April 2011 Newsletter
Newsletter First Quarter 2011
In this edition:
President’s Message
“Here Be Dragons”
Madame Ambassador
Orange Running Festival
Six-Foot Track – Michael buckles
“Talk to me not of time and place; I owe I’m happy in the chase.”
Portrait of a Volunteer – Karen Parker
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
President’s Message
Come fine weather or foul, enthusiasm for Achilles continues undiminished.
Weather conditions at Sunday training have been a mixed bag - something for everything. Notwithstanding heavy rain and a slight drop in air temperature, enthusiasm and attendance at Sunday training continue unabated. The only thing which has prevented training is the chaos arising from the triathlons held at our training venue, and the accompanying road closures. Thanks for your cheerful attendance despite all of this.
The Orange weekend was a wonderful experience once again. These weekends away attending events are a lot of fun and a fantastic opportunity for our members to get to know each other so much better. This is one of the social aims of Achilles. Come along to our third year of participation in the Orange Colour Running Festival in 2012!
Once again, one of our Achilles members has notched up a significant achievement. Congratulations to Ben Phillips on successfully completing the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalker in Melbourne in 37:02 hours; a very fine effort indeed. (We hope to have Ben’s Account in the next Achilles Heel.)
Good luck to a team of Achilles members who are competing in the Dextro Energy Sydney Triathlon this weekend. Lindy Hou, Charlie McConnell, Kamilla Ryding, Brian O'Dea, Eamonn Kenihan, Michael Levy, Kath Newby and I will be swimming, cycling and running around on Sunday morning. It is terrific to see that our members are participating in so many varied events.
I look forward to seeing you soon at Achilles training and events.
Ellis Janks
“Here Be Dragons”
On the weekend of 12th-13th February, thousands of people watched or took part in the annual Chinese Dragon Boat Racing Festival on Darling Harbour. The event is part of Sydney’s vibrant Chinese New Year celebrations.
Charlie McConnell was part of the Guide Dogs New South Wales crew. He described his involvement:
“I strongly believe in giving anything a go at least once. When Guide Dogs NSW made an appeal for clients to give dragon-boat racing a go, I took up the challenge.
“That was 5 years ago. Even though we only train twice a week in the 2 months leading up to the race, I always find the going tough. The training gives us a lot of laughs and it is amazing how, even with new crew members, we manage to work well as a team. I am already looking forward to next year and making even more friends.”
Charlie’s team performed very well in the 2011 series of races. The crew finished 2nd in the first heat, 3rd in the second heat, 2nd in the not-for-profit challenge and 4th in the Community Final.
Photo 1
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Dragons at Full Steam.
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Dragons out of Puff. (Charlie is second from the left).
Since this event, Charlie has continued his dragon-boat racing with Vision Australia. When not in a boat, he is likely to be found swimming alongside.
Madame Ambassador
Also present at the Dragon Boat racing was Lindy Hou. Paralympic Gold Medallist and Achilles member, Lindy now lives in Canberra. Lindy was invited by the City of Sydney to be one of the Ambassadors for the City of Sydney Chinese New Year Festival. One of her main duties was to perform the “Eye Dotting” ceremony and the blessing of the waters before the start of the Dragon Boat Races.
Lindy “awoke” the dragon by dabbing red paint on the eyes of each of the dragon boats.
The New Year Festival began with an exciting launch at Belmore Park on Friday the 28th January, when Lion and Dragon dances, along with firecrackers, farewelled the Year of the Tiger.
On Sunday 6th February, the Chinese New Year Twilight Parade was a dazzling spectacle as it made its way from Sydney Town Hall to Chinatown. The evening ended with a special Chinese New Year fireworks display at Darling Harbour. This year’s parade welcomed in the Year of the Rabbit with a message of “peace, beauty, endurance and hope.”
The SBS coverage of Lindy’s awakening of the dragon can be viewed here. The film clip also gives a short summary of Lindy’s athletic achievements.
The Orange Running Festival
Following the success of the club’s visit to the Orange Running Festival in 2010, the Committee decided that this wonderful event should be a regular item on the Achilles calendar.
So, early in March a team of 14 members boarded the Vision Australia bus and headed over the Blue Mountains to Orange. Once again, the aging but reliable vehicle was nursed up the hills by Kerry. The 5-hour journey to Orange gave the Achilles members the chance to natter or nap.
