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AJFC 50 Year Anniversary Celebrations

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The Golden Anniversary.

Fifty years is a very long time to be continuously operating as a not for profit club and it is certainly well worth celebrating. To celebrate their milestone, Attadale Junior Football Club hosted a free community event, featuring a BIG screen broadcasting live the West Coast Eagle versus Collingwood football game, free rides for the kids, food, fireworks and much more. Y Striders were excited to be able to take part in the celebrations by setting up an information booth for the purpose of promoting the club.

Snail’s Pace.

As a club, we were well represented and chatted to a few people, even though the demographic at the event wasn’t really for us. It is all about getting the word out there and every little bit helps.

From Little Things, Big Things Grow!!

We were positioned next to the Beyond Blue marquee and they have kindly offered to include us on their website. 

Our Heroes.

Once again it was Kevin and Pam who set up at the start of the event and packed away at the finish. Their tireless efforts in promoting our fabulous club are very much appreciated – many, many thanks. Thanks also to Deb and Andy R, Leonie H, Kerrie T, Ann R and Jatinder A who very kindly gave up a few hours of their time to hand out brochures, chat to people or to have an ice-cream.

Elizabeth Turton

Y Striders at AJFC 50 Anniversary

Healthy Lifestyles Expo for 55+

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What was it all about?

Held on Friday 29 March at LeisureFit’s spacious facilities, this all-welcome, age friendly, free event was hosted by the City of Melville. Anyone who attended was given the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of static displays, activities, health checks, discussions or simply to try something new. There were ninety three exhibits to choose from and even a WA Seniors Card booth which gave us the opportunity to have our deteriorating and peeling SmartRider cards renewed.  It was the perfect place to promote Y Striders and our small but dedicated team spent 4 hours chatting to interested people and handing out brochures.

Expo 55+

Capital 101.7FM Radio

Right next door to the Y Striders booth was ‘Capital 101.7FM Radio’ broadcasting ‘LIVE’ at the Expo. It was a golden opportunity for our club! Kevin was asked to talk about Y Striders and the presenter plied him with questions to answer. The whole segment probably took 15 minutes and was broadcast to a huge audience. Two listeners heard the broadcast and came especially to the Expo for more information.

Capital community radio 101.7FM

Our heroes

The set-up at the Expo for Y Striders was done by Kevin and Pam. They arrived an hour before anyone else and had the flags flying for Y Striders.   Thank you both.  
Kevin dedicated six hours of his time to the promotion Y Striders.  He was there at the end of the Expo to pack-up with assistance by Ken.
Thank you Leonie, Ken and Elizabeth for also volunteering to help promote Y Striders.  Your assistance was invaluable.

Edinburgh Half Marathon

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I figured the running crew from Tuesday and Thursday nights would be nurturing a passing interest in my Half Marathon performance considering the enthusiastic send-off and best wishes on my last night at the pavilion!

On the day of the race, Edinburgh was experiencing a cold snap during some favourable weather. It was forecasted that morning not to rain but the traditional dreary Scottish mist blanketed the start with the freezing drizzle soaking into the bone. The weaker runners, like me, had brought throw away tops to wear and to discard after the first km or so. Owing to the cold and unpredictable conditions, I decided to keep mine on and continue with the race.
The whole event was very well organised, so that competitors were seeded together into their expected finishing times. I was with the 2hr 10 mins group! The race started bang on 9am and the greyhounds at the front took off, I think, cos my group was locked in a side street some distance away and took 15 minutes to walk/shuffle across the start line.
The route through Edinburgh’s city centre was postcard interesting. As I was still fresh up to about 8kms, I really appreciated the ancient monuments and crumbling castles. From then on the throng of runners of all shapes and sizes (and ages!!!) dragged me through wooded glades, parks, past rivers open fields and the odd ancient monument, all of which I gave scant regard as the inevitable chronic fatigue began to raise its ugly head.
At 14kms approximately, the course wound its way to the coast at Portobello with a dog-leg of about six agonising klicks to the finish. With about 500m to the end I suffered agonising cramp on the inside top of my leg, the name of the muscle group the physio explained later, I couldn’t pronounce. When it hit me, to get to the side of the road, I had to hop and jostle through the mass of runners all of whom were cranking it up as the smell the finishing line was growing stronger and they weren’t taking prisoners. Clutching my leg, I had several offers from spectators who were willing to jump the barriers and help me to the finish. A kind offer I politely declined. Nonetheless and after a short time, I got going again stopping only to remove my top to sprint with my fellow combatants to the finish (as you do) in a time of 2 hrs 5 mins. Unfortunately my time was not recorded on the official results but my GPS saved the day from start to finish.
If anyone is interested I have a detailed map and route of the course for perusal. The administration and organisation of the whole event is a tribute to the enthusiasm and hard work of the organising committee and volunteers.
Martin K  (your fellow Y Striders member)

