Pensby Runners AGM Held at Squash Club 25th January 2019 1915h

Present John Keyworth, David Green, Gordon Scholefield, Roy Fisher, Andy Morley, Nigel Crompton, Ian Chalmers, Anthony Dala, Ruth Issacs, John Suckley, Colin Lamprey, Dan Bruffel, Ralph Pawling, Steve Roberts, Chris Marsland, Andy Sumner, Patrik Corrigan, Steve Tilby, Stella Elliott Apologies Rob Beech, Catherine Howell, Gary Johnstone, Lesley Cummings, Leslie Keyworth, Rob Chalmers, Mark Smith, Pat Peers, Mark Roberts, Rob and Lisa Grantham

Charity Presentation Wirral Branch MS Society – John Galvin accepted a cheque to the value of £500 on behalf of the charity and gave a short presentation on the illness Wirral and North Prostate Cancer Support Group – Calvin Wood accepted a cheque to the value of £500 on behalf of the charity and gave a short presentation on the illness

Approval of Minutes of the last meeting 26th January 2018 These were approved by Gordon Scholefield and seconded by Ralph Pawling

Matters arising There were no matters arising

Chairman’s report - including 2019 adopted charity 2019’s nominated charity will be Wirral Branch National Deaf Children’s Society See appendix I

Fell Race report See appendix II

Cross Country report Rob Chalmers was unable to attend and provide a report. Briefly the numbers taking part are up with more new faces and lots of enthusiasm.

Seaside Run report See appendix III

Road Race report See appendix IV

Treasurer’s report See appendix V

Gordon Scholefield provided a summary to the meeting of the payment to Northern Athletics, the benefits to the members and how it is likely to reduce next year. Colin Lamprey asked for further details on the Christmas Party expenditure. The Treasurer advised that it was mainly food and room hire. Ian Chalmers commented that the food provided at the Christmas Party was poor. David Green said that arrangement would be made sooner this year which would hopefully lead to a better choice Ian Chalmers and Colin Lamprey suggested that members might wish to pay for the Christmas Party. The Treasurer explained that this was an attempt to distribute excess funds fairly which was accepted. John Suckley asked for the line item Stripe Fees/Domain to be explained. The Treasurer advised that this was to do with the on-line payments system and the upkeep of the web-site.

David Green explained the basis behind the new fee structure i.e. these were pitched to cover only the direct costs of membership. Any other expenditure would be covered by the funds brought in by the Seaside Runs. The new subscription rates are:- Standard Membership £40 Full membership £113 Under 25 & full time student - standard £34 Under 25, full time student & 2nd claim - standard £19 Under 25, full time student – full £89 Under 25, full time student & 2nd claim - full £74 Squash Club member £17 Squash Club member 2nd claim £1 2nd claim - standard £23 2nd claim – full £97

Ian Chalmers commended the committee on the second reduction of subscriptions in two years. Colin Lamprey stated that he wasn’t aware of the large contribution made to club funds by the Seaside Runs. He felt that this was not appreciated by the membership. Colin Lamprey asked whether “club colours” could be given as part of the membership i.e. a running vest or training T-shirt as part of the membership fee. Ralph Pawling wondered if the lack on “on the night” entries for the Seaside Run would lead to less income in the future and thus impact the benefit to the subscriptions. Gordon Scholefield explained that there are pluses and minuses with the introduction but its impact would be monitored. Dan Bruffel suggested that other clubs require that members volunteer to help at at least one race during the years. The accounts were proposed by Nigel Crompton and seconded by Ralph Pawling. The revised subscriptions were proposed by Anthony Dala and seconded by Steve Roberts.

