Lucille Joannes
You will know Lucille as the glue that holds the club together in her role as Secretary - utilising her superb administrative skills and attention to detail. She is also a source of sanity and support to the Half Marathon committee - who need all the help they can get! She was recently presented with the prestigious Cornell Medal in recognition of her services to the club and is only the 4th woman in history to receive it.
Lucille took up running in 2002 and has this year already run a number of personal bests. She wears her deckchair with pride and can always be relied upon to be part of the cross country team and takes part in most of the Kent Grand Prix events - keen to support her club and gain points. She is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to football though!
- 5 miles - Deal 2008 39:46
- 10K - Nike Night Run 2004 49:? (so long ago I can't remember)
- 10M Sidcup 2009 1:20:40
- Half Marathon TW 2009 1:50:07
I was persuaded by a work colleague to take part in a 10K for charity, even though I had never run and struggled to keep going for a mile when I first started. Fortunately I had a very patient friend who kept me going and managed to get me ready for the race - the Queen's Jubilee 10K in London in 2002, which I finished in just under an hour.
Some badminton, squash, tennis, swimming and keep fit but all sporadic and nothing competitive since school, when I played hockey up to county level. (I'm no good with a stick though as I played in goal.)
During the week I spend a lot of time gardening and at weekends we follow Plymouth Argyle around the country...my husband and I are season ticket holders but don't go to every home game as it's a 500 mile round trip. Just to prove we're not thugs we are also very frequent theatre/opera goers.
Plymouth Half Marathon 2008. For once I actually felt ready for a race; I had trained quite consistently and was injury/excuse free. Finished in what was a personal best at the time. It was also very interesting to see parts of my home town that I'd not seen before (I wasn't a runner back in my school days). Even though it was such a long way away I wasn't the only Harrier there as Nina, with her West Country connections, was also taking part.
Possibly my very first half marathon. Paddock Wood in 2003. I started too fast, it was really hot and I struggled to keep going. I did get some encouragement along the way ...a voice behind me shouted "Come on that lady"...it was Spud (though I didn't know that at the time) and he ran along with me for a while until I had got a second wind and then he told me to go on. I went on and managed to finish without stopping again but at the end of the race I swore I'd never run again. Then about two weeks later I joined the Harriers and have never regretted it, so perhaps it wasn't too bad after all.
How could it be anything other than the Tunbridge Wells Half? The support along the way is really great and the atmosphere is brilliant. Maybe knowing how much effort has gone into the organization makes me appreciate it even more.
I've probably bored people going on about this, but I'm a big fan of running in the swimming pool when carrying an injury. Wearing a flotation belt may make you look stupid (especially when old ladies ask you if you are learning to swim!) but it gives you a good workout without any impact to aggravate the injury.
I enjoy running with lots of people, Rosie and Jackie for a good gossip, JJ or Mike J at speed sessions, Cheeky on the new-improved Sunday runs and whoever happens to be running at about the same pace as me on a Wednesday evening. I particularly like the pacing groups because you find you're running with different people depending on how keen/fit you/they are on the night.
Sometimes nothing more than "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4...." and "surely the next mile marker must be coming up soon?". But generally I'm looking at the scenery or houses and gardens and revelling in the freedom of running while everyone else is stuck indoors.
Jordans Country Crisp nut cereal.
To run until I'm 90.
Another injury...I jumped down from a stile and landed in a rabbit hole, breaking a bone in my foot. The timing was particularly bad as it happened just before a planned walking holiday in Cornwall.
Apart from the obvious advantages of having people to run with I love the friendly atmosphere and lack of elitism...yes we have really good runners but there are no cliques and the faster runners are encouraging and genuinely seem to celebrate the achievements of others (even if not in the same league). When I joined I felt at home very quickly and over the succeeding years, especially with my role as secretary , the club has become an important part of my life...long may it continue.