Charlie’s accommodation arrangements were superb, and there was no repeat of the hotelier’s mistake of 2010. On that occasion, scrambled and congested sleeping arrangements became the stuff of Club folk-lore, to be exaggerated with each retelling.
In the evening, the team members pent a relaxing evening at the Orange RSL, where the group was split between those who thought that the necessary carbohydrates were best obtained from healthy food choices, and those who though they were best ingested from beer.
Taking orange at Orange.
The morning of the Festival dawned bright, clear and chilly. The conditions were perfect and our welcome was warm. The Club had 5 athletes with disabilities in the 5K Walk. Shayne and Sue were superb, showing great determination in covering a few kilometres. Sandy and Brian T motivated them and guided them safely. Jenny, Nastasia and Joe covered the course in style, aided by Kerry and Colin.
The 10K race had added spice, with Ben (guided by Ellis) and Charlie (guided by Marcelo) battled each other throughout the race. On this occasion, Ben crossed the finish line a few seconds ahead of Charlie. The stage has been set for some neck-and-neck finishes in the coming months.
“Congratulations” to Marcelo. This was his first experience as a guide in a race, and he performed magnificently.
Another “first” was achieved by Majella. It was her first 10K and we know she will be keen for more. Her only mishap occurred when her guide Brian led her over the only rock on the whole course. Despite having a swelling ankle, Majella finished strongly.
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Charlie and Marcelo finish in style. [Courtesy of Wayne Stewart and The Orange Runners Club]
Ellis, Sue, Sandy, Shayne and Brian T are pipped at the post. [Courtesy of Wayne Stewart and the Orange Runners Club]
Orange must be one of the most generous communities in New South Wales. Once again, there seemed to be enough draw prizes to send every runner and walker home with a gift. The organisers, The Orange Runners Club, were particularly generous to Achilles.
The Achilles Team at the end of a great event.
[After the event one of the competitors posted this observation on the Orange Runners Club website:
The Achilles running club of visually impaired runners visited Orange again to take place in the event. After running with one of these competitors it has given me a greater respect as to just how difficult it is for these people. Just behind one of these runners coming into a corner, the carer for the runner was giving him directions to turn right. The runner turned right but not quite hard enough almost putting his carer into the fence. The carer almost needs to be like a navigator in a rally car.]
After the awards ceremony, we headed back to Sydney. While Kerry steered the bus safely home, the team relaxed and dozed. Once again, the trip to Orange had been an early highlight of the Achilles season.
Footnote:
The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes
In light of some of the outrageous claims made during the trip, we have decided to implement our own “Orange Prize”. For copyright reasons, we have had to change the name and have decided to name the prize in honour of the inaugural winner.
Ben and Charlie put in a spirited effort in describing their own athletic successes and the failures of the other. Ben probably edged Charlie with his persuasive arguments on the benefits of a Big Mac Meal (Large) just before a race.
However, as mentioned, the new prize has been named after its first winner. Hence, we now have a Knobel Prize for Creativity.
It was awarded soon after a gut-busting charge to the finish line. The sprint home was accompanied by what sounded like a loud and unexpected expletive from one of our athletes. On being asked about the utterance, our sight-impaired winner provided a detailed explanation of how she felt the need to warn her guide of a fast-approaching, low-flying duck.
Six-Foot Track – Michael buckles
No, the heading does not indicate that Achilles member, Michael Levy (2010 Volunteer of the Year in 2010), has somehow failed to finish. Instead, it says that Michael has completed the arduous 45-kilometre race for the sixth time. This year, Michael completed the hilly Blue Mountains course in 6hours and 18 minutes. This was somewhat slower than his fastest time but was one of the most satisfying.
Michael, who completed is first 6-Foot in 2004, described this year’s race: “6-Foot is always a challenge, as you never know what it is going to throw at you. This year had all the seasons: sun, cloud and rain. The rain made the course very slippery, especially on the downhill sections.
“I was looking for a finishing time of about 5 hour and 40 minutes. Then, I was hit by the onset of leg cramps. This made it difficult for the last 10k. I knew that I had plenty of time up my sleeve to avoid being caught by the 7-hour Sweeps, who have the job of pulling unfortunate stragglers out of the race. It was just a question of hanging on as best as I could. I was very happy to finish and might just go and buy a belt for the buckle.”
Of course, if he runs another 6, the organisers of the iconic Six-Foot Track Marathon will present him with a belt. (We are not too sure of the number required to get a pair of trousers.)
