The Snake Bite 010
News and stories from Vipers Run Club—committee updates, coaching tips, what's on this month and Viper of the month awards.
New members
A warm welcome to the latest group of lads trialing with the club this month. If you see one of the new faces at a session this month, please introduce yourself and show them what makes our community so great.
Retreat
The 2024 retreat was a huge success. Getting 65 guys to give up their weekend to hike into an unknown location and spend time away from their friends, partners, and families is a true testament to the strength and bonds within Vipers. A huge thank you goes out to the working committee and everyone who attended.
2024/25 committee
We received several excellent applications and are very grateful for the enthusiasm shown towards contributing to the future growth of Vipers. Our next step is to gather the group to review the past year’s efforts in ‘getting our house in order,’ outline Vipers’ needs for the next 12 months, discuss our goals, and explore how each committee member can contribute to the club. The club’s success hinges on a dedicated group consistently investing effort, and we’re excited for the next phase of Vipers.
AGM
It's time for our 2024 AGM! We'll review and celebrate the past 12 months, update you on all things Vipers, introduce the new committee, discuss our vision for the next year, and be inspired by a guest speaker.
Our Treasurer, Anton, has prepared a Financial Summary for FY2024 in preparation for the meeting.
Apparel
We have placed our 2XU order and will be sending it to the printers next week, ready to be picked up at the AGM. The next phase in our apparel range will be print on demand.
End of year party
We have locked in our end-of-year party at the Steyne Hotel on Saturday, 14th December. Stay tuned for more info!
Annual memberships
The 2023/24 membership fee has been a huge success in covering operating costs and supporting all aspects of Vipers, which we will discuss at the AGM. A reminder that annual memberships will roll over on July 30th and will remain at $200 per year. Please reach out to Anton or Matty if you have any questions. You will receive an email notification before payment is processed.
The Vipers Committee,
Andy, Anton, Chris, Dean, Marcelo, Martin and Matty
Matty Abel
Viper Thursday Sessions - July
Hill
25-minutes continuous
Strength-building and endurance session, focusing on maintaining a consistent effort throughout. The goal is to finish at the top by the 25-minute mark.
Oval
3 sets of 4 minutes on + 2 minutes jogging
3 sets of 2 minutes 30 seconds on + 1 minute jogging
Total duration: 28.5 minutes
Designed to boost speed, endurance, mental toughness, and race readiness.
Check out the Vipers R.C. Calendar for all regular session details and monthly events.
WhatsApp Events
Make sure you check out the new ‘Events’ tab at the top of the Vipers RC Community on WhatsApp. It includes all of the details for this month’s events (and beyond) and lets you RSVP and see who else is attending.
Gold Coast Marathon
Date: 7 July
Location: Queensland, Australia
Good luck to all of the Vipers running in the Gold Coast Marathon this weekend! Follow along on the Live Tracker.
State of Origin III
Date: 17 July
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Queenscliff SLSC
Whether you’re a Blue, a Maroon or want an excuse for a half time pie, lock in 17th to your diary for State of Origin round 3 at QSLC with loads of fellow Vipers.
The first two games have set us up for a cracking decider sure to bring plenty of bone crunching tackles and fancy handling skills. The game kicks off at 8:05pm and QSLC will be open from around 19:30, it’s bound to be a great game see you all there and…
UP THE BLUES 💙
Christmas in July
Date: 27 July
Time: 6–9:30 pm
Location: The Beach Club, Steyne Hotel
Hotel Steyne and Manly Women's Wellness have teamed up to host a Christmas in July Wellness Dinner for everyone in our local community.
This event welcomes both men and women, with tickets allocated for a balanced event. It's a fantastic opportunity for anyone passionate about health, fitness, and personal growth to come together, connect, and be inspired by local health and wellness experts who will be joining us as guest speakers.
Find out more and grab a ticket here
Happy birthday to everyone celebrating in July!
Angus Buncle (07/07)
Des Silberberg (21/07)
Grant Turner (24/07)
Phil White (26/07)
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!
🏕️ Vipers Retreat 2024
Robbie Begg
The Vipers retreat on the 6 Foot Track in the stunning Megalong Valley did not disappoint! Unlike past retreats in the Snowy Mountains and at Manly's Quarantine Station, which focused on solidifying our core values, this year's theme was “Disconnect to Reconnect.” The aim was to step away from our busy lives and rekindle our sense of community.
Getting 70 blokes from our Northern Beaches base camp to the mountains was no small feat. The planning team meticulously organised food, sleeping arrangements, logistics, car-pooling, and activities to ensure a memorable weekend.
