WCAC Newsletter #283, 24-07-20

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Many happy returns to the following Club members who celebrate their birthdays this week:

John Hughes, David Irving, Bethan Jones, Sam Pierre-Louis, Claire Gloyne-Phillips, Claire Bennette, Tom Tudor, Sam Owens.

And Next Week: Mark Gallagher, Bethany Feild, Bob Benson, Sophie Percival, Oliver James, Elizabeth Tweedle, Paul Van Schie, Charlotte Wilson.

PLEASE HELP OUT AT THIS SUNDAY’S TRACK TIDY DAY…

All Club members are being invited to spare some of thei time this Sunday as West Cheshire AC attempts to prepare the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track for the return of track training in week commencing August 3rd.

Helpers and volunteers are needed between 10am and 4pm this Sunday for numerous jobs. If you can help, please let Dennis know by emailing him ASAP at: [email protected] 

PREPARATIONS FOR A RETURN TO TRACK TRAINING

The Club remains on course to welcome fully paid up members back to training at the Ellesmere Port Sports Village Athletics Track from Monday, August 3.

EPSV Facility Manager, Peter Davies, is happy with the Covid-19 Risk Assessment and Training Plan submitted by the Club and preparations are now being put in place (signage, sanitizing materials, etc), to ensure everyone can return and train within a safe environment.

Meanwhile, several members have been taking advantage of attending various training sessions for restricted numbers supervised by Club coaches from the Northgate Arena, Chester; the Next Car Park at Cheshire Oaks; the Blue Planet Aquarium Car Park; and Whitby Park, Ellesmere Port.

Anyone attending these off-site training venues is being asked to contribute a training fee which will be put towards Club funds.

I hope you enjoy this latest weekly issue of the Club Newsletter during these strange times. This week’s edition features news, work-outs, links to video clips, and a list of club members who are celebrating birthdays.

Remember that you can all play your part in communicating and sharing your thoughts and ideas during this lull in Club training and competition.

I would welcome any contributions from yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents. Currently the response has been excellent, but if you have anything that could make it into next week’s Newsletter – please email me.

Hopefully you are continuing to stay fit, healthy and upbeat in these strange times. Please forward me your contributions for the Club Newsletter by email to: [email protected]

PLEASE PAY YOUR CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Please remember to renew your Club Membership to help support West Cheshire AC prepare for life after the lockdown when the Club is aiming to organise a Club Track & Field Championships in September and hopefully host the Cheshire Track & Field Championships if restrictions are lifted.

In line with the Club’s hopes and aspirations, UK Athletics has confirmed that due to the extreme impact of Covid-19 on competition structures within the sport, the 2020 outdoor track and field competition year will be extended from September 30 to October 31.

The link to the Club Membership payment page on the website is here.

PLEASE SUPPORT FRASER CAMPBELL’S FUNDRAISING BID…

Next summer, Club member Fraser Campbell will be undertaking a month-long expedition to Kenya with Tarporley High School and Camps International. During this time, he will be taking part in a community project to improve school buildings for a rural village, and conservation projects such as digging waterholes, making elephant fences and even worming goats! To be able to take part in this amazing opportunity, Fraser has to raise money towards the cost. A sponsored walk of the Sandstone Trail was suggested, but Fraser decided walking wasn’t good enough, he would run it! Therefore, week commencing 10th August, he aims to run the 36 miles of the Sandstone Trail in 3 days. If anyone would like to sponsor Fraser, he would be very grateful and this can be done here. Thank you very much for your support.

JEAN CLAUDE SMASHES 5k PB IN MALTA

Jean Claude Randon posted a massive personal best in his first race after the Covid-19 lockdown, clocking 15 minutes 50 seconds in his home country of Malta.

Randon finished fifth in the race, first in his under 23 age group, and helped his Maltese club, St Patrick’s AC, secure the men’s team prize.

GET BEHIND ALEX STANIFORTH’S BIG CHALLENGE…

In 3 weeks, Alex Staniforth starts his biggest (and probably most ridiculous) challenge yet – running The National 3 Peaks Challenge. This involves Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, and running the entire distance between, approximately 445 miles in under 9 days, the fastest known time.

