How to Join
Members
Membership is free for all those who wish to join and/or help the club with its mission. The club, however, is a non-profit entity that relies on the support of all individuals wishing to help. If you can, a donation of $25 would go a long way in helping to maintain all the services and programs the club has to offer. A receipt will be issued upon request.
Disabled Members | Safety | Training advice | Disabilities | Accompanying in races |
Anyone of any age with a disability and who wants to run is welcome to become a member of the Achilles Track Club of New Zealand. Membership is free and there is minimal or no charge for members who participate in local races, coaching or workouts. Achilles T-shirts are free to those who show determination. Access to the club's web site and newsletters is also provided free of charge to all members.
If running events are held in a city outside of the city where the member resides, the Achilles Track Club of New Zealand will try to provide financial assistance to members who wish to participate in those events by meeting the race fees and part of the costs of room and board at the city where the event takes place. The member is responsible for his or her transportation costs.
Provided the person has a willingness to try, they can run. Members of the Achilles Track Club of New Zealand who run have disabilities such as visual, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, arthritis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, amputation, cystic fibrosis, or those who suffer from stroke, cancer, traumatic head injury, and many others. Some runners may use a wheelchair or prostheses or they may be blind, but through the assistance and training provided to them by volunteers of the Achilles Track Club, they are able to run in races.
In workouts , no runner should be out of sight of a volunteer unless briefly on one of the ovals, or unless that runner is very experienced. Volunteers do have the right to tell runners what to do when it comes to safety. If you are accompanying people running around the four-mile park road, be sure you know how many people are out doing it and have someone bringing up the rear to make sure they all get in.
The greatest danger is from traffic, especially at twilight and night. Volunteers should: run between the runners and the cars; look back to see when a stream of cars is coming and wave them to the side if necessary; and remind the runners to be careful. Cars in the park tend to cut corners, swerving into the runners’ lanes, and they may not expect the pace that some of our runners use. People in wheelchairs who like to ride the crest of the road should use flashing lamps or be very very careful.
Most of our runners, once they can do five miles comfortably, need to be encouraged to run a little faster. Blind runners are especially timid (understandably!), but many others too are unfamiliar with the pleasurable sensation of moving fast.
A few on the other hand, have systemic diseases and should be encouraged to rest or slow down whenever they need it. A volunteer running with a new person or a person with a disease should be familiar with heart monitoring techniques and use them.
Don’t scare off new people by pushing them too hard. The first workout should be part observing, part participating, lots of talking and getting familiar.
Talk to people about what training they do outside of Wednesday workouts. Three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes should be the minimum; if they have trouble arranging this, help them think creatively about the possibilities.
Try to get to know different runners rather than working out with the same person or several people each week.
Do not be embarrassed to ask about the disability and how it came about; it’s more comfortable for people to talk about it than ignore it, and it will help you understand peoples needs. The athletes understand that to some extent they have to train the volunteers and coaches in what their needs are.
Some people like to joke about their situation, others may be offended. We have to play it by ear, put ourselves in their shoes (or shoe) and be natural.
Get to the starting line about 15 minutes before the Achilles start ( which is about half an hour early for each 5 miles), so you can help if there is any confusion about picking up numbers, timing, starting location, etc. In most Central Park races there will be not problem with water, but if you are accompanying someone very slow, you might want to bring some. If you know ahead of time who you will be with, ask what he or she might need (extra gloves for wheelchair pushing, food, adhesive tape, etc.)
In the early part of the race, you will be helping to set a steady, easy pace. When the pack catches up, you will protect your runner from the gung-ho by keeping him or her to the side, especially when drinking water. If you are with a wheelchair runner, you may have to run ahead on up hills so you will be together again at the bottom of the downhill; you may also have to discourage dangerous down hilling.
Do not give any bodily aid, unless the person is hurting or exhausted and stops by the side. This is just a commonsense rule of running competitions, but it applies especially to the disables; it is far more satisfying to push a wheelchair 2 miles alone than 5 miles with help.
Do run through the finish line with your runner, and afterwards make sure the baggage is found and there is a way home.
Timing
You or your runner should start a stopwatch when you cross the starting line and stop it when you cross the finish line; do not expect race officials to do special timing for early starters. And don’t count on the published results to be useful, because you won’t have any way to know when the pack actually started.
If your runner wants to go for a fast time, help in the calculations of pace per mile, and keep him or her down to that pace (ie no faster).
Attitude
Help to establish the feeling that every person’s achievement is as stunning as every other: short races are as important as marathons (maybe more, since they don’t interrupt training with a long recovery period) and a half-mile workout is as important to a beginner as a four-mile workout to the experienced; probably more so.
Do your best to accommodate the workout wishes of the runner, but not to the point that you end up coming back too late or becoming too individualistic. There is great benefit in having group workouts rather than everyone going off doing their own thing. You do have a right to put your foot down about the route and time.
It is important that the volunteers too have a good time: everything depends on the enthusiasm and mood we establish. If anything is interfering with your enjoyment, talk about it. We are not martyrs or even do-gooders; we do this because it is a lot of fun and we enjoy each others company.
Questions
You report to the coach. For heavens sake don’t hesitate to complain or ask about anything that is bothering you, whether it relates to your runner’s well-being or your own. No one knows the individual runners as well as you do, and though your questions might seem silly to you, they just might point out a very important point that we have missed because of not seeing the trees for the forest. Better safe than sorry, and better happy than disgruntled.
Thank you for your help. You are all wonderful; without you the Achilles Track Club could not exist, and without our particular spirits it would not exist with the great spirit it has.