Augusta 2018

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Augusta – where two oceans meet!

Welcome – We met at the Augusta Hotel on Friday night for a pub meal and a noisy chin-wag, excited to see each other and full of anticipation for the weekend ahead.
Saturday – free choice – Some decided to descend into the depths of a very challenging cave tour, others walked the picturesque 7kms ‘ocean walk’, while Christine and Jenny walked the entire 12kms distance to the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse (Colin and Graeme came to the rescue and collected them in the car).
Saturday night – dinner at Hamelin Bay Winery was tapas style, delivered platter by platter.  We started to think that we might be going home hungry!  As the night progressed and eleven platters later, there was no way we would go home hungry! The wine was excellent and somehow cartons of it found their way into the boots of our cars. Our amazing group laughed and joked their way through the evening.
Sunday – another section of the Cape to Cape Trail. We have of course repeated some walks on this trail but overall, our tally is a total of 97kms!  The Cape to Cape trail is only 131kms long, so it is a great achievement by Y Striders. The long walk is perfectly described by Nancy W…….
“An awesome day! A group of 38 Y Striders walking a 15km section of the Cape to Cape trail enjoying the majesty of our amazing landscape on WA’s celebratory long weekend. Photographically, clouds wrote poetry across an expansive sky, the sea whipped waves, ancient grass trees; tall and graceful in their Ra-ra skirts, wowed and later, tall Karri canopied our way. From Redgate Beach to Conto’s Campground and into the Boranup Forest, the diversity in terrain was wonderful. We walked in friendship and delight, thankful for this awesome day”.
Nancy

Sunday night – farewell BBQ and debrief in Turners Caravan Park camp kitchen followed by a Karaoke hour (or two) in one of the apartments. This singalong and performance by Chris B and Brian P was the culmination of yet another successful June weekend.
Monday stayers – First there was a HIIT session at 6am and then lunch at the Glenarty Road Kerfuffle Winery.  Twenty people enjoyed a ‘Paddock to Plate’ experience in a rustic setting where they like to do things a little differently.   The Beef Ragu was amazing! Many of us intend returning there again.

Late Leavers on Tuesday – The last of the group trickled out of Augusta in a wild storm that thrashed the south west coast. Care had to be taken negotiating trees that had fallen across the road.
THANK YOU
It all came together beautifully! From Bill’s lightbulb moment, “I think that Augusta might be nice,” to months of organisation before finally spending three days of celebration in the most south western town of our state. None of this could have happened without the combined effort of six people who conducted the original reconnaissance in September last year and who were all on hand on the weekend to ensure that everything went smoothly. It started with a weekend of investigation in Augusta – accommodation, eating places, activities and actually walking the proposed trails.
I want to thank Graeme G, who researched the accommodation and provided you with a well-informed selection to choose from. Graeme also organised the Cave Tour, the bus transport for the long walk and assisted me in my research into eating establishments.
I want to thank Pam, Kevin and Bill for finding just the right walk that was suitable for everyone, for providing us with comprehensive walk notes, and Darryl for driving them to and from each of their destinations over two days of research. On the day of the long walk, it was Kevin and Bill who took control of the lead and the tail end so that no one got lost.
And then there were our resident musicians! I want to thank Chris B and Brian P who provided a wonderful Karaoke music night, complete with all the associated paraphernalia for Karaoke – a computer, screen, microphone, guitars and a spaghetti junction of criss-crossing wires.
I would also like to thank Ross and Colin who generously drove their vehicles back and forth with the people who only wanted to do the short walk. Without their help, some people would not have been able to participate.
But best of all, the success of the weekend can be measured by the enthusiasm of the 42 people who participated in all of the activities. Thank you everyone!
Elizabeth
  

