President’s Tan Talk –  June 2021

Hi VRR friends,

The overwhelming sentiment on Saturday 5 June was one of overwhelming disappointment. Having returned to the Tan after almost a year’s absence, we were (for reasons we all understand) told to stay home. Prior to the stay away order, the June Tan Time Trial was going to be a very special one, the last TTT by Peter and Jenny Field before they migrate to Adelaide, to be with other Field family members, all of whom have been VRR members, with a family total of more than 1,600 Tan Time Trials, covering three generations.

In their usual way, Peter and Jenny were insistent that we not make a fuss, but in our usual way we intended (with the best of intentions) to ignore their request, and to acknowledge the truly amazing contribution that Peter and Jenny, and family, have made to VRR since our earliest days. Peter and Jenny are of course long-time Life Members, but if (like the AFL) we had Legends, they would clearly both be VRR Legends. (We have included a few Field photos, from the hundreds taken over the last 30+ years.)

I will say no more right now, but even with Peter and Jenny having left for Adelaide, we will be acknowledging their massive contributions at our next Tan, hopefully in July, so please come along and be part of that acknowledgement process.

Well done to Helen Myall, Graham Edwards, Rohan Cole, Steve Miller, Ken Miller, Grant Padula, Vincent Vignuoll and Sally Coleman for immediately switching to Virtual TTT mode and providing reports to inspire us all.

Finally, I recommend you read Tony Freegard’s irreverent and very amusing report on his Geelong Half Marathon experience, I guarantee it will make you smile.

We look forward to seeing you all at the July TTT. In the meantime, happy running,

Michael  
VRR President

 

Run Report: Westerfolds 5k / 10k / half marathon (by Michael Kennedy)

At 6am on a (very) cold, clear Sunday morning (23 May) I went for a walk in the dark around Westerfolds Park with Greig McEwan, who had handed over the VRR Running Vice-president baton to me more than 30 years ago. (It wasn’t so much a baton as a cardboard box of paperwork!)

We were marking the courses for our 5k / 10k / half marathon fun runs, our first post-COVID fun runs, so it had been more than a year since our last one, which was Yarra Bend in early 2020. Lynn Kisler had managed to organise our event permit, which in the overhang of COVID continues to be a very complex and challenging task, thanks Lynn.

Two hours later and the half marathoners set off, with Greig out at the turnaround point, and with Ken & Steve Miller, Michael Musgrove, Bill Noonan (with dog), Tony Freegard, Aileen Martin, Michael Musgrove, Rod Opie, Lynn Kisler and Doug Stokes all course marshalling and recording results etc, having responded to my plea for help in the days leading up to the event, thank you one and all. As you can see, Helen Myall was as ever doing a great job of taking awesome photos.

  

Having our first fun run for more than a year we were “a bit rusty”, with a couple of runners going the wrong way, but they were understanding, (having contributed to their own situation) and it was only walking the course (again) while collecting the witches hats that I realised that I hadn’t brought any spot prizes, only the second time in 30+ years that I’ve done that.

As an historical footnote, back in those very early days, when Brian “BT” Toomey was VRR President we almost had another marshalling problem. At 8am Brian started the clock and sent the half marathoners off, then rang me to tell me they were on their way. The problem was that I hadn’t yet arrived at the half marathon turnaround point, so I had to run as fast as I could, measuring wheel in one hand, witches hats in the other, to get to the turnaround point in time to direct them back. I made it with just seconds to spare!!

It was good to get our first post-COVID fun run done, with thanks to everyone who helped out. Our next scheduled fun run is the Princes Park 5k / 10k / half marathon, on Sunday 15 August. In the meantime, hopefully we’ll have a “real” Tan Time Trial in July, fingers crossed.

 

Winners are Grinners at Westerfolds.
L to R – Merle Want, Stephen Barker & Jane Sturzaker.
Virtual Run Reports
Helen Myall’s run took in the Frog Hollow Park.

“At 6.00 am on the chilly Saturday morning that would otherwise have been our June run at the tan, I set out in darkness to run my virtual 8 km June tan.  The course near my home took in the usual Frog Hollow parkrun course, with a few extra kilometres to make up the 8 km.  By the time I finished the sun was coming up although it was no warmer.”
Graham Edwards was out on the Hubert Opperman bike trail.
“I ran my vitual 8 KM TTT doing a double 4KM loop along the Hubert Opperman bike trail from Henderson Road Bridge to Stud Road and then reversing back to Bunjil Road before reversing again to Stud Road via Henderson Road Bridge then back toBunjil Road before hearing back to the finish at Henderson Road Bridge. Very convenient to have the two segments each of 1KM. The one real hazard is the number of cyclists who also enjoy the outing. Fortunately they pass on either way; one up to Ferntree Gully and the other on to Eastlink and beyond. Some warn of their approach ad others don’t.