Despite the early 4 am start and some questioning their choices due to the torrential rain over the preceding 24 hours, a fleet of cars crisscrossed the Northern Beaches, ensuring everyone made it to the meeting spot at the cemetery down in the valley. The 60-metre 'Viper timeline' sorted us into six diverse groups, each setting off along the track. To deepen our sense of disconnect, we paused for three individual 10-minute meditation rounds focused purely on breath, a sight that bewildered a few passing cars!
The hike offered ample opportunities for bonding, kicking off with the first challenge—crossing the Coxs River. Andrew Fell's roping skills were invaluable, and Matty braved the icy water to help everyone across. A few took involuntary swims, much to the laughter of those already safe on the other side.
Arriving at the Eco Lodge by the river, that Matty, Corey, Martin, Andy, and Ravi had prepped the previous day with food and tents. After an Acknowledgement of Country, we collectively set up 'Tent City' and dived into team-based activities down by the river. A mega round of 'scissor paper rock' determined the coveted bunk beds, with the winners forming the first Viper social class faction—“Tent City.”
As dinner preparations began and fires roared, the atmosphere grew relaxed and jovial. Watching 70 blokes chat, cook, drink, eat, and clean up together was representative of how good this group is. Jacko’s mysterious handling of the apple crumble added to the laughter, with “Tent City For Life” echoing around the valley as night fell and the fires roared.
Sunday started with a cold, dark and silent run/hike toward Mini Mini Saddle, head torches lighting the trail as we snaked up the hill. At the summit, we individually had time to reflect on the year ahead before returning for a ‘refreshing’ river plunge and a hearty bacon and egg roll for breakfast. The hike out was magical, with stunning escarpment views leading us back to our cars and the journey home.
This retreat wasn't just about the activities; it was about the connections we made. It reminded us of the unique community we've built, emphasising that we get out of it what we put in. We encourage everyone to show leadership, whether during run sessions, Tuesday Socials, or by welcoming our new members. We encourage you to share your ideas for future events and adventures, and let's continue building something bigger than ourselves.
📚 Vipers Book Club
Matt Nelson
This month the Viper Book Club took a change of direction and read a trashy fiction thriller with a twist, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. We also reached a major milestone this month, having 100% completion rate by everyone who attended the book club! It was great to hear the thoughts of people who usually just read non-fiction self-help books, with the main one being that it was an easy read before bed without too much thinking involved (which we need sometimes). Guy enjoyed the book so much that he started the next book by Alex Michaelides before we met.
Overall, no one picked the twist at the end of the book (spoiler alert) and most people agreed that they would recommend it to family and friends to read. Now, if you’ve ever been to a book club you will know that the scoring system is anything but consistent, with each person being able to choose their own scoring scale. This could mean that a book can get rated 4/5 or 11 ducks out of 17 ducks, it's just up to you on the day. This book received mostly 3.5/5 or 7/10 by the group.
We've heard from a lot of people over the past couple of months that they would like to get involved in the book club, so if you're thinking about getting involved but you're worried because you've never joined a book club before, don't be! It's a great way to get to know your fellow Vipers through discussion that isn't about running and find out everyone's favourite books and authors.
Next month we have Ryan Sparks hosting the session and the book that we're reading is The Almanack of Navl Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson, so jump on Amazon or Kindle, order the book and get involved.
xoxo Nelso
🔼 Manly Vipers
Chris Speight
The curtain came down on a highly successful Triathlon season for our very own Manly Vipers Triathlon Club last month. After a six race season spanning events from Calalla a few hours South of Sydney to Port Macquarie and then finally Forster on the mid north coast our team came home victorious, winning their league and gaining promotion ahead of another big season from December 24-May 25.
The club promotes inclusivity and fun and has both male and female members. If you are interested in the sport of triathlon and want to get involved please reach out to one of their committee members TB, Neil Culkin, Oli Graham, Matt Bush and Lachlan Kilpatrick.
🐍 Viper of the Month
Lloyd Prescott - played a huge role in pulling what we all agree was a phenomenal retreat together. Spent a huge amount of time prior to the event to nail down activities and a flow for the 2 days and then diligently managed all of us on the Saturday and Sunday to make the event feel seamless!
🏅 Racer of the Month
Alex Stoney - A bloke who clearly loves to punish himself. Three massive weekends in a row consisting of Port Stephens Tri, UTA50 then Tri Club Champs smashing each one was a phenomenal effort. Also turns up every Track Tuesday and Thursday to flog himself some more, awesome work fella!!
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 Speight, Dean Hudson, Matty Abel, Matt Nelson, Robbie Begg, Martin Dunk
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