Club celebrate a year of high achievement
Farnham Runners celebrated members’ achievements of 2022 at their recent dinner dance when the annual awards were presented. This time the event took place at the Bourne Club, Frensham Road.
The awards were presented by chairman Nicola O’Connor as well as club captains and vice captains, Justin Clarke, Jane Georghiou, Steve Payne and Linda Tyler.
The top five men in the club’s Grand Prix were Nik Darlington, Neil Ambrose, Justin Clarke, Ivan Chunnett and Chris Raby and the ladies were Kayleigh Copeland, Louise Granell, Linda Tyler, Sue Taylor and Bridget Naylor.
Richard Denby, James Goodwin and Bella Weetch were given awards for the most personal bests in Hampshire Road League races.
The men’s marathon trophy went to Nik Darlington for his time of 2:39 58 in the Edinburgh marathon while Emma Pearson won the ladies’ marathon trophy for her 3:17:21 at Brighton.
The prestigious Steve Parker award for the person who did most for the club in 2022 went to Craig Tate-Grimes for his dedicated efforts throughout the year, mainly in his role as race director.
Nicola O’Connor gave Richard Denby, treasurer and membership secretary the Chairman’s Award for his extra efforts to save energy at the Bourne clubhouse.
The Smiley Award went to Kate Townsend.
Flowers were presented to Linda Tyler and Jane Georghiou for their coaching on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the year.
Nicola presented additional prizes this year to some club members who stood out. They were
- Shirley Perrett (photo above) – for courage and determination and finishing the marathon with a head injury.
- Penny Schnabel – for coming back to running when she thought she’d never run again
- Colin Addison – for services to recording cross-country results
- Rachel Morris – for helping us become a more accessible club and for reminding us that everything is possible if we start by saying ‘Yes, we can do this!’
Louise Granell, the club’s communications officer, was presented with flowers for organising the successful evening which concluded with some very energetic dancing!