My time was 77.48. only 52 to go to reach 400 runs. I have to keep Tony in mind as inspiration but the legs might over=rule the brain!”

Rohan Cole ran his TTT on the beach path in Brighton -who was that masked man?

“I ran my Virtual TTT at my  usual place on the beach path (beach tan? Sandy tan?) between Sandringham and Brighton Beach.
Thanks and stay safe, Rowan”

 

Steve Miller was lucky enough to be able to complete his Virtual TTT actually at the Tan on Saturday 5th June (probably starting at 7.30, if I know Steve).

“…. l trust you are doing well and had a great day!
Sad to see another lockdown interrupting our covid normal monthly get together.
Greeted with a 4 degree starting temperature, no face masks on trees , only my face! and plenty of stay safe signs at the tan  l manage to complete my 8 km tan time trial, along with some other VRR members.”
Steve’s dad, Ken Miller ran his Virtual TTT at Pascoe Vale.In observing the lockdown  rules on Saturday 5th June l ran another virtual time trial locally, viz Pascoe Vale.”
And …. Grant Padula was another member who ran his virtual TTT at the Tan. Vincent Vignuoli & Sally Coleman must have known something, because they ran a Virtual TTT in MAY.
(actually they couldn’t get to the Tan run due to illness, but having already completed every one of the virtual 4k TTT’s during the last lockdown, didn’t want to break their sequence.)
Tony Freegard reports in….

