Issue 89: February is the shortest month

Hello all

The next few weeks are very important for the club - hosting, racing, donating and handicapping.

Saturday 13th Feb - Met League FINAL - Alexandra Palace - 1:55pm / 2:35pm

The final race of the season. Unless you have a genuine excuse, we need every club member out running and supporting the club at the critical final race of the season. After a reduced turnout from the club at Horsenden Hill the senior men lie in 7th place, behind our main rival Barnet & District AC. If we are to stand any chance of saving our pride, we need all of our members out racing. The race is relatively local and so you have even fewer reasons not to attend. For the women, the A team sit in 5th place, one position above Barnet in 6th. A strong turnout is needed here to maintain this position in the middle of Division 1 for another season. The women's B team were in top position in Division 3 with promotion a possibility prior to the last fixture. Since then, they have slipped to position 3 and out of the promotion positions, but this could be rectified with a good turn out on the day.

Race details are on the Met League site: http://www.metleague.co.uk/fixtures.html#fixture5

Saturday 20th February - Chingford League Race #5 - Victoria Park - Helpers needed
It's our turn to host the Chingford League. For all of you who've enjoyed races organised and hosted by other clubs up to now, now is the time to give back. We need helpers on the day: before, during or after the race. If you can manage none of these, how about baking a cake to sell? All the details are here on the noticeboard. Please contact Laura or me if you can help out.

Saturday 20th February - Chingford League Race #5 - Victoria Park - Runners needed
This fixture is on the clean tarmac of Victoria Park. It's just under five miles (two laps of our renowned figure-of-8 course). If you make one fixture of the Chingford League this year at least make it this one. Cancel your parkrun in the morning, come and run a real race and make it count for the club. More details on the noticeboard and Facebook nearer the time.

Thursday 25th February - February Handicap - 2.9 miles - 7pm for 7:15pm start
The monthly handicap will take place as usual. Volunteer timekeepers and marshalls needed as usual. Please get in touch if you can help, as usual. And, as usual, all results are available at http://tinyurl.com/HandicapResults

Looking ahead:

Saturday 19th March - Club Championships 20 mile - 10am start
In case you missed the announcement, the date has been set for the Club 20. Think of it like the Club 10 we just had at the weekend, only more so. This is perfect for those of you wanting to practice your pacing, nutrition and coping strategies for the upcoming spring marathons. 8 laps of the famous figure-of-8 course.

Note given the length of this event we will start at 10am. The start is a long way from the club house so you need to be registered and numbered by 9:45am at the very latest.

Saturday 2nd April - Orion 15 - Epping Forest - 10am start
The fantastic 15 mile romp through the woods of Essex is back, a little later than previous years. Very popular with club members, although it's not clear if they are drawn by the quality running and competition or the free 'bubbly' at the end. Either way, entries are now open - more details on the Orion Harriers website. Register now before the deadline of 28th March - a bargain at £10.

Club Kit Consultation Update
Look out for an update later this week regarding the outcome of the club kit consultation and new vest supply.

And finally:

Kollecting Kit for Klaserie
Some of you may have seen the post on the club Facebook page from Paul Mee, a 'founder member' of the Klaserie Hawks running club in South Africa. Paul is looking for donations of usable running kit and shoes to donate and support athletes out there less well off than ourselves. I've sure many of you have some spares kicking around. See Paul's post here for details - deadline is Feb 18th

Congratulations
I'm pleased to announce that popular club member Duncan Steen and his partner Eliza welcomed a potential future member in to the world earlier this week. The club wishes Duncan, Eliza and baby Arlo Steen all the best.

Simeon
Men's Road and Cross Country Captain

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Remember, there are many ways to keep in touch with your club:

Find out what your clubmates are up to on the Club Facebook page
Get the latest news and updates, follow @VPHTHAC on Twitter
Get news, updates and race results on the club noticeboard
Keep an eye out for forthcoming fixtures on the club website