelmingly, it was stated what a welcoming, organised and positive club we have, and how amazing all the volunteers were.
A huge thank you to all who helped on the day, making it a success – Legge (as always), Tobi G, Ann Bomers, Krissi Creighton, Alfie Warner, Michelle Colwell, Paul Smith, Ron Verschuur, Ree Graham, Collette Hoffman, Gary Fox, Geoff Francis, Mark Fairbairn and David Barr.
I also ran a couple of Trivia Nights for the Games which were sold out, and we all had a great time, with lots of laughs and drinks. Thanks to Krissi Creighton for being my assistant on these nights.
It was a surprise and an honour to be presented with the 2023 Peter Currie Convener Award by the Victorian Teachers’ Games team at their VIP event this week. I had no idea it was happening, and thought I’d just been asked to get a thank-you on behalf of the club, along with all the other sports and activities. It was a great opportunity to have a conversation with politicians and councillors, as well as make connections with some local businesses, and promote the Harriers. As I’ve said before, receiving individual accolades is problematic, because there are always others who are involved in making things happen, it is rarely one person.
However, as I said in my acceptance, it isn’t just an individual honour, it’s a representation and acknowledgment of the amazing work done by the incredible members of this brilliant club in the community, and shows the credibility and esteem the Traralgon Harriers has built as a respected organisation, due to the work of many.
Further congratulations to our champion AV Team for another fantastic season, finishing off with the Tan Relays in fine fashion. Check their report for all the details.
Our members have been out about, competing in events across states this past week. We had a big contingent of club members fly up to partake in the Sydney Marathon. Hopefully we get some reports to read about their adventures, on top of all the great social media posts.
Reminder to all members: please remember to check the duty roster. It’s a good and fair system, but if someone doesn’t turn up or organise someone to fill-in for their duty turn, it puts pressure on other members which isn’t fair. Gone are the days when it was left up to the same people each week. The roster is in the newsletter well in advance, it’s announced each week at Thursday runs, and it’s on socials, so there really is no excuse. We’ve only had a few occasions this season when someone nominated for duty didn’t turn up, made no contact, or didn’t organise someone to fill-in or swap, but it shouldn’t happen at all. It’s part of being a member of the club to take some form of responsibility and help out to ensure the club runs smoothly. Duty is a small contribution members make to the club once in a season.
Coming into a new season, there will be a new roster released with the run schedule next week.
The club is part of the Latrobe City Sports & Rec Expo on Wednesday 27 September (during school holidays). We’re still looking for some more club members to come along and be a part of the day, which runs from 11-4, to lighten the load for member volunteers. You would not have to be there for the whole day, but the more members we have the easier it is to create a buzz at our stand, and share the load promoting this wonderful club to juniors in particular. You do need a Working with Children card. Please chat to Legge, Ann, Alfie or Greg if you can help. Thanks to Sep Marino for producing a wonderful new flier to handout to attendees.
The Memorial Run is on Sunday 8th of October in Morwell. It’d be great to have a huge turnout of members and friends for this special event. It’s a small donation to enter, with all profits going to Gippsland Lifeline. This run is a memorial to honour former club members who took their lives, and as such, it’s all about raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, which is at epidemic proportions in our community, with the numbers at a staggering level. This issue affects young and old, male and female, apparently “healthy” and “ill” alike. It’s an important run, and raising funds for our local support organisation is essential, because they rely on community donations, business support and grants to operate, and they are stretched to the limit without ongoing government funding. They provide an essential service. We have all been touched by suicide in some way, and it is not a topic to avoid talking about. We must confront it, discuss it, support people, find solutions and reasons where we can. Put the date in your diary and invite your family and friends.
I often get asked about Tuesday Group and if anyone is allowed to join. The simple answer is yes. Traralgon Tuesday Running Group (TTRG) has been going for nearly 20 years, and was originally started by former club members Sandra Timmer-Arrends and Deb Piercy. It was set up as a speed session for Harriers runners, because many didn’t (and still don’t) do speed sessions. It is essentially an extension of Harriers (mostly Harriers runners and the occasional friend or guest), and is a friendly, welcoming, team focused group which does speed focused running, with some core and strength aspects. During winter, the group runs out on the roads around town, and when summer arrives, we hit the track (Traralgon Little Aths track on Davidson St).
