Happy Birthday from this Thursday 30 April to Kachi Akpakwu, Christopher Castro-Neto, Henry McLuckie, Tim Saunders-Mullins, Adam Shiret, Gregory Thompson, Sam Trueman and Yuvan Vasanthakumaran

ENGLAND ATHLETICS ANNOUNCE ATHLETIC COMPETITION SUSPENDED TO 30 JUNE – EA announced on Wednesday 29 April that the suspension period relating specifically to athletics competition has been extended until at least 30 June. Link to EA full statement – Announcement – EA – suspension of competition to end June 2020 – 29.04.2020 (003)

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS CORONAVIRUS STATEMENT, UPDATED 24 MARCH – The following is a joint statement by SBH and Saracens SBH Coronavirus Statement 24.03.20 Rev A

CURRENT UPDATE ON UPCOMING FIXTURES – Can be found in the ‘Upcoming Fixtures’ further down.

CAN YOU HELP PLEASE – During the period when all competitions are suspended, I will do my upmost in keeping the Newsletter information and other content going.
I would welcome any contributions From Yourselves, any impending marriages, or additions to the family, any running or competing incidents, also past warm weather training/holidays (No Club 24 please).

YOU CAN JOIN TY HOLDEN’S CIRCUIT SESSION ON ZOOM – TY will be holding a circuit session on Zoom, which is a conferencing platform, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6pm. If you wish to join, please email TY at dtyholden@yahoo.co.uk and he will email you an ID number for you to join in. Zoom can accommodate up to 100 users at a time.

JOYCE SMITH AN INSIGHT INTO HER LIFE AS A MOTHER AND ATHLETE – The following article was written by BEN BLOOM and was published in the 26 April 2020 edition of the Sunday Telegraph. Photograph is of JOYCE when winning the 1979 Avon International Marathon in Waldniel, Germany in a time of (2:36.27).

JOYCE’S motivation has never stemmed from any particular desire to alter perception; it has always been far more matter of fact. JOYCE likes running. And if she wants to run, she will run.
When she won the first two editions of the London Marathon in 1981 and 1982, it was purely circumstantial that she was a mother of two aged 43 and 44 respectively. The opportunity had simply never been there before. Age was something she never thought about and being a mother was “normal”. Likewise, when she became what was then the oldest woman to run at an Olympics when she contested the first marathon held at the Games aged 46 in 1984.

When she decided to start running again after her 80th birthday – two decades on from initially giving it up – it was not to prove that she could still do it. It was just that, well, she wanted to. “I just thought, ‘I think I’ll start running again,’” she says with amusing simplicity. So, for the last couple of years, JOYCE has been joining her husband BRYAN – who still coaches at Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers – twice a week for training. Sometimes she does sets of 100-metre strides and other times the sessions consist of repeated uphill runs. “It makes you pick your knees up,” she explains.

The coronavirus pandemic has done little to halt her activity quota either. Now aged 82, her outdoor pursuits have been reduced accordingly to a daily morning walk to buy a newspaper, but her training regime remains as frequent as ever, courtesy of an exercise bike in her Watford home. “There are two sessions I do: a 30-minute steady cycle and a 10-second fast, 50-second easy session for five minutes,” she says. Of the latter, she concedes: “That’s quite hard.” On Sunday, the SMITHS should have been making their annual pilgrimage into the city centre for the London Marathon – a race that has been postponed until October due to the pandemic. Sometimes they sit in the stands and watch the runners flood by, while on many occasions in the past they have been involved in a more formal capacity. Indeed, as of last year, the first British female finisher is presented with the JOYCE SMITH TROPHY.
In so many ways, it is remarkable to think how far the women’s race – and female running as a whole – has developed in the decades since JOYCE triumphed at the inaugural event. Photograph is of JOYCE when winning the 3000m bronze medal in the 1974 European Championships in Rome, Italy in a time of (8:57.39).

As recently as 1967, when JOYCE turned 30, there was no such thing as female distance running for females, with women not considered capable enough of competing beyond 800m in international competition. Such logic is laughable now but, frustrated by the half-mile limit, it almost meant the athletics world was denied JOYCE’S talent, when she announced her intention to retire from competitive racing before the end of the decade. By the time she was tempted to return a year later, she had given birth to her daughter LISA and the landscape was beginning to change, albeit slowly.

