Dear John Fisher Runners
After 30+ years at John
Fisher Miss Tomes is retiring from teaching this year. She will still be an
integral part of the cross-country team and will be coming to many of the events,
thus continuing her long-standing association with the sport at school.
On behalf of all the runners
current, and the hundreds in the past I would like to publicly record my thanks
for her years of dedication running the sport in school to such a high level. The
successes our boys have achieved at local, regional and national level are all
attributable to her and from September I will be attempting to continue in her
example and see cross-country continue to expand and flourish.
Our sport is one of the
toughest there is. Mr Gold regularly states that he believes the hardest sportsmen in the school are the cross-country
runners and I totally agree. The courses are often long and lonely when the
field spreads out. The terrain can be anything from woodland to tarmac and we
run in all weather, rain, sun, frost or snow. The cross-country runner thus
accepts the many challenges the sport represents and relishes them, remembering
the adage: ‘if it was easy, everyone
would do it’.
Whilst primarily an
individual battle between the runner, the course and his fellow competitors, it
is also a team sport with every runner’s final position helping the team’s
overall place, and relay competitions pitting four runners together, defendant on each other’s performance.
Whilst running well and
finishing near the front of the field is fantastic, total respect is due also
to those runners who run regularly to represent their school and finish lower
down. For them their dedication will see improvement in time and position.
My aims for cross-country at
John Fisher are simple
- Continue to see John Fisher athletes running at the highest level
they can achieve, locally, regionally and nationally.
- Encourage a wider participation.
- Increase the profile of cross-country throughout the school.
Here are some of the steps I
plan to take to achieve those aims:
Firstly I would like to
encourage you to visit the new John Fisher Cross Country blog at www.jfsxc.blogspor.co.uk It has the
Kennedy Cup Report from Easter and next
seasons fixture list – although this may be subject to change as we get
close to the season. I will be publishing team lists on the blog and
reports/photos from the season.
Secondly I would like to
encourage all runners to maintain a level of fitness over the summer months so
that we can hit the ground running in September. With this in mind I have
organised a
pre-season meeting and run on
Wednesday 26th August from 1.30-3.30 at Plough Lane. Mr Gold has
arranged for a specialist Sports Conditioning coach to attend and address all
runners about the approaches to pre-race and post-race, as well as advice on
nutrition and training methods. The run will be of a gentle nature and if you
have yourself run regularly over the holidays this will not be an issue for you
at all, if you have not it will be the start of your return to race fitness!
Thirdly I plan to
re-introduce weekly training sessions, for the Junior and Inter teams
specifically but perhaps also Senior. I will arrange these when the new term
begins and will post the times and places on the new blog.
Lastly I would ask you to
visit the online school sports shop at www.samuraiclubshops.com/jfs/
or through the Sports Links on the school website and see the kit available for
cross-country. Some of the older boys have the cross-country hoodie and it
would be great if we could all have the same kit. I am also investigating the
possibility of ordering cross-country ties for senior runners who have shown
commitment over a number of years, and even a specific senior cross-country
vest.
Finally I would like to
reiterate that we have a deserved national cross-country reputation and are
invited to the most prestigious events in the country. Let’s continue our proud
tradition, raise our standards even further and have an enjoyable 2015-16
season.
Yours Sincerely
Mr D.Fell
Master i/c Cross-Country
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