Charlotte joined the club in January 2020 and since then has already run 1016 miles made up of lots of runs from 5k to half marathon distance. Charlotte enjoys running on the road, whilst also spending a lot of time on the trails. This level of mileage highlights the motivation to run on her own though also enjoys a natter with others as well. In context this is more than the distance the Proclaimers would walk, just to be the man that falls down at your door.

Corinne, aka Cozza, joined the club in January 2020 and has been a real asset, bringing new ideas and an enthusiastic energy which she has brought with her to the committee, joining in August as our Social Secretary and has since gone on to actively organise various social events including water sport activities, dining out and the Joggers Half marathon.  She has spent time increasing our social media presence by promoting the club on Instagram and Twitter and has generally kept us motivated and engaged in creative ways particularly during ‘Who’s behind the Santa mask?’ at X-mas!

In 2020, amidst the  loss of nearly all planned events and a  rise in uncertainty of what could be done, Endure 24 was cancelled. But fear not, Andrea stepped into the void and became the RJ Endure 24 organiser. Planning out the event, the hours that needed covering, the participants that wanted to run and brought them all together. Creating a personalised RJ Endure 24 that the club won’t forget. Over 30 runners took part over the 24 hours, with Andrea staying up to check runners in and out, making sure everyone was ok and that those who wanted to take part, could. Andrea’s contribution definitely helped create a sense of belonging that had been missed during the tricky times of lockdown.

Throughout 2020 Dan showed true sportsmanship by being a great team player and displaying a strong sense of motivation. He always lifts the mood when the chips are down and makes the best out of a bad situation. He sees the best in people and knows how to cheer you up with his great sense of humour and energy. He makes other club members feel welcome and inclusive with his warm and friendly kind manner. He is also very loyal, committed and thoughtful. This was demonstrated when he went above and beyond in helping organise the Reading Joggers Half Marathon by planning the route, printing out maps and booking the venue for the social afterwards. He’s not afraid to get involved and try new things particularly with different sports which are out of his comfort zone. An example of this was during the first SUP session with the Joggers and he fell in the water! He strives to achieve new goals and is willing to help others along the way by motivating, supporting and encouraging them during interval sessions and group runs. He led numerous group runs in 2020 which were always an adventure involving many hills, mud and very little lighting whilst making sure no one got left behind! Overall, he has been an enthusiastic and positive member who demonstrates great sportsmanship!

In May 2020 Quentin won fastest male with a WAVA score of 71.72 in the 1 mile challenge. He was unbeaten and managed to remain the king of speed 2 months later after the second 1 mile challenge in July!

In 2020, Steve ran 15 marathons, including a 50k and the Chiltern Wonderlands 50 miles. He completed 2 Centurion 100 mile Virtual challenges; running 100 miles in a week, (each time) and also ran the elevation of Ben Nevis in a week. All this, plus his normal running and training means that Steve has achieved his highest mileage since 2000 and highest elevation of 2020.  A fabulous achievement in its own right, and even more so considering lock down, Steve is certainly striding ahead in his achievements.

Mark has continuously shown high levels of commitment and dedication since he joined the club in 2020 and moved from the 10:30 group right down to the 8:00 group and below.  Such a great achievement!

Alex has been a member of Reading Joggers for a number of years, his ultra running achievements are well known and include a 2hr 50 London Marathon, 1st place in the 2018 Thames Trot, too many other ultras to list here and membership of the British Spartathlon Team. Alex still attends club events offering inspiration and support whether it’s on a race or giving motivational talks on ultrarunning. Not surprisingly he runs quite a lot. In 2020 his mileage was 4152 miles, which according to Google is about the length of the Amazon river – an amazing achievement.

In July 2020 Jo won fastest female with a WAVA score of 75.65 in the 1 mile challenge and became the queen of speed!

Mary has been fantastic in motivating and engaging our club members during 2020. She has gone above and beyond and been instrumental in providing training during the most difficult year. Some of the training she organised included; weekly virtual abs sessions on Zoom, ‘Covid safe’ Thursday sessions in the summer and virtual interval sessions over the winter. She developed videos with Arthur explaining the instructions and locations to each interval session along with marking out the start and finish lines for each course. She is also one of our Welfare Officers who has emotionally supported our members during lockdown, including making sure Arthur was safe as a vulnerable person and recognised others who weren’t feeling their usual selves. Mary is very thoughtful, kind natured and always smiling! She regularly shares knowledge and information with the club and makes others feel involved. Her warm and caring manner makes new members feel welcome and she goes out of the way to help others. She consistently does an excellent job in encouraging our members at interval sessions on a Thursday and has led every session in 2020 with Arthur without fail. Her dedication, commitment and loyalty to the club is highly recognised. She takes her time to make sure that we do the best for Reading Joggers. Thank you Mary for all that you do and for going that extra mile!