At the 1972 Olympics, she made the 1500m semi-finals at the Olympics and two years later won European bronze over 3000m. But it was not until 1979, three years after the birth of her second daughter LIA, that the opportunity arose to finally contest a marathon in Germany. She smashed the British record and, having travelled by train from her Charing Cross hotel to the start line in Greenwich two years on in 1981, she was one of fewer than 300 women who made history by running the first London Marathon. Last year there were almost 18,000. Photograph is of JOYCE when winning her 2nd London Marathon in 1982 in a time of (2:29.43).

Aged 43, she triumphed in two hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds – the third fastest time in the world and quick enough to place her inside the top five in the annual British rankings every year since. A year on, she returned and repeated the feat, going 14 seconds quicker. “I never even thought of age,” she insists. “All my athletics career I just moved up in distance.
“I started off in the 800m, then 1500m and then 3000m. Then I moved up to the marathon. That’s why I ran for such a long time because there was a new challenge. And I was still managing to keep fit even though I was getting older.” Nowadays, leading runners command six-figure appearance fees just to contest the biggest marathon races, while JOYCE’S victory and time bonus would have earned her $64,000 (£52,000) from the race organisers in last year’s race, not to mention sponsorship money. Yet when JOYCE won, she did not receive a penny and relied solely on her income as a wages clerk for cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden. “When I won my first London Marathon they wanted to put a photograph of me up in their hair salon in Bond Street to say congratulations to one of their staff,” she recalls. “But they got told off. They were told they couldn’t do it because advertising wasn’t allowed in athletics.”

As for balancing motherhood with an international running career that spanned 25 years, she says it was “just normal”. “There was a big gap so the eldest daughter looked after the younger one,” she says. “The girls used to go to school and I’d go off for my first run. Then when Bryan got home I did my second session. “When I did my long runs on a Saturday morning they used to sit and watch Sesame Street or something.” Even now there are thoughts of what might have been. JOYCE remains adamant she could have run faster if given the chance to contest a marathon in her 30s and it is telling that only two British women – PAULA RADCLIFFE and MARA YAMAUCHI – have knocked more than five minutes off her best time.
Unfortunately, she operated in an era when sportswomen were restricted in what they were allowed to do. But as SMITHS showed, the talent was there. And if you head to the right hill in Watford, you will see an 82-year-old proving it still is.

JOYCE’S timeline
1937: Born in Stoke Newington, London
1960: Receives first international vest over 800m
1968: Gives birth to LISA
1972: Competes over 1500m at Munich Olympics
1974: Wins European 3000m bronze in Rome
1976: Gives birth to LIA
1979: Runs first marathon in Sandbach
1981: Wins inaugural London Marathon
1982: Wins second London Marathon
1983: Finishes ninth in marathon at Helsinki World Championships
1984: Finishes 11th in marathon at Los Angeles Olympics

BMC LAUNCHES BANNISTER VIRTUAL MILES – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website.

British Milers’ Club-organised time trial celebrates the 66th anniversary of SIR ROGER BANNISTER’S first sub-four-minute mile and raises money for charity. The British Milers’ Club (BMC) has launched the ‘Bannister Virtual Miles’, a remote training-based time trial event to celebrate the 66th anniversary of SIR ROGER BANNISTER’S first sub-four-minute mile.

“Keep going, keep going, keep going until a little something inside you says, ‘Keep going’.” Those words were uttered by the late, great founder of the BMC, FRANK HORWILL OBE, and they resonate more loudly than ever during the global crisis which we currently face. As a way to keep BMC activity going, and also raise some money for charity, the Bannister Virtual Miles will be held across three days, from May 4 to the actual sub-four anniversary day of May 6. Athletes can now enter for free at data.opentrack.run/x/2020/GBR/bmcmile

Entry closes on May 2 and is limited to 1609 runners. “Whilst respecting Government guidelines on social distancing and exercise restrictions, the club is responding in a creative way to the absence of competition for our athletes,” says BMC chair TIM BRENNAN. The club is keen to become a productive force for the collective social good. Event organisers STEPHAE GREEN and MATT LONG add: “We are looking for participants to make a voluntary contribution to a nominated charity helping people during the pandemic so that athletes can not only benchmark their training but play a role in enhancing the social good during a global crisis.” The club’s chosen charity is Turn2Us, which provides pragmatic support to assist those who are struggling financially. They have launched a coronavirus appeal to help those affected during these difficult times. The charity was founded by ELIZABETH FINN during the Victorian era way back in 1897 to combat poverty in an industrial age. In a post-industrial world, the charity retains its relevance as it is estimated that more than 14 million people are living in poverty, including 3.5 million children. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, evidence is suggesting that it is the poor who are suffering the disproportionate impact of lockdown, which makes the work of the charity so relevant to the current crisis.

