Welcome to the July Magpie.  Entertaining reading for all things Collingwood Harriers. Our centenary coordinator checks in with an update on the forthcoming centenary year.  The winter season has rolled on with success over the past month.  Magpie Morsels provides updates on what our members are doing and achieving around the planet.  There is an updated event calendar with upcoming events to plan into your calendar.  Notes from around the club give information on uniforms, grants and community notices.  From the vaults adds to the interesting snippets of club history each month.  Something to chew on leaves us with a reflection for the month.

The newsletter is open to contributions. 

Please reply and send event details, performances or general happenings to the email at the bottom of the newsletter.

Next January 26, 2026, will mark our club’s 100^th birthday, and to celebrate, we’re planning a year full of special edition athletic and social events. Program details, dates and requests for input will be circulated soon. In the meantime, if you’re keen to get involved or have stories to share, please get in touch with Lucy Salt, Centenary Coordinator, by email: lucyjsalt@gmail.com

Magpies, stay tuned for what promises to be a massive Centenary Year.

We have had two rounds of the XCR season since the last newsletter, with some overall good results.

Sandown in Round 5 saw a 1st place relay effort from our Division 2 Men, which saw us rise to the top of the ladder and throw our hat in the ring for promotion. 

The 60+ Men's team (Paul Viney, Tom Avram, Eric Louw) picked up silver medals in the event and rose to sit 2nd on the ladder at the end of the round. 

We saw some other great runs from Natasha Gurtler and Ruby Hore. 

In Round 7, we headed up to Ballarat for the 10km Victorian Cross Country Championships event. It was a reasonably warm (for Ballarat in July!) and fine day on what was quite a quick track. Medals to Declan Loeckx, Eugene Nemesi and Tom Avram were highlights, with some great running from Annabel Messer backing up from her tremendous work at Sandown.

Magnus Michelsson nabbed 1st for the 55+ age group, and Tony Dell filled in admirably for our 60+ Men, who were low on numbers, just keeping them in the running for the title.

We have completed 6 rounds with 4 to come, including a quick, flat 10km at Lakeside, a 15km road race at Ballarat, the Half Marathon at Burnley, and Relays around the Tan. I encourage everyone to get to as many of these events as possible as we count down to the end of the season with promotion, flags and medals all on the line! 

A big thanks to everyone who attended and especially to our volunteers, who are essential to making these events possible; your support never goes unnoticed.

The First Tuesday of The Month!

Yes – it’s on again! Collingwood’s World Famous 400s session is on the first Tuesday of the month (August 5^th) beginning at 6:15 pm.

A great session, not only for general fitness, but also to improve your time/pace judgement. Suitable for everybody! 

We have had great numbers in recent months – let’s keep it up!

The Wolf Is On The Prowl!

Last month, mention was made of some of our members travelling overseas. Wolfgang Cotra-Nemesi is one of them. He has spent the last few weeks in Ireland, including a number of races in Great Britain. His first run, in Belfast, produced a terrific 3000m result with a time just outside our Open Club Record. Next, a win in Dublin over 1500m, a cheque and a trophy as a reward.  Another PB, this time in the 1500m in Watford, came a little later and just recently, a 1:51.66 (less than half a second outside his best) 800m was recorded in Manchester.

Wolfgang on his way to a 3:43 PB

Travelling Must Be Good For You!

Sam Geddes and Mia Gross from the MAD track squad have been tripping around Europe racing and generally having a good time.  Racing in Lausanne (SUI), Nembro (ITA) and Wetzlar (GER).  Sam is finishing up in Eisenstadt (AUT) and Mia is racing next in Gothenburg (SWE).  The highlight of the racing being Mia Gross putting in a blinder in Switzerland a couple of weeks back. Known mainly for her 200m efforts (Paris Olympian), Mia has been working extremely hard at our track in recent months, developing her 400m performance. Not having run an individual 400 for a couple of seasons, Mia’s PB was good, but not competitive at the highest level. Mia certainly fixed that situation at Lausanne when she crossed the line in 52.02. Sprinters are generally happy to shave a few hundredths of a second off their best time – Mia took over three full seconds off hers!

 Being Mia and Sam     Sam levitating

Conor Fry is out there European racing too, Celle (ITA) and recently Wetzlar (GER).  Look out for Conor doing a hot lap of the track while going over 10 flights of hurdles.

  Conor pushing it

Great Work Christine

Collingwood Official Christine Dell recently sat an examination set by the World Athletics Referee’s Education and Certification System (WARECS to the In crowd) and, we are glad to report, came up trumps!

Christine achieved the much sought-after Bronze Status.

Looks a shoo-in for Brisbane in 2032

Marathon Efforts And What An Achievement

Jim Hopkins just ran a marathon.

How many times have those words been said over the past 40+ years?

But this one had special significance for Jim as he had finally completed his long-held ambition of running a marathon on each of the world’s seven continents. He did Africa a couple of years back and Antarctica a few years before that.

A few weeks ago, Jim travelled to Brazil to attempt to fulfil his aim. And fulfil it he did.

Clubmate Marty Galea did some web surfing, and it seems that Jim may be the oldest person to have completed this achievement. Paperwork for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records may have already been submitted!

We Are In Hot Water (at last)

After years (yes, years) of pleading, the hot water service at our clubrooms has finally been replaced.  Members will be pleased to know that they can now have a hot shower after training.

The upgrade will, of course, also assist in the general upkeep of our great facility – hot water seems to do a better job in many cleaning situations.

Thanks to the City of Yarra for their work and to our President, Scott Lovell, for his persistence.

