Here we are, back again and rammed with cracking stories and articles from our PAC members. This is again a bumper issue so without further ado please settle yourselves down and scroll through to your hearts content.
The Wacky Relays
Well it's been a while since the club hosted a race but we were back on it again with the Wacky Relays this August Bank Holiday Monday so we'll let Jo fill you in on how the event went and how much cash was raised.
Thanks to everyone who came and helped out at The Wacky Races, we have had some brilliant feedback on Facebook and also from comments on the day. From our speedy, flapping pigeon to our amazing cake sellers (£424 worth of cake eaten!), the marshals on the course and at the club, the first aiders and the very focussed timers, photographers and car parkers everyone really got into the spirit of the event and made it such a great success. Thank you from the organising committee.
We raised over £1,300 for The Running Charity who had two teams running and said they loved how supportive and inclusive everyone was. We have to also say thanks to club members who contributed to the prizes, clackers, flyers and everyone who brought a cake.
We will hope to run the event again next year as it worked so well. If you haven't seen the write up about the event in the Bury Times click here.
Exercise and Mental Health
Thankfully Mental Health is more focused upon these days and finding strategies and mechanisms to enhance one's mental health is key. Below PAC's Dr Paul Fallon brings his expertise to our newsletter and talks about the link between exercise and mental health.
Mental health is something that we all have. Having issues with our mental health is something that we all experience at one time or another in our lives and statistics show that 1 in 4 people in the UK experience mental health issues at some point in the year. The quality of our mental health is affected by many variables: stress at work, problems in relationships, financial stresses and many other factors can all affect the quality of our mental health. There are many lifestyle choices that can adversely affect our mental health but positively there are also many things we can do to improve or protect our mental health.
It is recommended that the average adult should do between 75 and 150 minutes of exercise a week. This can be either moderate intensity exercise, such as walking, hiking or riding a bike, or it can be more vigorous activities, such as running. The first caveat I want to put in here is that these are only recommendations, if you are having a very busy week or are injured don’t feel guilty for not achieving these targets, that will only make you feel worse. Take a step back and think why you may not be able to achieve these goals and set yourself more realistic achievable targets. I once did a 50K (31 mile) ultra race as a training run for a 69 mile race. I did it in a really good time and felt great afterwards, on the day of the 69 mile race it was really hot, I went slowly got blistered feet and quit at 56 miles. I felt terrible having quit, giving myself no credit for doing 56 miles in considerable heat. How we think about things affects how we feel about them. Taking a step back and realistically having a balanced view of events is incredibly important in protecting your mental health.
What impact does physical activity have on our mental wellbeing? Physical activity has a huge potential to enhance our wellbeing. Even a short burst of 10 minutes’ brisk walking increases our mental alertness, energy and positive mood. Participation in regular physical activity can increase our self-esteem and can reduce stress and anxiety. It also plays a role in preventing the development of mental health problems and in improving the quality of life of people experiencing mental health problems. In one study, researchers found that those who got regular vigorous exercise were 25 percent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over the next five years. There are a number of biological processes going on during exercise that are beneficial for our stress levels at a molecular level but on a more obvious level exercise improves our general physical health and makes us feel better. Sometimes just getting out of the door and away from all the daily hassles is what counts.
Meet our members - 10 Questions
In this months issue we interrogate a person that most of you should know well, Steph Caldwell. Steph is someone that always greets you with a smile and is never anything other than approachable and supportive, a real diamond in the club. Little did Steph know when she joined PAC she'd need to build a wine cellar and extra running shoe space for all the prizes/vouchers she mops up at races. Anyway PAC people, we give you.... our Steph.
1] How and when did you start running? I did race for life and eight parkruns in 2011 then stopped until 2014 when I started parkrun again in November of that year. I joined Run Together in 2015 which Linzi L.H. suggested to me. After the summer holidays I couldn’t do Run Together on Mondays as I look after my grandchildren in Ormskirk. Linzi then suggested I join PAC but I didn’t think I was good enough as I had only ever run 5k. My first run with PAC I ran with Joanne Wells. After the run she said that if I didn’t come back the following week she would ‘come and get me’! The rest is history. I went from running 5k to running a half marathon in less than a year. Four marathons later all inspired by my PAC buddies. I’m still running marathons although this year will be my last!!!
