MAY 2006 NEWSLETTER

As with 2005 this year got off to a great start for the club and a number of new members have joined recently.  A warm welcome to Karen du Bruyn, George Cloete, Jean Hann, Johnny Walker and Santi van Tonder.   Although we lost a few members at the end of 2005 our senior membership has increased to 72 licensed runners and walkers.  We are pleased that the number of junior runners has increased to 13.  Boland Athletics has a target of 30% of athletes to be juniors, so we have a way to go.

Two Oceans

35 members  participated in either the Ultra or the 21km.  Mathew Browne and Carina van der Merwe were the first male and female Whalers in the Ultra and Eric Mthembu and Deidre de Villiers the first male and female in the half marathon.  Their achievements were recognised at the ‘Aches and Pains’ party held on 20 April.   Gert Koen was the oldest entrant/finisher in the 21km at 80 years of age.

Comrades 2006

To our knowledge only 4 runners intend running Comrades this year.  They are David Hepburn-Brown, Barry Coombe, Mathew Browne and Rickus Swanepoel.  We wish them all the best with their tough training schedules.

Track and Field

The first ever Whalers athletics meeting took place at the Hermanus High School on 18 March and can be regarded as quite successful as 80 people turned up. This included 23 from the club itself. The rest of the participants were from Cape Town, Bellville, Bredasdorp and other country towns. Thanks to the High School, who provided most of the throwing implements, the PA system, a well marked field and all the other necessary equipment it was possible to hold this meeting. Hopefully it will become a regular event. To encourage people to compete about 25 lucky draw prizes were provided courtesy of a number of firms in Hermanus. All in all a good time was had by all. A big thank you is extended to all the members of the club and others who acted as officials and helpers without whom such a meeting is not possible. Leo Benning was the organiser.

At the30th SA Masters Athletic Championships on 28/29 April at Port Elizabeth Bertie Warren and Leo Benning participated.  Results:  Bertie - 1st long jump, 2nd high jump, 3rd 200m;  Leo - 1st high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus, javelin, weight throw, 2nd 80m hurdles & 100m. 

Juniors & Cross-Country

There are currently 12 junior athletes that are going to compete in the cross-country league this year. Rickus Swanepoel will be accompanying them, and Whalers are encouraged to give it a go. - 12 juniors and a few seniors.

The first league takes place on the 6th of May in Stellenbosch and most athletes hope to qualify in the first two leagues to compete for Boland in the first Inter provincial.  Next events: 13 May – Tulbagh; 20 May – Kleinmond; 27 May – Coetzenburg; 3 June – Salkoriane; 10 June – Dwars Rivier

Constitution

At a Special General Meeting held on 20 April 2006 minor changes to the Constitution were unanimously approved.  We are now officially known as Whalers Athletic Club, have a committee that is elected to serve a period of 2 years and will have the AGM in the first quarter of each year.

Time trials/Saturday long runs

As from 4 May through to 31 August the time trials will be starting at 17.30.   Similarly, Saturday long runs will be starting at 0700 from the Wine Village unless announced otherwise at the time trials – contact Hugh or Les if you feel uncertain.

Some other matters

A reminder of our new website address – www.whalersac.co.za    In it you will find details of time trials, the results of our members in the main races, and some interesting photos.  Carien Gooding updates it weekly, and if you have any information that you would like included, please send it to her at cariengooding@telkomsa.net   Incidentally, for the first time, this newsletter will be sent to all members who have given us their email address.  Tim Noakes book ‘The lore of running’ is available from Arlene Ehrenberg on 028 3162037.  Anzel du Plessis is looking into a design for a T Shirt for the club and we will keep you informed.

The 1000km & 500km Challenge

How are you getting on with your recordings of your mileages?  By the look of results in the news paper, Nicki Payne could be the first runner to get to 500km with Johan de Kok and Michelle Botes not far behind.  The Club Captain, I hear, is also heading towards 500km.  A reminder to what can be recorded – all official races, time trials, the Whalers Saturday morning training run, and the Tuesday Onrus evening run.

Personalities of the club  - Gavin Turner

Gavin was 45 years old when he started running. He was watching Wally Hayward run the Comrades marathon in 1989 with a bunch of his drinking mates at a braai, that he became so inspired that he challenged his mates to run the race the following year!  I don’t know how many of them managed it, but Gavin finished it quite easily, and thus was born a love affair with running that has continued to this day. To date, he has completed 10 Comrades and 13 Two Oceans.  Gavin retired to Onrus 5 years ago, and immediately set about becoming a professional retiree (a professional retiree is a person who occupies every single moment of the day by doing something useful, exercising hard and drinking hard! – Club Captains definition).  The following are some of Gavin’s other sports and hobbies :

Probably one of Gavin’s greatest assets (other than Cynthia) is his ability to run at a steady pace in long runs.  In a 4 hour marathon, at half way he will close on 2 hours, or even slightly over.  He mostly manages to run negative splits (second half faster) and teaches us all a lesson in patience.  Les Hanna once said of Gavin “I thought I was a stickler for detail, but Gavin takes the cake!”

Whalers Committee