Thank you to all those members that attended AVOHK’s AGM at Cafe 8. A good night was had by all. A big thanks to Andrew Cox from Joint Dynamics who was our guest speaker.
Congratulations to Amy Mumford who was awarded 2018/19 AVOHK Female Athlete of the Year and to Frank Pilkington who was awarded 2018/19 AVOHK Male Athlete of the Year. Very worthy champions.
Congratulations to Ross Milburn and Rebecca Lau on being awarded AVOHK Athlete of the Year at the 2018 AVOHK AGM. Very worthy winners.
A blistering sun, temperatures rising into the 30’s, and the noisiest stadium ever, thanks to the drums, castanets and chanting of Thailand’s most enthusiastic cheerleaders, may have softened up some of the athletes at the 23rd Thailand Masters Athletic Championships on March 9-11, but the AVOHK contingent showed their true grit andperformed like stars.
Getting there was the first challenge, for Lampang is in the rural north of the country, two hours south of Chiang Mai Airport. For the group I flew in with, hiring a taxi proved as expensive as hiring a car for the whole five days, but our bacon was saved by Gordon Chung, who borrowed a car from his Thai brother-in-law, and drove down to Lampang with the verve of an F1 champion. Team members at other hotels also found a hire car cheap and indispensable.
It goes without saying that the AVOHK team were among the finest body of muscular men and athletic women who had ever graced the lush valleys and muddy rivers of Lampang Province, but the burning sun took its toll and we were wilting a bit. For example, Frank Pilkington was doing his race warm-up in a hammock,
while Dr John Fowler was attending to a queue of non-paying patients needing advice on how to avoid heat stroke and sunburn. The AVOHK gang’s body language, which usually reads: “We can beat anyone around any track” was melting away to “Give me a beer and let me go to sleep.” But no worries, for fast Dave Smith, the only man with a voice stentorian enough to be heard over the Thai cheerleaders’ booming dance music, provided powerful incentive to the AVOHK track gang … and encouragement was all we needed.
On Saturday 25th November AVOHK celebrated their 35th Anniversary having been formed in 1982. A 5km handicap run was held in the afternoon starting at Wan Chai Gap over an undulating course. Chief Handicapper Dave Smith used all his experience and knowledge to be as fair as possible and at the same time making it a fun event.
All claims that they were not that fit fell on deaf ears. The field of 24 runners contained 1 ex Olympian, 2 former international swimmers and Albert the Dog. An interesting mix. Mr Lo was first away and all the runners were a bit concerned when they saw Mr Lo charging up the first hill. Their fears were realized when Mr Lo came home over 10 minutes in front with a well deserved win followed by the evergreen John Fowler in 2nd place and Ross Milburn in 3rd.
Stuart Leckie making a welcome appearance on the roads and wearing a very historic AVOHK vest scored an impressive 4th place. Peter Brown an out of town AVOHK Member with his very colorful long stockings and making a flying visit to Hong Kong finished in a credible 5th place. Peter it was nice to see you again and thanks for dropping by. Albert the only dog taking part brought up the rear just behind owner Rachel.
In accordance with IAAF rules Albert was removed from the results.
AVOHK Casual Club Evening at Cafe 8 with David Bedford OBE Former 10,000m World Record Holder, former World Cross Country Champion and former Race Director of the London Marathon (1986 to 2012) – Guest of Honour for 2017 Gammon China Coast Marathon