Ian Shorrock has agreed to be the auditor again for 2019

Membership report See appendix VI

Election of officers Chairman incumbent Roy Fisher Vice Chairman incumbent Gordon Scholefield Secretary Proposed Emily Astley Proposer David Green, seconder Iain Arnison Assistant Secretary incumbent David Green Treasurer incumbent Andy Morley Assistant Treasurer incumbent John Keyworth Membership secretary incumbent Andy Sumner Club captain incumbent Nigel Crompton Club vice-captain Proposed Dan Bruffel Proposer Nigel Crompton, seconder Pat Peers Non voting member(1) Proposed Ralph Pawling Proposer David Green, seconder Dan Bruffel Non voting member(2) VACANCY

Motions from the membership a) Proposal to disband joint /Pensby Cross Country Team Proposer Ian Chalmers, seconder Rob Beech Before Ian Chalmers spoke to his proposal the committee gave a short report on the matter We initially contacted their Birkenhead’s president Andy Wareing who replied as follows: “ I and the few members that have competed in the NW Sunday Cross-Country League are very pleased for Pensby to take on the challenge alone, thanks for asking us. We will still take part and enjoy the challenges each course presents, hopefully we may get a surge as well. I and my committee wish you and Pensby every success and if you need assistance at Arrowe Park please ask.” Andy Wareing (08/01/19) Since receiving this positive response, we have contacted the League coordinator, John Cheetham, to formally propose the change and he has replied as follows: “There’s no problem with splitting the clubs, but can I suggest we leave it until next season so that we don’t have to re-jig the results.” (John Cheetham, 14/01/19)

Ian Chalmers spoke to his proposal……. Each year, I participate in the inter-club Cross Country race series. To score, each club needs six runners for a men’s team and three runners for a women’s team. 11 years ago, neither Birkenhead AC nor Pensby Runners could raise enough runners to form a team on their own. The good news was that by merging, they could field a joint team but the not so good news was that any Pensby Runners who raced, found their team results under the heading “Birkenhead and Pensby”. This arrangement took place in time for the 2007/8 season. Since then, Birkenhead’s numbers have decreased whilst Pensby’s have increased dramatically. At last month’s Arrowe Park race, Pensby fielded 16 men and 8 women. Birkenhead fielded just 2 men and no women. The women have fared worse with no Birkenhead women running in cross country for a while. I wish to propose that from next season we compete in the cross country series as Pensby Runners.

The proposal was unanimously agreed by those present b) Proposal that the family runs are adopted as official club events Proposer Stella Elliot, seconder Simon Rogers Before Stella Elliot spoke to his proposal Roy Fisher outlined the work already undertaken on this matter by the committee. Stella Elliot spoke to the proposal… The family runs have now taken place on the last Sunday of the month for over 18 months. Early concerns relating to potential safeguarding issues, though understood, are fully mitigated by the organisers being in possession of full DBS clearance, and parents/ grandparents accompanying their children at all times. The family runs are fun, introducing running with a mixture of warm up exercises that entails children loving their parent/grandparent also doing star jumps and press ups, coupled with games during the runs of around 2 - 3 miles. The runs are proving to be an effective springboard. Children are now entering a variety of more arduous races, with some furthering their running skills with specific coaching at Wirral AC. The proposal is that the club adopt the runs formally. This will support better communication by inclusion on the clubs website, and demonstrate how as a club we can contribute to 'growing our own'

The proposal was unanimously agreed by those present

Rob Beech withdrew his proposal before the meeting c) Marathon place for 2020 – Rob Beech Proposer Rob Beech, seconder Jayne Price

Ian Chalmers asked had all avenues been explored in trying to get the winner of the club Christmas Raffle a 2019 London Marathon place. The committee explained what had been done to try and secure a place but with no success. Patrik Corrigan (the winner of the 2019 place) suggested that he would feel uncomfortable where the club to commit to a £2000+ charity place on his behalf and was happy with the committee’s alternative approach Presentation to Achiever of the year This year’s committee choice for Achiever of the year arguably goes to one of the best athletes Pensby Runners has had. This award doesn’t always go to the best runner. Achievements come in many forms but this year the committee felt that this person was a very worthy recipient.

This member has won several fell races during the year including Hotfoot up Famau, Green, green grass of Home and the Clwydian Hills race to name a few.

His most memorable win of the year, in my opinion, was winning the Welsh 1000metres race on the 7th June. This is a race starting in Abergwyngregyn on the North Wales Coast and finishing on the top of Snowdon. 22 miles over the Carneddau mountain range, the Glyderau mountain range and then summitting Snowdon, some 7,500ft of ascent.

