The Snake Bite 011

News and stories from Vipers Run Club—committee updates, coaching tips, what's on this month and Viper of the month awards.

Aug 01, 2024

Committee updates

Another great month for Vipers, with plenty happening in the background to set us up for a fantastic end to 2024. We will go through all updates at our AGM (this Sunday, 5 August at Queenscliff SLSC) and send out an overview the following week.

Membership renewals

A reminder that annual memberships will begin to renew as of this week (exact date will depend on when you started payment last year). Vipers membership is $200 per year and covers community events, operating costs and liability insurance.

If you would like to cancel your Viper membership, or are having any issues with payment, please reach out to Matty or any of the committee members.

The Vipers Committee,

Andy, Anton, Chris, Dean, Marcelo, Martin and Matty

Alex Bate

This month's session has a focus on the Sydney marathon which is coming up. Should be straight forward but any questions please sing out.

Viper Thursday Sessions - August

Hill

4 × 90 secs efforts, with 2min recovery. Last one from the bottom speed bump, into:
⁠⁠1.3km Tempo (Mara Pace)

Oval

4 × 6 min efforts (4’ at Mara pace, 2’ at 5km Pace), with 2 min recovery.

Big focus to make sure we run that 1.3km loop at tempo Mara pace, i.e if you running a 3 hour marathon, then it should not be quicker than in 4 min pace.

Check out the Vipers R.C. Calendar for all regular session details and monthly events.

Annual General Meeting

Date: Sunday, 4 August
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Queenscliff SLSC

For the AGM, Harry will be our MC for the afternoon, with a fantastic schedule planned and plenty of time to connect with fellow Vipers from our community. I hope you can join us on Sunday and show your support for our community moving forward.

The Rattlesnakes at Freshwater Brewery

Date: Saturday, 10 August
Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Location: Freshwater Brewery

Come on down to the Freshwater Brewery for another night of good vibes with the Rattlesnakes.

Dinner for Dads

Date: 27 August
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Ruby Lane Wholefoods
Tickets: Eventbrite

Come join us at Ruby Lane Wholefoods Manly for a low key but special evening celebrating being a dad. Enjoy a delicious meal surrounded by fellow fathers. It's a great opportunity to relax, unwind, and connect with other dads in the community.

Whether you're a new dad, a seasoned pro, or somewhere in between, this event is for you. Share stories, swap parenting tips, or simply enjoy a night out. We've got you covered!

We'd look forward to hanging out with you. Mark your calendars and join us for Dinner for Dads at Ruby Lane Wholefoods. This is not solely for Viper dads so feel free to invite other dads to join us. See you there!

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating in August!

Chris Donovan (06/08)
Anton Exton (12/08)
Tom Plant (14/08)
David Mason (14/08)
James Vaughan (17/08)
Andrew Fell (22/08)

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!

🏃‍♂️ Gold Coast Marathon

Alex Bate

In the first weekend of July, 15 Vipers assembled onto Surfers Paradise to take part in the Gold Coast Marathon.

In preparation for this day, our boys were putting in some serious work, week by week. We really enjoyed the build up towards this race, having some big marathon sessions out on Viper Highway, Narrabeen Lake, and a couple trips out to Rhodes. We all supported each other and made sure we got through the training together. We knew we were in for some fast times.

The weekend started with the half marathon on the Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather Gods were not kind, with pouring rain and a strong southerly wind to start. The marathon boys enjoyed a shake out run and a trip to the expo to collect the bibs. The nerves and excitement were definitely building.

Sunday race day was a very early start. 4am alarm to start fueling and coffee to get the bowels moving. The weather gods were slightly kinder, with no rain forecasted and the southerly had dropped a little.

The energy at the start was buzzing. It’s always special hearing the legend Rob de Castella giving the start line speech to pump you up. The race started and we were on our way, 42.2km. Gold Coast is special as there was plenty of supporters on course, everyone cheering you on and calling your name. Our boys dug deep for what was a great run for everyone.

We all enjoyed a beer after to celebrate the race and all the hard work. The marathon should be a celebration for the commitment you make to something, so we made sure we did that.

Runners: Alex Bate, Andres Briones, Matt Brown, Chris Cordwell, Neil Culkin, Jonathan Foulkes, Tom Graham, Riley Kilpatrick, Nick Leonard, Jo Lequien, Tom Ovnerud, Dan Roberts, Ben Rubio, Ryan Sparks, Dave Topham

🎄 Christmas in July with Manly Women's Wellness

Matty Abel

Last month, Hotel Steyne hosted the Manly Women's Wellness Christmas in July Wellness Dinner.

The event was a fantastic opportunity for those passionate about health, fitness, and personal growth to come together, connect, and be inspired by guest speakers and local health and wellness experts.

Matty attended and spoke in depth about Vipers Run Club, covering what we do and the current statistics on men’s health in the Northern Beaches.

🤓 July cohort

Welcoming our newest members to Vipers Run Club: Adam, Chris, Conor, Isaac, Luke, Marcus, Martin, and Nick. It’s been great to have some fresh faces in the squad. Please make sure to introduce yourself to any new faces at your next session.

🏃‍♂️ Vipers Slippery Swim Club

Cameron Wise

Will Deer is away on holidays, so we got an update from Slippery regular, Cameron Wise.

“Luke Doyle and I swam this morning which was great!

Luke is currently training for the Bondi to Manly so he’s treating his swims as active recovery.

I’m training for the Sydney Marathon so I’m doing the same. As well as completing the Bold and the Beautiful ‘Winter Challenge’ which is 20 swims without a wetsuit over winter. I’ve got 5 more to go.

Today’s conditions were spectacular with great visibility. However, a Vipers hoodie, puffer jacket and Ugg boots are highly recommended for the post coffee chat. The water was down to 14.9 degrees today “

🐍 Viper of the Month

Ryan Sparks—could have taken this award at any point in the last 6 months, rocks up to every Thursday, Tuesday, weekend session, plus book clubs, socials etc all whilst juggling 2 kids and the need to keep Hilary happy! All the hard work culminated in GC Marathon where even a family bout of covid the day before the race didn’t slow him down and he crushed it! Awesome work fella, perfect example of Viper Values in our community!

🏅 Racer of the Month

Tom Graham—the quiet achiever within the Tuesday Track Club crew. Put his head down, committed to the training plan (including some altitude training in Whistler) and absolutely smashed the GC marathon. Finishing time of 2:45 pipping AB by 20secs was a huge achievement. Rumour has it focus has now shifted to B2M relay where a challenge to the Pace Jam course record is being touted…