When we shared our calendar of events with you at last year’s brilliant RRC Christmas Party and Awards Night, we thought that today we would be 13 races into our 24 race Club Championships.
We’d put together what we thought was a varied, challenging and memorable timetable of events and couldn’t wait to share them with you all. We started the year with so many of you at the beautifully scenic Preston parkrun, but in March, after just five races, everything changed.
Since then, all mass events, including the races we had planned, have been cancelled. In the last three months that’s eight of the events we’d hoped would have the famous RRC finish line experience.
You may be wondering where this leaves us for the remainder of the year.
Unfortunately we just don’t know at this stage. There are another 11 Club Championship races between 1 July and 2021, but we still can’t predict when events will be allowed to restart.
We hoped to see many of you enjoying the fells this year, some of you for the first time, and whilst it’s not going to be possible to manage the full championships this year, if any events do manage to go ahead we will of course let you know about them and encourage you to take part for the sheer love of it.
We take our responsibility for the Club Championships very seriously. We love seeing all of RRC coming together at events, and we want you to love them too. We know how much some of you enjoy competing with your fellow club members and, more generally, the camaraderie of these events. We’re talking regularly about what’s going to be likely and possible for the rest of the year, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty.
In addition, we know that the ‘new normal’ whenever it comes, may leave some people under trained or worried about taking part in busy events, even if it’s possible to do so.
For now, let us reassure you that we are continuing to watch the situation, taking into account the guidance from England Athletics and will consult with you all when we know what might be possible.
It can’t replicate the atmosphere of race day, but in the meantime we hope you’re enjoying the various weekly and monthly virtual challenges. Your feedback from the recent members survey has been invaluable and we are ploughing through all of your suggestions and fantastic ideas.
If you’ve got any other ideas please do reply to this email or send a message to either one of us directly. Don’t forget that outside the weekly or monthly challenges you can also use the members’ group to find someone to run with if you’d like to do this.
We will run together again, but until then keep going, keep motivated and stick together.
With our warm wishes and regards
Bev & Ann