But it is not just on the fells that he excels. In November he came third in the Cyprus Running Challenge – a series of races over several days. He came second in the Sandstone Trail race (17.1 miles). He recently came 61st (out of 20,000 runners) in the Dublin marathon and was 1st placed V45 (out of 1919 V45s) and was selected to run for the Police for the UK. In fact he is currently 9th ranking for the marathon distance in the UK in his age group (V45) and 181st across all age groups.

The recipient of the Achiever of the year award 2018 is Rob Grantham.

Presentation for Overall Achievement

A second, very worthy award was made to Rob Beech, who in October 2018 ran his 100th Marathon at Chester in 3.04. Not only has he consistently ran around the 3 hour mark for the last two years, he's achieved numerous sub-3 hours.

He's been an inspiration to many in the club, encouraging many to develop their marathon running and for many to run their first!

He continues to go from strength to strength - recently running a PB in Four Villages Half Marathon in 1.20.44.

THE MEETING CLOSED AT 2100h

APPENDIX I

Chairman’s Report by Roy Fisher

Many thanks to Gordon for standing in for me last year.

THE CLUB:

I think this is my 19th year as Chairman. In that time the Club has in some ways changed a lot and in others it hasn’t at all. Yes, we’ve moved on with the technology and social media, numbers are greater, some of us are rounder and greyer and slower BUT this Club is just that – a group of like- minded folk who love running, or competing and benefiting from all that a good club brings – friendship, fitness, well-being, experience and banter etc. Pensby has got a core of members who are ever-present and many have been for seemingly decades. They are there ready to run, represent the Club, help, volunteer, go on the Committee and without them the Club couldn’t function. No less important are the others who are a bit sporadic in attendance but they really want to be associated with our Club and swell our numbers when necessary. Together we make Pensby tick.

Our membership is growing slowly and hovers around the 150 mark. We have many varied sessions each week to cater for all tastes and thanks go to those leaders – especially Gordon, Andy, Steve R, Colin, John S and others who step in when needed. Our Handicaps and Chairman’s Challenge are still well-supported as are our track sessions. We have more LIRF qualified run leaders this year and there are opportunities for more. We owe thanks to all involved in our monthly Family Runs designed to bring more fun into running and perhaps lead our younger associates into our Club in the future. Thanks to Stella & Peter, Simon, Colin, Rob, Ian, Steph and Helen and all the team and parents who help. Lastly in this section a big thanks to our Committee, who as volunteers, thrash out issues and put suggestions into action on your behalf. All the progress we make is down to their hard work. IMPROVEMENTS:

1. The new gazebo. After years of losing and breaking cheaper efforts we now have a Rolls-Royce of a gazebo. We also bought storage boxes for the roof and sides and a hand trolley to transport them from car to pitch.

2. Bar-code system. Although this isn’t new this year and has had a couple of teething problems it is a development that will benefit the club and make race/handicap admin much easier especially as we have so many new members joining in. More members are becoming conversant with the system which isn’t as daunting as some think.

3. Training T shirts and vests. We now have jade T shirts available from The Runners Hub and some have been seen as race apparel recently. Our new black training vests have been seen during the summer months.

EVENTS:

1. Seaside Runs – Our numbers are up over the year and new finishing technology has had to be employed to deal with this. The Grand Prix opted to use a Seaside Run in 2018 for the series and again in 2019.

2. TuffNutz – Broke even last year with a small profit. Numbers are up this year with 22 teams in the full race and 11 teams in the Semi up to now. We need volunteers for manning the TuffTasks and more.

3. Cross country – Thanks to our new Team Manager, Rob Chalmers, for his drive and enthusiasm. Unfortunately he has just broken his toe which has curtailed his involvement for the last couple of races of this season. We again were hosts for the Arrowe Park league race.

4. Multi-terrain – We were hosts for the first of the race series in September. Many notable performances were seen in the series. As yet the future of the Series is a little uncertain as Steve Saunders is not to carry on organising but we are hopeful it will continue.

5. Hilbre Runs – A great social event which was repeated due to its success. Very enjoyable and well-organised by Ian Chalmers. Not sure about the merits of a Boxing Day swim but then I didn’t do it.

6. Junior Park Runs – Not our event but they have started on our patch and several Club members are part of the organising team.

7. Litter Pick – A very successful exercise which was well-received both in the Club and by the public. Thanks to Rob Beech for the initiative.