Donations can be made at justgiving.com/fundraising/british-milers The club adds: “Would you listen to FRANK HORWILL’S words and ‘keep going’ with the British Milers’ Club in raising money for the social stood during a time of global crisis? Let’s exercise social responsibility in celebrating the legacy of SIR ROGER BANNISTER’S first four-minute mile by entering the Bannister Virtual Mile time trials between May 4-6.” The BMC would like to thank a number of people for their support in organising this event, including MATT DE FREITAS, JAMES THIE, MARK HOOKWAY, JAMES MCRAE, JONNY CURRIE and BRITTA SENDIHOFER.

TOM MCNAB’S THE BOARDWALK MILE – Was written by TOM following the death of ROGER BANNISTER on 3 March 2018.
The recent death of the great ROGER BANNISTER caused me to seek out a letter sent to me over fifty years ago. This was from an old friend ALEC BRECKENRIDGE, from Glasgow’s Victoria Park AC, one of Scotland’s top milers back in the 1950s. ALEC had dual nationality, as a Scots/ American, and had run (4.9.2) at his best. He eventually ran a marathon in (2.28.44) in 1960, and competed for USA in that event in the Rome Olympics.

Spring, 1954. The race to be first under four minutes was gathering pace. WES SANTEE was the American hope for the summer, while over in Australia JOHN LANDY had been churning out miles in the low fours week after week, and would soon be over in Europe. Time was short. But then there arrived the Atlantic City Boardwalk Mile, an attempt by the American half- miler MAL WHITFIELD to duck under four minutes in a straight, wind-assisted, paced run. OK, so it wouldn’t really count, but it would always be there, and would almost certainly put a few bucks in WHITFIELD’S pocket. And ALEC BRECKENRIDGE had been asked to be the pace-maker.
This was not the first such attempt. One of the greats of the 19th century, the professional runner “Crowcatcher” LANG, had run 4minutes two seconds in a straight mile on the Newmarket turnpike road on October 30, 1863. LANG ran 55-59-62-66 on his own, and I had always thought that the first half mile must have been slightly downhill, since this bettered the existing half-mile record.  But the BELL’S Life report makes no mention of any temporary or general downward gradient. But another account says that the entire road was slightly downhill, with the final 300 metres very soft. Whatever the truth, it was, by modern standards, a cross-country course, and with a pacemaker Lang might well have broken four minutes. But, to return to the Boardwalk, let ALEC BRECKENRIDGE speak for himself.

“A good field had been invited to compete in this straight mile on the wooden boards from the steel pier to Convention Hall. WHITFIELD had been saying that he felt that he could beat four minutes. I had not been running much, as I had been in my freshman year but I was invited to the race on the condition that I set a fast pace for 880 yards. The course was roped off to keep pedestrians aside and motorcycling police were also stewarding the course.
Each 440 was marked by a large banner and white line on the boards. I ran in tennis shoes, Whitfield wore indoor spikes. The start was tremendously fast, WILT and ASHENFELTER both setting the pace at 56.8 secs.
We had a following wind blowing us along, and I could not get to take the pace until almost 880, reached in 1min. 59.3 secs, and at this point another pacer joined the field (highly illegal). I felt that I had not done my duty, and decided to take them to a fast ¾ mile, actually about 3min. 3secs.
At this point, being in the lead and seeing Convention Hall not too far ahead, (440 yards looks like 220 on a straightaway) I kept my legs pumping, because I knew that WHITFIELD was on my back, and I actually finished four or five yards ahead of him. Through the tape my legs felt completely drained of strength, but I was happy with the result, 4 min.6.3 secs.
At this point, the officials decided that I was not the most colourful character in the race, and that I must be disqualified somehow, so they declared that I was not entered for the race, but was only a pacesetter. So, WHITFIELD was declared winner in 4 min. 6.9, and is still listed as the 1954 winner. The race was made more farcical when he announced that he had not tried to beat me because I was only a pacesetter.

