Southville RC Newsletter February 2025
Hi Everyone,
Annual General Meeting minutes
Thanks to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 14th. The minutes of the meeting are attached here.
If there are any corrections or omissions, let the Secretary know.
Social news
We held our first SRC social of the year this week on Tuesday, and many of us stayed after running to enjoy curry and a drink at the Southbank. Thanks to Laura Pease and Sophie Patten for organising.
Our next SRC social is coming up soon on Friday February 14th, and we'll again be in the Southbank for Skittles Night.
If you're new to the club, it's the perfect event to get to know your fellow runners. Teams will be randomly assigned on the night; friends and family are welcome but you don't need to bring anyone. Nor do you need to bring any talent; skittles is very easy to play and we'll be explaining the rules on the night.
The start time is 7.00pm, aiming for a 7.30pm kick-off. Please arrive promptly at 7; if you arrive late, we may not be able to get you into a team.
Entry will be £2 in cash on the night. Keep an extra pound coin in hand for the post-game round of Killer.
There's also a bonus SRC run night this Wednesday 5 February, when once again we'll be teaming up with Kinisi Run Hub on East Street.
You'll have a chance to try out the new Altra Fwd Via running shoes, followed by a relaxed 5k guided run, and drinks and snacks afterwards back at the shop.
New Welfare Officer and Kit Officer
We're pleased to announce that Ally Noble has volunteered to replace Jess as the club's Lead Welfare Officer. Ally brings a wealth of experience to the role from her background in education and volunteering with adults with English as another language.
If you have any concerns about safeguarding, the conduct of an SRC member, or a dispute within the running club, our Welfare Officers Jasper and Ally are here to help; just contact welfare@southvillerunningclub.co.uk.
We're also grateful to Drew McLellan who has taken over Sam Lewis' role in organising our kit orders.
Race Roundup
Here are some of the racing highlights for February which are open at the time of writing:
The Wiltshire 10 on Sunday 9th is a road race starting from the King George V Playing Fields in Melksham. The route follows a gently undulating course through rural Wiltshire and loops around the historic village of Lacock.
The next Weston Prom Run will be Thursday 20th.
There is always a big SRC turnout for the Ironwood Challenge on Sunday February 23rdin Long Ashton. The race features about 6 miles of forest trail and challenging hills (including the famous rope climb). After the race we usually head back up the hill to the Miner's Rest.
In other race news, we will shortly have an SRC discount code for the Towpath race series which will save you £5 per race, so don't sign up until we have that confirmed. Once we have received it, the code will be made available via the members-only WhatsApp channel.
For more events, see "Dates for your Diary" below.
Monthly online payment option - coming soon!
Thanks to the hard work of Drew McLellan, SRC webmaster Mark Chesser, and our once and current Treasurers Andy Ventham and Dave Unsworth, we should shortly have an online payment option to run alongside the 50p in the tin.
You will be able to set up a monthly payment of £2.50 per month to SRC which will mean you no longer have to bring 50p to put in the tin. £2.50 is roughly equivalent to 50p a week while covering the fees we have to pay to Stripe. You can even save money if you run with us on both Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Bringing 50p on the night will still remain an option, with our new and less regular runners in mind.
Once the testing phase is complete, details of the new payment option will be sent via this email and the WhatsApp channel.
Parkrun
Parkrun is a free weekly timed 5k run that takes place every Saturday all over the country and all over the world. There are also 2k Junior Parkruns for those 14 and under.
Tomorrow on 1st February will be the first Saturday of the month, which means an extra large SRC turnout at our home parkrun in Ashton Court, and in the manor's café afterwards.
Our tourism day this month is Saturday February 15th, and we'll be heading to Chippenham parkrun. The course is a 2+2 lap course with a multi terrain mixture of grass, trail and tarmac, mostly flat with one hill.
If you're looking for a lift or able to offer one, our members-only WhatsApp community has a dedicated parkrun channel.
Saturday March 1st will be an extra-special first-Saturday; we'll be doing another Parkrun takeover at Ashton Court, where we'll fill all the volunteer positions and give back to our home parkrun.
Thanks to the kind folks in our WhatsApp parkrun channel, all the positions were covered just 4 hours after the takeover was announced, which is a credit to SRC's volunteer spirit. So do put it in your diary and come down on 1st March to be cheered on your morning 5k even more than usual.
Dates for your Diary
🧡Sat February 1 - SRC @ Ashton Court parkrun
💚Wed February 5 - Kinisi shoe demo and run
🥳Fri February 14 - SRC Skittles Social
🧡Sat February 15 - Parkrun tourism, Chippenham
🏁Sun February 9 - Wiltshire 10
🏁Thu February 20 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Sun February 23 - Ironwood Challenge
🧡💚Sat March 1 - SRC parkrun takeover, Ashton Court
🏁Thu March 20 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Sun March 23 - 20/20 Fission (Berkeley)
🏁Sun April 6 - Big Cheese (Cheddar)
🏁Sun April 13 - Frenchay 10k
🏁Thu April 17 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Sun May 11 - Great Bristol Half / 10k
🏁Thu May 22 - Weston Prom Run
🏁Fri May 23 - Towpath Mobmatch 10k
🏁Fri June 20 - Towpath 10k
🚌Sat July 5 - Cotswold Way Relay
🏁Fri July 25 - Towpath 10k
🏁Fri August 15 - Towpath 5k
All the best,
Southville Running Club
info@southvillerunningclub.co.uk
