CLUB CAPTAIN'S REPORT
As-Salamu-Alayum and Good Afternoon Everyone
Wow! What an amazing experience the past two years has been! I must admit that when I was nominated as club captain before the last electoral AGM, I had serious doubts. I had only been running with the club for a year and a half, I had only been running for two years in total, my time availability to the club was extremely limited and I felt I did not have the experience necessary for such an important role. However, the fact that I was nominated and that the club had shown me so much support in my own running goals, I felt I had to at least try to repay the members and especially the EXCO for all they had done for me.
Another motivating factor was a lack of support for long distance runners. Don’t get me wrong, we had on road support, emotional support and every other kind of support that ARD at that time could offer but there was very few long distance runners training regularly with ARD. I felt if I was Club Captain I might be able to offer encouragement and guidance at the training level and perhaps our long distance runner contingency would increase. Long distance running is my passion and I wanted to share that passion with all of my ARD family. I knew there was so much potential in our runners and that they would enjoy long distances if they would just give them a chance. I thought if I could work with some of those members then maybe they would be inspired to try marathons and even perhaps Ultras and then go on to inspire others to do the same. Hopefully a snowball effect would take place. I never would have imagined, just two years down the road, it would be like this! Algamdulillah!
In 2012, when I first started running with the club, we had a total of 13 marathon runners of which 3 were females. I think 5 runners ran Comrades, only 1 of which was a female. Hardly any ARD females ventured past the 21km mark at this time. In 2013, we now had 22 marathon runners, 5 of whom were female. In 2014, I accepted the position of club captain. By the end of the year, 39 ARD had run marathons of which 9 were females. We had 21 Ultra runners that year and 14 Comrades runners. This year, ARD saw 53 of its members cross the Cape Town Marathon finishing line, 29 of which were females! 19 ARD were at the starting line for Comrades in 2015. Currently, we have 33 Comrades entrants, 9 of which are females. Presently, the amount of ARD females who will run over 21km’s is amazing. We have gone from a predominantly 10km running club to a marathon running club in just three short years.
This type of growth shows that ARD is not about bringing in as many members as possible to the detriment of its currents members. We focus on developing our current runners we care about our runners accomplishments. We want to see our members continue to progress in their running careers and to support them to always push forward and to challenge themselves. I am so in awe of our members. They have achieved so much and grown into fearless runners who willingly face more and more challenges. So many have progressed from the initial motivation of losing weight to achieving faster times and conquering further distances. You have learned to value yourself based on what you can accomplish and not on how you look.
As I said last year, I consider my role as Club Captain to be like a cheer leader, inspiring, encouraging and supporting you wherever I can. I do this through a number of mediums. I try to run with everyone throughout the year to give on road support. I try to inspire through the videos and inform through the Newsletter and now through Facebook as well. With the help of many ARD members, we had great success with the training groups, particularly the Ultra/Comrades 2015 and the Cape Town Marathon training groups. Usually training for the Comrades is the most difficult part of the whole experience but this year it was an absolute blast! I do my utmost to be present at training every Tuesday and Thursday plus LSD’s and races. I appreciate and want to thank all those members who stood in for me when I couldn’t make it, especially these past few months as I was finishing up my studies.
I think it is very important that you know just how much the ARD Exco cares for all of you. Everything that they do, all of their sacrifices and hard work is for you, the members. It is not about gaining sponsors, recognition or becoming the next ‘Itheko’. The EXCO’s only goal is your happiness and assisting you wherever possible to achieve your goals.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for this amazing opportunity. I have learned and gained so much from my experiences and I am so grateful to you all.
Wow! What an amazing experience the past two years has been! I must admit that when I was nominated as club captain before the last electoral AGM, I had serious doubts. I had only been running with the club for a year and a half, I had only been running for two years in total, my time availability to the club was extremely limited and I felt I did not have the experience necessary for such an important role. However, the fact that I was nominated and that the club had shown me so much support in my own running goals, I felt I had to at least try to repay the members and especially the EXCO for all they had done for me.
Another motivating factor was a lack of support for long distance runners. Don’t get me wrong, we had on road support, emotional support and every other kind of support that ARD at that time could offer but there was very few long distance runners training regularly with ARD. I felt if I was Club Captain I might be able to offer encouragement and guidance at the training level and perhaps our long distance runner contingency would increase. Long distance running is my passion and I wanted to share that passion with all of my ARD family. I knew there was so much potential in our runners and that they would enjoy long distances if they would just give them a chance. I thought if I could work with some of those members then maybe they would be inspired to try marathons and even perhaps Ultras and then go on to inspire others to do the same. Hopefully a snowball effect would take place. I never would have imagined, just two years down the road, it would be like this! Algamdulillah!
In 2012, when I first started running with the club, we had a total of 13 marathon runners of which 3 were females. I think 5 runners ran Comrades, only 1 of which was a female. Hardly any ARD females ventured past the 21km mark at this time. In 2013, we now had 22 marathon runners, 5 of whom were female. In 2014, I accepted the position of club captain. By the end of the year, 39 ARD had run marathons of which 9 were females. We had 21 Ultra runners that year and 14 Comrades runners. This year, ARD saw 53 of its members cross the Cape Town Marathon finishing line, 29 of which were females! 19 ARD were at the starting line for Comrades in 2015. Currently, we have 33 Comrades entrants, 9 of which are females. Presently, the amount of ARD females who will run over 21km’s is amazing. We have gone from a predominantly 10km running club to a marathon running club in just three short years.
This type of growth shows that ARD is not about bringing in as many members as possible to the detriment of its currents members. We focus on developing our current runners we care about our runners accomplishments. We want to see our members continue to progress in their running careers and to support them to always push forward and to challenge themselves. I am so in awe of our members. They have achieved so much and grown into fearless runners who willingly face more and more challenges. So many have progressed from the initial motivation of losing weight to achieving faster times and conquering further distances. You have learned to value yourself based on what you can accomplish and not on how you look.
As I said last year, I consider my role as Club Captain to be like a cheer leader, inspiring, encouraging and supporting you wherever I can. I do this through a number of mediums. I try to run with everyone throughout the year to give on road support. I try to inspire through the videos and inform through the Newsletter and now through Facebook as well. With the help of many ARD members, we had great success with the training groups, particularly the Ultra/Comrades 2015 and the Cape Town Marathon training groups. Usually training for the Comrades is the most difficult part of the whole experience but this year it was an absolute blast! I do my utmost to be present at training every Tuesday and Thursday plus LSD’s and races. I appreciate and want to thank all those members who stood in for me when I couldn’t make it, especially these past few months as I was finishing up my studies.
I think it is very important that you know just how much the ARD Exco cares for all of you. Everything that they do, all of their sacrifices and hard work is for you, the members. It is not about gaining sponsors, recognition or becoming the next ‘Itheko’. The EXCO’s only goal is your happiness and assisting you wherever possible to achieve your goals.
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for this amazing opportunity. I have learned and gained so much from my experiences and I am so grateful to you all.