A Busy Month

August is a very busy month at our track. It is the season of school carnivals and organised training for the kids. Members are asked to be considerate when schools are in attendance and realise that they are paying for their time and providing a much-needed source of income for the Club. The schools generally wrap up their activities by 5:00 pm, so please be aware.

FIVE MILES

Although we are yet to have our booking with Parks Victoria confirmed, it looks like the Club 5 Mile Cross-Country Championship will be held on Saturday, September 13^th. All Club members are invited to attend the day, one of the best days of our athletic year, along with the 100-yard championships and Collingwood Classic.

Apart from the Junior and Senior races, our Parade of Champions, featuring many of our past winners, will again take place.

2025

July 27

XCR Round 7 - Lakside 10, Albert Park. (read more)

August 5

Griffo's 400 session

August 10

XCR Round 8 - 15km Road Race, Lake Windouree, Ballarat. (read more)

August 23

Australian Athletics National XC Championships, Victoria Park, Ballarat. (read more)

August 31

Sydney Marathon - Australian Marathon Championships.  (read more)

September 2

Griffo's 400 session

September 7

XCR Round 9 - Burnley Half Marathon. (read more)

September 13 - 21

World Athletics Championships, Tokyo. (read more)

September 13 (TBC)

Collingwood Harriers 5-mile club championship.

September 20

XCR Round 10 - Tan Relays. (read more)

October 12

Melbourne Marathon Festival.  (read more)

October 26

Burnie 10 - Australian 10km Road Championships. (read more)

November 27 (TBC)

Collingwood Classic 2025.

2026

January 26

Collingwood Harriers Athletic Club 100th Birthday.

Club Uniform and Merchandise

Treat yourself to some new training gear.

In collaboration with Sub4 Apparel, Collingwood Harriers have designed a range of training/warm-up tops and apparel.

The long sleeve, short sleeve and singlet are made from Sub4's premium comfortable lightweight DRYLYTE fabric.

The hoodie is made from a thick charcoal grey fleece, has black and white prints front and back.

Top it off with a Collingwood Harriers running cap.

All merchandise items are available through a made-to-order site hosted by Sub4.  This site will be open periodically throughout the year to take orders.

www.sub4.com.au/category/collingwood

Keep the head warm through winter with a Collingwood Harriers Beanie, available through the club portal.

Competition tops can also be purchased through the club portal below.

https://www.revolutionise.com.au/collingwood/shop

Grant Opportunities

There are many community and sporting grants to assist club athletes, coaches, events and administration.  Through future newsletters, we will list upcoming grants.  The following grants close in the immediate future. 

After some funding to help you achieve your goals, click on the link(s) and apply for a grant(s).

Australian Sports Commission – ASPIRE Coach Program

This program aims to support the development of women coaches who aspire to enter and thrive in the High Performance (HP) coaching landscape. It has been co-designed by women coaches and will be delivered by a leadership team of women coaches. 

Closing date 4^th August

https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/coach-development/programs/aspire-coach-program

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Australian Sports Commission – Local Sporting Champions

Grants for competitors, coaches and officials aged 12-18 participating in state, national and international championships. The Local Sporting Champions (LSC) program provides financial assistance to coaches, officials, and competitors aged 12-18 who participate in state, national, or international championships.

If successful, applicants will receive $500-$750 towards the cost of attending their championships.

Closing date 31 July

https://www.ausport.gov.au/grants_and_funding/local_sporting_champions

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Notice Board

Nutrition and Distance Running Research

Zoe Delaney, one of our dependable athletes over both the winter and summer seasons is doing a research project at La Trobe University.  Zoe is exploring the relationship between sports nutrition knowledge, energy and eating habits in competitive middle-long distnce runners.  Please find the time to assist Zoe with her research by following the link below and completing the survey and quiz.

https://redcap.latrobe.edu.au/redcap/surveys/?s=DA7Y3JF3RX3EEKKC

Clinic Space for Rent

Daniel Iacuone of the The Exercise Physiology Centre in Cambridge Street Collingwood has a spare space for rent.  The Exercise Physiology Centre are looking for a practitioner (myotherapist, physio, osteo, psychologist, dietitian) one to two days a week, in three to five blocks per day (with scope to increase hours) to rent a 40 square metre space.  They are looking for someone wanting to work for themselves but also be a part of a multidisciplinary team with an established network of referral pathways.

Interested? Please contact Daniel directly at The Exercise Physiology Centre

Shop2/88 Cambridge Street Collingwood

Website: www.theepcentre.com.au

Email: admin@theepcentre.com.au

Phone: 0412132147 

Committee Meeting  July 6^th  1936

It was decided to write and inform Mr. C. Cecil that the Club had decided to conduct a race in memory of his brother, the late Rev. H Cecil.

Note:  The Rev Harold Laceby Cecil was the first President of Collingwood Harriers.

Unfortunately, he was murdered in the Manse of his Church in June 1936.

The race was conducted for many years. Generally known as the “Laceby-Cecil” in more recent times, it was run as a 4-mile (6.4 km) handicap from the overpass near the railway line, down Yarra Bend Road and around ‘the Loop’.

Increased traffic finally prevented us from running the race in that format, and unfortunately, it has not been replaced.

Those interested in The Rev Cecil’s story can find plenty of old newspaper articles (particularly relating to the trial of the perpetrator) on Google and Trove.

The only tactics I admire are do-or-die!                          Herb Elliott

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The newsletter is open to contributions. 

Please reply and send event details, performances or general happenings to the email below.