Edition 8

Meeting Notice for 10th August 2026

The Family Hotel at 6:00 for 6:30pm

PROGRAMME: Capt.Sally Stanimirovic & Capt.Lloyd Stanimirovic

LAST MEETING

Our guest speaker was local physiotherapist Warren Ansell. Born in Zimbabwe, Warren moved to Australia in 1982 with his family and after completing Uni. Started in his first job as a physio in Camperdown Children's Hospital (Westmead). He married his wife Erica, a Gunnedah local, and moved to Tamworth over 30 years ago starting up his Pro-Active Physiotherapy business in 1999.

When he is not running his business, Warren runs ultra marathons greater than 45km for fun.  Warren advised after saving up for 16 years he participated in what is considered the toughest foot race on Earth, the 270km Marathon de Sables 2026 across the Sahara at the foot of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

Warren explained the requirement is to carry all food, carry all bedding, run from one tent village to the next and share an open sided tent with 7 strangers each night.  It is a 7 day race with the shortest leg being 21.2km and the longest 100km.  The runners start with a 12.5 kg backpack on their back.  The aim is to try and reduce this weight by the time you get to day 4 which is the 100km day.

The Atlas Mountains reach heights of over 4000m and the nights were very cold down to 4 degrees.  The location is very remote being right near the Algerian border.  Warren explained that he incorrectly interpreted the warmth rating of his sleeping bag which meant he shivered more through the night than he would have liked.

This is a very popular race which has been running since 1986.  Warren explained that with this year being the 40th anniversary of the race they permitted nearly 1500 competitors to take part and in celebration of the anniversary the organisers had a special surprise being increasing the longest leg from 80 to 100km. 

Thankfully Warren advised the weather was slightly cooler this year than normal.  He still had to run through two sandstorms during the race, braving rain and sand. Prepared for these however, his face cover helped reduce the quantity of sand inhaled and eaten during the race.

When queried on his placing, Warren advised he finished about 1000th but was more focused on participating and finishing and helping others through the race rather than where he placed. There were a number of injuries during the race and being a Physio Warren was able to assist other runners with muscle strains and tears battle through.  He emphasised the requirement for mental toughness in a race such as this and confessed he had a few battles with blisters in the first few days himself.

Competing in and finishing this ultra marathon is an amazing achievement and our members were captivated with Warren's talk tonight.

Thanks to James Hindmarsh for the notes

Duty Roster Monday 10th August

Room Set-up: Jim Booth (C), John Bamford

Door: Ken Douglas, Noel Bennet

Toast and Welcome: Mal MacPherson

Intro and Notes: Frank Henry

Thanks: Brian Cox

Sergeant: Graeme Mills

Monday 17th August

Room Set-up: Ken Douglas, + Volunteer

Door: Brian Cox, + Volunteer

Toast and Welcome: John Bamford

Intro and Notes: Graeme Mills

Thanks: Volunteer

Sergeant: Brian Cox

Monday 24th August

Room Set-up: Brian Cox + Volunteer

Door: Jim Booth, Ken Douglas

Toast and Welcome: Jim Booth

Intro and Notes: + Volunteer

Thanks: John Bamford

Sergeant: Frank Henry

August captain Jim Booth notes that a number of the team are away or unavailable this month. Please help out if you can.

PRESIDENTS REPORT

What a great meeting on Monday night, the highlight being our guest speaker, Warren Ansell who is a local physiotherapist who moonlights as an ultramarathon runner. Please see the comprehensive notes put together by James Hindmarsh.
It was great to see Tony Summers back to a meeting looking well after a bit of a hiccup of the heart.

The Commonwealth Games have been a topic of conversation for the last couple of weeks, and to add to our connection to sports stars I am happy to announce that Alex Perkins, granddaughter of John Crosby, (past member and great friend to many) won 4 gold medals and a silver at the Glasgow event, marking one of the most successful performances by an Australian swimmer at a single Commonwealth Games.
A brief discussion was had regarding the vote for the redistricting proposal. The meeting agreed that the best outcome for us would be to vote Yes, meaning "we agree with the amalgamation of District 9660, 9685 and the clubs north of 9660 to the Queensland border who are currently in District 9640." I will vote YES in accordance with the meeting's wishes via the online portal on Friday. Anyone not at Monday nights meeting and would like to make comment, please do so by Thursday night.
We have a fairly busy August with a Bunnings BBQ, MHERV, and a BBQ for the Basketball Assoc. so please keep your eye on Clubrunner to offer you services where you can.
Have a good week.
YIR

Gav