Sadly this year we have lost two active Henfield Joggers in Rob Thornton and Brian Turrell. Both are much missed and live on in our memories. Brian had a huge affinity for what is officially known as Eaton’s Bridge, partly because he lived in Ashurst so this was his route to Henfield but also because of his endless conspiracy theories when the old bridge was closed (it was just a precursor to removing the bridge completely and closing the footpath…) which entertained us no end, and to all of us this is, and will always be “Turrell Bridge” (or just Brian’s Bridge). We all felt this needed to be marked for posterity, and with the permission of WSCC we obtained a plaque, with words agreed by Brian’s family. This morning Mark Skilton has put this in place, in the centre of the bridge, looking downstream towards the sea.In times other than they are right now we would have done this as a mass event, but we are where we are and sadly having a mass of people grouped together right now is just impossible.

What we CAN do though is pay our respects in our own way. I’m planning an article for BN5 and as we can’t have a group photo right now, it would be great to have a montage of as many people as we can with the plaque in view, adhering to social distancing regulation of course. Just share your pictures by emailing them to: enquiries@henfieldjoggers.co.uk and I’ll do the rest.

I’m sure that at some future point we’ll have a suitable gathering down there, but in the meantime, the plaque is there for all to see.

Following all England Athletics guidelines the club have appointed a COVID19 Coordinator for Henfield Joggers, someone experienced in Health and Safety, who has completed the required risk assessments, and created a framework that enables us to return to Club runs.

Below is a summary of the main control measures and guidelines he recommended we put in place that members need to be aware of:

1. Running groups should be no larger than 6 individuals. And those individuals must maintain adequate social distancing at all times (before, during AND after the run). More than 1 group of 6 may meet for an organised run but they must set off at least 5 minutes apart and thought should be given to setting the faster group off first so groups do not meet on the route. While England Athletics guidelines actually allow us to have larger groups we are acutely aware of not just safety but also the reputational impact on Henfield Joggers as an organisation if people see large groups running around the local area.

2. Names will be taken of all members turning up to a Club Run in order to comply with necessary Trace & Trace regulations.

3. Routes will be planned in advance and will be designed to avoid pinch points and gates/styles. Obviously this is not 100% avoidable given the rural nature of most routes locally and members should be aware of these pinch points in advance and not let the group ‘bunch up’. Social distancing must be maintained at all times during the run both for the safety of members and also for the local perception of Henfield Joggers. Routes will be sent out prior to the run by the organising committee.

4. Runs should start and finish at a known and familiar outdoor location, in our case it will always be Henfield Leisure centre car park.

5. Face coverings should be worn when socialising or conversing with other runners before and/or after the activity. Face coverings do not need to be worn whilst running.

6. It is advised that members bring a small bottle of anti-bacterial gel (or similar) with them for use before and after touching any gates or styles that may be on route. Additionally a first aid kit will be brought by at least one member of the group. A first aid kit will be provided by Henfield Joggers.

7. While our normal routine is to wait for the final group, because that’s what we always do, we need to avoid being in a large group. Therefore we should disperse as each group returns (obviously unless waiting for someone in another group). We need to be aware of how being in a large group would appear to others.

8. We will keep the route to the same one each week, at least for the moment.

Risk Assessments and other documentation can be found here: http://www.henfieldjoggers.co.uk/club-documents/

Thanks to everyone who had a crack at the Henfield Half in August – here are the results, and thanks also to everyone who contributed to the Just Giving page – I thought it would be ‘loose change’ but everyone was very generous!