The Snake Bite 009
News and stories from Vipers Run Club—committee updates, coaching tips, what's on this month and Viper of the month awards.
Welcome to another edition of the Snake Bite. 2024 is halfway over—lots to look back on and even more good times ahead.
Vipers Retreat
Vipers Retreat is shaping up nicely with 79 members now confirmed. Our focus is to disconnect to reconnect, so expect to put technology away and be present, allowing us to build deeper connections with each other and as a community.
We have some exciting things planned for the weekend but for now, we will see you all on Saturday, June 15th meeting at Passmore Reserve on Campbell Parade, Manly Vale (across from Mackellar Girls Campus) for a 5 am departure to the Blue Mountains.
Make sure you check out the full list of what to bring. It’s going to be epic!
Annual General Meeting
The AGM has been slightly delayed due to the Vipers Retreat so we are now planning to hold the meeting in August. This is an event for all members to come together, have a laugh, reflect on the past year and set priorities for 2025. More details to come next month.
Vipers Committee applications
The inaugural term of the current Vipers Committee is coming to an end and we are looking for the next group to lead the club in 2024/25.
We're aiming to expand our committee size this year and have members take on more ownership of specific sections of the Vipers Run Club, including:
Financials
Community & Culture
Onboarding new members
Digital (website / socials / branding / snakebite)
Events (social / running)
Partnerships
If you want to contribute to Vipers' continued success and give back, please fill out this form.
Vipers culture
Our culture and values are the things that makes Vipers Run Club so special. As we continue to grow in size, we want to ensure that the sense of community also grows. There are a few things we want everyone to lean into over the coming months to help out:
Break into smaller groups during warmup/cooldown to meet new members and strengthen existing connections
Actively introducing members to each other during sessions. Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t remember someone’s name
Emphasizing the importance of culture at events (showing up for your mates)
Participate in the weekly Viper Academy led by Ravi
Vipers × SYNT
Building on the success of our collaboration with local running group, Sydney Trail Sisters, we’re planning another event with SYNT Run Club in August. More details to come!
Vipers merch
We know shirt printing can be a pain and it’s a bummer when you miss out on a merch drop. To solve this, we’ve been exploring a few print-on-demand options and potentially an online store for purchasing merch. Matty has also teased a new batch of stickers on WhatsApp, so expect to see them soon!
The Vipers Committee,
Andy, Anton, Chris, Dean, Marcelo, Martin and Matty
🫡 From the coach
Matty Abel
Viper Thursday Sessions - May
This month, we’ll be focusing on enhancing our speed with two specialized sessions designed to boost your pace and endurance.
Oval session
Fartlek Training:
4 x 90 seconds on, 90 seconds float
4 x 60 seconds on, 60 seconds float
6 x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds float
During the "on" phases, we should be progressively increasing our pace throughout each segment. However, the "float" phases should be easy jogging. If you need to walk during the float, you're running too hard during the effort phase.
Total time: 26 minutes
Hills session
Hill Repeats:
8 x 1-minute reps with 2-minute recovery intervals
1 x Progressive effort from the bottom to the top of the hill
Hill repeats are excellent for building strength and power. Use the recovery intervals to walk or jog back down the hill, allowing your heart rate to drop before the next rep. The final progressive effort should start at a comfortable pace and gradually increase in intensity until you reach the top.
📅 What’s on in June
Check out the Vipers R.C. Calendar for all regular session details and March events.
Vipers Retreat
Date: 15 & 16 June
We will see you all on Saturday, June 15th meeting at Passmore Reserve on Campbell Parade, Manly Vale (across from Mackellar Girls Campus) for a 5 am departure to the Blue Mountains.
Vipers Book Club
Date: 24 June
Details TBC but we will be discussing our next book, The Silent Patient. All are encouraged to join, whether you have read the book, listened to it on Audible, or only managed the first chapter
Read on below for a write up on our last meetup.
🎈 June birthdays
Happy birthday to everyone celebrating in June!
Marcus Bennett Jones (03/06)
Chris Donovan (08/06)
Robert Masterson (12/06)
Dean Isreb (13/06)
Benjamin Farnsworth (14/06)
Daniel Godfrey (15/06)
Andrew Donnelly (15/06)
Harry Morton (16/06)
Alex Bennett (22/06)
Erwin Schuttinga (29/06)
If you have an upcoming birthday and aren’t in the list above, it means you haven’t signed the participant waiver and release form!
🐍 Month in review
⛰️ UTA 2024
Daz
What an experience to participate in the UTA100. Such an awesome event in the most magic of locations and trails.
Fair to say I went into the event underdone, but my goal was to enjoy and get it done. I’ve done it once before back in 2017 and after a long hiatus from events needed to put a line in the sand for myself.
Having that memory and understanding of the event helped me mentally, plus invaluable advise from Vipers that have so much experience and knowledge.
My highlights were the buzz of the start line and that realisation of ‘shits about to get real’, some great chats whilst grinding it out in the zero degree night, plus the amazing support of my wife and legend Vipers that took time out of their weekend to encourage and support me.
