Drum roll please... the results of our members survey revealed

In September last year, members of the club were invited to complete a short online survey. Over 100 responses were received and we would like to thank everyone who participated, your feedback will help to direct the club activities over the coming year.

The survey responses were reviewed by the Committee prior to the AGM in November and a number of action points agreed.

Here are the survey questions with a summary of the responses we received, and how we'll use this information...

Q1. How important are the following benefits of being a Strider to you? Please rank each element between 1 (not at all important) to 5 (very important).

This top level information will be used to help us to prioritise our efforts across the various aspects of the club. It was clear that all the listed benefits were important to most of the respondents, with most importance given to the structured environment of training nights and least overall importance given to the reduced race entry price that EA affiliation offers.

	1 Not at all important	2	3	4	5 Very important
Meeting new people, making friends and social events	3%	17%	26%	27%	27%
It's easy to find people to run with at a similar pace	2%	7%	13%	36%	42%
Training nights provide a structured environment in which to push myself	3%	3%	7%	37%	50%
Reduced price race entry through club/EA affiliation	20%	25%	23%	18%	13%
It provides opportunities to take part in league races	11%	13%	22%	31%	23%
Obtaining tips and guidance on training, injury prevention, nutrition etc	7%	7%	25%	36%	24%

It was also clear that safety of running with others was an important factor for several respondents.


Q2. Do you think Striders membership offers good value for money?

Yes	95%
No	1%
No strong opinion	4%

It was clear that respondents overwhelmingly felt that the club represents good value for money. The Committee will aim to continue delivering a good-value running club for members, including a reduced membership rate for those who volunteer at our events. Comments included...


'Use of the track is invaluable. Please keep its hire included in membership fees!'


'It is excellent value for money. I suspect that we could charge more.'

'Exceptionally! I am very lucky to be part of a well organised professional club.'

Q3. Do you have feedback on how club funds should be spent?


Feedback received suggested that members felt club funds were spent appropriately. Suggestions and subsequent action points are listed below.

• Gazebo: The Committee will purchase a gazebo in the new Striders branding to be used at races and Strider events.
• Updating the Striders website: The Committee will be working to deliver a new website over the coming year.
• Creating a team atmosphere: Social events and coach trips will continue to be offered to members.
• Training more Run Leaders: We would like to include a list of qualified Run Leaders on our updated website. If you would like to undertake Run Leader training, please speak to a member of the Committee.
• Branded Run Leader items: The Committee will purchase a number of high-viz Run Leader vests to help identification.
  

Q4. Do you think new and prospective members receive sufficient support and welcome?

Yes	57%
No	19%
No strong opinion	24%

We received positive comments on both general new members and the Run with Striders course with some as follows...


'Whoever does the announcements always calls out a welcome to new members, and we tend to be quite a friendly bunch who can chat to new people and welcome them.'


'Excellent experience in the Run with Striders this year.'


Suggestions and action points are listed below.

• Monthly new members' night / run: Prospective members are encouraged to come along for the first time on the first Tuesday of each month. The Committee will aim to ensure Tea Night is always held on the first Tuesday of each month – to ensure the 'New Members' Nights' are as effective as possible.
• Buddying new members: The Committee will contact those members who have suggested they are happy to help with buddying new members.
• Website: Our new website will have better information for prospective members, as well as a members' area.
• More support and training plans for new members: As the club does not have the resources to provide individual training plans, our updated website will have a section with links to training and advice (e.g. Runner's World), alongside details for recommended local coaches/personal trainers if new members would like more support with their training.
  

Q5. Do you have any comments or suggestions about our regular training session?


'Just to say a big thank you to those who take the time to plan and lead the sessions.'

'The right mix of structure and do-it-yourself.'


Suggestions and actions as follows...

