Shepparton Runners Club full of puff on 40th anniversary

In fact, they have plenty of puff — numbers are growing, hearts are thumping and the smiles are widening.

Tonight the club celebrates its 40th anniversary with a special Pot Luck night at its Princess Park Clubrooms.

Club member and co-ordinator Melanie McAuliffe said the night would be a chance to look back and to celebrate the future.

‘‘We always try and be as social as we can,’’ McAuliffe said.

‘‘There’s been a lot of new members, so tonight will be a way to welcome them and acknowledge past members.’’

Former Shepparton News sports editor and 1964 Stawell Gift winner Noel Hussey came up with the idea of a running club in the summer of 1979.

At the time, he was a footy umpire and coach.

‘‘I saw the need for the footy umpires to meet off-season to keep up their fitness levels,’’ Hussey said.

‘‘A lot of people were running for exercise, but there was no official club. So we met down at Princess Park once a week, and on a Sunday when we had a barbecue afterwards.’’

McAuliffe said the club’s first minutes were found dated February 7, 1979.

Hussey was the inaugural president, followed two years later by Geoff Wilson.

Hussey paid tribute to Wilson’s contribution.

‘‘Geoff took it to another level — now they have clubrooms and accreditation with international running bodies,’’ he said.

‘‘If you run good times here, you can qualify for marathons in Boston or London.’’

At Tuesday evening’s weekly meet at Victoria Park Lake, Wilson said the club had always been a family-oriented one.

‘‘My kids have all been through and it’s terrific to see it all still going so well,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s made people realise just how good running is — on a social and a physical level. It’s super stuff.’’

From small beginnings, the club committee has remained active and passionate with regular training sessions and monthly handicap races — and the legacy of the after training barbecue remains.

In the 1990s, the monthly handicaps grew to a point where the club decided to expand even further.

The Shepparton Running Festival was born in 1998 (known then as the Shepparton Runners Club Marathon).

The festival has grown to more than 800 people participating last year from across Australia and even internationally.

Club membership has also steadily grown over the years from a dozen runners in 1979 to more than 100 members of all ages and abilities today.

McAuliffe said the committee had a big year of celebrations ahead with a Bunnings barbecue fundraiser in March, a visual display in Shepparton Library in April, a calendar in June, and a gala dinner in July.

A mother of two, McAuliffe said three years ago she was not at all sports-minded.

‘‘I started with Parkrun — and I was known as the lady with the pram,’’ she said.

When she achieved 5km in less than 30 minutes, she graduated to the runners club and has never looked back.

‘‘It’s the best thing I ever did. It’s given me a sense of purpose — and I feel 100 per cent healthier,’’ she said.

President Steve Ayton said committee members were excited about the year ahead.

‘‘A lot of hard work has gone into the celebrations planned for the year and special thanks must go to the organising committee,’’ Ayton said.