By the members, for the members!

If I had a PB for every time I heard a person say ‘I want to join a running club, but I am scared!’ then I’d have an awful lot of PB’s, perhaps even as many as Steve McMahon has run this week! (Well done, had to get the easy plug in here somehow).

That got me thinking about the first time I turned up to train with Sunderland Harriers and how my experience differed from others.

I ReMember it well. It was a cold Tuesday evening in late November 2014. After some time spent pondering what to do, I opted to leave my old training group and head on over to Silksworth track to link up with the Royal Blues. I completed my first training session with Ian Dixon and Noel Hitchcock. The biggest surprise for me that night was how accurate the pacing was through each rep as I tucked in behind Noel. In the first hour of being there I learned a lot in terms of how important it is to train right.

But that is simply one snapshot in a myriad of pictures. Albert James, men’s team manager for Sunderland Harriers, had a very different experience.

“The first time I turned up to Sunderland Harriers,” Albert recalls, “I was faced with a car park full of broadcast vans and the track was awash with BBC reporters, Sky Sports reporters and journos from almost every tabloid newspaper you can think of. Not because I was dropping my son Oliver off for his first session but because someone had decided to “catch the bus up in Kielder’. When I turned up the following week there was Craig Isherwood, Nathan Reed, Mark Hood. Then Weyney and Ian Dixon and the quality seemed to snowball. It’s almost 3 years on now and believe me, something special is happening at the club.”

Not every training session is steeped in the glamourous lights, camera, action world of T.V reporting though, as Jimmy Johnson recalls only too well in his more recent memories. “It was the Tuesday before Christmas in 2014. It was lashing down with rain. I decided to join the club because the training I was doing with my previous club was not great and I wanted to improve. A lot of people doubted I could do this. Glenn Forster was the first person I saw at the club. He told me to “listen to the coaches and you will do well.” I expected I would have to work hard such is the standard set at the club but I knew if I did, it would make me better. What surprised me the most was how my body adapted to the increased training. It was tough going from running 2 times per week to at least 4 but joining the club is the best decision I ever made in sporting terms.”

It is clear Jimmy’s decision has paid off handsomely as a quick scan down his ‘Power of 10’ profile will testify.
Next up to add their musings was a member of our female section, Donna Corrigan.

“Almost 3 years ago, Steve Tiltman met me at the club. I must admit I was bricking it! Steve introduced me to Eddie Maddison and the girls who took me under their wing. From that day I became a Harriet. The best day ever! I did try a couple of other clubs before Sunderland Harriers but this was the place that made me feel most welcome.”

Did someone mention Eddie Maddison? Here is the man himself; “It was 1982 when I turned up to the old Silksworth Farmhouse that was used as our changing rooms in those days. During my first night I was paired with Ray Donkin. Ray had a wicked sense of humour and when I asked him “what are we doing tonight?” he replied with “10 mile at 5.45 pace!” If that was not fast enough he then told me “If we feel ok we can always speed it up a bit!” I managed 5, not quite at the same pace as Ray though! Still, I enjoyed it so much I still turn out at the club to this day!”

“My first night was in September 2015.” Paul Pickford tells us, “My motivation was to lose weight and improve my times as suggested by Tony Allinson at the time. The first people I met were Eddie and Lenny. I was very nervous that night worrying I may struggle compared to other members but this turned out to not be the case. The first session I took part in happened to be hill repeats on Strawberry Bank and I surprised myself as to how well I did. Almost one year later and I am now a much improved runner.”

Deb Howell is another who has seen a boom in her fitness and running times since joining Harriers and I was interested to hear about her experience.

“I was overweight and unfit in February 2013 so I decided to pack in the dirty cigarettes and take up running. At the time, I could not even run for the bus! I signed up to run ‘Couch to 5k’ with friends but due to weighing over 13 stone I struggled. I did not give up though. One thing I do not do is quit! I turned up at the Harriers alone one night and met Eddie who welcomed me and said we would be running 5 miles. 5 miles! I worried. I had never ran 5 miles in my life without stopping but Eddie showed faith in me and sure enough I managed to do it without stopping. I have never looked back since. I may not be the fastest Harrier but I am part of a fantastic team as I continue to improve. I have even dropped a couple of stone along the way and have never felt as fit as I do now. Not bad for a 50 year old!”

Deb is just one of many inspiring stories that may never have transpired if she had not been brave enough to take that first, initial plunge.

There is a one man in our club who has, to use a cliché, become part of the fittings. A true Royal Blue legend who in his many years with the club has been the driving force behind its sustained quest for glory. Some would argue that without this man, the landscape of athletics in Sunderland and the North East would not be as strong as it is today. That is why I wanted to ask our Chairman, Kevin Carr to ReMember his first time at the club.
“I joined the club when I was 15 in May, 1960. I have now been a member for 56 years. It was my father who encouraged me to join the Harriers. I had always been interested in athletics and remember in 1956 getting up in the middle of the night, when aged 11, to listen to the Melbourne Olympics on the wireless. I used to organise races in Plawsworth square, we lived in Padgham Road then, and we held our own Olympics with Marathons to Penshaw and back in the summer holidays. Ken Jefferson lived over the road to us and he was a regular competitor. I enjoyed running but I was only an average runner. At school I finished 11th in the Sunderland Schools cross country championships at Seaburn and 75th in the county schools.

We moved house to the top of Bede bank at Humbledon when Pennywell was beginning to go downhill. It was only a couple of minutes jog away from the club who then met at Bede Grammar school. The first person I met at Harriers was Charlie Gardner who was a bit of a character. The track at Bede was grass and 6 laps to the mile. The back straight was uphill! As a senior I ran 13.58 for 3 miles on that track. It was Charlie who would tell me what to do and to this day he still writes to me in his own imitable style.”

So, we have heard from a diverse range of club members and through them, ‘Harriers History’ lives on. The main aim of this episode of ‘ReMember’ is to encourage anyone who is willing but apprehensive about joining an athletics club to take the plunge and turn up for the first time, simply to give it a go regardless of what their goals are, whether it’s like Deb’s to get fit and healthy or like Jimmy and Paul to improve their times. Who knows, you may even find yourself as a future club legend like Eddie Maddison and Kevin Carr. One thing is for sure though, all of the above is only possible by doing one thing… taking that all-important first step.

Sunderland Harriers meet at the Silskworth running track in the changing rooms at the Ski Lodge on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7pm.