• Advertised training schedule: The upcoming track sessions will continue to be advertised via our website. We will aim to offer a similar schedule for other regular training options in the future.
• Thursday training options: A number of members suggested more structured hills and interval options on a Thursday night. As our Club is completely volunteer-run, please let the Committee know if you would like to be part of a Thursday night rota.
• Identifying the Run Leader: the Committee will purchase a number of high-viz Run Leader vests to help identification, and will investigate signage (e.g. 7-minute pace group).
• Midweek Daytime Sessions: The Committee will not be able to arrange midweek sessions in the near future. However, if you are willing to arrange a regular daytime run for members, the Committee would be happy to support you to advertise this.
• Inclusiveness of training sessions: All interval sessions (e.g. track, 1km reps, hill sessions) offered to members during announcements at our regular training nights are open to all. For longer runs, the pace and length will be advertised to help members chose the appropriate group.
  

Q6. Do you have any suggestions for the 2016/17 Club Championships?


Thank you to all who responded with suggestions for next year’s Club Championships. The full schedule of 2016/17 Club Championship events can be viewed here.


Q7. In particular, we would like to include another coach trip in next year's Club Championships. Do you have any suggestions?


Several people proposed the Great South Run and it has been decided that this will be next year’s coach trip and form part of the Club Championships.

Q8. Do you have any suggestions for social events next year, including the annual weekend away?


Suggestions for future social events included:

• Annual Weekend Away: Incorporating a race, staying at an upmarket hotel and increasing the number of available spaces. Suggested locations included Suffolk, rural Wales, the Peak District and the New Forest. In addition there were suggestions for walking Lands’ End to John O’Groats, and completing the 'Three Peaks' challenge. Plans are underway for this year's weekend away which will be in May.
• Summer Picnic/BBQ
• Pub Crawls
• Beer Mile
• Singles Night
• Karaoke Night
  

Q9. Do you have any other suggestions related to the club (e.g. kit items, host races, league membership etc)?


There was positive feedback on the branded kit, league race opportunities and Striders host race events. Suggestions included:

• Host Races: Continue with current races and provide more notice about dates of events.
• Activities/Presentations: Hold information sessions and presentations. The Committee will notify members about such events being held in the local area and continue to offer occasional events when there is sufficient interest.
• Head Torches: While it is not viable to maintain a stock of head torches for evening sessions, all Run Leaders will be provided with a head torch if they do not have one.
• Kit: Suggestions included branded racing tops, woollen hats, caps, buffs, blue shorts and waterproof fleece jackets.
• Email Mailing List: Some members cited issues with email communications. Following significant work by Deirdre, our membership secretary, and Hannah, our webmaster, the old mailing list has now been retired and a cleaned and updated one has been in use since October.
  

Join Team Striders at the St Albans Half

Here's some extra motivation for our speedier members looking to improve their time at this year's St Albans Half – prize money!

The organisers have announced there will be £300 on offer to the fastest men's and women's teams when the race takes place on Sunday, 12 June.

Blake Vivian helped the men's team take victory last year

To be eligible for the prize money, you must select that you are running for team St Albans Striders when you enter the race at www.stalbanshalfmarathon.co.uk (if you have already registered and didn't join the running club team, please call the St Albans Half organisers on 01727 819327 so they can add you to it).

The following rules apply to the competition:

• Finishing positions for the first three men and women from each club will be added. The team with the lowest score will win.
• Runners are still eligible to score in prize categories as well as the Running Club prizes
• Must be a UKA Affiliated member
• Must be registered under your Running Club Team
• Must be aged 17+

As this is a race on home turf, and an event where historically we have scooped the team and individual prizes, we should be in with a good chance of winning!

Last year the men's team were victorious thanks to Blake Vivian (1:75:17), Pablo Plaza Lastras (1:26.30) and Craig Bowie (1:28.26).

So if you want to try and help us beat other running clubs to the prize money, sign up now!

Claire Kremer won a vets prize last year

If you can't run, then do come along on the day and cheer on our runners of all paces as support from the crowd can make all the difference when the going gets tough.