  

Kumano Kodo Trail

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For over 1000 years people from all levels of society, including retired emperors and aristocrats, have made the arduous pilgrimage to Kumano. These pilgrims used a network of routes, now called the Kumano Kodo (a World Heritage site), which stretches across the mountainous Kii Peninsula of Japan. If you have been wondering where Nancy and John are, you can stop wondering….they decided to go on their own pilgrimage walking the Kumano Kodo Trail.


Nancy and John on Kumano Kodo route into Hongu Taisha on their second day

Nancy writes; “today’s walk was really lovely. It will be our last day tomorrow; the more difficult because we ascend to 800metres over the first 5kms.  A total of 13kms, with serious ups and downs.” And the latest message – “we arrived safely! Tiring on the legs! LOTS of up and up and MORE up, same with down and down on sometimes slippery moss laden rocks for kilometres but less difficult than tracks on the Te Aratoa.”


The image above shows the terrain in darker purple. What an amazing effort!!


Proud recipients of the Dual Pilgrimage Certificate for the Camino de Santiago AND the Kumano Kodo

President’s message 2018

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Welcome to 2018 everyone. It’s Ken here, your fledgling President. At ease. Remain seated!
We resumed this week with a session at Troy Park last night and morning sessions today (thanks Anita). So, it’s business as usual.
No doubt some of you will have contemplated/set/re-set your healthy lifestyle goals for 2018 over the break. Based on my own patchy attempts at consistency over the years, any goal is often best approached in small steps – as this usually delivers small rewards, avoiding the disappointment of setting the overly ambitious goal that becomes too hard and falls by the wayside. For example, a short walk followed by some light stretches can soon lead to a resumption more active pursuits.
My own goal is to try some cross-training this year. Santa’s provided training fins and goggles for the pool. I’ll be riding my bike too. Those activities, together with walking (usually dogs, golf, Striders on Saturday mornings and grandchildren – see pic attached) might help me avoid the Achilles soreness that’s dogged me since joining Striders a couple of years ago.

So, welcome to 2018, and best wishes for whatever goals you may have for the year.
I hope to see you at a session soon.
Ken

Wind-up for 2017

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Our final session for 2017 started with a Zumba warm-up led by Deb, dressed in our finest Christmas outfits we tested our dancing skills and I think we may have even stayed in time for a little while. After a casual stroll breakfast appeared, as usual, members supplied a feast which was enjoyed by everyone.
Ann conducted a sing-a-long, all members participated in a flawless rendition of ‘Twelve days of Christmas’ complete with actions. There were awards presented by Deb and Anita for various talents and attributes, e.g. the ‘Yackety Yak’ award and the ‘Back in the day’ award. The ‘Yackety Yak’ award resulted in a tie between Eva and Julie B, and I’m sure there were a host of runners-up. The more serious award, the Brian Cook award went to Bill Swalling for his efforts at the club and his commitment to fitness, and encouraging others.
The end of year challenge was won by Team 5, Bill, Joan, Chris, Kerry, Leonie, Mary and Darryl and there may have been some others who weren’t at the breakfast. The Christmas Hamper went to Julie Z (runner up Christine) and the raffle of Elizabeth’s cook book went to Nola (runner up Eva). Tension built as Chase the Ace went down to 10 cards left in the pack and was eventually won by Karen.