2] What is your favourite race of all time? It has to be the London marathon. The atmosphere was something else and the crowd support was amazing. I have never seen so many people out supporting a race before, I actually cried running over Tower Bridge. I did stop a few times to take photos of famous land marks. The whole experience was incredible.
The Medoc Marathon comes a close second. If you get the chance to do it I would highly recommend it, especially if you like dressing up and drinking wine.
3] Which bit of running kit could you not do without and why? My running gloves. I have three types of thickness for Spring, Autumn and Winter. My hands are so cold sometimes I can’t get the key in my door, or undo my laces. I have been known to run in shorts and a vest but with gloves on!
4] What is the most embarrassing funniest thing you have seen or happened to you whilst out running or on a race? The funniest thing was running the Terry Northly 10 miler. Just before the race the toilet queue was so long Angela Hanily and I went behind a bush. We ran the race and stayed for the presentation. We got into the car to come home when Angela sat down and said something was digging into her. It was a rather large twig down her leggings. She had run 10 miles with a twig down her leggings. I laughed all the way home. She will kill me when she reads this!
5] What is the hardest run you have ever done and why was it so hard? The Norden 6 Mile is the hardest run I have done, as it starts on a hill that just keeps on going up and up. I hate to start a race by walking, but I’m afraid I have to on this one. No doubt I will be doing it next year though. The best thing about this year’s race was Dan Cottle buying the chips and sausage to share, before the chippy closed.
6] Which runner do you admire most and why? A close friend of mine had terminal cancer. A half marathon was on her bucket list and she asked me if I would run it with her. Of course, I said yes. We ran the Manchester half together in October 2019, it took us over 3hrs 30mins. She was so positive and finished it with the biggest smile on her face. She has since passed away. I will never forget her determination to finish that race.
7] If you could do any race in the world that you haven’t already done what would it be? I would do the Boston USA world majors marathon. This race has always been of interest to me as it achieved some notoriety due to the treatment of Katherine Switzer, the first female to run a marathon with an official bib in 1967. The race director tried to pull her out of the race when she was found to be a woman but she kept on going and finished. Women were banned from running the Boston marathon until 1972.
8] What do you think about when you are running? I think about food. Mostly what I am having to eat after I have finished my run. On a Thursday night PAC run I usually find out what most people are having for their meal when they get home.
9] What’s your favourite post run food? It has to be Fish and Chips from Armstrong’s. I have my own segment ‘Steph’s chippy run’.
10] And finally what do you get out of running? Joining PAC running club has been one of the best decisions I have made (thank you Linzi). Apart from the physical exercise, I have made some lovely friends. One of the nicest things is to feel included. As one of the oldest and slowest members I’m made to feel equal to the fastest and younger members, it is so nice how everyone supports each other especially after races. Its so good for my mental health, and it keeps me young! Thank you, Prestwich Athletic Club.
PAC on Tour
Lou's 15 Minutes
Andy Warhol once said, "in the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes." Well PAC's Membership Secretary together with mini PAC Aldo got their 15 minutes when they were interviewed by Naga and Charlie on BBC Breakfast about parkrun a few Saturdays ago. Never mind PAC on Tour, this was PAC on Tele. Well done Lou and Aldo.
Club news
- Bit of a rarity but no new club records to announce this month.
- Club pizza nights are back on Thursday 22 September and Monday 10 October. The spreadsheets are filling up nicely which is good to see. For those that aren't aware the way to order a pizza is the same as booking on a club run, just scroll along to Pizza Night tabs. Please remember that once the bookings have closed we cannot cancel any orders. There is a club subsidy so that the cost of the meat option (Pepperoni) is £6.50 and the veggie (Margarita) option is £5.50.
- PAC parkrun Pacing. This been cancelled for 17th September due to the death of the Queen. We are going to review the situation and look to find another date to offer this to parkrun at Heaton Park.
