FITFlash Shout Outs – April

Another big month for FIT members and some worthy nominations for shout-outs.

• To all the women who competed in the Australian Running Festival, whether as a first-timer or a seasoned runner, whatever distance you chose to run, well done!

• To all the volunteers who coached the ARF team, thank you for your time and dedication. Thank you also to the volunteers who supported the runners over the weekend – there’s nothing quite like the sight of FIT supporters out on the course.

• To the organisers of the ANZAC Day ride, thank you very much for the company, cycle, BBQ & clothing pool! It was fantastic & as usual the FIT organisers and volunteers were amazing.

• To Andrea McDonald who has been a quiet achiever for FIT for 10 years or more. Andrea has volunteered for and run the WAG-Tri (women’s and girl’s triathlon) when FIT was running this event. Andrea has been on the FIT Committee for a number of years and is the current Membership Officer for the second year, and has done an amazing job in this role. She also managed the FIT OutFit role for several years. Andrea supports FIT members at nearly every event FIT members participate in, from helping coach Rookie Runners to flying to Paris to support FIT members who were running the Paris marathon.
In 2015 Andrea ran her first marathon in her 70th year – an amazing feat!
Andrea can often be seen staying back with new runners, walkers or cyclists to support them and also is one of the first coach/helpers to put up their hand to assist with the WTTP (women’s triathlon training program), with the running and cycling programs. Andrea was one of the first water running coaches for FIT, and continues to support the current water running coaches.
Andrea supports Lindy Hou (our vision impaired FIT members) by driving her to FIT running and other events that Lindy needs to get to. All in all, Andrea is an outstanding FIT volunteer who is deserving of recognition acknowledgement.

• To Polly Templeton for her courage, determination and positive attitude in successfully returning to and completing a standard distance triathlon some two years after a serious cycling accident.
On 14 April, Polly completed the Standard Distance Triathlon in Wollongong in 3 hours 10 minutes. This achievement followed a long recovery from her cycling accident in January 2017 whilst on a FIT cycling ride. After the accident which put her in hospital and required an extended recovery, Polly needed to regain her fitness and strength and her neck muscle strength in particular. Initially, even getting on a bike was not possible, so any triathlon training was a significant achievement.
During the past two years, Polly returned to work, continued as Treasurer of Triathlon ACT and was a frequent triathlon volunteer, supporter and eventual competitor. This included travel to the ITU World Championships at the Gold Coast in September 2018, where Polly enthusiastically cheered the FIT participants on.