Marshall Milton Keynes Athletic Club wins Queens Award for Voluntary Services

It is one of only 230 voluntary organisations to win the award in 2020..

The award celebrates the work of the club’s coaches, officials, groundsmen, committee members, parents and friends who help regularly to make it one of the most successful clubs in the country.

The club has helped thousands of youngsters develop into mature adults over the years, with many achieving success in the sport. The club’s ethos is to “promote successful participation in athletics in all of its varying forms, for the enjoyment of all club members.”

It was founded as Wolverton Athletic and Cycling Club in 1885 and changed its name to Milton Keynes AC

in 1975.

In 2005 it changed its name again in 2005 to honour Jim Marshall of Marshall Amplification, after he contributed to the cost of the clubhouse at its Stantonbury base. Marshall Amplification has sponsored the club for the last 15 years, enabling it to help support its athletes and coaches.

The club’s volunteers have managed Stantonbury Athletics Stadium since 1992 and has been responsible for all

grounds maintenance since 1998. With help from the council and Sport England, it has raised more than a

million pounds to build a clubhouse and completely upgrade and refurbish the track.

Club President, Milford Callow, who joined the club more than 60 years ago, is proud that the club he nurtured with his late wife, Rose, in the 1960s and 70s has received this award.

He organised the first Wolverton 5-mile race in 1965, and the first six Milton Keynes Marathons in the 1970s. For 15 years he led the grounds-maintenance team, maintaining the stadium to a high standard.

The club organises a range of events each year, including the Milton Keynes Festival of Running, the South of

England Road Relays, the Milton Keynes 10k, the Wolverton 5, the Tour of Milton Keynes, the final fixture in the

Chiltern Cross Country League, several athletics league fixtures, from Under 13s to Veterans, the Eastern Masters

Final, the MK5000 PB Special (including the England Athletics 5000m Championships) and helps promote athletics and cross country running in Milton Keynes schools.

Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth Champion, Greg Rutherford, joined the club when he was 11, and

is still a member. GB Olympic representatives, Craig Pickering (100m and 4x100m relay in Beijing) and Mervyn

Luckwell (Javelin at London) started as under 11s with the club.

Club Chairman, Mick Bromilow, joined the club in 1975, coaching for 12 years before taking over as club chairman in 1992, a position he still holds. As well as looking after several athletics websites he is often found at meetings either as meeting manager, timekeeper or results processor (and sometimes all three!). He was UK Athletics Volunteer of the Year in 2006 and has several roles within the sport.

His wife Fi Han is the officials’ secretary for the club. As well as competing, she ensures that all matches have sufficient qualified officials.

Mick said: “In my professional career and as club chairman I have always tried to tweak systems to improve them. I get a lot of satisfaction when things are well- organised and people are encouraged to achieve their ambitions.”

He added: “We have included a number of club stalwarts in this report, who have been with the club for many years, but there are dozens of other volunteers at the club, of all ages, who are as dedicated and passionate as the older members and they are the future of the sport.

"The epitome of the volunteering year for the club is the annual MK Festival of Running, when 120 members and

friends set out the course, marshal, man the feeding stations, baggage and information tents and officiate at the

start and finish. It is to all of these people that this award is dedicated.”

Athlete, Assistant Coach and Veteran Women’s Team Manager, Corinne Nurse, joined the club in 1988 while still

at Primary School. At 17, after competing successfully on the track and over the country, like many others at that

age, she drifted away from the sport, returning eight years ago, when her children joined the club.

She said: “Athletics has been a major part of my life, as a child we enjoyed the great outdoors and keeping fit. We were always encouraged to be fit & healthy. As a young Black child, I was faced by many difficulties and struggles.

"Sport was an opportunity to be who I wanted to be. I joined Milton Keynes AC. The club was a fantastic place to be – everyone made you feel so welcomed! We were like a large family. At that time there really wasn’t many black faces at the club, which can be difficult for many children who are trying to find themselves.