Our incoming club President, Ken (and Deb), invited all members to a Soiree at their home the same afternoon and again members supplied a feast. We all enjoyed the beautiful surroundings of the garden, great company and it was a lovely way to finish the year. Many thanks to Ken and Deb for hosting this event.

Karen

Our 500km Camino Adventure

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After much planning and many years of anticipation Dave and I set off on the Camino Frances in September 2017. We arrived at Saint Jean Pied de Port after a plane trip to Paris, a connecting flight to Biarritz and then a bus ride to Bayonne and train trip to SJPDP – about 33 hrs of nonstop travel and 1 lost and then found passport !! (not mine so that only leaves 1 other person !!). Saint Jean Pied de Port is a lovely little town on the French side of the Pyrenees well accustomed to Pilgrims starting the Camino Frances and we had 2 nights there.
We set off on our adventure through the Pyrenees and the first steps on the Camino were very steep and this didn’t change for about 26km! The scenery was spectacular but 30 km later we were glad to have reached our destination for the day. We spent the next 4 days walking until we arrived in Pamplona were we rested for a day then set off again. I was very surprised at the amount of hills we needed to scale and of course navigate our way down, in the first week or so……..probably best that I hadn’t done my research thoroughly! Dave scaled the hills like a mountain goat and I plodded on behind at a much slower pace. We walked an average of 25 km /day.  Due to time constraints we needed to catch a train or 2 to ensure we completed the journey in our time frame and that had its benefits but we were always envious of the pilgrims who were able to walk every step of “the way”
We walked through so many small villages of rural Spain each different in their own way with many having local events for us to enjoy and we had amazing and interesting accommodation in each village, ranging from hotels to B&B to castles, monasteries and paradors. It was always nice to arrive at our accommodation and see our luggage waiting there for us!
Along the way we stumbled into a village called Estella to find they were celebrating September Fair and the main event was a bull run through the village and games with bulls in the centre square that had been transformed into a bullring for the 4 days of the fair. This was an authentic celebration and we were so lucky to be a part of it – a highlight of our village visits.
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela after some 500 km and 3 weeks of walking and very proudly lined up to receive our Credential – our certificate of being an authentic Pilgrim.
The Camino is so much more than a walk or trek. It is so important to all those that walk it and to those that understand its significance. The Pilgrims of old and current are all revered and well cared for along the way. There wasn’t a day where we didn’t want to walk and the first few hours of each day were our favourite when we could truly appreciate how fortunate we were to be Pilgrims walking through Spain.
The epiphany I was hoping for came as we were leaving a small town called Fromista. This town had such a great feel to it and we left it feeling rested and happy but quite weary. I realised that I didn’t actually need an epiphany as I had had many, many great moments of clarity already along the way and my epiphany was that I didn’t need an epiphany! We also decided together, that as we were weary we really just need to put one foot in front of the other and we would reach our destination …..and 27 km later that day we did just that!
We would absolutely recommend this experience to anyone who is interested. Many Pilgrims do the journey in shorter 1-2 week spurts. Or you could just choose a smaller part of the Camino if you think the length is not possible. I became a foot care/blister prevention specialist helping many pilgrims along the way! So if anyone needs some advice on foot care/blister prevention I am happy to assist.

Susan (and Dave)

A Musical Interlude at Troy Park

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Our trainer Ben is leaving us and we wish him all the best for his future music career.  We have heard so much about Ben’s ‘other’ career and now that we have heard him play, we know what a great future he has in store.  Thank you Ben for allowing us the privilege of hearing you play on Saturday…..it was a truly beautiful performance.  Good luck and farewell from all at Y Striders.

I am Sailing…..

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KK and Johnno 687x1165

I am Sailing….I am sailing, home again ‘cross the sea….I am sailing….
KK (Kokoda Kerrie) and Johnno were sent off by Y Striders at a ‘low quay’ function on Sunday night. As they set sail on their yacht we wish them goodbye, good fortune, good weather and happy sailing. Come back soon KK, we miss you already!!

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