- PAC parkrun Takeover. We've agreed with Heaton parkrun that PAC will do a volunteer takeover on Saturday 8th October. Volunteer roles include finish tokens, timekeeping, marshalling etc. It'll be a good way to promote the club and give a little back to our local parkrun. We've timed it to coincide with Greater Manchester Half Marathon weekend so it is an ideal opportunity to get a volunteer credit whilst resting up. Look out for the email and social media posts in the coming days.
- It's getting darker earlier so please can runners wear lights/high visibility clothing whilst out on PAC club runs, as Tony Ryan says 'we don't want any Milk Tray Men (or Women).'
Competition Time
What song are the PACstreet Boys about to belt out? Best effort gets a PAC mug. Email entries to prestwichacnews@gmail.com
PAC Committee Information
The leaves are starting to fall so that means that the PAC AGM is only a few months away (17th November). This being the case the Committee thought it might be useful to post a breakdown of the various roles and responsibilities held by the individual officers.
PAC Officers and Committee Roles
As a UK Athletics registered running club Prestwich Athletic Club (PAC) relies on volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the club. We have committee who are elected annually at the AGM in November to take up post in January. Committee meetings take place every 2 months on a Thursday evening at 8pm and are held at the cricket club.
The club also relies on non-committee members throughout the year with leading club runs as LiRFS and with wider club activities like cross country, club races etc. The club are always happy for and need members to support the committee members.
This year we will have several vacancies in the officer positions including Treasurer, Championship Co-ordinator and Welfare Officer (Female). All other roles are also available if members wish to put themselves forward. Details of the process for nomination and election will follow but if you want to understand more about the roles or committee more generally, please speak to one of the current committee members.
The committee includes the following officer positions
Chair - Adrian Calvert
The Chair’s role is to lead the Club’s Committee and to act as an ambassador for all aspects of the Club and Club life.
- Ensure the Club’s Committee is effective in fulfilling its role and responsibilities on behalf of the Club
- Facilitate open discussion and good decision making; to have a casting vote if needed in meetings
- To ensure the committee act in the spirit of the Club, in the best interest of the members and according to the constitution
- Chair Committee meetings and AGM/EGMs
- Ensure all aspects of the Club and club life are represented and have a voice
- Advise and support Committee members and Officers helping them to fulfil their roles
- Act as a spokesperson for the Club and Committee
- - Act as an ambassador for the Club.
Secretary - Ian Feingold
As Secretary your main role revolves around the administration of the Club and to act as one of the focal points for outside enquiries. The role involves working closely with the Chair to support and enable them to carry out their role.
- Preparation of Committee Meeting Agenda and subsequent Minutes from the meetings (the meetings are every two months)
- Preparation of AGM Agenda and subsequent Minutes from the meeting (once a year in November)
- Member communication via email portal when required
- Handling of new member enquiries from the website including arranging for trial runs (prior to handing over enquiry to the Membership Secretary)
- Distributing external enquiries from UKA / other clubs to relevant contacts within the Club
- Ongoing discussions with and updates for the Chair.
Treasurer - Matt Brennan
The Treasurer handles the day to day finances of the Club and aims to ensure the long term financial health of the club remains in good shape.
- Via the portal, issue invoices to Club members as and when required
- Responsibility for the management of the Club Strava group and Facebook group, ensuring only current members are present.
- Make payments to Club suppliers when required.
- Provide an update at the AGM and regular updates at Committee Meetings.
Membership Secretary - Lou Warwick
As Membership Secretary, your main duties will revolve around the maintenance of the membership database via the UKA Portal.
- Maintaining the Membership Database across the year.
- Organise the annual Membership Renewals including initiating the renewals process for existing members to respond to by sending out payment requests.
- Manage the ongoing intake of new members in the following 12 months, handling any questions they may have via email.
- Regularly report to the Committee and prepare an Annual Summary for the AGM.
- Responsibility for the management of the Club Strava group and Facebook group, ensuring only current members are present.
Junior Co-ordinator - Pip Taylor
As the lead for the junior section of the club this involves:
- Running weekly sessions for ages 8 to 14 years.