Entries are also still open for the other races on the day including the walking half marathon, wheelchair marathon, 5k and 1.5 mile children's fun run.

For more information visit the St Albans Half website

Club records update

The club records have been updated and revamped for 2016 and you can view the full list here
(and via the 'members' tab when visiting the St Albans Striders homepage).

The page has been managed and updated over the last few years thanks to Jonathan Redshaw, Ed Blake and other members of the committee and we're grateful to them for establishing a record of our club's 32 year history.

From track races to cross countries and marathons, the records celebrate the achievements of our speedy runners in all age categories, who we are proud to have representing the club in races around the world.

In the last year alone, a number of the records have been achieved, particularly on the track thanks to the club getting involved in the Southern Counties Vets League.

Records achieved recently include Paul Adams running a marathon best of 2:27.46 at London in 2015, and junior talent James McMurray proving just as successful at senior level taking the men's 10k record with 30.39 at the Serpentine New Year 10k. James is no stranger to rewriting history having previously taken a 1500m junior record off Steve Cram. No doubt he will be achieving many more club records in years to come…

James McMurray pictured winning the Serpentine New Year 10k and setting a new club record

At this year's London Marathon, Peter Crowdell made Striders history by breaking a V40 record which has been held by Mike Starr for 25 years! Peter clocked 2:41.05 to lower Mike's record from 1991 of 2:42.37, also achieved at London. Mike still holds the V50 record with 2:48.10.

Meanwhile in the women's records, Wendy Webster overtook Deborah Steer to take the V35 10 mile record at Buntingford in December (but Deborah still has plenty more to her name!) and Wendy Walsh and Kate Tettmar set a number of track records. Deirdre Heydecker took five minutes off her own V55 marathon record when she set a PB of 3:25.50 at London in 2015.

I am now taking over updating the page so if you would like to claim a record – either recent or historic - please get in touch at clubrecords at stalbansstriders.com

Peter Crowdell, pictured right with Strider Steve Buckle, broke the V40 Striders marathon record this year

I have tried my best to ensure it is currently accurate but if I have missed a time you have achieved which you think beats the one listed - and it meets the criteria outlined below - then do let me know, as trawlling through results dating back to 1984 is a huge task (and I have had to rely on online records) so I may have missed one or two!

The rules are explained at the top of the records page and have been agreed by the committee for the following reasons…

Club records must be set in an official, permitted and certified race: This is to ensure the time was achieved in a race situation on an accurately measured course. Note, this means a time achieved in a parkrun will not count as a 5k record as the events are not certified or advertised as races.

The results must show St Albans Striders as the affiliated club, a club vest must be worn and you must be a paid-up member of the club when setting the record. Second claim members can achieve a record in these circumstances if they are competing in a race in which they cannot represent their first claim club: Speaks for itself – if you want to be a St Albans Striders record holder, you need to be competing for St Albans Striders! Please note, I haven't yet discussed with the committee if records can be achieved in a St Albans AC vest, so if this is agreed some of the track records will be amended accordingly.

Where both gun and chip times are available, the chip time should be used: This has been amended from the use of gun times in line with the Power Of Ten's ranking system, and based on the fact the technology allows for a more accurate time from start to finish – particularly in big city races where it may take time for competitors to cross the start line after the gun goes off.

The following IAAF competition rules are adopted for club records in road running events: The start and finish points of a course, measured along a theoretical straight line between them, shall not be further apart than 50% of the race distance.  The overall decrease in elevation between the start and finish shall not exceed 1:1000, i.e. 1m per km.  This is to prevent an athlete achieving a time that may have been enhanced by a tailwind throughout, or by an excessively downhill course.

If you achieve a club record in the future and I miss it, don't be modest about it – let me know and I will sound the 'club record klaxon' via our Facebook and Twitter pages and ask for your praises to be sung as part of the Tuesday evening training announcements.

