Each year, an Award is given at the Formula One Circuit Crew AGM to the individual who has scored the most Club Champs points over the previous season - a season that runs from the date of the first Cross-Country of the Winter (usually Markeaton Park in the North Midlands League around mid-October).

Points are obtained through participation and performance improvement on the previous ‘season’ (full details here) in a model that has been designed and refined to reward those who get involved and push themselves to improve - the key here being that it is not based on lifetime bests, so anyone of any age, whether relatively new to running or not, is on a level playing field.

This season, in a highly competitive cycle, no fewer than 7 (SEVEN!) Tigers notched up over 1,000 points, and going into the final 2 weekends with only the Robin Hood Half-Marathon and a parkrun remaining, 3 Tigers were still in with a realistic chance of coming out on top. You can see some photos of our top 3 runners in our 23-24 Club Champs gallery

Catherine Reilly gave her all in the half-marathon and was on track for big points at halfway before falling just short, Katie Bonner recorded a season’s best at Mansfield parkrun but it was Sarah Williams who matched that season’s best with one of her own to top out at 2,300 points.

It was a great contest and one which proved that the Club Champs offer opportunities to everyone - Sarah has entered the V45 category this year and her Lifetime Bests are from 2016, but she threw herself into the competition with gusto and is a very worthy winner.

We asked Sarah to describe in her own words her journey with running and the Club Champs:

“Having been a club member for several years, it wasn’t until 2022 that I really started running regularly as part of the Tigers, and it’s been an amazing experience! I got involved in cross-country, the summer league, and the Grand Prix, not realising at the time that I was setting a benchmark for the following year.

At the start of this year, I set myself a personal goal to cut about 2 minutes off my parkrun time from the start of the year to the end of the year. Not setting a personal best but setting a best of what I felt I could achieve in 12 months because I felt ready to commit to more consistent running again—aiming for around two runs a week. 

I also joined the club’s WhatsApp group after nearly heading to a summer league race, only to have a coworker inform me that it had been cancelled. That was a clear sign I needed to be more connected!

Last year, I attended the AGM to show my support for the committee members, whose hard work I came to appreciate more throughout the year. At that time, I wasn’t too familiar with the Club Championships when it came up in discussion. In fact, I didn’t fully grasp what it was about until halfway through this year, when I saw the standings mentioned in the WhatsApp group. That sparked my interest and gave me a real boost of motivation, especially knowing I’d be attending events alongside fellow Tigers where I could earn valuable points just for turning up! 

I still have a few opportunities left to reach my parkrun goal for 2024, but the added motivation from the Club Champs, along with the support and camaraderie of running with fellow Tigers, has been a big factor in getting me close to achieving it.

A highlight for me has been the generosity of fellow members, who attended a parkrun location on my behalf for the Club Champs finale—a gesture that truly meant a lot to me.”

Sarah - we salute you and all your fellow Tigers who similarly get involved and simply enjoy being part of the friendliest Club around!