Tribute to a Club Legend
96
Tribute to a Club Legend
<<First Name>>, Please see this week’s update for Kent AC members – 27/08/23<!–
KENT AC NEWS BULLETIN
20 August 2023
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As the long, wet summer draws to a close, with the Big Half next weekend bringing the return of the road season, Kent athletes have been finding diverse places to run, whether on holiday, or parkrun tourism, or, for a lucky few, squeezing in runs between attending World Athletics Championships sessions in Budapest.
Eight of them headed for the annual pilgrimage to visit Russell Bentley in Snowdonia, where an 18 mile mountainous run apparently counts as fun.
The most distant Kent gathering was in Chicago, where Jake Simmonds and Dan Pettitt came first and second in the Cornerstone Lakes parkrun, Jake running a course record of 15:49. We won’t let the fact that there were only 19 runners, only 3 of whom ran under 23 minutes, detract from the achievement!
Meanwhile, closer to home, Kent runners had the first 4 men and first 2 women at Hilly Fields parkrun, with Isaac Maxwell marking his 21st birthday with a first finish, after a night out celebrating the event, which is perhaps a tribute to his constitution (and youth)
There are still a few tickets available for the 125th Anniversary Dinner on 16th September, deadline for signing up is 31st August, see below.
There are a few events to note in the next few weeks, including the club 5000m championships (14th Sep), Dulwich parkrun takeover (16th) and the Southern Road Relays (23rd)
RON HALE
Ron Hale 1925-2023
With the death aged 98 of Ron Hale, Kent AC has lost one of its greatest servants. Ron joined Kent AC aged 21 in May 1947. Thus started 76 years of membership, a 61-year career as a competitor, more than 50 years holding various committee posts, plus countless hours coaching and officiating. He also managed teams for Kent County AAA for more than 20 years and he was involved in the South of the Thames Cross Country Association.
He was a link back to Fred Tregunno, who kept the club alive during world war II, and he possibly knew Carl Wallace, our founding secretary. He was also instrumental, along with Peter Yates, who died earlier this year and the Fairbrass twins, for keeping the club going when it nearly folded in the late 1970s.
Ron was an impressive athlete from the start, and soon made his career bests of 4.36 for the mile, 14th in the county xc and 130th in the national. In his later years, in a period when most retired from the sport, he took to longer distances including a 2:44 marathon at 40 and even later he returned to the track as a veteran, winning the national title at 5000m and 10000m as a v70 and the 5000m twice in the v75 category. But what is more striking is the longevity of his career: he ran his last National in 2004 aged 68, last assembly league in 2005 aged 80 and his last cross country two days after his 82nd birthday. An extraordinary competitive career of determination, persistence, pleasure and enthusiasm.
But Ron’s interest in athletics was far more than just as a competitor. Within a year of joining, he became cross country captain, a post he held, with one brief interruption, until 1977; in the late ‘70s he doubled up as track secretary; he was club secretary 1984-5, vets’ secretary in the 1990s and president 1972-1973 – the club’s 75th year. From 1967 he was on the Kent County AAA committee and acted as a selector for road and cross-country teams from the mid-1970s until 1996; he was county president 2001-2. In 1969-70 he was president of the South of the Thames Cross Country Association, an event for which had a particular fondness.
He was always keen to share his experience and expertise. In the early 1970s he set up a boy’s group and in the 1980s looked after the club’s women’s section. As well as coaching he also officiated, and showed a detailed and unswerving loyalty to the rules of the sport, and in so doing facilitated many club events that otherwise would not have gone ahead
He had a keen interest in the club’s history and came up with articles, reminiscences and obituaries in the newsletters, written with accuracy drawn from keen memory, and often a teasing humour. This was an interest he has also happy to share in recent years when he was a regular Tuesday evening visitor to Ladywell.
He was a keen supporter undeterred by filthy conditions in cross countries, or long drives as team manager. Even continents failed to deter to him. In 1964 he was a spectator at the Tokyo Olympics – impressive enough in itself but more so as he hitch-hiked there alone, and then on to Australia, where he met coach Percy Cerutty. No information is available on how he got back to south east London.
