A quite memorable weekend was enjoyed at the end of March with our honoured guest Sonia O’Sullivan taking off her superstar hat and delighting members by being ‘one of the girls’ for a couple of days.

Her first surprise was to appear, quite unannounced, on the start line for the 5k handicap race on Saturday afternoon from West Park. This caused the handicapper a little problem (with helpful suggestions like ‘blindfolding’ and ‘make her carry a sack of coal’) but in the event Sonia set off on ‘scratch’ with Ken White and pulled away from him around about half way and reeled in many of our runners to complete probably the first women’s sub-16 minute 5k in Jersey. We therefore had a great situation where runners were boasting ‘she only passed me at First Tower’ while a few are still to be heard saying ‘I beat Sonia O’ Sullivan’, the 15-minute head start by now forgotten! Everyone was a winner on a sunny afternoon for what we hope will be an annual race.

Keeping in the background were Sonia’s partner Nic Bideau and 21-month old Ciara. These two have plenty of time to ‘bond’ while Sonia is out running and they clearly adore one another. Nic will have been pleased to find the local media know not and care not about his high profile in Australia, and this is another reason they might be back some time in the future.

The Dinner Dance at the Hotel de France was excellent – well done to Mark Bolla in particular who’s attention to detail ensured that everything went so smoothly. There were a number of awards made, as follows:-

Best track athlete, male Ian Carter

Best track athlete, female Mary Frawley

Best field athlete, male Simon Phelan

Best field athlete, female Lauren Therin

Best road runner, male Ken White

Best road runner, female Barbara Parker

Clubman of the Year Lee Ward

President’s Trophy Roy McCarthy

Best Newcomer, road running Andy Makin

Best performance, road running Ellen Barr

Best performance, track & field Claire Lidster

The most emotional moment of the night came with a special South of England AA Long Service Award to Betty McGough. Presenting this was another special guest Christine Benning, herself a former British record holder and finalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Receiving this award for 20 years service to the Club, Betty was typically quick to share the credit with her son Michael and Mary Gicquel. It was a nice moment, and well worth the months of secrecy!

Speaking after dinner, Sonia recalled her own early experiences of club athletics in her native Cork. Her motivation for paying her first subscription, as a young girl, was so that she could attend the club disco! She also admitted to being both embarrassed and tearful as she stood to accept a club award only to find that another child had won it instead! She said that she was pleased to be visiting Jersey for the first time; as a youngster in Ireland, family holidays were always to the Isle of Man, and Jersey was a place where only adults went.

The second half of the evening belonged to the excellent Psychedelic Le Sueurs finishing in the early hours with a set by DJ Makin.

We were not finished with Sonia of course! On Sunday morning she joined our regular runners (and their hangovers) at St Catherine’s for their training run. We said our goodbyes to Sonia, Nic and Ciara at the airport on Sunday evening. The family were delightful guests all weekend and Sonia herself gained many more friends and admirers in Jersey. The Club wishes to thank once again Bank of Ireland Asset Management (Jersey) Limited for their sponsorship of her visit.

Postscript: During the evening a representative of Bank of Ireland successfully bid £125 for an Ireland running vest signed by Sonia. We hear that this is on its way to Dubai where the Irish Society there hope to raise much more for a children’s charity.