December Newsletter
Hello again Road Runners. I ho-ho-hope you’re all keeping well and have all your Christmas shopping done and dusted!
2020 has been a really challenging and difficult year to say the least and not just in terms of running, but life in general. Almost every race we all had booked in has been cancelled, lockdown prevented the club getting together in our usual numbers and we’ve been unable to see our friends and family. So, what better way to put this year to bed and look forward to a fresh start than with the Christmas edition of the newsletter.
Unfortunately, the lack of events this year hasn’t given us a lot to write about, but we have a quick round-up of the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon, a message from the Chairman and a Christmas Quiz to test your trivia knowledge.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you all in 2021!
A message from the Chairman
Well, what can I say?
2020 has been an unprecedented, unpredictable, and unbelievably crazy year and was certainly not what I was expecting when I took the role as Club Chairman in April. In times where events were cancelled, and restrictions were put in place, we have been challenged to adapt to a new kind of “normal”. Our own race, the Daventry 10k, was among a long list of races that did not happen this year, including EMGP, NRRL, and even parkrun, that had become routine for many of our members.
However, I would like to say a massive thank you to all the members of this wonderful club for baring with us during uncertainty and embracing the new ways of working that have been implemented. We now have regular club sessions that abide by the guidelines set out, and can be booked via a new booking platform, Clubpal. In addition to our training sessions, we have a weekly 5k event on a Saturday morning to test yourself, and recreate the club camaraderie that DRR is known for. We have also taken on and triumphed at virtual events, and some members have even managed to squeeze in an actual “real life” race as well.
In what can only be described as a tough year, Daventry Road Runners and it’s members have a lot to be proud and thankful for, and this is down to the positive and caring attitudes of our members.
A special shout out to the committee members for the hard work, time and effort they put in behind the scenes, both within our numerous meetings via Google Meetups, and in their own time and having to deal with ever changing government guidelines.
Finally I would like to wish all our members a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year, and here’s to a hopefully brighter future in 2021.
Merry Christmas
Daniel Clarke
Club Chairman
MK Winter Half Marathon
The weekend of the 12th and 13th December saw several of our club members brave the wet and cold conditions to take on the Milton Keynes Winter Half Marathon, in what was in some cases their first and only real event of the year. Despite the miserable weather there were some fantastic results...
Brian Donkersley and Jill Jelly where the only two member to take part on the Saturday finishing in 1:54:01 and 2:11:08 respectively.
On Sunday, Ben Oliver was the club’s first finisher in a superb time of 1:26:57, very closely followed by Todd Jeffery in 1:30:40 and both setting new Personal Bests. Dan Henderson was next home in 1:40:44, an almost identical time to his 2019 effort, with Tom Elliot completing his very first half marathon in a fantastic time of 1:46:47. Jane Mitchell raced home in a great time of 2:07:02. David Packer also set a new PB finishing in 2:13:03 and was then albe to cheer his wife Sharon across the line with a time of 2:43:03.
A huge well done to every single one of you on your amazing efforts!
DRR 12 Days of Christmas Challenge
As you may have seen on the Group Facebook page, we are running our 12 days of Christmas Challenge throughout December and early January, where each day equates to the number of miles you must run, e.g. six geese a-laying equals six miles. The idea is to complete all 12 days from 1 mile all the way up to 12 miles totalling 78 miles, before 5th January – so if you haven’t started yet, there is still plenty of time to get those runs in.
There are three levels of difficulty starting with the Rudolph Challenge where you can complete the runs in any order and break them down into smaller more manageable runs if needed. The Snowman Challenge in the next level up. The 12 days must be completed in order and as 12 complete runs, but you can are allowed rest days in between. The Santa Challenge is the most difficult where all 12 runs must be completed on consecutive days starting on 25th December.
There’s been tons of incredible efforts appearing on Strava over the last couple of weeks, so well done everyone who’s getting out there and getting it done!
Christmas Quiz
Do you know your Mince Pies from your Christmas puddings? Well, here’s your chance to find out, have a bit of fun and test your knowledge of all things Christmas!
Have a go at the questions below and send your answers to stuart7clarke@gmail.com before Friday 1st January 2021 and the person who gets the most correct answers will receive a prize. In the event that there is a tie for first place, then all those who scored the same points will be placed into a draw and a lucky winner will be chosen at random.
Remember, no cheating!
Which band had three consecutive Christmas number 1 singles during the 1990’s?
What is the name of the department store where Kris Kringle works as Father Christmas in the film ‘A Miracle on 34th Street’?
How many gifts are given out in total during the 12 days of Christmas song?
Which reindeer comes first alphabetically?
Tom Hanks voices six different characters in which popular 2004 Christmas movie?
In which year was Mariah Carey’s Christmas hit ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ released?
Which well known drinks company played a pivotal role in creating the image of Santa and his red suit, way back in 1931?
Which city are the McCallisters heading to on holiday when they realise they’ve left Kevin Home Alone?
Which song kept Wham!’s Last Christmas off the number one spot in the charts in 1984?
What star sign are you if you are born on Christmas Day?
Which actor plays the role of circus owner PT Barnum in the film ‘The Greatest Showman’?
Which country sends the Christmas tree to the UK every year that is erected in London’s Trafalgar Square?
In the film Die Hard, name the building in which John McClane takes down Hans Gruber?
What is traditionally hidden inside of a Christmas pudding?
In Season 7 Episode 10 of Friends, what character does Ross dress up as to teach his son about Hanukkah?