Hello Harriers !

you spoke and we listened to you!

We are introducing this week new communication channels, so as to keep you better up to date with the club’s activities. 

Please check further below to find out how to connect your personal calendar with the club’s calendar and stay abreast of training and race dates.

Also, it turns out there is the party of the news-by-bits and the party of one-news-per-week in our club. Each party has its own reasons and since the truth does not have ownership we would like to accommodate both requirements.

Starting this week and until end of the year we are introducing a new format, whereby news will be posted throughout the week ONLY to the Members page, so please keep on visiting the Members page. The password to access the Members page was sent to you a few months ago, in case you forgot it, please check your inbox. We are sending you the password once again. Urgent news may still be broadcasted per email on an as-need basis.

Additionally, you will be receiving on a weekly basis a news digest. The Harriers Tidbits will run in the format you see here. It will include all news posted to the Members page during the week. To simplify the life of newsletters’ readers, you will find a list of topics at the top with links to the bit sized news.

As far as this new format goes, we will review it by end of the year based on your feedback. Watch this space! We may ask you to vote.

Enjoy this new format and keep your feedback coming. Please feel free to submit any suggestions on the club, our communications, training, web, social media and others by clicking here. We would like to stay connected with you.

It may get dark earlier these days, which is no reason to stop enjoying your runs!

Pedro

In this week’s digest: (click on the link below to be taken to each subject)

Thoughts from Rob

Connect with us

Races

Events and nominations
 

Members: Weekly News Digest                            w/c 28th November 2022

                   
 

Thoughts from Rob
 

A couple of weeks ago, Christine and I were on holiday in South Africa. Eight days, eighteen game drives and eight to ten hours a day looking for animals and birds. It was a holiday we’d booked pre-covid and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to see the wildlife once again. The food and drink wasn’t too bad either. 
 

On holiday, I met my friend Scotch once again. A brilliant guide and tracker.  He tells me times during covid were tough. No work and very little money. Scotch has a small farm and lives in a small village outside of the Kruger National Park. In the first lockdown, he had all his cows stolen, so now doesn’t have any animals. He now has two little tractors to cultivate his land, and to lend out to other farmers not as lucky as himself. 
 
Scotch started running just over three years ago, at forty years of age, mainly to lose weight, and has built up steadily. He’s lost a lot of weight, and is now comfortable with distances up to 30k. A massive improvement and I’m happy for him. Scotch does most of his training in the Bush/Game reserve. He tells me to keep well wide of elephants and buffalo, but lions, leopards, and rhino are pretty much ok. If I hadn’t had a bad back, I would have be running with my friend Scotch. He has invited me back next summer to run a half marathon in the Great Kruger Park. I was told this year, the start of the half marathon was delayed because of elephants on the course, but once removed, everything went as planned. I left him with a pair of Hoka running shoes and a new pair of socks and asked him to keep running. I will return and we’ll have that run one day soon. 
Since my last email, I’ve had lots of well wishes and good luck messages. But to be truthful, I wasn’t aware so many of you read my blog. I’ll have to be careful what I write in the future. Thank you all. Remember I’m still the same Rob, I don’t mind talking about it but a smile, a nudge or a wink is just fine. With your support we’ll work it out together. Quiet times and lonely times are the worst, but I’m back running now (very slowly) so I do have a focus. I need to build up my stamina, increase my aerobic capacity and start having a good work out again. I went aqua-jogging last week, and at the end of the session I almost required help to get out of the pool. I have a long way to go yet.  

Prepare the body, focus the mind.  

Love and best wishes, Rob
 

 

Stay connected via our club calendar
 
We have introduced a club calendar a few weeks ago on the Members page. You have there a two week look ahead on our club activities so that you can schedule your participation.

The calendar is now being being updated regularly with details of training sessions, championships and league races, time trials and social events. You find there now all you need to keep on training and running!

This week we have extended the functionality and have added a two month look ahead of activities as well.

But most important, you can connect now our club calendar directly into your personal Google or iCal calendar on your mobile device, tablet or PC. Updates on the calendar from our side will immediately be stored in your personal calendar.

You can link the club calendar with your personal one by clicking here! You will find the link button also on the Members page.
 

 
 

Final Race of the Championships 2022
Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th December. 
The final club championship race of the year, must take place this coming week, to give Matt time to work out the championship points and positions for presentation at the Christmas dinner.

Plan A is still to do the XC Wikeley’s provided Bully the bull decides to vacate the course on time between now and 1st December.

We have developed a plan B provisional route in the meantime. The plan B virtual Knayton course is at Kilburn Woods. The course is all marked out and could be ready to go at a moment’s notice. This XC route is the same fixture we used during Covid, two years ago.

Feel free to recce the route before the race!

Description of the route is as follows:
Park at Kilburn woods / Osgoodby car park. 

You will need trail shoes with good grip. It will be wet, muddy and everything else you would expect, after all the recent rains. Complete 3 full laps.Start off at the forestry gate, and run/walk approx 800 metres straight ahead, down the forestry track. Take the turn to the right, and climb approx. 250 metres. Take the next turn right, to run back in the direction of the car park, parallel to the track you ran out on. Keep on this, up and downy muddy track, until you reach a junction, where you turn right and go down the muddy decent to join the main forestry track once again. Run three full laps, and at the end of the third lap, turn left, and stop your watch once back at the forestry gate.

NYSD XC Summerhill race details
 

Click here for a pdf of details for the next NYSD XC which takes place at Summerhill, Hartlepool, on Sunday 4th December. This meeting is hosted by Hartlepool Burn Road Harriers.
Please note the change of car parking which will be at English Martyrs School, Catcote Road TS25 4HA. We can’t use Summerhill car park.
 

 

Tree Planting Day

Saturday 3rd December, 12 noon.

Where?  Paul and Sarah Goacher’s farm, which is on the left hand side / York road A19, approx. 2 miles out of Thirsk, but before you get to the Bagby turn off.
You will need warm clothing, boots/ wellies, gloves etc. It could be wet but the trees need to be planted. 
Technical bit: there are 150 trees to plant , 6 x 25 native species selected for colour / flowering at different times of the year. Strong plants of between 40 to 90 cm  in height. If we get a group of 15 to 20 people then I’d expect all to be planted in just over two hours. Instruction will be given.

 

 

 
Runners’ Runner Award Nominations

Don’t forget to nominate a club member for the 2022 Runners’ Runner Award to be presented at our Christmas party on Friday 9 December. 
This is your chance to choose someone who you think does far more than “just” being a club member; they don’t have to be winning races, but they do have to be supporting our Club and encouraging others.

Please contact Helen directly, using the text or email below:

07846 182987
hashworth0@gmail.com
Closing date for votes: Sunday 4 December.
 

Harriers Christmas Party Tickets still available
 

Don’t forget to buy your Harriers Christmas Party tickets! Only £20 each!
Date: Friday 9th December at 7pm
Venue: Thirsk Athletic Club, Newsham Road
Click here to go to the online order form, and order yours!

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