Participants run at their own pace, and the group gets quite a variety of super speedy runners, through to those new to speed training, and those wanting to build their fitness. The motto of Fun, Fitness & Friendship was adopted nearly 10 years ago, and is just as apt today. If you’ve been thinking about trying it out, the great weather along with the top people will have you hooked. The group runs every Tuesday, rain, hail or shine, from 6pm until around 7:30, covering anything between 7k-12k, depending on the session and numbers. Want to know anything else, head to the FB page or have a chat to a group member.
Recently, we’ve been developing a new and impressive (but hopefully simple and easy to use) App, to make the handicapper’s job easier, less labour intensive, eliminate paper and pen recording, and make things easy for those on duty. It’s all super-smart committee member Andrew Broberg’s idea and wiz-tech work, assisted by Dave Barr. They’ve been testing out the new tech, and we’re aiming to roll it out for the summer season. Stay tuned for more info.
A note on safety. Adding to a few near misses over winter, there was an incident at the Liddiard Road run which was bought to my attention and requires addressing. Several runners had cause to jump off the road due to an on-coming car, which seemed to purposely swerve at them in an aggressive and unnecessary manner. Apparently these members were running safely, on the right hand side of the road, close to the gutter, on a wide section of road, and yet the car decided to have an issue or thought it would be “fun” to intimidate runners because they were on the road. Please, all members remember, we do not have right-of-way on roads. Please be safe and vigilant. And please be aware that there are some complete fools on the road, who seem to take joy in trying to interrupt, intimidate or enforce their own “laws” on others. Going forward, it is essential that the committee is aware of any of these sorts of incidents, and please look out for each other.
There are 5 starting groups for Thursday runs. This saves congestion on footpaths at the start, and a mass of runners on roads in town. Club Handicapper Andrew Legge has grouped members into fair handicaps based on times (check the table in this newsletter or on FB). If you feel you need to be re-handicapped please have a chat to him. Handicaps are about members running in a group that is commensurate with the individual member’s time, so we all run in a group with similar times and ability. Handicaps are not a penalty. It spreads runners out at the start, so is safer, and means that members all finish around the same time. Handicaps are fluid and adjusted as required. Let those on duty know if there is a mistake so they can make note and can be rectified.
Make sure you get your name checked off the list BEFORE starting, making note of your group.
Group 1 (Walkers/Slower Runners) - Start Upon Arrival
Group 2- Start 5:50
Group 3- Start 6
Group 4- Start 6:05
Group 5- Start 6:10
Self Timing (please give time to duty member after you’ve finished the course).
New Runners Always Welcome (2 free runs before membership).
ALL RUNNERS MUST WEAR THE CLUB-APPROVED REFLECTIVE VEST. Guests and forgetful members will be issued a loaner to be returned. All new financial members receive a vest as part of their membership (over $55 value). ALL MEMBERS MUST WEAR A CLUB APPROVED REFLECTIVE VEST AT EVERY WINTER RUN. This is part of an agreement made with Latrobe City and Vic Pol.
PLEASE check in with duty members and get your name marked off the list BEFORE you take to the course (Very important for safety so we know who is on course). Walkers still start upon arrival for winter season.
Look after junior runners and newbies. Be careful on the road, at road crossings. Give way to traffic.
Please run on the right hand side so you can see traffic, or preferably, on the footpath. Watch for obstacles. Safety is the priority over times!
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: Please be aware of cars if you’re running on the road. We do not have right-of-way. We’ve had a few close calls recently, and the last thing we want to see is a member getting injured due to negligence and not paying attention because they’re “in the zone”. This is not an allocation of fault or blame, just a fact that we need to be aware of. Please be careful, pay attention and look after yourselves when running on the road. Time should not be your major focus, your safety should be. Unfortunately, there are a lot of foolish drivers on the road, and also people who are hostile towards runners for a multitude of reasons. As a club we should not contribute to this negative perception by being foolish or inconsiderate ourselves. Every time we do a Thursday run on the road during winter, we are representing the club, and taking a calculated personal risk, so make sure you mitigate the risks and remain aware.
Run on footpaths if possible, but if you run on the road, stick to the right hand side gutter, so you can see oncoming traffic and move onto the nature strip if required.
All members please check the Winter Duty Roster and make note of your rostered date. If you can’t do your allocated duty, it’s up to you to swap with someone or get a fill-in. If you’re not on the roster it’s because you’re a course marker, you don’t run Thursdays (only do AV), you’re a junior member, late-in-the-season-joining new member, or you got lucky. That’s the benefit of having good membership numbers; you get to run more and only have to do one duty in a season. The idea is to make duty fun, it’s not a chore. It’s a great way to get to know other members and put names to faces. (NB: If you’re on duty, you can run early, do the course and put in your time).
