April 2010 Newsletter
Contents:
President’s Message
Orange – Running like clockwork
Ben’s Baggy Green
Not-so-Blue Mountains Race
Peter’s Red-Letter Day
Update – Matt makes another splash.
Update – Lindy in Canberra.
2010 Volunteer Roster
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE.
I believe that since the last edition of The Achilles Heel, walking and running conditions have been perfect. Some believe it has become cooler. None-the-less large numbers of enthusiastic members turn out every Sunday, come rain (14 members came), Easter long weekends (15) or good weather (30+). As I have mentioned before, we need the volunteer guides, so please keep coming. There have some Sunday training days when the disabled members have outnumbered the guides.
The committee are still working on getting Achilles caps. We are trying to source yellow (our singlet colour) micromesh material caps at a reasonable price for the quantity we need which is proving very difficult. If we wanted white or some other common colour, we would already have had caps. Watch this space!
Dick Traum, the founder of the Achilles, named his newly formed running and walking group “The Achilles Track Club”. When we started the Sydney chapter of Achilles, we decided to adopt the name “Achilles Running Club”, as “track” had different connotations in Australia to the USA and we wanted the name of the club to describe what we did. The Achilles Track Club has recently had a name change. It is now Achilles International (www.achillesinternational.org). Chapters around the world have been asked to officially register with Achilles International. Our committee has decided that it is preferable to keep our name as the Achilles Running Club, as this still identifies who we are, what we do and our name and logo has become a well recognised. I will keep you updated with news on our communications with our Achilles parent organization.
Happy walking and running and looking forward to seeing you on the road!
Ellis Janks
ORANGE – RUNNING LIKE CLOCKWORK
It is believed that Sir Thomas Mitchell named Orange after the Prince William of Orange, whom Mitchell had known when they were both aide-de-camps to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War.
On Saturday 6th March, 14 members of the Achilles Running Club set out for Orange in what was the club’s first involvement in the Orange Running Festival. Martin and a few family members travelled ahead as an advance party.
The idea had grown from a suggestion that Achilles should be taken farther afield. As well as giving other centres the opportunity of learning about Achilles, this would add extra social and event opportunities for members.
From the time that Ellis contacted the organisers of the Running Festival, the Achilles Club was made to feel very welcome. Our impending arrival was featured in the Central Western Daily. Charlie McConnell was the subject of a well-worded interview, which can be read here.
Charlie was also the main organiser of the trip, including the accommodation. This was no simple task and Charlie’s efforts were greatly appreciated. Owing to a misunderstanding at the hotel, we arrived to find that insufficient rooms had been reserved. Ellis, Charlie and the hotel manager devised a plan that saw everybody housed. It did mean that some people did get to know each other a little better than had been anticipated. This all added to camaraderie of the trip.
Another stalwart of the venture was Kerry, who nursed the bus to and from Orange with skill and good humour. She also patiently ignored the shouted advice from the “committee” that was driving Charlie’s GPS device.
The meal on the eve of the Festival was a convivial affair, with one or two people taking a creative approach to the “carbo-loading” aspects of racing.
The Festival was a great success, and Achilles had participants in the 4.5K and 10K events. The organisation was impeccable and the organisers, volunteers and participants were cheerful and efficient. This attitude was maintained even when a deluge hit the post-race activities. The downpour could not douse the prevailing mood and did not interrupt the drawing of gifts from a seemingly bottomless barrel. This was particularly remarkable because a burglar had stolen the intended prizes just a few days before the Festival.
Helen and Ben each won a prize in the draw, and the Festival organizers added to our haul with a generous gift of caps and drink-bottles.
It is certain that the Orange Running Festival will become a regular feature of our calendar.
The Achilles Team after the events. [More pictures from Orange can be viewed here]
SOCIAL BREAKFAST AFTER TRAINING
For all those who feel peckish after training and who want to catch up with other Achilles members, we are having another very popular club breakfast. You can get a continental or full breakfast or just a cuppa and muffin or toast - whatever takes your fancy. So do come and eat, relax and socialise.
Date : Sunday 11 April 2010
Venue : NSW League Headquarters, 165 Phillip Street. (between King St & Martin Place)
Time : about 9-45 am
Dress: Training / walking and running gear is fine but bring a change of clothes if you are really dripping sweat after a vigorous training session.
Hope to see you there.
BEN’S BAGGY GREEN
Among the team that travelled to Orange was Ben Phillips. In recent months, Ben’s running has played a vital part in meeting another sporting goal: selection for the Australian Blind Cricket Team.
Ben has been on a determined path to make the team since falling short in 2008, when Australia played England for the Ashes. “I think it was due to my lack of fitness,” Ben told Achilles Heel. In April 2009, Ben was given another chance and attended a training cam in Adelaide. “Yet again, my fitness let me down,” Ben recalls.