He’ll be running (very slowly) through Chester on Day 8, Friday 14th August, and he would like support and company for a few miles.

He’s raising funds for a charity he recently co-founded called Mind Over Mountains to restore mental health through the outdoors and would welcome any kind donations here.

TRAFFORD AC OPEN TRACK & FIELD MEETING UPDATE

Update from the organisers for 1st August open meeting.

Trafford are delighted to announce that athletes from Cheshire, Merseyside & Lancashire clubs who entered before entries closed on Monday (20th July) will now be accepted for the meeting on 1st August.

Those athletes whose entries have not been accepted will be contacted by email as soon as possible.

Further announcements regarding the 8th August meeting will be made shortly.

Be aware that these meetings will operate in a Covid-secure environment. This includes only one spectator per athlete.

Trafford are hosting several more meetings throughout August and September.  Any queries please email: [email protected]

BORDERS ROAD RUNNING LEAGUE UPDATE

At the Borders Road Running League AGM the consensus was that there is unlikely to be much racing in 2020 and as such the league should not attempt to put any races on this year.

Options for racing in 2021 were discussed. It was felt that any racing in the early part of 2021 is still in some doubt, and that there is likely to be a log-jam of events and there would be difficulty finding suitable dates. As such it was felt that at the moment the league should not be planning to stage a Borders League in the season 2020/21. A final decision on this will be made at a meeting to be held in September.

Various options for putting on a couple of events were considered, either one-off races or relays in March or April if conditions are appropriate. These will be considered later.

VIRTUAL WIRRAL SEASIDE 5k RUN SERIES FIFTH RACE…

The Fifth Race of the Wirral Seaside Run Series was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 29th July. The organisers have set up another virtual 5K event in an attempt to try and keep people motivated. They have promoted the run through the Wirral Seaside Runs Facebook and website pages.
The start time will be 7pm on Wednesday 22nd July and you have One Week to upload One (and only 1) 5K Run to the Wirral Seaside Run Facebook page using Strava, Garmin etc. The finish time will be 8pm on Wednesday 29th July.
The results will be published on Thursday 30th July. This is for fun and so is free. When you upload your 5K please provide your Name, Gender, Age Category (and Club), and a photo would be nice.

WHAT A MIX-UP!!!…

A mix-up saw American Noah Lyles appear to break Usain Bolt’s 200m world record while running in the Inspiration Games.

Lyles actually started 15 metres closer to the finish line than normal, meaning he only ran 185 metres. Take a look here.

VIRTUAL BIRCHWOOD 10k ROAD RACE

The Birchwood 10k Road Race scheduled to be held in August has been cancelled and replaced by a Virtual race challenge, on August 22 and 29.

 ONLINE COURSES FOR BECOMING A QUALIFIED ATHLETICS OFFICIAL

BOOK NOW! Start your journey to becoming a qualified athletics Official with our new online Field Judge Level 1 qualification .The 4-hour practical course introduces participants to the key roles, responsibilities and duties of a Field Official. Only £20pp. Available dates: Saturday 1 August, Tuesday 1 September & Sunday 13 September.

HELP AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE

Club member Mark Shepherd is offering help to anyone who has been furloughed or are employed and looking to up-skill in a certain area.

The basic criteria are that an individual must live or work in Cheshire / Warrington and they have to be employed or self-employed. For businesses employing less than 50 people the funding his business (Accelerate) cover 100% of all training costs and for larger businesses it’s 40%.

Training can be anything from a short CPD type course to a full ILM leadership and Management qualification. From level 2 up to Level 7 (post degree).

If anyone shows interest please feel free to pass on Mark’s contact details and he will do his best to get their training funded.

Mark can be contacted at:07494 869 282 and by email: [email protected]

ENGLAND ATHLETICS UPDATE

England Athletics has announced a restructuring and details can be found here.

England Athletics has provided an update on the latest guidelines which can be found here.

ROAD RUNNING UPDATE WEBINARS

England Athletics are organising four road running webinars to help update everyone about a way forward and other relevant road running topics.