I was given a small trophy inscribed “Boardwalk Pacesetter, 1954”. My coach advised me to forget the race and never to go near them again. This I did until last year, when I ran in some beach runs and in the AAU 15k.  I received a lot of favourable publicity… but we decided to forget the whole affair, one reason being that I felt that it was a fluke performance, being wind-aided, etc. “
Back in 1968, I sent ROGER BANNISTER a copy of BRECKENRIDGE’S letter. He told me that he had run against ALEC, but had up to this point known nothing of the Boardwalk Mile.
May 6th, 1954 – At this time an officer in the RAF, I was on a Fighter Command athletics course in Lincolnshire, and having toiled in the blustery wind on the rough grass track all day, was taking my rest reading a paper in the Officer’s Mess. Suddenly, the head of pole vaulter GEOFF ELLIOTT popped round the Mess door. “ROGER’S done it,“ he said.

OSLO ‘IMPOSSIBLE GAMES’ ANNOUNCED FOR JUNE – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website.
Traditional Diamond League meet will be replaced by behind-closed-doors concept featuring a world record attempt by KARSTEN WARHOLM.

Athletics action is set to return to Oslo in June but in a different format, with organisers of the traditional Diamond League meeting having announced the ‘Impossible Games’. The coronavirus pandemic has so far affected the first eight events in the 15-meet Diamond League series, with the postponement of the Eugene (June 7) and Paris (June 13) events confirmed on Thursday. On that day, the Bislett Alliance announced plans to host an alternative athletics competition under Norwegian coronavirus regulations on June 11 – the original date of this year’s Oslo Diamond League meeting.

The behind-closed-doors concept at the Bislett Stadium is set to feature a world record attempt by KARSTEN WARHOLM as the world 400m hurdles champion targets the 300m hurdles mark of 34.48, while Sweden’s world record-holder MONDO DUPLANTIS will face Norwegian SONDRE GUTTORNSEN in a pole vault duel at Bislett, but they will also compete against former world record-holder RENAUD LAVILLENIE, who will vault against them in his own garden in France. Other plans are for KAROLINE BJERKELI GROVDAL to take on a solo attempt at GRETE WAITZ’S Norwegian 3000m record of 8:31.75, aided by wavelight technology, and for a 200m hurdles head-to-head to take place between 400m hurdles and 100m hurdles specialists AMALIE LUEL and ISABELLE PEDERSON. Meet director STEINAR HOEN is also said to have had “positive dialogue” with Norway’s INGEBRIGTSEN athletes, but those events are yet to be decided and the programme is subject to changes. “Unfortunately, the rules on infection control make it impossible for us to have an audience in the stadium,” HOEN said, with an hour-long TV broadcast planned. “Together with (Norwegian broadcasting company) NRK we will do our best to make a meeting for the athletes and a great TV show for the fans.”

World Athletics president and chair of the Diamond League Board, SEBASTIAN COE, said: “This is really positive news for athletes and fans and promises, even in this early stage, to be another great night of athletics from the Bislett Stadium. “Congratulations to the Oslo Bislett Games for dreaming this up and following it through, working within the pandemic guidelines set out in Norway.” Organisers added that no athletes will fly into Oslo for the event, but electric cars will be used to transport athletes from the Swedish border.

FORMER UK ATHLETICS PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR NEIL BLACK DIES – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website.
Tributes paid to BLACK, who “dedicated his life to supporting athletes”

NEIL BLACK, the former UK Athletics (UKA) performance director, has died aged 60.

In a statement, the national governing body said Black had passed away suddenly at the weekend. His death is believed to have been of natural causes. A well-respected physiotherapist, BLACK had gone on to become head of sport science at the governing body and then performance director, a position he held from 2012 until last year when he stepped down in October. BLACK’S career in athletics had seen him start out as a middle-distance runner for Morpeth Harriers, with wins against the likes of SEB COE and STEVE CRAM. “I beat him quite comfortably, to be honest, but I’m sure he wasn’t that bothered,” BLACK told SIMON TURNBULL during a 2012 interview in The Independent, when asked about his win over CRAM.

Coached by 1966 Commonwealth marathon champion JIM ALDER, BLACK’S achievements also included clocking a 3:44.40 1500m as a teenager in 1978 but he was forced to retire through injury a few years later. He would go on to dedicate his time to working in athletics instead and became a mentor to many of the country’s top athletes, including 10-time global gold medallist MO FARAH. “I wanted to be the most successful athlete I possibly could and I felt as though injury stopped me from doing that,” BLACK told TURNBULL in 2012. “I transferred my obsession for training into my obsession for working – as a physiotherapist, as part of the medical team, and as head of science and medicine over the last few years. Now, as the performance director, it feels like an obsession to do the absolute best that I can.” Many tributes were paid to BLACK following news of his death, with British Athletics saying the governing body was “shocked and saddened” to confirm his passing. “NEIL loved the sport of athletics and dedicated his life to supporting athletes – as a world class physiotherapist, as head of sport science, and then in recent years as performance director for British Athletics,” the statement added. “Since leaving the role of UKA performance director in October 2019, he had been continuing to support a number of athletes and coaches as an advisor. “NEIL will be hugely missed by those that knew and worked with him.”

