Management Committee

I was elected Chair of our Club in April 2015 and I’m responsible for overseeing our Club as a whole together with the Committee.  My role is to help develop our Club in a progressive and positive manner with three broad aims; competitive, inclusive and camaraderie.  Running wise my preference is now the longer distances and I have PB’s of 2:59 (Manchester Marathon in 2018) and 1:21 (Stafford Half Marathon in 2017).  As Chair I’m motivated to achieve PB’s in all areas for our Club (see 3 aims above), and am happy to help members achieve individual PB’s.  Feel free to talk to me anytime (on a run or in the bar after is ideal) about ideas and how we can continue to improve our Club.

Email – chair@stonemm.co.uk

Helping to promote our Race events in a professional, safe and profitable manner.

Having reached the age where running competitively is no longer a serious option, I get tremendous satisfaction from putting back into the sport which we all love, whilst still enjoying the camaraderie and friendships which I have built up over the years since 1987 when I first joined the Club.  Most of my interests are based on outdoor activities and there cannot be many better areas for running or walking than in the countryside around Stone, and our races are a showcase for this.

I’ve been a member on and off for 19 years.  The off years being when I had family commitments of ferrying my son around to all his sporting activities and mine got put on the back burner.  Now he’s of an age where he can fend for himself I’m back and keen to make up for lost time.

I’m newly appointed Captain (2020) and see my role as key in galvanising the club and ensuring that we create the right environment and atmosphere for you to achieve your running goals

Email – captain@stonemm.co.uk

It is a great honour for me to be asked and then voted in as Vice-Captain of our great club. Having been a member since about 2009, and not really being a particularly active member behind the scenes, I felt that, with more time on my hands, that the time was right to step up and give something back.

I now find myself in an unenviably onerous position of trying to fill the rather large shoes, literally and figuratively, of Paul Glover who, as outgoing VC, has done a superlative job. Thank you, Paul, for your hard work. We all appreciate it.

On a personal note, I didn’t embark on my running career until about 17 years ago when, in my 40s, I found purely by chance that I rather enjoyed it following a cancer research charity run. I joined SMM and instantly found it heightened my running experience. There is nothing like running in the company of like minded and incidentally, lovely people. The club also offered great advice to me as a novice runner from a vast amount of experienced and talented members.

Racing was the next step which I found to be addictive: the atmosphere, emotion and camaraderie. Fast forward 13 years and I now run and race all distances locally, nationally and on occasions internationally, with a little bit of success along the way. The running community is vast, and I feel blessed that I can be a part of it.

I would like to see SMM increase its presence locally and nationally and to promote the virtues of our wonderful club.

I started running – well trotting really – at 50 – to exercise our very energetic young dog.  I entered a Dougie Mac 10k race on a whim to help raise some money, and so did a few Parkruns in preparation for the race, getting used to running around other people.  At an SMM Hanley Parkrun takeover I plucked up the courage to enquire about the club, and at Michelle Miles’ suggestion joined the 9.30am Sunday morning club run the next day and I was hooked!

So, a year on, thanks to the encouragement, guidance and friendship of so many in the club, I have run in many more races between 5k & 10 miles, on road, trail and cross-country – even a couple of half marathons earlier this year (which I never dreamed I could have done).  The opportunities to run with the club, train with the club and compete as part of the club are so varied members of every ability can get a massive amount out of being a Bat!

We now have getting on for 200 members.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding SMM membership, England Athletics registration, or if you change your contact details.

Email – membership@stonemm.co.uk

I am probably the most ‘non-runner’ runner in the club! Even though I do actually run these days, as proven by the occasional photographs, I remain continuously surprised at the end of every club run when I make it back to the club.  I never ran at school nor did I ever want to until I got to my forties.

I have gone beyond that couch to 5k week one now, having attempted a few runs and races in all distances (including the odd ultra!) but I will never let those early memories go and use them now to encourage others.  I am so pleased to have been able to take on a committee role and be in a position to give back to the club that has given me so much

Email – treasurer@stonemm.co.uk

I started running in 2016. I had 3 small children who were very demanding and I needed the occasional timeout. What better way of an escape than going for a run? Since then, I have developed a true passion for running, entering many races including marathons which now I am nearly into double figures.

I have been a running leader since 2014 and I work closely with the Thursday evening beginners group.

Being a running leader means that I have been able to see many beginners join the Club (often slightly nervous and uncertain as to why they are there!) and progress into enthusiastic and competent runners.  I joined SMM as a complete novice and the opportunity to run with dedicated, passionate runners inspired me to take on a running leader role so that I, too, could encourage others to join this wonderful little community.

Email – secretary@stonemm.co.uk

I am a relatively new comer to running completing my first marathon in 2015 and joining SMM in October 2017. I started running after friends of a similar age experienced physical health problems so out of a sense of recognition of my own poor physical health I started running. As a learning disability nurse working in an NHS mental health trust, I was more than aware not only of the physical benefits of running but also the positive impact running can have on an individual’s mental health.

I have completed the Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course with England Athletics and I am now qualified as a run leader. I have also completed a ‘Guide Runner’ course again with England Athletics to allow me to guide visually impaired runners. I also enjoy helping others meet their running goals by pacing from 5K to marathon distance.

Since joining SMM I have been entrusted with the role ‘Mental Health Ambassador’ with the objective to work within our running club to support the mental well-being of all members. I aim to make links between our club, mental health services/groups and organisations to encourage their members to start running.

With support from other SMM members we will start discussions about mental health with other running clubs working proactively with members of the ‘running community’ to achieve our goal of making running inclusive for all.

I aim to utilise social media to share information regarding England Athletics #runandtalk campaign and organise regular runs within SMM and again with other running clubs across our area.

Don’t hesitate to contact me regarding this role, I’ll do my best to answer your questions.