REMEMBER: If you can’t fulfil your allocated duty, the onus is on you to swap with someone.
21 Sep Gary Fox & Shane Gavin
28 Sept Liz Kenney & Matilda Lappin
5 Oct Newborough Track Duty Nick Hodson, Adam Van Baalen, Barry Higgins, Ian Heafield, Belinda Heafield, Heather Farley & Volunteers (injured, not running, please help out)
12 Oct Samantha McGown & Mandy Ellis
For those doing Thursday duty, please arrive by 5:40 at the start of the course. The list will be there provided by Handicapper Andrew Legge. You need to check-in all attending members (by highlighting their names) before they set off on course, and write in their times at the end. One person should be responsible for the list, the other should be on the clock and announcing start times for the groups (use your phone). Give each group a two minute, one minute and 10 second warning, and then a clear vocal start.
Course markers should inform of any aspects on the course for safety, and you should be familiar with the course if there is a plotaroute (many summer trails don’t have them) so you can give directions especially to new runners (who you should make feel welcome and inform me of their attendance to give a shout out at the end). Plotaroutes are posted on the club’s FB page and Insta. The course marker should make note of any obstructions or obstacles and point them out at the start of the run and inform those on duty. Winter in town runs must be marked with white chalk with large arrows.
Course Markers are to get marking chalk from Molly Irvine, preferably the week prior to your course at the Thursday run. Marking is dependent upon weather, and should be done just before the run to ensure clear, fresh arrows.
In the event that weather is seriously inclement in winter (severe rain, gale force winds) we may cancel the Thursday run, but traditionally, Thursday Harriers is run in spite of the weather. If it is too bad to run, we’ll notify cancellation via social media. If the weather is bad and we still run, we may just cancel doing lucky member draw and member’s address after, to avoid standing around in the cold. In that case, members can arrive, run, lodge times and go, with no need to stand around freezing.
Traralgon Harriers Merchandise – Remember we’ve got club socks, caps, visors and beanies; socks come in women’s and men’s and are $15 for members ($20 for non-members), caps are one-size fit $20 ($25 non), and beanies are $20 for members ($25 for non). We also have running singlets at a cost of $30 for members. All merchandise is at a subsidised cost to members; we’re not trying to make money off these items, just provide another way for members to unify, identify and fly the club flag.
Lucky Member Prize Draw after each Thursday run - All financial members are on the list. Remember you must be there to collect your prize otherwise it is re-drawn (This happens a fair bit, so don’t miss out - Don’t be a winner who leaves and therefore loses). The value of the prizes has gone up so it’s even more worth your while sticking around. Remember, the draw happens after the last runner is through and all times have been recorded. Thanks to Kaye Livingstone for organising the weekly prizes.
At the end of each Thursday run we also welcome and acknowledge any new runners who have joined us for the first time. If you see a new face, say hi, chat to them and make sure they stick around and feel welcomed. We seem to have new runners every week and a lot are actually joining after their 2 free runs.
Aside from our Thursday runs, club weekend events and AV team opportunities, the club also has 2 fantastic weekly training groups, one in the morning for early risers, and one in the evening after work, which everyone is welcome to join.
T-Squad Weekend Sessions usually Saturday mornings from 8:30am, at various locations with Greg Semmler. Join the FB Group “T Squad” for more details. This group has built into a really strong part of the Harriers, and aside from quality training, they enjoy breakfast together. Food is a great motivation!
Tuesday Group Sessions; at the Little Aths Track, Davidson Street Traralgon from 6pm with me and a great team. Join the FB Group “Traralgon Tuesday Running Group” for more details. This group has been going for over 20 years, and is all about training (obviously) but also laughs, support and friendships. The camaraderie at TTRG is the thing that has seen it continue for so long, so if you haven’t come along to a session, put it in your diary.
The club newsletter is an important communication medium, and most members use it as a place to get updates, information and share stories. Our newsletter editors work hard each week to ensure that it is interesting, informative and relevant. Most members enjoy reading of other member’s adventures and inspirational journeys, so don’t be shy to share and shoot your articles, thoughts and running snippets through. Send your notes to Glen Crawford at: [email protected]
"Only a fool learns from their own mistakes. The wise learn from the mistakes of others!"
Phill Mayer
President
Traralgon Harriers Athletics Club
