The Interior Running Association’s AGM will be via zoom, December 7th at 6:00.
A friendly reminder that nominations for Female and Male Runner of the Year, as well as the Heinrich Spiller Award of Courage will be made at the zoom meeting. Below are descriptors of the awards.
Runner of the Year awards were first presented in 1983 which was the year the IRA was formed. The male and female runners of the Year are decided each year at the Interior Running Association’s AGM. Nominations are received from the member clubs, and then a vote is taken, with each club having one vote. In order to be eligible, a person must have run in enough races to qualify for series awards, and must belong to one of the member clubs. The award is based upon a combination of running success and club or IRA involvement. Neither of these two factors is paramount. In other words, a runner could win this award with an incredibly successful year of racing, even though they were not active in their club. Conversely, a runner could finish well down in the series standings, but win because of their tremendous contribution to the running community. Most recipients show a combination of both.
The Heinrich Spiller Award of Courage was presented for the first time in 2002. It is in memory of Heinrich, who was a top-notch age group runner in the 55-59 and 60-64 age groups. Heinrich ran, and won, while battling the cancer that eventually took him from us. His widow Susan, son Rob, and Grant Turner of Canadian Tire in Vernon have donated this award to the series. The award honours the runner who best personified courage in the face of physical adversity. Many people choose to face this sort of battle in private, and we respect your wishes, and salute you.
Feel free to contact me at interior.running@gmail.com if you have any questions or if you are interested in attending the zoom meeting.
Sincerely,
Cindy Rhodes (IRA president)