PERFORMANCES:

1. Super Cup – Won by Ralph Pawling (again!) and Lucy Partridge.

2. Achiever of the Year – Jeff Adams followed his magazine debut with a further article in Fellrunner about guiding Ben, our blind runner, on the fells.

3. Rob Grantham had many notable performances and wins and was selected for the National Police Team.

4. Rob Beech completed his 100th marathon over the last couple of years at the Chester event. 5. Ursula Moore was third lady in a 50 mile Ultra and also collected her County Fell vest.

6. Nigel Pratten is still competing in championship events in the O75 category.

7. Many others in our Club have had notable performances and been successful in their own way.

AWARDS:

1. The Jack Lewis Trophy went to Steve Roberts mainly for his attention to newer members and leading our slower runners group. His work is often unheralded but not unnoticed.

2. Merseyside Cross-country Championships – Simon Rogers, Carole Morrison, Gordon Scholefield and myself all won awards in our age categories in the recent Championships.

3. Cheshire Cross-country Championships – Rob Grantham and Nigel Pratten also won awards in the Cheshire events on the same day.

4. Fell running – County vests were awarded to Ursula Moore, Lucy Partridge and John Hunt.

SOCIAL:

We have enjoyed many varied social events this year.

1. Annual Drinks Night – Andy Morley again organised this in Heswall and we sampled a few new venues and beers.

2. Post-Christmas Meal – about 25% of the Club attended the Jug & Bottle for this annual event organised by Dave Quirk.

3. Christmas Party/Do – We held this at the Squash Club with over 80 attendees. We had trophy presentations during the social evening.

4. Club Walks – Alastair Singleton has organised a recent walk and there is a flourishing group called PRoFs. Ask if you want to join in.

5. Matrimony – Ralph sprung a surprise on us by getting married – Congrats.

6. Hilbre Island events – already mentioned.

HUMOUR:

There have, as ever, been humorous happenings, comments, banter and photos through the year. My favourites –

1. Those diagonal selfies on Club Runs with Chris Davies’ face in the corner.

2. Colin Lamprey winning the Christmas raffle prize of ……. Red scanty panties!!!

FUTURE:

Much will be the same as previous years – if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it. However new ideas and suggestions are coming on board as well as a few new members of the Committee.

Many thanks to the outgoing members of the Committee – Jayne Price and Chris Marsland – for their work, effort and contribution to Committee discussion. They will be missed but there’s a big welcome to the new members coming in.

APPENDIX II

Fell Report by Nigel Crompton

It has been another busy year of fell running for the club with races at Ysgol Dinas Bran, Moel Eilio, Up the Beast, Hotfoot up Famau, Moel Y Gamelin, The Druid, Tal Y Fan (Ursula Moore 1st Lady), Green, Green Grass of Home (Rob Grantham Winner), Arenig Fawr (Nigel Crompton last), 2 Hillforts to name but a few.

The Winter league finishing in 2018 was won by Dave Green and Lisa Grantham and the Summer League by Dave Green and Lucy Partridge. The leaders currently of the 2018 / 19 winter league are Dave Green and Lucy Partridge in which 12 men and 5 ladies have competed so far.

In the summer we held a fell skills workshop and basic navigation course out in the Clwydian hills which was attended by 12.

The summer league saw fell debuts from Mark and Hazel Ezard and Gary Parker has been a regular contender for a couple of seasons now.

In May we saw members of Pensby selected for and run for Merseyside county in the Inter County championships – Lucy Partridge, Ursula Moore and John Hunt – at Lads Leap fell race in Glossop.

In 2019 we hope to build and attract more newcomers to the fells.

APPENDX III

Seaside Run Report by Gordon Scholefield

In 2018 we had our largest EVER field with 465 runners completing the July Race. Over the season we had an average of 272 runners per race, compared to 179 in 2017 and 73 in 2013!

As a result of the increase in numbers we made the decision to introduce online entry and chip timing. Although not everyone was in favour of this change the overwhelming response was positive. It has certainly relieved the pressure on the finish area and the workload involved in producing accurate results in a short timeframe. The system will be retained for 2019. We have made the decision to absorb a significant proportion of the additional costs but we have found it necessary to raise the entry fee by £1 to £5 for club runners and £7 for non-club runners, which still represents excellent value for money.

