!2th June 2011 saw several of our gymnasts in action at the Manchester Open, amongst them Alice Briggs.  This is a really prestigious competition, and normally our proud parents would not do anything other than watch their children perform at such an event; wild horses, etc...  Well, how about a running a half marathon instead?

!2th June also saw the annual Redcar half marathon, and this year Redcar Gymnastics Club was very much in evidence, represented by a four strong team consisting of Alice's dad Steve Briggs, his brother Jamie and friends Steve Lindford and James Thompson (both pictured here in lively action on the day).  The race entry was made before Alice qualified for the Manchester Open, so the clash was unfortunate and unavoidable.

Steve Briggs has always supported the club and our work, and knows of our attempts to fund a new home for the club.  When deciding to run the race he felt the club would be a worthy cause to run for.  His team mates, although having no direct links with the club, cheerfully agreed and the result was a four strong team showing the club name all across the course to a large crowd.  All ran well and had a good day.  Not satisfied with a good performance in the race, Steve even managed to get the club some good publicity in the local press afterwards.  That's real dedication and the thanks of everyone in the club go to Steve and the team.  Well done all of you and thank you very much!

So what about Alice, I hear you ask?  Well, she had a good day at the Manchester competition and the miracle of mobile phones allowed Steve and Alice to keep up to date.  For once, the gymnast wanting to know how the parent did...

A report on the gymnastics competition will follow shortly.