Whilst January 2024 draws to a close, TTGers have continued on, come wind, rain (and floods) or shine. The lack of races over the winter months allows us to write about other club business in the roundups, before the main race season starts again for 2024.
Weekly Training Sessions
Members have been out at both club sessions (that have continued what ever the weather) and also on the weekends. Coached running has faced sub-zero temperatures, high winds and rain but to their credit members have shown up time and time again and thankfully, the coach has too.
It is worth noting that the coached sessions and led bike rides are risk assessed and do not take place if there is a risk or danger to members due to the weather or road conditions.
In addition to the above, plenty of other members have braved parkruns, their own runs or have quietly gone about their business and the majority of this is shared in the club WhatsApp group chat.
Q & A Social Evening – 15th January 2024
A successful evening was hosted by the Coaches and Committee at Churchdown Community centre. The idea of the evening was to allow members an opportunity to speak freely with other members and discuss different races. To speak with more experienced members about the different races they have done but also to pass on advice and tips to each other.
The evening was well received and a valuable opportunity for members to both socialise and chat, away from a pool, bike or run. It was also a chance for our Hartpury University Student, Ben, to come along, and speak briefly and carry on with his research into our club before he is able to feed back to the committee.
If there are any questions that have arisen since that evening, please as always ask in the members group and hopefully the appropriate person can reply to you.
TTG does the Velodrome
The long awaited trip to the Geraint Thomas Velodrome , Newport, Wales took place on Sunday 28th January 2024. When it was first suggested, we were worried that initially there would not be the interest after last year, but thankfully, there was sufficient interest, along with some guests to book and head on down to South Wales. In the end 20 odd people, a mixture of members and guests, old and new, took to the wooden boards on rented bikes to experience track cycling first hand. Under the watchful eye of PDQ Coaches Jason and Andy, the attendees were quickly split into two groups, those who had and hadn’t track cycled before.
Nerves were displayed on faces as people took the track and started doing laps of the 250m track, whilst the other group was in the centre zone of the track getting a brief introduction into track cycling and the dos and do nots of the discipline.
Each group took it in turn in 15 minute segments to practice what they had been told by the coaches, with the more experienced group giving a team time trial a go at the end.
Videos and photos were taken by participants and are available to view here.
All in all the day was well received and the nervous faces were turned to beaming smiles and feedback to me was positive. PDQ coaching run regular sessions for beginners/novices throughout the year which you can book onto, details of which have been added to the WhatsApp group. I for one will be looking into attending again in the future and will let others know should they wish to come with me.
What’s coming up in February
Club business –There is a committee meeting due to be held on the 12th February 2024. This is one of several meetings that are held throughout the year to ensure that the club is operating within its means and in the interest of the members. For newer members, you can find a list of the committee members in the description on the WhatsApp Chat or click here to see the committee members and bios. Our Member reps will reach out soon for any feedback you wish to pass to the committee, that being said, if you wish to contact someone sooner, please do. At the next meeting, we hope to finalise a date for the club Annual General Meeting (AGM) and that will be publicised to the membership when the date is known. It is another opportunity for you to come along and have a say in the running of the club and be updated about the clubs business. If nothing else, a chance to catch up with other members.
Mayhill Massacre – The hilly run rears its head again for athletes to pound the slopes of Mayhill on 3/4 February 2024. At the time of writing there are approximately 6-8 TTGers competing this year, slightly down on last year.
Tewkesbury Aquathon Series – The annual three part Tewkesbury Aquathon series begins at the end of the month where there is a chance to put into practice some of the winter training with a 400m swim, Transition of sorts, and then 5km off road run. The first of the three races is on the 24th February 2024 and there are a few TTG names already on the start list. It was a good little series to do last year, so why not come along and give it a go, or just come and support fellow members braving the cold .
Meet the Coaches
With a new influx of members, alongside a new couple of additions to the coaching team, a new little segment for this monthly round up is a “Meet the Coaches”. So newer members can put some faces to the names but also to keep longer serving members abreast of changes .
Currently the Club has two BTF LEVEL 2 coaches .
Charlie has taken the majority of the swimming and running sessions as well are leading rides over this winter period, whilst Tim has had a break. However, Tim will hopefully be back in due course and we will see him either poolside or at the running session in the near future. Tim also coaches the Youth section.
The club also has a BTF Level 1 coach
Chris completed his level one coaching under the old coaching format, which has now be changed to foundation, and is currently working towards his Group coaching which was formally BTF Level 2 Coach. Swimmers in particular will notice Chris has been leading Monday night swim sessions for members as he works towards his group coaching qualification.
The club has two coaches that are currently working towards Foundation level coaching.
Both Richard and Jon are currently completing their Foundation Coaching course. Richard, or Tricky as he is more commonly known, regularly leads rides on a weekend. Jon was a run leader at Kingsway Runners prior to coming to the club, but regularly leads rides or social runs within our club arena. Over the coming months, you may see Jon or Tricky assisting more with coaching a session as opposed to taking part. Please, as with all of our coaches, give them your full support to help them develop their skills which will benefit you and the club as a whole.
And that is a wrap for January 2024……