"We would go out on runs together and I remember one evening, when we came across some sour-minded individuals who tried picking on me because of the colour of my skin. The girls in my group told them to go away – ‘we are sisters!’ – which was really quite beautiful.”

“In 2012 after watching the London Olympics, my spirit had been re-awoken, and I enrolled my daughter to join

the club, to encourage healthy relationships and a sense of self. After a couple of months of watching her and

being asked many times by one of my old friends who, amazingly, still competed, I thought I would try again. I

enrolled all my children as family members, which is rather affordable, and they all competed as I did.”

“The current situation with Covid-19 has made a huge impact on us all! As part of the running family

that I belong to (we are sisters and brothers and our coach is like a parent), we stay in touch via social media. We all do our own training separately now, but we miss each other so much! I can’t wait to physically see my friends again and the same applies to my children. We are all looking forward to when we can train together and compete again.”

Brian Graves joined the club in 1976, taking over as Newsletter Editor two years later, a post he has now held for

42 years. He said: “It has been very challenging growing up alongside MKAC. With a background in track and field and later with road and cross-country I can embrace the wide range of activities that make up our sport. From a club with a small membership is has now grown considerably.

"Initially it was mostly senior men, but we soon started taking in younger athletes and more women. I have relished this advance over the years and I really look forward as the seasons change with many of the athletics disciplines. In my latter years, I have taken up sports photography quite seriously and as, I stand there, I can almost visualise some of my photographs in the next club newsletter.”

With around 800 members, aged from 9 to 80, MMKAC is one of the largest athletics clubs in the country. Over fifty qualified coaches offer coaching in all the athletics disciplines. Club Secretary and Head Coach (Youth Development), David Millett, was UK Athletics ‘Coach of the Year’ in 2016, for his work on the Athletics 365 programme.

He said: “Over the years I have been very lucky with support received from a wide range of colleagues, which has helped build confidence to do things I would never have imagined possible when I started. It has been possible because of the unique environment within the club over the last couple of decades.

"I always felt my administrative skills, gained from work, have helped me add value in athletics. However, the ‘soft skills’ learned through coaching made me far more effective in the workplace.”

As well as his work at the club, David often tutors for England Athletics and is Secretary of the

Buckinghamshire AA.

Head Coach (Endurance), Team Manager and current Buckinghamshire AA President, Barry Hearn, joined the club in 1994 when his ten-year- old son, Chris, became interested in athletics. He has managed many club and county teams over the years, including managing the teams which included young athletes such as Craig Pickering and Greg Rutherford.

Barry has coached hundreds of athletes over the years from beginner to international. He is very appreciative of the help he gets from his team of coaches and assistant coaches, which now includes his son.

One of the highlights for Barry was coaching a severely disabled athlete, with the help of Chris, who worked on his Strength and Conditioning. Following three years of hard work, he was able to train and compete

with the rest of the group. This was highlighted when he received the club award for the ‘Most Improved Athlete’ from Greg Rutherford.

Head Coach (Throws), Jack Kee enjoyed most sports during a career in the army, he moved to Milton Keynes in 1985. He has a passion for hammer throwing and has enjoyed considerable success as a veteran athlete, regularly winning national titles. “Coaching all throws disciplines was to become my second passion over the last 35 years.

"It’s fair to say I get considerable satisfaction when I see the success of my young throwers over the years. I introduced Olympic 2012 Javelin thrower Mervyn Luckwell to the club as a schoolboy and coached him to 60m

before he moved on. Over the years I have consistently had a string of athletes highly placed in the national rankings.”

Head Coach (Sprints), Timekeeper, and Men’s Team Manager, Jim Lawrence, njoined the club more than thirty years ago, starting as an athlete. For the last 23 years he has managed one the men’s teams on the track. He took up coaching 20 years ago and now looks after a team of dedicated sprints coaches who work together to coach a large group of sprinters. More recently he has qualified as a timekeeper, a track judge and a field judge,

officiating at county and regional-level meetings.