THE FOLLOWING SBH DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION CAN EITHER BE VIEWED, DOWNLOADED OR PRINTED 
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Front Sheet – Summer 2020 Fixture Card Front Sheet Final Issue 12-02-20
SBH 2020 Summer Fixture Card Fixtures, Updated 24-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures – Summer 2020 Fixture Card – Updated 24-04-20 Showing Cancelled & Postponed Fixtures
Track and Field Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/track-field/team-managers/
Road Running Team Managers Details – http://sbharriers.co.uk/athletics/road-running/team-managers/

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OF INTEREST CAN BE FOUND ON THE SBH HOME PAGE BY USING THIS LINK, THEN SELECT THE LEFT OR RIGHT ARROW – http://sbharriers.co.uk/
Allianz Park Membership, which gives SBH members 10% discount on entry to the Allianz Park stadium – Membership details and Form can be either printed or downloaded
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Club Hoody, information on how to purchase one, please go to the bottom of this Newsletter

SBH MIDWEEK JUMPS CLUB AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended. POLE VAULTERS REQUIRED FOR 2020 – Currently Suspended. STEEPLECHASE TRAINING AT ALLIANZ PARK – Currently Suspended.

WORLD ATHLETICS SUSPEND OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION PERIOD – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website,
World Athletics has announced that the qualification period for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been suspended until the start of December, ruling out any results which might be recorded from April 6 2020 to November 30 2020. During that period, performances will also not be considered for world rankings purposes. Results will continue to be recorded for statistical purposes, including for world records, World Athletics added.

The global governing body also confirmed that athletes who have already met the entry standard since the start of the qualification period in 2019 remain qualified and will be eligible for selection, together with other athletes who qualify within the new qualification period. Subject to the global situation returning to normal following the coronavirus pandemic, the qualification period will resume on December 1, 2020, and will run until May 31, 2021, for 50km race walk and marathon events and until June 29, 2021, for all other events. “I am grateful for the detailed work and feedback from our Athletes’ Commission and Council who believe suspending Olympic qualification during this period gives more certainty for athlete planning and preparation and is the best way to address fairness in what is expected to be the uneven delivery of competition opportunities across the globe for athletes given the challenges of international travel and government border restrictions,” said World Athletics president SEB COE. Some rescheduled events are currently set to fall within the window of suspension, meaning that results recorded at races such as the Virgin Money London Marathon, which is now due to take place on October 4 rather than April 26, will not count for Olympic qualification purposes. There are still plans for the European Championships to take place in Paris in August too but should the event go ahead, performances achieved there would also not be considered as Olympic qualifying marks.

Britain’s DAI GREENE was among the athletes to give reaction to the news on social media, with the 2011 world 400m hurdles gold medallist describing it as an “excellent decision”. “Short term safety is more important than athletes having to make risky decisions to chase qualification marks later in the summer,” he added. “Takes a lot of pressure off during an already stressful time.” While Britain’s European indoor 3000m silver medallist CHRIS O’HARE wrote: “European athletes still have to hit standards to qualify for European champs. Potential situation – An athlete runs an Olympic standard in a European Championship or British Championship (both apparently still going ahead) but it doesn’t count?”

ENGLAND ATHLETICS CORONAVIRUS HELP FOR ATHLETES – Many thanks to TUNJI who as reported on the 19 March newsletter is the father of NIAH AKINTOKUN. 
In these unprecedented times, I wanted to draw the club’s attention to some of the great resources available online. England Athletics is expanding its campaign to support Athletics and Running for everyone @home, with a focus on ‘Running @home’ support and advice. The homepage can be accessed here
There are many webinars, interviews and tips from top coaches and athletes on how to stay conditioned and focused.
In addition, there are some fantastic videos for 4-11yr olds on the Funetics webpage put together in conjunction with England Athletics.  The videos demonstrate parents and children (aged 4-11) taking part in FUN activities based on fundamental core movement skills: running, jumping and throwing. Funetics is a programme that has been designed to reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2. At this time when our children are currently schooling at home, we hope that these video activities will support the need for education to continue at home.  You can access the videos here   TUNJI AKINTOKUN MBE – Non Executive Director, England Athletics

WHEN THIS IS ALL OVER – It has just been announced that as the World Cross Country Championships is in Australia are on 20 March 2021, the Inter Counties in Loughborough will be on 20 February and the National Cross Country Championships will be at Parliament Hill on 6 March. Elsewhere the National Cross Country Relay Championships in Mansfield are on 31 October 2020, European Trials are on 28 November and the European Championships in Dublin on 13 December.