One Half of Geelong
12th April, 2021

As you will notice by the abovementioned this article is out of date. Unfortunately, in the noisy confusion of urban existence some things just don’t get done on time. So, I apologise for my tardy performance and present this meandering diatribe exactly one month late, and I can’t promise it won’t happen again.
Convinced that I had definitely forgotten to pack something important, like race day shoes or choccies, I abandoned the relatively benign climes of east suburban Melbourne and ventured forth – Destination – The metropolis of Pivot City.
The closer I came to my destination the worse the weather became, the temperature thingy on the dash dropped to single digits, and my little car was buffeted by wind and rain falling horizontally. And this was mid-afternoon Saturday. This did not bode well for the running of the Geelong Half Marathon to be held on the morrow.
First stop was to drop my bags at the decidedly 60’s yet economical Motel in Corio. I was greeted with two signs. An illuminated one that read “No Vacancy,” Charged with confidence and smug in the knowledge that I had a confirmed booking this was a matter of no concern to me, or was it? The second sign was a handwritten affair sticky taped to the door informing me that the reception would be unattended for the next 30 minutes.
Not knowing when this period commenced, I had no choice but to wait it out.
14 minutes and 37 seconds later, not that I was counting, and the doorway to hospitality was thrown open by a friendly fellow sporting a bright and shiny name tag that read “Raj,” inviting unwarranted familiarity. I dubbed him Reg and addressed him so during our brief exchanges. He never attempted to correct me, was he too polite? Or maybe he simply didn’t notice my corruption.  Armed with key tagged #2 I headed upstairs and to the left. This was not a room, but two rooms, a veritable suite that sleeps 4, complete with balcony with a panoramic view of a secondhand car yard, yet I was on my lonesome, how could this be considered “No Vacancy” – go figure. The accommodation came with an unexpected waterfall feature, the shower dripped continuously, and no amount of tap turning would stem the flow. Solution – firmly shut the door to block out the trickling cascade.
Abandoning my bags, I headed out again into the artic conditions. Wanting no surprises in the morning GPS led me to the start area in Belmont where I discovered a huddle of red shirted individuals sheltering in the lee of a small bus. Noting the lack of warehouse facilities and hardware for sale I was content that this was not Bunnings, and was warmly welcomed (well sort of, considering the mercury reading) by members of the Geelong Cross Country Club. There was one other fellow in attendance plumbing the porta loos, who was not wearing red and had a very fat belly, I dubbed him Kenny.
Looking for the “goss” on the course I was treated to a monologue in a Scots brogue delivered by a man with a milk bottle tan, I could not help asking him why he wasn’t at the beach, any right-minded Scot wouldn’t waste good weather like this, surely! Dubbed him Jock. Regardless, the main points of interest seemed to be the headwind on the other side of the Barwon River, and the tail wind up the Mad Mile to the finish. Mental note taken.
Making plans for dinner, pasta, bet you did not see that coming. Ordering my Pollo e Fungi con bicchiere Lambrusco in Classico Italiano was met with a blank stare from the waiter. Breathing contempt openly, I did not comprehend or tolerate his unintelligible gibberish, contented myself to merely point at the menu irritably. I dubbed him Manuel. Regardless, the pasta was excellent.
Back to the motel for some shut eye. Given the wind and rain rattling the balcony door, the swish of the traffic on the wet Geelong Road, plus the aforementioned waterfall feature I produced a satisfactory quantity of ZZZs. Alarm set for 05.30, anxiety set in and I deserted slumber land 15 minutes early in anticipation.
The weather app advised an ambient temperature of 8 degrees, but the wind chill reduced this to 3, and I treasured every one of them when arriving at the start area around 45 minutes before kick-off. The car park was doing brisk business and filling fast. One smug attendant directing traffic sheltered from the elements beneath an overhead bridge, told me this was his reward for being dragged in as a volunteer at the last minute.
To satisfy Covid-19 conditions the race was to commence in waves between 07.15 & 07.45 and we were advised against crowding the start and overloading the early waves. Exuberant runners escaping lockdown ignored this and the initial wave was a devastating king tide of major maritime proportions, keenly recorded by the Covid-19 Marshalls. However, Mr Goody Goody Two Shoes, yours truly, ambled down to the start 5 or 6 minutes later, observing all the social distancing protocols, and crossed the line in a Port Phillip Bay ripple in the company of none.
This staggered start made for an interesting event. Anyone familiar with a major event like Melbourne Half would understand when I say the washing machine effect. Constantly passing and being passed by runners of differing abilities made it a little difficult to gauge my progress, as no packs of similar paced runners formed.
This is a generally flat and fast course, except for a couple of idiosyncrasies. Firstly, a romp around an oval through un-mowed wet grass in the fashion of a footy umpire without a whistle, which is an experience on which I can only speculate. And secondly occasional excursions off the bitumen track in favour of uneven trail conditions. Nuggets of intelligence shared by Jock as necessary to make up the 21.1 k.
Jock’s sage advice proved correct and incorrect in equal measure. The exposed section along the Barwon provided a block head wind that stopped me dead in my tracks. I looked around for some big bloke to shelter behind but was surrounded by nothing but the undernourished. Fast forward to the finish and the promised tail wind up the Mad Mile did not materialise as the finish line beckoned tantalisingly close, yet oh so far.
Abere Kassw Belay (Tokyo bound maybe) won the event in 1:06:28 by a staggering 5 1/2 minutes, and I like to think that the pressure I applied throughout the event spurred him onto his impressive performance. The women’s winner was Katrinna Fyfe in a time of 1:13:54, also taking the event out by a massive margin of nearly 10 minutes.
Regardless, of the atrocious conditions, this is a well-run event, and would I do it again? Yes.
Rounded the trip off with some extra-curricular activities. A visit to the National Wool Museum where I learnt the difference between Woollen and Worsted fabrics – a valuable life lesson that has not yet borne fruit, but I hold out hope. Then a ride on the Ferris Wheel (Sky something), don’t try this on a cold, wet windy day, impressive views, but found me wishing we wouldn’t go round again, brrrr. Lastly, fish & chips washed down with a beer for lunch on The Esplanade, then home.
Thanks for your attention,
Tony Freegard
Agent #99

June 2021
Virtual TTT Results

 

The June Virtual TTT results will appear in the July edition.

 

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Diary
Dates

 

Next VRR Fun Run/Walk
Princes Park
Sunday 15th August 2021
8.00am start for 21.1km
8.30am start for 5 & 10km

 

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TOP 4km RUNNERS

Position Member Run Time
1 Aidan Whitforth 4km 15.29
2 Mal Healey 4km 17.11
3 Adam Jenkins 4km 17.53

TOP 8KM RUNNERS

Position Member Run Time
1 Robert Simpson 8km 30.12
2 Tim Hunt 8km 33.47
3 Lucy Oehr 8km 35.49