Alert Level 2 guidelines

  • Until at least 25 May, all gatherings including group training and club meetings are restricted to a maximum of 10 people. This includes athletes, spectators, coaches, and officials.
  • If you are training in a group someone has to keep a record of who is part of that group to aid contact tracing if needed later. Ensure someone in the group is assigned to the task – this includes all group training sessions and group runs, however informal they may be. 
  • Avoid group runs that will use a trail or footpath where space is limited and where you might come into close contact with members of the public.
  • Adhere to basic hygiene measures, including washing and drying hands before and after any activity, and before and after using any shared equipment. 
  • Don’t share equipment. Bring your own personal equipment, such as towels and water bottles. 
  • Stay home if you’re sick and do not take part in any sport or recreation if you have flu-like symptoms. Self-isolate at home and get tested immediately. 

The Prime Minister will make an announcement about Alert Level 2 next Monday. The Wellington Scottish Management Committee will meet a few days after that to work out a plan for the rest of the season (hopefully).

Athletics Wellington and Athletics NZ will also be looking at their options after that announcement.

Results

Bex Hutchinson won the Start of May Social Distancing Challenge with a clear lead over the rest of the field – me (Stephen Day) and Holly Barclay were in 2nd and 3rd prospectively. Her victory came courtesy of over 150 teddy bears, several extra triangles and a very dodgy definition of swimming as part of her triathlon. In fact, James Turner was the only participant who took his swimming duties seriously.  But the pools are open now, not just the sea – so no excuses for the second half of the month!

Full results for the Start of May.

Athletics NZ Virtual Ekiden

Athletics New Zealand’s National Ekiden Virtual Relay Champs are underway. So far we know of 36 Scottish runners or walkers who have completed a leg for their team. 

The long-range weather forecast for next Saturday is looking ideal for those of you who are yet to run or walk a leg. 

 You can find details of all the Scottish teams and race details here. If you are in a team and want to contact the people in your team contact your club captains Danielle and Ben.

Each team needs to run 42.2km. Three people run a leg of 10km and one person runs 12.2km. Athletes upload their individual results (as many as you like in the month) and an individual’s top times are collated into your team’s times.

We are tracking Scottish Ekiden results in an online spreadsheet. Please add any results you know of to the spreadsheet. Be aware that these are not the official entries though. Official entries for each leg need to go to Athletics NZ.

Social Distance Running May

The End of May Social Distance Running Challenge is underway. Now that we are allowed to run in groups again this may be our last round of social distance challenges so make sure you get your entries in.

Submit your entries

Here are the challenges for the second half of May:

Fortnightly Challenge

Run a loop in both directions. Running loops in opposite directions helps keep your posture in line and prevent you from getting dizzy. If you’re Nicholas Bagnall your double loop could be the Makara Loop. The rest of us are allowed more prosaic options.

Monthly challenge

Do a triathlon – go for a bike ride, swim and run all in one go. For authenticity make sure you report that your run was longer than it was.

2-minute mission

Two minutes of bicep curls. For us non-triathletes, biceps are the bits of your body that hang off your shoulders. Make them curly.

Just for fun

Run a Scottish symbol, or a word. Maybe a lion, a kilt, a unicorn (I found out today it’s the national animal of Scotland). Or, for those who enjoyed the restricted-viewing version of the body parts challenge, Scotland has got some good swearwords you could try.

Some reading

Two articles by Athletics New Zealand featuring Scottish runners: Scottish’s Social Experiment talks to Walter Somerville about the social distance challenges that the club has been running during the COVID-19 pandemic.  And Athletes on the Frontline talks to Mel Aitken about being a police officer during the pandemic.

Banner image

This week’s banner image comes from Andrew Wharton. It celebrates the beginning of Alert Level 2, and he has romantically titled it ‘Together Again’.

Keep in touch with the club