Report 16/03/2020

I had thought right up until around 9.00pm on Friday night that I’d be sitting on Sunday night trying to put into words the story of another successful Jimmy’s Ten road race, but I’m afraid to say, as set out below, that the coronavirus put paid to that.

I never remember an occurrence of a similar nature, in the over 70 odd years that I’ve been around, though I have only been involved with running for just short of half of those years. Even the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001, which resulted in the postponement of East Down’s flagship event, until June, did not have anything like the impact that this latest health affecting bug has had, and is continuing to have.

MONDAY’S UPDATE -JIMMY’S TEN TO GO AHEAD

Anyway suffice to say that everyone connected with the Club, the race sponsors, the members, the parents of the Junior members and those who come along to lend a hand on an annual basis, who put their heart and souls into making Jimmy’s Ten the best and most popular event on the local racing calendar, and indeed all those runners who had paid to enter the race itself, were extremely disappointed with the fact that it became necessary to postpone the 2020 renewal of the race.
Earlier in the week it had been agreed that the race would go ahead, given that the official line was that it was better for large crowds to meet in the open air than in small confined places. We underscored the health guidelines issued by the authorities, regarding  the washing of hands and ordered supplies to allow this. We deep cleaned the clubrooms. We had further reduced risks by ditching the renowned post race catering, by getting one runner to collect all the packs for a club or group meaning that a fraction of people needed to come to register and buying gloves for all coming in contact with runners etc. In short we followed the governmental and medical advice to the letter.

M.B.McGrady the Jimmy’s 10 headline sponsors who have been unwavering in their support throughout the postponement.

FRIDAY’S UPDATE – JIMMY’S TEN POSTPONED

All week Committee members had monitored and evaluated the situation and remained confident that it would be able to proceed under the guidelines given.However, as you all now know the position was changing by the hour, and sometimes by the minute, with announcements made from the other side of the world seeming to contradict the views expressed by the senior health advisors in Westminster. The measures taken by Leo Varadkar ie schools closing in the South  was not replicated by Boris Johnson in the UK and each had plausible reasoning for their actions. If there was so much variance amongst the experts, how could we be sure that we were equipped to make a call. On Friday night it was agreed that with so much uncertainty and with the situation evolving so quickly that a difficult decision had to made. The unpredictable nature of this virus and the escalation over a 24 hour period forced us to call a halt to all the speculation and state that Jimmy’s Ten would be postponed until a later, as yet unknown date, in 2020. This will not be an easy task with so many races now in the same boat, but we will so our best as we always do. The Committee and Club members who have put in hard graft for months to deliver the event, are as disappointed as anyone at this outcome. In the end the Committee acted purely on what was thought to be right for the wider community and what it believed to be in everyone’s best interests.

Some of the members of the Men’s Shed, Downpatrick who were due to help at the race and who also benefit from a charitable donation from the proceeds of the race.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

There was a sense of relief throughout the Club after the decision had been taken, given that the whole issue of the coronavirus was causing everyone to question everything they did. For example, what is the value of running when you have to consider your parents’ needs, to queue for toilet rolls because a lot of people are stockpiling selfishly, how to have your children cared for if the schools close, how to maintain an income when you cannot get to work and even how do you keep yourself sane?  Personally I have to face my realisation that I am one of the over 70s that the government were talking about asking to remain at home for 4 months! Strangely, I never thought of myself as one of that category but rather one who could fend for himself and even with the onset of Parkinson’s Disease, long term injury and the natural effects of the advancing years, whether admitted to or not, I think still can.

Mash Direct (sponsors) who also had a team ready to run in the postponed event.

However it is indeed a sobering thought that, like it or lump it, I could be forced into a state of semi quarantine, admittedly on the basis that it is for my own good, without access to or by my family for one third of the year! That might not be such a bad thing? However as taking some form of exercise was one of the ways I could preserve a sense of well being and independence there are serious implications for me personally, if I have to give up even the limited amount I currently perform. But in the interests of the greater good, if I have to do it then it will be done.

On the positive side the food donated for the post race refreshments will be donated to the local foodbanks and the Club will encourage its members to look out for their friends and neighbours, especially those in the most vulnerable groups, whether just by calling on them to check their well being or if they need anything from the shops etc.  Runners like to be kept on the move, so please get in touch if you have any chores that you find yourself unable to do. EDAC will be more than willing to assist.

Joe Quinn
15 March 2020