It’s unbelievable how much seeing a Viper out there cheering you on can lift you and I’m super grateful to Andy, Martin and Shane who gave me a massive boost.
The 100km was such a special experience overall. There were some challenges, particularly from 60km where I sprained my ankle, but this gave me permission to go with the flow and be more present in the experience. Climbing out of Kedumba was definitely a grind, but that’s the fun of it and made it that much sweeter when I crossed the line after 21 hours!
For anyone on the fence for a trail event I highly recommend the UTA. Awesome experience to dig deep and get some quality time with yourself in a very sacred place.
🏃🏻♀️ Sydney Trail Sisters Collab
Chris Cordwell
What a fantastic morning it was. 25 of the Sydney Trail Sisters joined us for a Viper Oval session. They’re a female only group who run around Manly Dam every Thursday morning. Similarly to Vipers they’re big on community—being there to help each other and the people around them.
We did a fantastic job of making them feel welcome—Matty welcomed them all, Russ hugged them all, Robbie (and many others) ran with lots of them and Reuben inspired them with some particularly fast running (and a heavy cologne smell).
There was a selfie competition. CJ (Matt Brown’s partner) won that hands down. And there was talk of doing something similar more regularly, potentially something around Manly Dam next time.
Shout out to Matty for putting on a good morning with outstanding coaching tips, Harris Farm for the important snacks afterwards and for all you Vipers who turned up and made it fun for others. Oh, and of course, the Sydney Trail Sisters (and other partners) for coming along. Link here if you have a better half who wants to join them.
📚 Book Club
Russell Burford
The Vipers Book Club continues to gain momentum, with our most recent review focusing on Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari. This book, which delves into the brutal realities of the war on drugs, proved to be somewhat challenging for some members due to its graphic content. However, it sparked excellent conversations about whether addiction is more closely tied to the substances themselves or to lost social connections.
For those interested in exploring this topic further, Johann Hari's TED Talk provides additional insights.
Looking ahead, Matty Nelson will host the next event on Monday, June 24th, where we will review The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. All are encouraged to join, whether you have read the book, listened to it on Audible, or only managed the first chapter. 📕 🪱
⛑️ First Aid Course
Harry Morton
Across April & May we had roughly 50 Vipers complete the First Aid Training certification at Queenscliff surf club.
With the lifestyles we lead, and sometimes remote places we find ourselves exercising, it was a stark reminder of the importance of knowing how to support someone in need in a calm, safe and informed manner.
Over two evenings we walked through all facets of first aid, specifically spending time on administering CPR and treating wounds.
Despite many moments of light-hearted humour, there was a consistent undertone of importance based on the real life scenarios you may find yourself required to support. Practicing CPR on a pretend baby was one of those reality checks.
Overall, the more Vipers equipped with this skill set, the greater positive impact we can have on our own community and the community around us when called upon. Thanks to Matty and our instructor Maz for the opportunity.
🔼 Vipers Tri Club
Tom “TB” Bonnafoux
After officially becoming the winner of the NSW League One Championship in Forster 2 weeks ago, the MVTC crew is taking a well deserved break and will be back in a few weeks with the new season kicking off in July.
🏊🏼♂️ Vipers Slippery Swim Club
Will Deer
The water temperature may be dropping but the vibe is always high after a swim. Why not end the week with recovery in mind. All abilities welcome. The marine life this time of year is incredible. If fear is a factor please reach out and we can ease you in with a point swim. Don’t be shy, give it a try. Slippery Vipers 🐍
🏆 Viper Awards
🐍 Viper of the Month
Derry Cosgrove—an awesome new addition to the Vipers community who has embodied the viper values from Day one. Has showed up every Thursday, to Track Tuesdays or Tuesday social, smashed out his first UTA effort in May and has helped shaped the retreat, all whilst having his 3 girls at home. Club is better for having him part of it.
🏅 Racer of the Month
Daz—our sole Viper representative in UTA100 this year. Almost 24hrs grinding it out across the Blue Mountains with constant high spirits, smiles and awesome attitude. A huge inspiration to all of us and I know there was a mini crew all tracking him through the app and cheering him home. Enjoy the recovery mate!
🤝 Viper Partners
We’re grateful to this month’s generous partners for their ongoing support.
Recoverie
Use discount code VIPERS20 for 20% off.
Pace Athletic
Use discount code vipers_24 for a 10% discount, or shop via this link for it to be automatically applied at checkout.
True Protein
Use discount code VIPERS10 for a 10% discount.
Queenscliff SLSC
Serving the local community for 100 years.
2XU
20% off in-store when you mention Vipers
Hotel Steyne Manly
Loads of weekly specials, get down and support this local institution.
A big thank you to all of the contributors to this month’s newsletter:
Anton Exton, Chris Cordwell, Darren O’Hanlon, Dean Hudson, Harry Morton, Matty Abel, Russell Burford & Tom Bonnafoux
If you have any ideas for future issues or want to help out in any way, reach out to Dean.
Snake Bites and Lightning Strikes
