Community Engagement
March has continued in true Datchet Dashers form. As reported last month (we couldn’t wait) March started with Dash in the Dark – I don’t propose to say any more about the event itself but I do want to say that with all the cakes left over (Dashers do like cake) our chairman, Bryony, visited Slough Outreach which works with local homeless people to donate the cakes to them so that people were able to have something sweet with their tea and coffee. Continuing with the community aspect of our club, some folks joined in the clean up day at the Jubilee river on 30 March. It was a beautiful sunny day made all the more special by the fact that 20 bags of rubbish were collected ensuring that the river and its environment remain as clear as possible of rubbish.
Runs
16 March was the club championship 5K event and it was held as part of Maidenhead parkrun who were also celebrating their 4th birthday. Dashers were out in force with Dave Lee first Dasher home and Janet Smith clocking up her 100th parkrun.
Some notable performances in their events were Mick Hill winning the V60 class at Hillingdon 20 in 2:42:38 and Chris Hunt running a new PB at Reading Half Marathon. Apologies to all those not mentioned. The number, variety and geographical reach of all the runs and events that Dashers take part in is simply mind-blowing; in the last few weeks, we have had participants the Big Half, Bath Half, British Masters Cross Country, Windsor and Eton Half, Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series – Sussex Marathon and Hampton Court Palace Half and these are the ones I know about.
New Kit
All runners love bling, the medals and Dashers are no exception, however, coming a very close second is new kit! This month our order for new hoodies, jackets and T-shirts arrived creating a buzz in the clubhouse. Do look out for our very smart red and white kit with the Datchet Dashers logo - you can’t miss us.
Club 20-miler
Finally, the month ended with our club 20-miler on Sunday 31 March. Many Dashers training for spring marathons used it as the long run for that week. Despite the fact that this year it fell on Mother’s Day and the clocks changed meaning one hour less in bed, it did not put off either the runners or our amazing marshals who were out in force to shout encouragement to all those taking part. The first runner came home in just over 2 hours meaning our outriders, Tony Curtin and Steven Ilott had to peddle quickly. Feedback from those taking part has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic showing once again what an amazing club Datchet Dashers is.
And on that note, are you interested in joining Datchet Dashers? As you can see we are a friendly club with a passion for running but also aware that we are part of the local community and so want to be involved in local projects. We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Windsor Cricket Club at 7pm.
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