Michael crosses the line. [Courtesy of Supersport Images]
“Talk to me not of time and place; I owe I’m happy in the chase.”
This year, Achilles would like to help more disabled runners and walkers to take part in the many community running events that are held each year.
Achilles members are consistent entrants in the City to Surf (August) and The Sydney Running Festival (September). In 2010, we added the Orange Runners Festival (March) to our list of regular events. These three events give opportunities over a range of distances to athletes of all abilities and are deservedly well-known for their “have a go and have fun” approach. Achilles members regularly enter other events such as the Rebel Run4Fun (February) and the Sydney Half Marathon (May).
We would like to encourage our club members to get involved in these and other events just to experience the challenge of joining thousands of other Sydneysiders in setting and achieving new goals in a carnival atmosphere.
During the coming weeks, we will be sounding out individual members and offering the services of our guides to those who would like to take that extra step….or two…..or three….or…..
Portrait of a Volunteer – Karen Parker
In recent newsletters, we have provided pen-portraits of some of our members. In this edition we feature a long-standing Volunteer and Committee stalwart, Karen Parker. The original exchange with Karen was in a Q&A format and we have chosen to keep it that way.
When did you join Achilles?
July 2003.
How did you come to join Achilles?
In 2003 I was running in the Corporate Games relay event in the Sydney domain and saw a blind runner (Charlie) being guided by a pilot. I enquired through the event organiser who the blind runner was and what organisation he belonged to. The organiser put me in touch with Nick and the rest is history. I’ve now been a member for eight years. During that time I was on Committee as Minute Secretary and General Committee for six years. I resigned from Committee last year but still actively participate in Sunday training and Club events.
What do you think of Achilles ?
Achilles is a wonderful volunteer organisation which has a wide and diversified group of volunteers and disabled members. We all come together with the same aim: to help people with a physical disability enjoy the benefits of exercise. It also has great social benefits as well.
What do you get out of Achilles?
Inspiration ; I look at what some of our disabled members achieve and the disabilities they overcome to achieve those things. It gives me a better appreciation of things that I would normally take for granted.
Other sporting interests?
I’m a keen golfer and enjoy the challenge of trying to get that little white ball in an even smaller hole! I recently introduced a golfing friend of mine to Bronwyn, one of our blind golfers. She was amazed when Bronwyn explained how she plays the game.
Memorable moments with Achilles?
Crossing the finish line of my first half marathon. I was ‘talked into’ it by the guys (think it was mostly Charlie and Nick) at Achilles that running a half marathon was no big deal. At first I thought they were crazy to think I could run for almost 2 hours. At that stage the longest run I did was 40 minutes. However, with training and lots of encouragement, I entered and finished. I remember thinking half way, “I will never ever, do this again. Why did I listen to those crazy people?” Well, I’ve now run five half-marathons and am hoping to be at the start line again this year.
Favourite Pastimes?
Lying on the lounge room floor, giving my golden retriever Molly a big tickle, whilst owning the remote – she lets me pick the programs!
Something nobody knows about you?
I can write Pitmans shorthand. This came in handy when Brian forgot his cheat sheet with the questions for this interview! He gave me the questions from memory and, amazingly, I was able to read it back.
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Karen and Charlie with Molly.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
Recently, Ellis sent out an appeal for Volunteers to join the Sunday Training Roster. That message is repeated here:
Hi All
We consistently have large numbers of our members with disabilities turning up for Sunday training. We are putting together a new volunteer roster for training. More volunteers are needed to be on the roster. This means that you commit to being at training at least once every 4 weeks.
So:
1. we need more volunteer guides to be placed onto the roster
2. we need volunteer guides not on the roster to turn up to training as often as possible. Of course, as I have made it known before, we rely very heavily on those people.
If you are will to be included on the 1:4 roster, please let us know ( info@achilles-sydney.org.au ) and we will slot you in.
I'm looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible one or more of these fine Sunday mornings - of course, there is no better place to be than at Achilles training!
Cheers
Ellis
Gathering outside the clubhouse for the start of the 2011 season
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:
2nd-3rd March 2012 - Hollows Foundation Coastrek 2012
4th March 2012 - Orange Running Festival
14-15th April 2012 - Canberra Running Festival
29th April 2012 - Nissan/BRW Triathlon
13th May 2012 - Mothers Day Classic
20th May 2012 - Sydney Half Marathon
12th August 2012 - City to Surf