Ron was born in Plumstead and brought up in Peckham. He was the eldest of four children and while he never married his family were very important to him. He was a kind and supportive son, brother and uncle. He visited his mum daily, until her death aged 100, after he bought his own house in Sydenham in the 1970s. He served briefly during the war and later worked for what is now British Gas.
He lived independently until very recently, even continuing to drive – an alarming thought, as a trip as his passenger even 30 years previously was quite an exciting event. He was also calculating unpunctual when arriving at races – “I do it deliberately to get the adrenaline going”. He was running well into his 90s, and then going out for regular walks accompanied and later cared for by a loyal group of friends and fellow club members.
Ron will be remembered fondly by those who knew him. He was warm, welcoming, encouraging and generous with his time for others. Those that didn’t know him must surely be impressed by and grateful for his lifetime of service to and enthusiasm for our club, county and sport.
Ron (left) with Dennis Fairbrass at the presentation marking his 70 years of membership
Len Reilly
Co-President
With information from Laura Fletcher, Larry Garnham, Zoe Gaffen, Adrian Lowther and Alf Regan
AGM AND COMMITTEE VACANCIES
This is early informal notice that the club’s annual general meeting will be held in the autumn, so informal that a date hasn’t been set yet.
An important function of the AGM is to elect the club’s committee and other officers – all posts, not just vacant ones (except the president which is on a three year cycle) are subject to an annual vote.
The club has a number of vacancies that need to be filled to continue the club’s smooth running. Currently these roles are being done by existing committee members, or not at all.
Most pressing is that of Club secretary. As with all roles this is very much what the post-holder wishes to make of it and its duties can be shared. The secretary is one of the key admin roles, responsible for agendas and minutes, distribution of external communications, oversight of all the club’s activities and shaping its direction. The postholder(s) need good admin and communication skills, some diplomacy, and a knowledge of the club and athletics in general.
Track pass administrator – This role maintains the track pass payment system dealing with payments, receipts and the occasional query.
Trophies secretary – This role is custodian of our silverware, keeping a record of what is with who and looking after the rest. You will arrange for engraving and keep a stock of medals for presentations.
Please come forward to help with these roles. We have a tradition of a large number of people doing a range of small jobs. We also have about 600 members, so I hope it is possible to welcome some new faces to help keep the club running smoothly.
Len Reilly
Co-President
LIFE OF THE PARTY
Join us to celebrate Kent AC’s 125th Anniversary with dinner and dancing on the 16th September
It’s a celebration of the club of course, but the club is only made by the people who are in it, and that’s you! So please come along and celebrate yourselves and the contributions you’ve all made over the years, the good times we’ve all had and the lovely running family we’ve built up together.
The tickets are being very kindly subsidised by the club – £42 includes a delicious 3 course meal (veggie and vegan options), table wine & drinks reception on the terrace for speeches and toasts!
Deadline to purchase your ticket is 31st August and there are only 20 left!
I’LL HAVE A PB PLEASE
The club 5000m championships are taking place on 14th September.
The champs is open to every member and there will be awards for all age groups. Race results will be used to inform selection for the Southern Road Relays the following week.
Our anniversary parkrun takeover will be on 16th September in Dulwich park.
You can register to race or volunteer at both events here!
RUNNING DOWN MEMORY LANE
What better way to address your slight hangover than to go for a lovely nostalgic run?
It is with this in mind that Len Reilly has decided to lead a Sunday morning run on 17 September to visit places that have been our base over the years. It’ll start at 9.45, to allow for slow starts and anybody involved in junior parkrun, and meet at what is now Ninth Life, as was the Black Horse on Rushey Green, Catford where it all began for us in 1898. It’ll finish at the track.
Thanks to Neil Gordon-Orr for the idea and help with the list of places.
SHALL WE HIT THE ROAD?
Saturday 23rd September is the day of the Southern Road Relays in Aldershot.
We are entering senior and vet teams plus the club will cover travel!
Speak with Katie Rowland or Chris Busaileh if you have any questions.
Spreadsheet is now live, you can sign up here!
The National Road Relays will be in Sutton Coldfield on 7th October.