- Programming and then delivering sessions that allow our junior athletes the opportunity to grasp the fundamental development skills of most disciplines of athletics. These should be undertaken in a safe environment that is mindful of the differing ages and abilities.
- Organising the sessions to suit outdoor facilities in Spring/Summer and indoor (sports hall) in Autumn/Winter.
- Co-ordinating coaching support for these sessions.
- Offering junior athletes the chance to race in open competitions such as Cross Country, Track Mini League and local Fun Runs.
- Maintaining club finances for the junior section and also the waiting list.
- Keeping up to date with coaching, safeguarding, first-aid etc.
- Communicating with parents/carers (newsletters, forthcoming events etc.) through the dedicated Prestwich AC Junior Section email.
Championship Co-ordinator (Vacancy)
The club championship co-ordinator has the following responsibilities:
- After the end of the previous Club Championship season, to collate a series of races for the Club Championship race calendar for the following year. This covers road, off-road and fell championship and can be done with the help of other Club members who may have more experience in the different categories. The races should be evenly spaced across the year from January onwards and end in early October (this allows enough time to get the shields engraved for presentation night in November).
- To publish on the website and relevant social media the full race calendar with enough time that members can enter the first race of the season.
- To update the Club Championship rules for any amendments agreed at the AGM or at committee and reissue them before the race calendar starts.
- After each Championship race, to update the results spreadsheet (which should then feed directly into the website tables). This also includes as far as possible ensuring that members have complied with club championship rules Members should also be categorised in the table into their age category in liaison with the membership secretary.
- To try to get feedback on any races which are new the calendar to assess whether they should remain in the championship for future years.
- At the end of the season, to collate a list of the winners/runners up for each championship and the winners of each age category and organise the engraving of the large shields and the purchase and engraving of the smaller shields for presentation evening.
- After presentation evening to update the previous winner’s spreadsheet which then feeds into the website.
- The championship co-ordinator will also consider and manage other events that fit with their role for example the Heaton parkrun handicap.
Welfare officers - Female - Ciara Brennan, Male - Nick Peterkin
While safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone within the club (led by the whole committee), having Club welfare officers ensures the Club has two dedicated people with the primary responsibility for managing and reporting concerns about children or adults at risk.
The welfare officers give members a trusted person to speak to about a concern, either within the Club or at times outside athletics. The welfare officer is the lead person who has the skills and knowledge to manage any concern raised in an appropriate way.
The post holder will need to receive DBS clearance from UK Athletics every three years, complete the online ‘Safeguarding in Athletics’ module every three years and attend a ‘Time to Listen’ course every three years.
General Committee Members
There are also five members who act as general committee members: -
Michael Connaughton, Paul Fallon, Jo Houghton, Tony Ryan and Peter Tasker.
General Committee members and officers will also agree annually to take a lead on a range of other areas, these include:
- PAC Newsletter
- Press/Communication Links
- Press/Communication Links
- PAC Website
- Cross Country Admin
- Kit supplies
- PAC Facebook and Twitter
- Couch to 5K
- Monday and Thursday night run organisers
- Presentation night trophies
- Club Race Link with the committee
- Track night admin
- Data protection and DPO role
- Run booking admin
- Social events organisation
If you want to know more about the committee and the running of the club please talk to one of the committee members. We look forward to seeing more members becoming involved in the running of the club.
Stop Press: NW Road Relays
Super efforts from our PAC Women and Men at the NW Road Relays in Ormskirk where teams from the combined Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester areas were competing.
Our Women's team, Alia Braithwaite (19:34), Ciara Brennan (22:07) and Jenny Badger (21:31) finished 19/53 overall and 7th GMAA team.
Our Men, Matt Brennan (17:07), Rob West (17:27), Rob Fowler (17:10) and Richard Shuttleworth (17:14) came home 16/83 overall and scooped the 3rd place GMAA team prize.
Well done everyone and special mention to Paul Richardson who made the trip as a reserve and 'took one for the team/ representing the club as a marshal for the event without which we would not have been able to compete.
Well done PAC relayers.