We have an awards ceremony every year to celebrate the successes of our runners, our coaches and the club. We’ve had to do things a little differently this year because as we’ve grown so much in the last twelve months it’s no longer feasible to ask our members to vote for their favourite coach as it just wouldn’t be fair on the coaches of the smaller clubs.
Therefore, we have pinched an idea from Sale Harriers, which is a well-known athletics club that has been in existence for over 100 years. They award an ‘Appreciation Award’ to one of their volunteer team every year and as the years go on, they add the names to a trophy. We decided to invest a little bit of money into making an extra special trophy for this purpose.
When deliberating about who would won this year’s award we sought feedback from different members of the team about this person and this is what they had to say:
“This person is a great coach, friend to everyone and encourager. They have been instrumental in my running journey and have believed in me, even when I haven’t believed in myself. This person gives up so many of their own runs to make sure others get the best out of theirs. A machine, this person has overcome many injuries to complete races. “
“This person has been my life saver over the last few years making sure I got out for a run whether it be doing a short 5k or training for the half. This person knows I don’t like running on my own & always makes time & will even come for a run with me after already doing a long run beforehand.”
“When we go on our runs she says she’ll run at my pace but I end up running hers. Even though I can’t breathe I know it’s her way of pushing me to make me help with my speed. I know this has helped as my times are improving all the time with each race I do. She has given up many a race to drag me round & will never let me give up which I have been truly grateful for (sometimes).”
“I first met this lady at the Sale Sizzlers races and the MileShy journey started from there. A true winner, and faster runner than me, this person is always ready to step in and support with coaching, even at our Old Trafford club when we are short. This person is a regular volunteer not just for us, but also Parkrun. We are very grateful for the time and husband negotiations that go on behind closed doors so that she can support us.”
The Appreciation Award for 2022 goes to Samina Ahmad. Thankyou Sam for everything that you do.
