As we enter into 2021, we want to share some of our plans with you and tell you more about how we plan to put a positive spin on the year ahead through offering exciting and entertaining ways to help you stay active.
We’re 100 years old:
Many of you will be aware that this is a very special year for us. The club was formed in 1921 as part of Port Talbot YMCA and we will be celebrating our 100 years in a number of ways including the publication of a book of the club’s history and an online archive. We’ve experienced many things during that period and continued to thrive. This year will be no different, we will get through this pandemic together.
Training:
Sadly we’re not expecting to return to formal club sessions for a little while, but we will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we want to encourage members to participate in the alternatives we have in place and the new ones we are creating.
It has been fantastic seeing many in the club getting involved in the Zwift rides and the various challenges that are available and wonderful seeing so many getting involved in the various virtual relays and these will continue into 2021. As you already know, our running club championships have been migrated over to the virtual arena for 2021 and this includes virtual challenges on a monthly basis, kicked off by the one mile run in January.
We are also hoping to hold a series of Zoom evenings to share the experiences and expertise from within and outside of the club and to provide some fun opportunities for social interaction.
The club’s fantastic coaching team will be working with you, online when necessary, to help you reach your goals and once again I want to thank them for their time, dedication and passion. Our coaches are the pillars of our club.
2021 PTH Events:
Despite our best endeavours, the only event we are planning to host this year is the TATA Steelman on 30th May. This was postponed from last year and we will be putting all our efforts into making it a success, if restrictions allow us to do so. Hopefully it will go ahead and we will be looking for your support to make this the best Steelman ever! We know we can count on you.
As a result of the pandemic, all other events we hold in 2021 will be virtual. We begin with the Virtual Hilly5 on the bank holiday weekend of 1st – 3rd May. Entries will be open in a few weeks and we look forward to giving you a great experience with a few surprises. We will explore opportunities for other virtual events later in the year depending on the circumstances. We will round off the year by providing our outstanding support to the Richard Burton 10K in whatever form it takes.
I’m sure you will appreciate the difficulties the club, like many others, is experiencing at the moment. Our goal, as ever, is to provide the best facilities, coaching, motivation, challenge, support and friendship. We may need to make some adjustments during 2021, like we did last year, but with your support we will all come through this stronger and with a better appreciation of the real things in life that matter.
We encourage you to keep active, keep safe and be kind to yourselves during these unprecedented times.