Happy training and racing and remember if you are keen to gain a club record, in the slightly amended words of the Record Breaker's theme tune:

'If you wanna be the best,
and you wanna beat the rest,
(in a Strider's vest!),
oo-oohh, dedication's what you need,
If you wanna be a (Striders) record breaker,
record breaker!'

Lucy Waterlow

March Striders Newsletter

The muddy National XC at Parliament Hill

Hello everyone and welcome to the March Striders Newsletter.

As the Cross Country Season draws to an end, we would like to thank and congratulate everyone who has represented the Club in the Chiltern League and the Herts/Southern/National Championships.  A special mention to our Veteran Women who secured 1st place in the Chiltern League – a superb effort!

Dates for your diaries and things to update you on, as follows:

1.         RACES

Club Championships

With three of the season’s eight Club Target Races already behind us, here’s a reminder of when and where the others are.

Club Target Races for the 2014/15 Season  (50 Point Races)
Date            Race                                        Distance
06/12/14     Chiltern League XC Luton        Various
01/02/15     Watford Half                            Half Marathon
21/02/15     National XC Championships    Various
12/04/15     Sandy 10                                10 Miles
July             MWRRL Mob Match             10K
30/08/15     Headington 5                          5 Miles
04/10/15     Standalone 10K                     10K
18/10/15     Great Birmingham Half Marathon    
 
We would like to see a really big Striders presence at each of these races and hope that many of you will target these races.  Some of them do fill up, so it’s worth entering in advance.  We will be providing coach transport to the Birmingham Half in October, so no need to worry about getting there and back, but more details about that nearer the time.

In all of the 50 point races, 50 points will be awarded for 1st Strider, 49 for 2nd and so on, with a minimum of 30 points. If you run all eight, only the best six out of eight 50 pointers will count towards your total score.

Click below to view the latest Club Champs standings:

Men's Standings

Women's Standings
 
Herts County Vets Cross Country Championships

If you're 35 or over (women) or 40 or over (men) on the day of the race, you are invited to enter the Herts County Vets Cross Country Championships on Sunday 22 March at Trent Park.

Men 40-49 and 50-59 start at 10:30 am with a race distance of approx 8k. Women and Men Over 60 race at 11:15 am for approx 6.5k.

Full details were provided in the email sent out by the XC Captains.

The event is by pre-registration only.  If you would like to be entered please email either Wendy (ladies  at stalbansstriders.com) or Graham (men at stalbansstriders.com).

Race Social

There will be a Social on the evening of Sunday 22 March to celebrate the end of the Cross Country Season, at a venue to be announced shortly.

2.         STRIDERS’ ANNUAL CHARITY

Thank you to everyone who suggested nominations for our 2015 Charity.  As ever there were some very worthy suggestions, but after narrowly missing out in the 2014, the committee voted overwhelmingly in favour of local charity Centre 33.

Run by a dedicated staff of volunteers, Centre 33 is a drop in centre where homeless and socially or materially disadvantaged people in the St Albans community can come to relax, socialise and enjoy a free meal and a drink in a friendly, welcoming environment.  We will once again be donating a proportion of proceeds from our races this year, but if you would like to get involved further, more information can be found at: http://www.centre33.org/
 
3.         STRIDERS’ WEEKEND AWAY

We thought it was about time that we organised a Striders Weekend Away, so we have booked out YHA Eyam in the Derbyshire Peak District, from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th May.

Eyam is a very pretty village, famed for an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1665, in which the villagers chose to isolate themselves rather than let the infection spread.

Full details will be circulated shortly but the weekend will include a variety of running/walking/cycling/sight-seeing/drinking based activities depending on your fancy.  The cost of the weekend would be £80 per head full board, but the committee has agreed that the Club will subsidise this so that the cost to members is just £60 per heard.

Facilities include two dining rooms, lounge, pool room, a cycle store and self-catering facilities and it is fully-licensed!  The bedrooms range from 2-bed, 4-bed and a few 8- bed rooms.   The hostel’s website is http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/eyam.

