August:  Quote of the MonthWe delight in the beauty of the Butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve  that beauty.    ~   Maya Angelou

The  performances  we have been able to witness at the Tokyo Olympics over the past few weeks have been absolutely amazing and uplifting, from all competitors, not just those who have been awarded medals.

Like the butterfly in the above quote, before their dream of becoming an Olympian could be realised, the preparation, changes, training  and sacrifices  required, has taken months and in many cases, years to achieve.

How privileged and thankful we should be to these special people  who have allowed us to  share in their emotions, excitement and disappointments , through their chosen sport in Olympic competition  ! 

We also owe a huge vote of thanks to Japan for their decision to hold the 2020 Olympic Games against many odds in an uncertain world due to Covid19.  They too have sacrificed much and are to be congratulated. 

Victory Runners weekly activities are now into the last quarter with just another six weeks to go. The Athletics NSW State Cross Country Championships are still booked in to be held at Willandra on 25^th & 26^th September. Naturally this does depend a lot on what happens pandemic wise.

Despite numbers being a little spasmodic over the past month due to weather, school holidays and injuries,  results from our competitors are always very interesting.

For this reason the following  members deserve  a mention for their excellent attendance. Starting from the 1k distance,  4 year old Jai Burbage has competed in 16 weeks with a PB time  of  6:26  minutes.

10 year old Madeline Oke in the 2k distance has 15 weeks to her credit and a good PB of 8:26 minutes.

Paul Jennings in the 4k distance, not to be outdone by a youngster has also competed in 16 weeks and is very consistent time wise.

However, our Top Attendance  Award goes to Cristine Suffolk who has ran 17 weeks out of the 19 activities completed.  Cristine started the season with 4k and has moved up the 8k. and is extremely consistent almost to the second in both distances.  

Because Victory is pleased to have such a great range in age groups  attending, two members have shown great improvement  time wise in their selected distance.

Our youngest member, 2 year old Charlie Wells – Smith enjoys the 1k distance with his mum close by. This week he had attended a Birthday party before the 1k . Not sure if it was the great party food or just Charlie’s  joy of running but his little legs didn’t stop running from start to finish,  in record time  of  10:47 for his 1k.

Busy mother of 4 youngsters, Laura Prince has been making steady improvement over her 14  weeks of finding time to compete in the 4k distance and  has reduced her time by 5 minutes!   Well done Laura, you certainly qualify for the  Top Improver Award.

We have  been very pleased to welcome some extra competitors from the Shoalhaven women’s Hockey  team who unfortunately have not been able to play their weekly competition hockey games, due to too many teams being in the lockdown areas. In order to keep fit and active their coach suggested running / walking around Willandra  Saturday afternoon could be helpful.

Look forward to some nice winter weather at Willandra for Week 20 running / walking  activity, Saturday 14^th  August around 2.30pm for a  3pm  start.    New members always welcome.          

Results

Many thanks to Victory runners & walkers who accepted the challenge of extremely cold conditions of July. Your performances , from our youngest 4 year old to our 70 + year olds is very much appreciated.

Quote of the Month for July:
‘Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…. It’s learning to dance in the rain.‘ – Vivian Greene.

1k Distance	Time
Jai Burbage	6.54
Laura Burbage	6.57
Cailin Burbage	7.31
Coda Anthony   (Vis)	8.18
2k Distance
Madeline Oke	9.31
Lexie Burinaga	9.33
Tori Hill	10.17
Owen Harlor	10.45
Louise Harlor	11.54
Kylie Oke	12.21
Carla Hill    (2k wlk.)	19.35
Di Court	21.34
3k Distance
Joel Harlor	11.09
Evie Hill	12.49
Olivia Oke	15.10
Rob Oke	18.56
4k  & 6k  Distance
David Hill	21.08
Eva Moeller-Duhme	32.17
Laura Prince	27.12
Razz Wilkins   (6k)	36.45
8k & 12k Distance
Rob Pickard	45.42
Cristine Suffolk	38.57
Erich Moeller-Duhme	51.59
Irwin Burbage   (12k)	57.01