MULLER BRITISH ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Since the current pandemic resulted in significant changes to the competition calendar, British Athletics have been in constant communication with our partners at European Athletics, World Athletics and the Wanda Diamond League to coordinate the remaining schedule of athletics events in 2020, prioritising the safety and health of our sport and spectators at all times.

At this moment in time, we are still working on the basis that all British Athletics events – Müller British Athletics Championships Manchester, Müller Anniversary Games London & Müller Grand Prix Gateshead – will be going ahead although we will continue to adhere to all government advice and guidelines to ensure the safety of those involved.

PARKRUN 5K RESULTS – Currently Suspended

PARKRUN – Can you make sure that you are registered as ‘Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’, as the link I use to select all results only shows SBH athletes. If anyone is also officiating can you please contact me, and advise me where and when.

UPCOMING SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS FIXTURES AND OTHER FOR THE NEXT 4 WEEKS – Due to the Coronavirus situation, all fixtures until the end of April and part May have been cancelled. We have also been advised that the Lee Valley Athletic Centre fixtures have been cancelled until the End of May

The following fixtures have now been Cancelled
BUCS due to take place on Friday 8 May to Sunday 10 May
Hertfordshire County Championships due to take place on Saturday 9 May and Sunday 10 May 
Loughborough International due to take place on Sunday 17 May
Middlesex Young Athletes League due to take place on Saturday 23 May
UK Youth Development League due to take place on Sunday 24 May, Sunday 21 June, Sunday 26 July and Sunday 6 September
Middlesex County Championships due to take place on Saturday 30 May and Sunday 31 May
Eastern Young Athletics League due to take place on Sunday 31 May
Veterans League due to take place on Monday 1 June
Night of 10000m PBs – British Championships due to take place on Saturday 6 June 
National Preparatory Schools Championships due to take place on Monday 29 June
World U20 Championships due to take place from Tuesday 7 July to Sunday 12 July
English Schools Championships due to take place on Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July 
European U18 Championships due to take place from Thursday 16 July to Sunday 19 July
Olympic Games due to take place from Friday 31 July to Sunday 9 August

Virgin London Marathon and Mini Marathon due to take place on Sunday 26 April has been Postponed, and is rescheduled to take place on Sunday 4 October
National Athletic League due to take place on Sunday 14 June has been postponed
UK Championships due to take place on Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June has been Postponed, and is rescheduled to take place on Saturday 8 August and Sunday 9 August

PHOTOGRAPH’S – From time to time we have photographs of our members taken at meetings or presentations which we would like to use both on the website or incorporated within our report to our local newspaper. Can you please let me know if you do NOT want your photograph to be used. Also, I would appreciate if you could send me any photographs, which I can then publish on the website and newsletter.

CLUB EMBROIDERED RED HOODIES – Currently there are now over 750 Hoodies in circulation, this is the link giving details on how you can order your Club Hoody for £35, which includes having your name embroidered on the front Club Hoodies Updated 01-07-19

FACEBOOK – Photographs can be found on the SBH page.

CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF SHAFTESBURY INFORMATION – Currently I notify members (by email) using “MailChimp”. The reason I changed, was in November 2017 “Gmail” put a limit of 100 addresses that users could send to in a 24-hour period, and currently I send to approximately 850 members each issue.

On seeking technical advice “MailChimp” was recommended as the best way for SBH to go forward. There is one thing you should be aware off is that when you receive an email from me, the footer at the bottom has 4 options, of which one is “Unsubscribe Me From List”. Could I ask you not to select this as if you do you will be automatically removed from my distribution list.

SBH PRIVACY STATEMENT – In becoming a member, SBH will collect certain information about you. Can you please read the attached ‘Privacy Statement’ which contains Information on General Data Protection Regulations – SBH Privacy Statement Final April 2018

ALLIANZ PARK – Main Switchboard telephone number is 0203 675 7250.

CHARGES FOR USING ALLIANZ PARK – Currently the stadium is closed for athletics until the 31 May.

ALAN