We have paid for full board, which means there will be a meal on Friday evening when everyone will be arriving at different times, breakfast both mornings and a packed lunch to take out on our runs, walks, cycles on Saturday.

We will be taking online bookings shortly and will let you know when that is ready to go live.  Car share and sleeping arrangements will also be arranged nearer the time.
 
4.         HOUSE KEEPING

New Club Racing Vest

We are still working on the exact shape and fit of our new racing vests but remain on course to roll them out to members in time for the start of the Mid-Week Road Race League in May.  Details of how you can get yours, will be made available in due course.
 
St Albans 10K

After careful consideration we have decided that the St Albans 10K, which the Club has traditionally hosted in May, will no longer take place.  A busy fixture list and a dwindling enthusiasm for 10K’s with the MWRRL races just around the corner, has led to a fall in popularity of our event, to the extent that it is no longer worth the time and effort that goes into organising it. 

The St Albans 10k won't be run this May

But do not be disheartened Striders! Our 10K Race Director Nick, has been exploring some exciting other ideas for a new race in September, which we hope to reveal in the spring.  Nick would also like to recruit a co-Race Director to help with the organisation (see below), so if you are interested please contact either myself or Nick on 10K at stalbansstriders.com.

Marathon Coach

We have once again booked a coach to take members to the start of the London Marathon.  A place on the coach costs £7 for Striders and any places remaining two weeks before the race will be made available to family and friends.  As with previous years, pick up will be 6am from Harpenden and 6.30am from St Albans.

Full details and a payment link will be appear on the website (stalbansstriders.com) this week.

Trading of Race Places

We would remind members that running races in other peoples’ names is against the rules of England Athletics.  Some races do allow entry transfers so you can take someone else’s place and run in your own name, but for races which do not, we would ask members not to run a race in someone else’s name.
 
Website Revamp

The website is currently going through somewhat of a makeover and hopefully you will be pleased with the changes in due course.  If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to contact myself or Hannah on webmaster at stalbsansstriders.com.

5.         VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED

Calling all (budding) Run Leaders

If you are a qualified run leader or indeed if you are interested in doing the Leadership In Running Fitness (LIRF) course, please contact us.  Not only will it give you an England Athletics recognised qualification in run leadership, but importantly it means that you are insured to take runs out on behalf of the club.

If you have already completed the LIRF course, we would also like to hear from you so that we can compile an up to date list of qualified Run Leaders on the website.  Email webmaster at stalbansstriders.com.

Sunday Morning Runs

Also coming in the spring, we plan to introduce an additional run session at 9.30am on Sunday mornings.  Similar to the 8am Saturday morning runs, these will be longer social runs suitable for all abilities.  We do not expect anyone to commit to leading every week, but if you would be interested in leading a run on maybe one Sunday a month, please contact us.  Email chairman at stalbansstriders.com.

New Member Co-Ordinators

With the regular influx of new members on a weekly basis, we have decided to introduce a new members’ night on the first Tuesday of the month to coincide with tea night.  We are looking for friendly, welcoming people who wouldn’t mind arriving a little earlier on those nights and talking new members through a little bit about the club before everyone else starts to arrive.  We would be looking to put a small team together and then leave you to co-ordinate cover amongst yourselves.  We will even throw in some high-viz vests!  Email deputychairman at stalbansstriders.com.

New Co-Race Director (September)

As mentioned above, we would like to recruit a new Co-Race Director to work alongside Nick with the planning and implementation of the new race in September.  This is a great opportunity to get to grips with all of the organisation that goes into getting race on, with the benefit of working with an experienced Race Director.  If you are interested, please email Nick on 10K at stalbansstriders.com

Don’t forget that volunteering for any of these opportunities will entitle you to the reduced membership fee, when renewals are due in August.

Strider Of the Year Gladstone Thompson

6.         ANNUAL AWARDS EVENING

As we haven’t had a newsletter since the Annual Awards Evening, I thought it would be a good opportunity to recap the winners for the benefit of those who could not attend.

