Annual Membership is now due. All members need to renew their membership. Most members are Recreational, but we also have a strong AV rep team. Please discuss this with Club Captains Greg Semmler, Miles Verschuur or Callie Cook. The club has not raised its membership costs, however AV has lifted their portion a touch. Harriers membership is more than worth it for what you get back!
Please click the "Become a member" button above to renew or sign-up asap, to ensure all members are covered for the new season.
We had a quality turnout at the track last week, with 56 runners and some great times and personal bests. I know the track isn’t something everyone loves, as it can be challenging and confronting, running 12.5 laps, and there’s nowhere to hide, but the support and club camaraderie is always fantastic. It gives everyone a chance to try and do a great time.
There is also the travel issue, with members expressing its difficult to get to the track on time, and there are some who are shy of the weather. Next track night, I encourage you to make the effort to attend, and try something a bit different, out of your conform zone. You might be surprised what you achieve.
I was considering my own effort and time and thought I’d have a look at what the world record for 5k is, both as a comparison and a reflection on how special these athletes are. The record was set at the 2020 Diamond League meet in Monaco, when Ugandan Joshua Cheptege ran 12:35:36, taking over 2 seconds off the previous long-standing record. Just incredible. He could basically run it twice and still beat me doing it once. Which puts in perspective how elite our club runners are; Peter Cutler 17:21, Miles Verschuur 17:30, Dempsey Podmore 18:24, Andrew Greenhill 18:59, Ian Cornthwaite 18:59. These guys have to work (or go to school), they are not full-time athletes, and yet they still smash the 20 minute barrier. That’s amazing.
That said, at a club level, the efforts of all those who challenge themselves to complete the track 5k, are just as epic, important and note-worthy. Runners like Bjorn Luxmann, Adam van baalen, Gab Browne, Mark Fairbairn, Tania Whitehead, Keira Odlum, Callie Cook, Kaye Livingstone, Paul Smith, Helen Whitby, Sheryn Cutler, Luke Witham, Kylie Warner, Michelle Colwell, Ann Bomers, Kristina Creighton, and Gay Cornthwaite should be justifiably proud of themselves. Running is an individual sport, and times and speed are influenced by many things (age, injury, body type, natural ability, training etc) but having a club full of supportive people cheering you on, irrelevant of times, is truly uplifting.
Winter Season kicks off this week, and I remind everyone to get into their cupboards and find your reflective vests. All past members have been issued a “power rangers” vest as part of their membership (worth over $55) to keep us safe on those dark winter nights. Its club mandated to wear the vest, for safety, and new members who have not been issued one, will be given one over the next weeks. If you’re bringing a guest, or for any new non-member runners, you’ll be lent a vest.
Winter Season Rules
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 DURING WINTER SEASON. Guests and forgetful members will be issued a loaner to be returned. All new financial members receive a vest as part of their membership. 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.
Pay attention at any turns, crossings, corners etc. Look for arrows on the ground.
Please run on the right hand side if running on the road 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 over the years, and the last thing we want to see is a member getting injured due to negligence or not paying attention because they’re “in the zone”. This is not an allocation of fault or blame, just a fact, which 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 (probably irrational and crazy) 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.
Again, 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 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. There are a multitude of reasons why you might not be on the roster; you’re a course marker, you don’t run Thursdays (only do AV or you’re a social member only), 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 should 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). Duty members should be at the course as close to 5:30 as possible. Those who do duty or course marking get bonus points in the championships each season.
Duty Roster Winter 2024
REMEMBER: If you can’t fulfil your allocated duty, the onus is on you to swap with someone.
APRIL
4 Kylee Earl & Kristine Sapkin
11 Luke Witham & Krissi Creighton
18 Kylie Warner & Ella Warner
25 ANZAC Peter Fairbairn & Sav Mavrofridis
MAY
2 Ian Cornthwaite & Owen Notting
9 Shane Gavin & Stacey Podmore
16 Nicholas Telerico & Maggie Wills
23 Gab Browne & Timothy Graham
30 Claire Macumber & Meg Macumber
JUNE
6 Ryan McLeod & Megan Scott
13 Fiona Syme & Des Dalton
20 Collette Hofmann & Ron Verschuur
27 Angelo Gaudiano & Kathleen Kent
The duty roster for the remainder of the season will be completed once memberships for the next 12 months are confirmed.
Our friends and clubroom co-tenants the LV Umpires are chasing some good runners to be boundary umpires. There’s an advert in the newsletter for boundary umpires. They are after all disciplines, but find that boundary umpiring appeals to runners for a few reasons; Key skill required is running, Not much decision making, Almost no game knowledge required, Average senior game run is about 10-12kms, Paid to run, Can be done from 10 years old +, Paid to travel to games. The other thing that tends to appeal is that it can be done as a family, so there’s opportunities to be able to train and run as couples or parents and kids all in the one game.
There are always so many different events happening around the state and interstate, which sees Harriers members out there smashing PBs, challenging themselves, entering for the adventure, the experience, or with friends. This weekend is the Tarra-Bulga run at Balook, and I know a lot of Harriers are signed up to take on the challenge. This event is an extension of the previous Duncan’s Run, which was set up to honour a former Harriers member, Duncan Orr, and is a local favourite event. Our friends at Ultra Endurance always put on a top event. Remember to get your articles into the newsletter.
The club newsletter is an important communication medium, and most members use it as a place to get updates, information and share stories. Our NL editors work hard to ensure it’s interesting, informative and relevant. Members enjoy reading of other member’s inspirational journeys, so don’t be shy to share. Shoot your articles, thoughts and running snippets through to Glenn Crawford at [email protected]
Don’t forget that entry for this year’s Traralgon Marathon and Running Festival is now open, and each event is over ¼ sold out already. There are caps on numbers so I recommend you get in early. Again, go to the club website and click the link to take you to the entry. Make sure you support first-time marathon RD Desley Grey as she puts together the 57th running of our iconic event.
Also, the Springwood Trophy is coming up in 2 weeks, with RDs Miles & Greg keen to have another solid turnout for this club weekend event. Harriers members are free, so make sure you’ve renewed your membership for 2024/25.
IMPORTANT Harriers Dates
21 April Springwood Trophy Crinigan Bush Reserve Morwell
2 June 2024 the 57th Traralgon Marathon
I got a wonderful message from Yani Cornthwaite all the way from Portugal recently. She’s been flying the Harriers flag at events OS while enjoying her international travels. See the photo attached. We look forward to seeing Yani back at the Harriers soon.
Thought for the week: It’s not what we have in our lives, but who we have that matters!
