“It smells like team spirit.” - This is a great place to start in my first blog as team captain. It’s not a badly typed song title from a Nirvana album, instead it is a term that sums up the mood in the Sunderland Harriers camp as we head into summer. Since joining the club in 2014 I have watched the club grow from strength to strength and with this growth a strong sense of community, togetherness and team spirit has developed.
Buddhists strive to attain the ultimate state of Nirvana and when they reach this point of their journey they are known to be free of all negative mind states. I think a good analogy is that the team have almost reached our own Nirvana in terms of our journey in what is a new era for the club. Over the years Sunderland Harriers has had a great deal of success. A quick look in the history books will reveal a plethora of great runners and even better people, many of whom still remain an integral part of the club’s fabric.
Success, growth, development: Three key terms that stand out which were all influencing factors in my initial decision to sign up to become part of the Royal Blue family. A year down the line and I can see emerging elements of all three factors in both the team and individuals. A fundamental part of this is how close-knit we have grown as a team. Clear proof of this was seen in the recent relay events; especially at the Hetton Signals when we collected bronze medals. That day we witnessed what it means to the team to achieve even a small level of success. This was further demonstrated by the atmosphere and camaraderie at the Northern and then National 12 man relay championships.
If training becomes a chore then it is hard to progress but no matter how tired we are, how high the training volume becomes, the sessions are never a burden and that is down to the group we train in and testament to the members of the club.
One of the more interesting aspects of a running club is how many different characters from all walks of life come together with the hopes and intentions of developing, growing and succeeding in their chosen sport and this dynamic can be seen in the Ski lodge changing rooms every Tuesday & Thursday at 7pm. A hundred different characters linked by the common love of running. So, when Albert asked me to take on the club captaincy I jumped at the chance to step up because in the time I have been at the club I have really taken on board what it means to be a Harrier in the same way that all the new lads & lasses have. I am not the greatest runner but I will put my all in to leading from the front. I will abide by the motto that a PB for you is a PB for me and vice-versa.
The journey ahead is shaping up to be an interesting one because with the talent we have in the club, we should all be aiming to squeeze the best out of ourselves over the coming years and in the process we can strive to emulate what so many of the previous club greats have done, that is… to write our own names into the record books and ensure that the new era is another successful epoch for Sunderland.
We are all better than we were yesterday; but not as good as we will be tomorrow.
Andy Powell