February – the month for Lovers, so they say, so how about falling in love with running? West Coast Runners are a small friendly club that will always give you a warm welcome whether you want to start running, returning to running or just wanting to meet up with like-minded people and maybe enter a race or two. Whatever your target is there will always be someone to run with you to help you fall in love with running. So, what have you got to lose? Why don’t you take that first step and join us at one of our weekly runs, our schedule is updated monthly and can be found on our Facebook page or contact Di on 97761015 or Gerry on 99926291 for more information. We look forward to meeting you.
2024 Christmas Lunch & Awards Presentations
West Coast Runners ended their very successful year by holding their annual Christmas Lunch and Awards Presentations. This year we all enjoyed a delicious lunch at Martika’s Kitchen in Tala. The food and service by the excellent staff was appreciated by everyone.
Following the lunch, the awards presentation took place with Trophies presented to members of WCR as follows:
- Handicap Winner. – Neil Bithell
- Most Improved Runner – Louise Robinson-Georgiou
- Runners Runner – Louise Robinson-Georgiou
- Club Member of the Year – Vivienne Couldrey
- Chairpersons Best Supportive Runner Trophy – Christine Bell
Many congratulations to all those members who received a well-deserved Trophy in recognition of their individual achievements during 2024.
We should also mention that the Trophies were once again sponsored by Running in Cyprus, the organizers of the Logicom Cyprus Marathon, we thank you very much for your continued support of West Coast Runners.
As this time of year is quiet, we would like to introduce a new item for our monthly press release – Member Profile. Our first member is Maureen Summers.
Maureen lives in Perth, Scotland and has been visiting Cyprus regularly for the past 19 years. A keen runner, she spotted West Coast Runners one Saturday morning about 6 years ago at the Lighthouse and came over to speak to us and happily for us, she decided to join us. Maureen started running when she was 40 years old, hopefully she doesn’t mind us revealing she is now 81 years old. The Great North Run Half Marathon is one of her favorite races which she has completed around 20 times, she has also completed 30 marathons too! When she started running Maureen applied for the London Marathon without any luck for 3 or 4 years until 1988 when she was aged 45. Her finish times were fast enough to earn a ‘good for age’ place every year for several years. In 2000 she completed New York City, Portland Oregon, and the London Marathon.
So, why did she start running at the age of 40, having hated gym and athletics at school? It turns out there was a challenge at her workplace to do a 3-mile run which she entered with a friend. They finished but had to lie on the grass afterwards for about half an hour to recover! After that, they both decided to try running around the park or the local woodlands 2 or 3 times a week and gradually increased the distance to 5 or 6 miles. Then they decided on a goal – the Glasgow Marathon, which was in about 6 months’ time. They bought a book on how to train for a marathon in 6 months and followed that guidance. It was a very wet and muddy race, having rained solidly for a week, but she finished in 4 hours 34 minutes. She went on to do this race for 3 years in a row from 1985 to 1987. She is also a keen walker and as well as doing the 96-mile West Highland Way twice, she went to Machu Picchu, on her own, in October 2000. She reckons the altitude training helped the following month in the New York City Marathon. She is an intrepid traveler, one memorable solo trip was to Tioman Island in the South China Sea off Malaysia which she travelled to from Singapore. This involved long journeys by bus and ferry to the island where she stayed in a beach hut for 4 days. The hut was approached via a boardwalk and surrounded by trees full of screaming monkeys. She did snorkeling and scuba diving – even though she doesn’t swim! A bit of a daredevil, she has also done a tandem paraglide at Queenstown, New Zealand. When she isn’t running and hiking, she is also active in charity work and sits on the boards of charities for mental health and for carers. Indeed, she very modestly let slip that she was awarded an MBE 28 years ago for her charity work.
To get back to the subject of running, it turns out Maureen isn’t your typical runner! She never wears a watch, hates bananas, pasta & porridge, never follows any particular training plan to prepare for her marathons & half marathons and doesn’t stretch! However, her training involves gradually building up her long runs – about 11 miles for a half marathon and 21 or 22 miles for a marathon, which she will do 2 or 3 times before the race. She likes a two-week taper and usually does her last run on the Tuesday before a Sunday race. Having been a member of Perth Road Runners for the last 20 years, at home she mostly runs on roads with only a little bit of cross-country running. However, here in Cyprus she loves the trails and seeing all the little villages we run through. Maureen enjoys the personal challenge of running and the great feeling after a race. Even if she has hit the wall, she likes knowing she can come back from that to finish. Her goal is just to keep running for as long as possible. She truly is an inspiration for us all!
West Coast Walkers
Don’t forget we also have our walking group that meets every Monday morning. The walking group is increasingly popular and is open to anyone who enjoys walking, meeting like-minded individuals, experiencing walking along the coast and exploring in and around the Paphos area. We welcome all walkers whatever your ability, young and the not so young! There is something for everyone to enjoy. Please see the West Coast Walkers Facebook page for meeting points and start time.