The 2014 Winners
Strider of the Year - Gladstone Thompson
Female Athlete of the Year - Deborah Steer
Male Athlete of the Year - Tom Crouch
Most Improved Female Athlete - Wendy Walsh
Most Improved Male Athlete - Graham Foster
Volunteer of the Year - Peter Blackaller
Legs of the Year - Pablo Plaza Lastras

We were also proud to introduce longer term member Zoe Lowe and past member Paula Craig into our Striders Hall of Fame, joining inaugural member, Jim Miller.

It was a great evening and congratulations to all.  All of the photos from the evening are available in the gallery on our website and you are welcome to download any copies.  There are some really good photos of everyone, so it is well worth having a good look through.  If you require higher definition copies of any particular shots, we have those too.

7.         COMMITTEE

Finally, a reminder of the current committee members and our positions.  Feel free to approach or contact any of us at any time, email links are available on the website.

Executive Committee:                                                      
                                                                              
Stuart Middleton (Chair)                                                 
Jen Conway (Deputy Chair)                                            
Jenny Maddocks (Secretary)                                          
Wendy Webster (Treasurer)                                            
Alison Campbell (Membership Secretary)                      
Lucy Martin, Wendy Walsh (Women’s Captains)                    
Joe Dunn, Graham Smith (Men’s Captains)                     
Emma Haldearn (Social Secretary)                                 
Hannah Martin (Webmaster)                                           
Gladstone Thompson (Coaching & Development, Kit)    
Graham Smith (Club Champs Manager)     

Associate Committee:
Ben Walsh (Auditor)
Mike Jubb (Coach)
Tina Tremaine (Catering)
Nick Bradley (SAS 10k Race Director)
Laura Hawkins (Handicapper)
Lucy Waterlow (Blog Editor)
Colin Braybrook (Sunday XC League Director)   
Steve Alexander (MWRRL Race Director)    
Mandy Attree, Lucy Stern (FH10 Race Director) 
Peter Blackaller (Marshals Co-ordinator)  
Clare Stephen, Colin Braybrook, Shona Davie (Comms and Publicity Team)
Chris Davies, Paul Cremins, Kim Dickson,
Emma Halldearn (Get Started Leadership Team)
 
The next Newsletter will be in May, but in the meantime, please look out for further updates on any of the above and happy running.

May update from Stuart

Target Races: As you are aware, the committee has identified a number of target races throughout the season, with a maximum of 50 Club Champs points available for competing. Don't forget that these races also form the framework for the Age-Graded competition and you have to run in at least three of these events to register a final score. The next two 50-point target races for members are as follows:

• MWRRL Mob Match, 10K Welwyn Garden City (17 July 2014) No entry required (See below)
• Bearbrook 10K, (10 August 2014) Enter online for £12 at https://bearbrookrunningclub.primo-solutions.co.uk/ps/event/Bearbrook10K

Mid-Week Road Race League: Thank you and well done to everyone who turned out to the first league race at Fairlands Valley. It was a great night for Striders with a team wins in all categories, but there is no room for complacency and we would like to see even more Striders at the next race in Chingford on 4 June. As well as a great race, don’t forget that you will earn 20 Club Champs points for every race you run. The remaining dates in the league are as follows:

• Wednesday 4 June – Orion Running Club – Venue Chingford (6M)
• Thursday 12 June - Barnet/Trent Park – Venue Trent Park (9K)
• Tuesday 1 July - St. Albans – Venue Highfield Park (10K)
• Thursday 17 July - Mob Match - Garden City Runners/Herts Phoenix – Venue Welwyn Garden City (10K)

Bodybalance workshops – Mel Orchard and her team at Bodybalance are holding a series of talks for members. The talks and Q&A sessions will last for around 45 minutes and take place at 8.15pm in the Sea Cadet Hut at Westminster Lodge. The Bodybalance team specialise in sports and sports-related injuries and work with some of the UK’s top athletes across a wide range of sports, so this is a fantastic opportunity to get some first class advice completely free of charge. The future sessions are as follows:

• Thursday 26 June - Flexibility and Foam Roller Work. 8.15 start.
• Thursday in July (TBC) - Q&A, Recovery, Compression Garments, Common Injuries. 8.15 start.