A long-serving member of the club’s committee he can often be seen officiating at meetings with his wife and daughter who are also qualified field officials. Jim also helps compile the club’s annual rankings.

He said: “Athletics has been one of my main hobbies and passions for many years. I always felt that I should put

something back into the sport. I wanted to support my local club and I get enormous satisfaction out of doing so.”

Mike Leonard, a senior sprints coach at the club for more than 30 years and UK Athletics ‘Coach of the Year’ in 2005, following his successes with athletes such as Craig Pickering and Joey Duck, isretiring at the end of this year.

He said: “I enjoy seeing the youngsters develop and hope that I've given them not only enjoyment out of improvements in athletics but hopefully life skills for the future. The club continues to be vibrant and successful and involves many volunteers including coaches who put a lot of work in to make it so. Having had success along the way in my coaching I hope that I can continue to help others and the sport.”

Mike is a former Regional Counsellor for Athletics. He continues to be in demand as a speaker and tutor for England Athletics.

Club Welfare Officer, Ian Stewart, was born and grew up in Wolverton. He was a member of Wolverton AC in 1974 when he won his English Schools’ 800m title. In later years he competed for England at 1500m at the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, where he just missed qualifying for the final.

He said: “After enjoying many years as a competitor in athletics, I returned to the sport a few years ago as a volunteer with the club, first as a coach, and then more recently as Welfare Officer. Marshall Milton Keynes AC has become, through the dedication of many volunteers, and many generations of talented athletes from the local community, one of the best clubs in the country and I'm proud to be part of the team. It gives me a great sense of

giving something back to the sport I love."

An athletics meeting cannot take place without the help of many volunteers: starters, track judges, timekeepers, field judges, team managers, kitchen staff and so on. The club is fortunate to have over 40 qualified officials, including several at the international level.

Nick Folwell joined Wolverton AC in the late 1960s, competing in athletics and cross country running until 1975. He then started officiating, “to put back the time that other officials had put in for me in my running days.” He worked his way up to a Level 4 Chief Timekeeper. He has been officiating at the highest level for more than 20 years.

He said: “I have represented my Club, County and Country as a timekeeper at the 2012 London Olympic Games

and the 2017 London World Championships. I am still an active Official for the club and have stayed with athletics for the love of the sport and the friends I have made over the years.”

Club Treasurer, Diane Baldwin, has been a member of the club for more than 30 years. She is still very much an active athlete, representing the England Masters road and cross-country teams in the last two years. She is an endurance coach helping with the club’s road runners, and other running communities.

However, it is as a Level 4 Track Judge, that she is regularly called upon to officiate at televised national and international meetings.

She said: "When I joined the club, I was encouraged by numerous people who made me feel part of an extended inclusive family. Everyone helped – at events there was never any need to ask for people to clear courses – the fast runners just did it to warm down.

"I learned that you get more out of something the more you are prepared to put in and when you make others happy and smile then it has a profound effect on everyone’s wellbeing including your own. This started my journey as athlete, coach, official and general volunteer both involved at the club but also working with others to develop the sport and participation at all levels.

"I get a great deal of pleasure inspiring and encouraging others so they can go on to achieve their goals. It is not the thanks or rewards that motive me but the little gestures, experiencing others achieve their goals and comments that mean so much.”

Club Vice-Chairman and physiotherapist, Jackson Ryan joined the club in 1992. He organises several of the club’s

road and cross-country events. He can also regularly be found setting up athletics meetings, and officiating along

with his partner Julie Davison, either as a track judge or a field judge.

He said: “Having hung up my competitive spikes some years ago, I decided to give something back to

the club, by becoming a track official. Two years ago, my partner Julie, decided to become a field official and now we both enjoy helping athletes to fulfil their goals.”

The club also has a satellite club at Stowe School, organised by Leone Kahembe and Fiona Darling- Glinski, that has been operating for seven years.