There has been no change to the official position this week. England Athletics have cancelled all activities until 31st May.

As mentioned last week we have not made a decision on the Thornbury 10k as yet. We will be looking at the official advice at the time and be making a decision sometime in early May,

The good news is that Pete Mainstone has finally been allowed out of hospital and he is now back home recovering. I’m sure we all send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

As you probably saw in last weeks note we have extended your Club Membership to 1st October at no charge. If you set-up a Standing Order to pay your Membership on or around 1st April please can you cancel it. Anybody who has already renewed their Membership will get a full refund in due course.

If there is any change to the official position or we have any news for you we will post the details on here.

Look after yourselves and keep safe.
Arthur Renshaw,

Coronavirus Statement
Athletics in England suspension extended until 31 May 2020
24 March 2020

Following the further restrictions on movement put in place by the UK Government last night, UKA and the Home Country Athletics Federations have made the following updates to our previous statement issued on 17 March:
1. Extending the suspension of all athletics activity in England to the 31 May. [Initially this had been agreed to the end of April]. This suspension includes all organised athletics activity in the UK, including all competitions, formal club activities, running groups, and all Education activity (coach, official, teacher).
2. Strengthening our position on coaching activity – We are now mandating that all physical coaching ceases, and only be conducted via virtual means during this period. Bringing groups of people together to train, however small, can no longer be permitted under the strict ‘Stay at home’ measures implemented by the UK Government.

These decisions have not been taken lightly and have been made in light of the continuing and real risk to life and to the NHS posed by the spread of the COVID-19 virus in England. We must now do all we can do. We would ask that the athletics community in England continues to help one another by staying connected and supportive of each other whilst at home in these unprecedented times. We will continue to review the situation in line with Government and Public Health guidance.
In addition to providing clarity to clubs, athletes, runners, coaches and officials, we are acutely aware that a number of competition providers have already made the bold decision to postpone their events in recognition that they stand to incur additional contractual costs on facilities that they have booked should they not make that decision now. We will continue to review this decision as the government guidance evolves, but one thing is clear – and that is that athletics, running and sport in general is special and is an important contributor to our way of life, but it is very much secondary to protecting and saving lives at this current time.
In its latest measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the UK Government has announced that everyone must now stay at home except in exceptional circumstances.
From last night (Monday 23 March), the only permissible reasons to leave your home are as follows:
• To shop for basic necessities and that should be limited to once a day
• To take exercise once a day – but alone or with those you live with, no gatherings of more than two people
• For medical reasons or to care for a vulnerable person
• To travel to essential work if that cannot be done at home. Further guidance to employers is pending.

While athletics is predominantly an outdoor sport that allows athletes to exercise in the fresh air, the message to all of us is clear, we must play our part in containing the spread of COVID-19. We urge our members to utilise the opportunity to exercise as laid out by both governments, but as such, any informal small group training sessions of athletes or face-to-face coached sessions must now cease (*unless they are with your own household members as above).
We have witnessed some very creative home and/or garden-based training sessions (safely of course) during the last week, and we would urge clubs and coaches to continue to be innovative during this period. A number of schools have also been task setting for their pupils and it would be of immense value to continue to engage athletes and your members in similar style tasks for athletics.
There are numerous ways in which people can remain active whether that be core strength training at home, HIIT, Circuits, running and so on (whilst adhering to the government guidance) so we will be actively promoting these. We will of course be pushing out digital content relating to exercising at home during this week thanks to the work of our respective coaching and athlete development team members.
England Athletics CEO Chris Jones comments: “We all have a responsibility to play our part in mitigating risk and in reducing the spread of this virus. It will be deflating to many but if we do pull together and adhere to the guidance issued then we will come through this period. In the meantime we will be working tirelessly as partners to provide value to our member clubs, athletes, runners, coaches and volunteers and will be organising activities and providing resources utilising a range of methods such as online forums, webinars and podcasts that will help people prepare for a time when we can all look forward with renewed optimism as an Athletics & Running family.”
These decisions are difficult ones to make, but right now, it is our shared responsibility to prioritise the health of our local communities by working together to follow the Government guidelines. In doing so, this will ensure that we all get back to competing in the sport we love so much sooner.

Good luck and stay safe!
________________________________________

This morning, 17th March, England Athletics issued some new advice….

The UK government has advised that everyone in the UK should now avoid “non-essential” travel and contact with others to fight coronavirus. Whilst it has not issued any ban on public gatherings of any size either indoors or outdoors at this stage, the advice is to avoid non-essential contact with others, including going to sporting events, pubs, clubs, theatres and social venues. As a result, England Athletics advises that all face-to-face activity such as club training sessions, events, competitions, club committee and face-to-face meetings, athlete camps, running groups and social events should be suspended until at least the end of April.

The decision has been taken in the interests of athletes, runners, officials, coaches, volunteers, supporters and the wider athletics and running communities. This decision is also in alignment with actions taken by the home country athletics federations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is similar to action taken by other sports. Where possible, athletes and runners at all levels are encouraged to maintain their own personal fitness and keep active during this time, while following government guidelines about safe distance and safe exercise environments.

This advice extends what we announced earlier this week..

We have decided to cancel TRC Club Night meetings inside the Leisure Centre for the foreseeable future as we want to minimise the risk exaserpated by having a lot of people in a confined space. In addition quite a few of our Members fall into the ‘at risk’ category and we don’t want to expose them to any further risk. The AGM on 26th March is also postponed to be rescheduled for later in the year. As it stands it is more than possible the Leisure Centre will be shut in the next week or two anyway.

We were suggesting that Members could continue to meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 19.00 outside in the top car park at the Leisure Centre to go for a run. However, we are now cancelling this option from a Club perspective although it will continue to be your choice if you want to go out for some exercise. With this in mind there are the new WhatsApp Groups where you can make your own arrangements with like minded Members.

We have set-up four WhatsApp Groups for the 8 minute, 9 minute, 10 minute and the Walking Group so you can arrange your own runs with people of your own pace. Kevin Cundy has set-up the WhatsApp Groups so please e-mail Kevin kevcundy@hotmail.com with your telephone number and which Group you want to join. Kev will add you to the Group of your choice.

Groups: TRC 8 min, TRC 9 min, TRC 10 min , TRC Walk. The 7 min Group already have their own WhatsApp Group.

Finally, the hope is that as we are all ‘runners’ and are fairly fit then even if any of us catch the virus then the effects will be minimal but please help minimise the risk to others by washing your hands regularly and isolating yourself if you go down with flu-like symptoms.

Further announcements by e-mail and on the website will be made if anything changes.

Upcoming Events
• Wednesday 18th March – Beginners Course Week 1 NOW POSTPONED until further notice
• Thursday 26th March – TRC AGM.. POSTPONED – to be rescheduled.
• Sunday 26th April – London Marathon POSTPONED to October 4th