Shortly afterwards, Ben underwent surgery in an effort to save what was left of his failing sight. It did not work. At this point, Ben was at a low ebb. However, he was boosted by, “great mates around me; most notably, long time friend and former fellow cricketer, Nick Gleeson, who showed great understanding of my new situation. Nick signed me up with Achilles and entered me in the 2009 City to Surf.”
Ben “power walked” the whole way. Having just been released from, he was under medical orders not to try to run.
He then started running and walking with Achilles regularly. As his fitness improved, so did his cricket. Late in 2009, he was selected by New South Wales to be part of the squad preparing for the National Blind Cricket Championships, to be held in January 2010. In this build-up, Ben would “attend Achilles training on a Sunday morning and spend the rest of the day training with the NSW cricket squad. The effort I was putting in was noticed and there was an obvious improvement in my fitness.”
A chance withdrawal of another player from the NSW and Australia teams, resulted in Ben getting an unexpected call-up to the national team. After the National Championship, Ben found himself part of the team contesting 5 one-day internationals with NZ. He was 12th man for the first two games but got his chance in the 3rd game. His 32 runs from 15 deliveries were followed by 32 runs from 16 deliveries in the 4th game. A successful opening partnership in the 5th game meant that Ben did not have to bat. [Ben credits his batting approach to the example set by Achilles member Charlie McConnell, “regarded in his day as the toughest attacking batsman in the world.”]
These two knocks have led to Ben being selected for Australia for the 3-week tour to the West Indies in June.
Congratulations, Ben!
NOT-SO-BLUE MOUNTAINS RACE
The “Visit New South Wales” website describes The Six Foot Track thus:
“One of Australia’s classic walks, the Six Foot Track follows the route of the original 1884 horse track that was carved through rock and bush to take tourists from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves.
Rising high to cross mountain ranges and falling into deep troughs on the other side, the track takes walkers through a range of habitats - rainforest, eucalypt forests, open grazing country. There are spectacular natural features, including caves, sheer sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and incredible panoramas of richly-forested valleys.
The walk, which usually takes three days to complete, can be done as a do-it-yourself adventure or as a guided trip with one of several tour operators.”
Rising high to cross mountain ranges and falling into deep troughs on the other side, the track takes walkers through a range of habitats - rainforest, eucalypt forests, open grazing country. There are spectacular natural features, including caves, sheer sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and incredible panoramas of richly-forested valleys.
The walk, which usually takes three days to complete, can be done as a do-it-yourself adventure or as a guided trip with one of several tour operators.”
Once a year, the Six Foot Track becomes the venue for one of Australia’s toughest long-distance races. [An interesting short history of the race can be found here.]
The challenging course has made the race increasingly popular. When online registration opened for the 2010 race, all places were taken within a few hours. Several Achilles Running Club members were lucky enough to grab spots (having also met the gruelling qualification standards). They all performed well:
- Michael Lovric 4 (hours): 30 (mins): 21 (secs)
- Markus Schar 5:34:51
- Michael Levy 5:50:11
- Doug Ritchie 6:13:54
- Nick Dreyton 6:48:04
- Viv Kartsounis 6:48:04
- John Domandl 6:57:14
Of particular note is John’s run. There is a 7-hour cut-off for the race. This is policed by a team of “Sweeps”, who follow the racers and monitor their well-being. They also have to disqualify runners who are behind schedule at certain points on the course. Here is what Stephen Jackson* (the Head Sweep in this year’s race) wrote in a Cool Running web forum dedicated to the Six Foot Track race:
“However, from our perspective, the race of the day was that by John Domandl. He is blind. We caught him and his 2 guides in Nellies and thought, "No chance." John was guided through the technical sections quite slowly, but motored on the fire trails. By Cox's he was well behind the 7hr pacers, but, conveniently, the Sweeps were held up with another broken runner. So, he got through Coxs over cu-toff, but betwixt Pacer and Sweep. Lo and behold! He caught the pacers just before Pluv, and played leap frog with the pacers until a few km to go. He then took off and got a few minutes in the bank. A superb effort on a rough track by a blind runner - and his amazing guides. It was a privilege to play a small part in the run of the day.”
John told Achilles:
“The guides were Thomas Phillips (Tom) and Jeffery Fisher (Fish), old mates from Triathlon and Fun Run/Marathon days.
“Our plan was to all finish and work as a team, just like we have done in training over the last 3 months, Tom and Fish took it in turns working to get me through the tough bits. They were fantastic. My achievement was also their achievement and glory. I had no chance whatsoever without them. You don't see many people doing things like they did for me on Saturday.”
John and his guides cross the finish line.
*[Stephen “Action” Jackson is a “well-known racing identity” of the best kind. He has competed in many of the world’s great endurance races, including the 250-Km, six-day Marathon des Sables, across the deserts of Morocco. Stephen is also active in club volunteering/management and is a sought-after international course-measurer.]