2018 also saw our July race included in the Merseyside Road Race Grand Prix for the first time, with many runners from across the water making their Seaside debut. We can now confirm that the second race in 2019 (April) will be included in the series this year.

In 2018 we also introduced a new First Aid team, Spark Medical, who provided an excellent service. The inclusion of a first-aid responder on a bicycle at the back of the field was certainly a positive addition.

2018 also saw a new Ladies course record of 17 minutes and 41 seconds. We also had a new Over 60 record of 18 minutes and 31 seconds set by Dave Gill, taking nearly 2 minutes off the previous record! We presented a cheque for £250 to the Friends of Lighthouse in recognition of their help with registration. We presented awards to the winner and runner-up in each age category (24 awards) and 89 Grand Prix Awards for completing 5 out of the 6 races.

An analysis of our final accounts shows that our net profit was £3761.10, which has been added to the club funds. We must, however, point out that this amount will be reduced in 2019 due to the fact that we are absorbing a significant part of the cost of the new entry, timing and results system.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to help with any of the races, their support has ensured the series has been so successful. We would like to say a special thank you to Mandy McGonigle and Fiona Doherty for their sterling work on registration, together with Andy Morley, Colin Sinnott, Paul Bibby, Norman Grundy, Emily Astley and Iain Arnison who were all regulars on marshalling duties.

APPENDIX IV

Road Race Report by Ralph Pawling

It was decided for the 2018 Road League, to follow the fixtures of another competition, the Merseyside Grand Prix. This was in part to allow Gordon and Mark, who were organising the Seaside Runs and the Road League at the start of the season, more time to work on the former series. It was also though a chance for the club to try out an event that we had no previously entered. The Grand Prix is a series of 10 events that takes in pre-existing races with distances between 5k and 13.1 miles. Clubs in the Merseyside area can enter for a small fee, and as well as allowing for interclub competition, individuals can pit themselves against other runners for overall and age category prizes.

As an experiment with a new Road League format it was a bit of a failure. Only 39 runners from the club took part over the course of the series and this number was inflated by the turn out for two races (the Seaside Run and the Birkenhead 5 mile), that are typically well attended anyway. Although on average there were around nine Pensby Runners at each event – in fact the mode was only 5 runners. Turnout from women at the club was particularly poor, with a number of events only attracting a single female runner, and the League winner only requiring two races to take the title.

However, those of us who attended regularly really enjoyed the atmosphere of the Grand Prix – which is akin to the feeling of a cross country event, and we can recommend some of the less well- known races as well – the Sefton and Walton Park 5 milers, for example, and the Halewood 5k. All small, locally organised and friendly races with great routes.

Results then – It was Simon Rogers who once again took the Road League title for the men, coming first Pensby in nine out of his 10 races. He was one of a very small number of runners in the Grand Prix to run all ten events, and impressively, not only was he the first vet 55 in the final standings, but also the 15th placed runner overall. A real achievement. Yours truly was second place – pipping Simon to the post in just a single race – with Dan Brufrell in third, and Tony Tarpey having a strong series to finish in fourth. In the women’s league it was Tracy Pennington who got top points, finishing in first place, with Victoria Ford in second place and Rachel Kenrick in third. In the Grand Prix team leagues our men finished 6th out of 14 teams, with our women’s team 13th.

In 2019 it’s back to the old format for the Road League, with the addition of the Wirral Seaside runs in their entirety, and the Birkenhead Parkrun.

APPENDIX V Treasurer’s Report by Andy Morley

NOTE: Amounts are capture Jan-Dec 2018, so things such as the profit for TuffNutz is for the calendar year and not for the event as a whole. The true profit or loss would be calculated Dec-April, being when the first and last entries are received. I do however, compare, like for like, year on year, so they are accurate for comparison purposes.

APPENDIX VI

Membership Report by Andy Sumner

Confirming member numbers already given out by the Treasurer - the numbers do differ slightly than the system.

We have had 3 people transfer / leave and 2 are still to officially transfer to us - so total number of members is 5 less than the Treasurer’s numbers show

After all the renewals we had 14 new members join us in the remainder of the year - someone even joined on Christmas Day!

Hopefully membership should rise now this year as we did see a few leave at renewal time last year.