WHY NOT BECOME A RUNNING LEADER?…

You can BOOK NOW for our new LiRF-CiRF online – a great Development opportunity helping individuals who are Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) qualified to prepare for the step up to the Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) course. The workshop lasts 2 hours & costs only £20. New dates available – Tuesday 14 July, Sun 26 July & Tuesday 4 August.

ATHLETICS WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES

All the latest athletics news can be found on the Athletics Weekly website here.

HEATHER McLINTOCK’S REHAB EXERCISES…

Club member and physio Heather McLintock has provided a webpage developed for athletes to access over the COVID period. The link contains video exercises which can be used to rehabilitate whilst you can’t visit her at the practice.

HOME PENTATHLON UPDATE…

If you haven’t completed the Home Pentathlon yet, please give it a go and let me know how you get on.

VIRTUAL MULTI-EVENT@HOME COMPETITION

England Athletics has linked up with Sportshall Athletics to offer clubs a free to create their own Virtual Multi-Event @ home competition! Clubs can now use the Sportshall scoring system, and online OpenTrack virtual competitions platform, to create their own fun ‘at home’ challenges and competitions featuring up to 13 events.

With athletics training and competition currently limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Virtual Multi-Event @ home provides a fantastic opportunity for athletes to compete against others from their own club or against other clubs, within their home or close-to-home environment and in line with government guidelines.

CATHRYN WOODALL’S WORK-OUT INVITE…

Club member and Farndon physio Cathryn Woodall has posted crab walk and squat video exercises on her Farndon physio Facebook page.

Cathryn is also thinking of doing a Facebook live/Zoom video of a 20-30 minute exercise routine, if anyone is interested. 

JASON OSWELL’S LOCKDOWN PHYSIOTHERAPY 

Jason Oswell has been in touch to say he is doing Physiotherapy video consultations during lockdown. If anybody has any issues, he is prepared to provide a consultation to anybody from the club for £10. His email address is [email protected]

HELP AND SUPPORT

Anyone requiring help and support while self-isolating can contact the local council hotline number of 0300 123 7031.

This is a dedicated hotline number for those self-isolating and who don’t have anyone to help. A call to this number will provide help organising food or medicine deliveries, or some sort of social contact. The number for the most in need is 0300 123 7031. It is open Monday to Sunday (8am-7pm).

ALSO – Please feel free to ring me (Dennis) if you want a chat or need any help or support. My numbers are: 0151 201 1254 and 07968 643038.

UPDATED ONLINE ATHLETICS WEBINARS

In these unprecedented times, I wanted to draw the club’s attention to some of the great resources available online. England Athletics is expanding its campaign to support Athletics and Running for everyone @home, with a focus on ‘Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here.

There are many webinars, interviews and tips from top coaches and athletes on how to stay conditioned and focused.

In addition, there are some fantastic videos for 4-11 year olds on the Funetics webpage put together in conjunction with England Athletics. The videos demonstrate parents and children (aged 4-11) taking part in FUN activities based on fundamental core movement skills: running, jumping and throwing. Funetics is a programme that has been designed to reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2. At this time when our children are currently schooling at home, we hope that these video activities will support the need for education to continue at home.  You can access the videos here.

The link to other updated webinars can be found here, here and here.

STAYING FIT AND HEALTHY

The links below offer a range of advice on exercises we can all do while confined indoors.

MIND provides a series of workouts here.

Joe Wicks has become a household name with his daily online morning workouts which can be found here.

Sport England is offering tips, advice and guidance on how to stay active around the home on this link.

Youth Sport Trust is providing healthy tips including a series of 60-second Challenges on this link.

Realbuzz has provided strength and conditioning exercises to help avoid injury.

MORE GREAT MEMORIES…

This week it’s Paula Radcliffe, Dick Fosbury, and Top 100m Moments. Enjoy…

IT’S GOOD TO TALK

Members and parents are reminded to look at the following links for updates about the club:

FACEBOOK: West Cheshire AC, West Cheshire AC Road Running, West Cheshire AC Jnr to U20 middle distance group

WEBSITE: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/westcheshireac

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/westcheshireac/