PETER’S RED-LETTER DAY.
Although the Achilles year started officially on 31st January, the first “event” of 2010 was the celebration on January 16th of Peter Bielieter’s 40th birthday.
Achilles volunteer, Mark Houlihan and his wife Cass organized a picnic brunch for Peter at Clarke’s Point Reserve, Woolwich.
About 30 family members and friends gathered at this delightful spot at the confluence of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. The weather was ideal, with scattered clouds shielding guests from the sun.
The guests included about half-a-dozen members of the Achilles Running Club.
Peter tackles the under-represented candles
UPDATE - BRIAN HEADS TO BOSTON
Brian O’Dea, newsletter co-editor, committee member and guide extraordinaire is on his way to the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest and one of the most prestigious major annual marathons in the world ( www.bostonmarathon.org ). It was first run in 1897 and due to its popularity, Boston is one of the most difficult races for which to gain entry.
Brian, enjoy the atmosphere and experience, have a great run and bring back some interesting stories for the next Achilles Heel.
UPDATE – MATT MAKES ANOTHER SPLASH
In the January Achilles Heel, we reported that Achilles member and Paralympian, Matt Levy, had returned from the Short Course World Championships with six gold medals. We also mentioned that Matt would be taking a short break before taking part in the National Trials in March in an attempt to make the Australian team for the IPC World Championships in August.
On March 21st, the Swimmers’ Association announced that Matt would be part of a 26-member team that would represent Australia at the 2010 Australian IPC World Championships. The IPC World Championships will be contested across 16 different distances and events, swum in 14 classes. The event will be held in the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, Eindhoven, Netherlands from August 15-21, 2010.
We wish Matt every success and look forward to reporting on his exploits in The Netherlands.
UPDATE – LINDY IN CANBERRA.
In the January newsletter, we also reported that Paralympian Lindy Hou had moved to Canberra. Lindy’s guide-dog, Harper, has his own newsletter and reports that Lindy is training for the Canberra Half-Marathon in May and is considering a return to triathlons. If all goes according to plan, the Hawaiian Ironman of 2011 will be her major target.
UPDATE - NICK TO TACKLE MELBOURNE TRAILWALKER
Nick Gleeson is off again. Another day – another adventure! He was approached by none other than the Minister of Defence, John Faulkner too join John’s team of 4 in this years Trailwalker in Melbourne. Obviously forgetting that the required 100km was a very long way to walk, Nick accepted. Under the tutorage of Trailwalker veterans Charlie McConnell and Ellis Janks, Nick got training. He is hoping that the adage that the event is 70% mental and 30% physical is true.
Best of luck, Nick. We wish you strong legs and no blisters!
2010 VOLUNTEER ROSTER
We are delighted to welcome a new wave of volunteers to Achilles. There is always room for more. We encourage all those interested to add their names to the roster. You can do so by contacting Rozanne at Rozanne@bigpond.net,au
April 11 - CANBERRA MARATHON AND ULTRA (ACT)
- Mark Houlihan, Ian Cohen, Martin Ruane,Diane Mcewin, Nikki Caminer Volunteers Required
April 18 - Colin Bradford, Peter Dable, Ellis Janks, Ted Magen Volunteers Required
April 25 – Marilyn Gould, Stephen Lenn, Markus Schar, Doug Ritchie Volunteers Required
May 1 - SYDNEY STRIDERS - Sydney Olympic Park
May 1 - SYDNEY STRIDERS - Sydney Olympic Park
May 2 - Mark Houlihan, Ian Cohen, Diane Mcewin, Martin Ruane Volunteers Required
May 9 – Mother’s Day Classic - Domain
May 9 - Colin Bradford, Ian Cohen, Nikki Caminer, Brian O’Dea, Volunteers Required
May 16 -Chris Laing, Ellis Janks, Peter Dable, Markus ScharVolunteers Required
May 23 - Marilyn Gould, Stephen Lenn, Ted Magen, Doug Ritchie Volunteers Required
May 23 - Marilyn Gould, Stephen Lenn, Ted Magen, Doug Ritchie Volunteers Required
May 30 - Mark Houlihan, Diane Mcewin, Brian O’Dea, Martin Ruane Volunteers Required
Please feel free to write to us – we are always looking for interesting stories and members’ views for inclusion in The Achilles Heel info@achilles-sydney.org.au
If you require information on Achilles, be sure to look on the website www.achilles-sydney.com.au
MISSION STATEMENT
"To enable people from all walks of life, including those with physical impairments, to enjoy the health giving benefits of walking and running in a supportive, social and encouraging environment."
Contact us to find out more about becoming an Achilles Member or Volunteer.
LATEST EVENTS:
7th Jan 2012 - Resolution Run
29th Jan 2012 - Training Resumes
2nd-3rd March 2012 - Hollows Foundation Coastrek 2012
4th March 2012 - Orange Running Festival
