“The President’s Trophy” 2025
After each annual outdoor Inter Area challenge I choose an athlete to which to present The President’s Trophy. This Trophy was bought a few years ago in memory of Faye Holden an NMAC member who died in 2020 of cancer in her early 40s. Faye was a lovely person who was happy to do any event at the Inter Area to gain us a few points.
It has been particularly hard this year to chose one person as so many athletes went “the extra mile”, pushed through their comfort zones on August 17th at York to help us regain the Inter Area Trophy, last won by us in 1998.
There were those that did tricky, scary events like the hurdles, jumps or walks for the first time, those who competed and officiated, athletes who did 3 events or more plus a relays, the ones who won 3 events or more, those that moved down age groups selflessly, runners who doubled up in longer events, those who broke NMAC, British or European records, sprinters who turned up just for a relay…it goes on and on, the fantastic spirit shown by the NMAC athletes.
Not to mention the hard work, keen brain and enthusiasm of Paul Barlow our manager. However he has won the Trophy before, so it will be someone new this year. The athlete who has been awarded The President’s Trophy 2025 is also a new NMAC and a new Masters athlete-
W35 Jo Rowland.
Jo, without a blink of her wonderful eyelashes, took on 6 individual events plus a relay and earned 42 points from the individual events. She won 80m hurdles, Shot Put, Long Jump and Javelin. She came 2nd in the Discus and what impressed me most, she came 3rd in the 400m, an event she hadn’t run for 3 years. She ran it sensibly , to gain more points for us. Then she brought the relay team in first in a NMAC record.
No fuss or drama, she just got on with it.