Sorting out running awards

Every year, the Eryri Harriers award prizes for achievements across te whole year. We have the outstanding athlete award, and most improved male, and most spiffing female fell runner, et cetera. You can tell I'm paraphrasing a bit. And when I became the honorary secretary of the club, this became my business. As communication is my job, I have to communicate to last year's winners that they should give their award back, so they can be engraved again with the name of this year's winner.

One of the awards was very easy, as it had been won by Anna, who is still in the committee. She returned it as soon as we had a committee meeting. And I started chasing up the rest. Some of them were easier to get back than others. And by the next committee meeting I expected most of them. One was still in the pipeline. 

I got so many during that meeting that Nia, our chair, thought I shouldn't try to get them home on bicycle. She dropped them off by car at my place. She was quite impressed by my little cat’s good looks.

The next day I started putting post-its on them, with this year winners’ names, for the engraver. And I was confused. There was a shield among them that I didn't expect. It was for the road running champion. I wasn't aware that they had shields! So I put a message on WhatsApp. It was only one shield, so far only with female names on, but maybe only the overall winner was put on? And they had been female in the last two years?

Then an answer came back. No! This was only the shield for the female winner. There was a shield for the male winner as well. Why didn't I know that? What was worse is that I then got an email, from a reliable source, saying that not only the road champions, but also the fell and mountain champions, had shields. Shit! I started frantically contacting last year's winners.

Then another WhatsApp message came in. From another reliable source. Only the road champions had shields; the other shields didn't exist. Again, Shit! Now I had to contact all the winners again, saying "never mind, you never got a shield". Luckily, the one missing shield of the male road championship winner was quickly traced, and its keeper would bring it to the engraver.

On Friday afternoon I had all the shields and other awards that I expected, but then the engraver was closing. I decided to go on Saturday morning. And I found that this engraver is actually closed on Saturday. What? What shop does that? Luckily, I didn't have anything time-tabled on Monday morning, so I could have another go then. But this award malarkey was more faff than I had hoped for.

Awards ready for transport, With (redacted) names of 2025 winners

This is by far the coolest award and it weighs a tonne. This is the outstanding athlete award.

On Monday morning I finally dropped them all off, and as I was driving anyway, I also brought my old fridge to the tip. It was most likely that I wouldn't even have to pick the awards up after engraving, as some committee members are in Caernarfon, where the engraver is located, all the time. So I think for me, the work is now basically done. And I can just concentrate on work (and some running) until the actual presentation night! Bring it on!