CALENDAR
A summary of dates for your diary:
September
3 – The Big Half – Club HM Champs
7 Assembly League – BPP
14 – 5000m track championships
16 – Parkrun takeover – Dulwich
16 – 125th Anniversary Dinner
17 – Kent AC memorial run
23 – Southern Road Relays – Aldershot
October
7 – National Road Relays – Sutton Coldfield
14 – Surrey League xc – Richmond Park
November
11 – Surrey League xc – Mitcham Common
25 – South of the Thames Junior xc – BPP
December
2 – Kent County Vets xc – Dartford (Age group xc champs)
16 – South of the Thames Senior – Lloyd Park (Senior xc champs)
January 2024
6 – Kent County xc – Brands Hatch
13 – Surrey League xc – Wimbledon Common
27 – Southern xc champs – BPP
February
10 – Surrey League xc – TBD
24 – National xc Champs – TBD (Midlands)
March
TBD National Vets xc – TBD
ADMIN ON TRACK
Would you like to take a leading role in the club? Are you organised and have an eye for detail? Or do you just want to earn a pint for some volunteering? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have just the ticket for you.
We are looking for a new Track Admin Officer. This is a committee post, which involves technical admin of the track pass app and negotiating hours and rates for the track with GLL and the council.
If you would like to find out more about this, then please contact Amelia.
GATE READY FOR ACTION
Gate volunteers form the unsung heroes spine of the club, making sure that our Tuesday and Thursday night sessions can run smoothly and safely.
It’s a great way to meet new people and have a chat with friends too, as well as give back a little bit of time to the club. You can sign up here!
LET’S MAKE IT OFFICIAL
Athletics needs more officials, and volunteering in this way is a wonderful way to give back to the club.
This is a great opportunity to help get club events’ results on Power of 10. And it’s fun.
Our SAL performances not only need athletes, but also qualified officials – so you can directly contribute to our success! Every qualification counts!
It’s a straightforward process that the club will pay for, with more detail on available courses here.
Please contact Len Reilly for more info.
It would be great to see a few more people put their names down to help out!
EASYFUNDRAISING
Over 7,000 brands pay easyfundraising a commission when you start your shop through their platform, so you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying. These donations really help us out, so please sign up if you haven’t yet. It’s easy and FREE! You can get started at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/kentac
You can also install a helpful Chrome extension, which prompts you to donate whenever doing any online shopping – really handy
WIN A TRACK PASS
To be added to the rota simply email Jacqueline or Laurie
We only need each track attendee to volunteer a couple of times a year to spread the responsibility fairly.
T&Cs for the track pass draw:
All volunteers for the current month will be added into the hat for a draw each month.
The winner will win a free pass for the next calendar month.
Names will be automatically drawn from https://namepicker.net/ (or similar alternative)
The winner can either chose to:
use their free pass within a calendar year
allow their free pass to roll down to another volunteer
annual pass holders can nominate another club member if they cannot make use of the pass themselves
No refunds/discounts will be provided in place of the free monthly pass.
Volunteers will only be eligible to win a pass once every three months.
TRACK, TRACK, TRACK
Buy your track pass here.
The usual track times are:
Tuesday 17:30 – 20:30
Thursday 18:00 – 20:30
Sunday 09:00 – 11:30
Please note that individuals are permitted to do their own sessions during club opening times, but coached group sessions continue to take priority.
Track Pass – Juniors
Please purchase your £5 junior monthly track pass in advance here. When purchasing the track pass can parents/guardians please enter the athlete’s name when completing the transaction
Please see a helpful FAQs guide here
Ladywell Arena now has new opening hours dedicated to the public. While during these times the Kent AC track pass is not valid, members can pay for an individual session.
Session times are:
Monday: 07:00 -15:00
Tuesday – Thursday: 1300 -1700
Friday: 07:00 – 15:00
Saturday – Sunday: 09:00-15:00
Price:
Adult resident: £2.70
Adult non resident: £3.00
Junior (U16): £1.30
The Kent AC track pass continues to be required for training on Tues/Thurs evenings and Sunday mornings.
Track staff have encouraged people to double check the opening hours before their training session, as they may occasionally be closed for school sport days and football friendlies. Hours can be checked here. This will likely suit members who can’t make training sessions but would like to train in the morning/lunchtime/evening.
Pay as you go fees can either be paid via cash to the desk or using the Better app (note: staff are working to add the sessions to the app).
KEEP US UPDATED
CLUB CONTACTS PAGE
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