Club championships – It’s still all to play for in the race for the Club Championships with Colin and Deborah leading the way in the men's and women's competitions. At the end of April the top 5 standings were:
1. Colin Braybrook… 352 Pts
2. Gary Warren… 292 Pts
3. Joe Dunn… 273 Pts
4. Steve Buckle… 261 Pts
5= Mark Travers… 250 Pts
5= Paul Adams… 250 Pts

1. Deborah Steer… 348 Pts
2. Wendy Webster… 295 Pts
3. Jo Sharples… 266 Pts
4. Zoe Lowe… 256 Pts
5. Wendy Walsh… 251 Pts

Leadership in running fitness course – For a variety of reasons, finding a suitable date and venue to stage the Leadership In Running Fitness course has so far proven elusive. Undeterred we are now looking at options in July. If you are interested in attending the one day course on a Saturday in July, please email me (chairman @ stalbansstriders.com)

Shelving in the lock-up – And finally, a plea to any DIY enthusiasts within the Club, that might be able to spare a couple of hours to install some shelves in the Lock Up. We have a lot of equipment stored there now and the catering equipment in particular could do with being off the floor. If you can help, please email me on the same address.

If you have got this far, thanks for taking the time to read and hope to see you running soon!

Stu Middleton (Chair)

January Update from Stuart

Welcome to the first of a series of regular updates to let you know anything that is going on that you might be interested in and also to keep you up to speed with anything the committee is working on behind the scenes.

1. Races
2014 has been a busy year for the club so far. Lucy and Ed are doing a magnificent job at keeping us all organised and updating results, so I won't repeat what they have already said, other than to say thank you and well done to all who have turned out and contributed to some great results so far!

Target Races - With an ever growing club and a busy race fixture list, we have decided to flag up our key races that we as a club, have decided to target in the coming months. We're very proud of the wonderful turnout of Striders at key events and it is hoped that by signposting the key races in this way, it will make it easier for members to prioritise which races to enter and turn up to. As well as the various Cross Countries and the Fred Hughes, the next target races for members is Berkhamsted Half Marathon (2 March 2014) (Enter online at runnersworld.co.uk)


2. New Kit
One of the committee’s objectives for 2014, is to review the design of our racing vests. Anecdotal evidence suggests there is a lot of support amongst members for something that looks a little less dated, is better fitting and made from lighter material. We have plenty of ideas, but before we go ahead and explore options, I would love to hear your views on the current vests: what you like and what you don’t like. The colour, the shape, the material, the fit, the design…. good or bad, we all have to wear it, so all opinions are welcome. Please get in touch with any views.


3. Committee Update
It is with regret that Mark and Jean have had to step down form their respective positions due to various new commitments (a new baby and a promotion at work, respectively – congratulations to you both!). However, I’m really pleased to be able to tell you that Joe Dunn has agreed to take over as Men’s Road Captain and Jenny Maddocks has agreed to take over as Club Secretary. Both were nominated and sworn in at the committee meeting last week and I’m sure will do a fantastic job on our behalf.


4. Annual Charity
Finally I am delighted to inform you that the committee selected the British Triathlon Trust as our annual charity for 2014. The Trust works to get kids active and engaged through the sport of triathlon. Some of you will be aware that our very own Mike Jubb and Claire Kremer are directly involved in this and not only will our donation help to put on a ‘Large Schools Event’ in St Albans, but we will all be able to get involved with helping out. Mike will let us know more details nearer the time, but I think you will agree that this is the perfect charity for Striders to team up with for so many reasons and a great opportunity to get further involved with our local community.


Stuart Middleton