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Introduction to Carnethy
by Nick MacDonald, Colin Pritchard and Anne Nimmo (Past Presidents)

What is Carnethy?  Carnethy is a Hill Running Club, of course, but much more than that.  Carnethy is arguably one of the premier Clubs in Britain and is certainly the largest hill running club in Scotland with a membership of 250 in 2004. A glance through the past and present member’s list reads like a Hill Running Who’s Who, with World, British and Scottish Champions, Ultra-distance record holders, Internationals and the like, but that would give a false impression of Carnethy’s origins and what Carnethy is still about today.  In essence, Carnethy is an association of like-minded people, enjoying hill running for all it has to offer whether it is some crucial competition or a social stravaig ‘up there’.

Nick, lost in Norway

Colin Pritchard running up Kinabalu		 Once labelled ‘a particular lesser club’ and proud of it, Carnethy was formed on 12th April 1983 as a refuge for the homeless!  A place for all those unattached hillrunners or displaced hillrunners in Athletics Clubs who didn’t have a real Hill running club to call home. As such, Carnethy is now ‘home’ to a wide-range of eclectic and some say eccentric individuals. With an oldest competing member in his seventies and a youngest, non-competing, member of eighteen months, we’ve quite a range of runners, raconteurs and rogues. There are many outstanding athletes of all sorts in the Club, as well as people talented in all sorts of diverse ways. One of the features of the Club is that, whether champion or also-ran, we are all enthusiasts.  You will find mountain bikers, sea-kayakers, dancers, cross-country skiers, sailors, rock-climbers, orienteers and mountaineers among our membership, all eager to share their own interests and skills. Time and again people have said that they joined the Club because of the friendly people and their attitude to running in the hills.  With a strong ladies section - a third of our membership- and an enthusiastic junior section Carnethy’s strength lies in the diversity of its members and their interests.

What do I think makes Carnethy special?
Well, it doesn't just boast World, British and Scottish Champions (along with its 'also-rans') but, unusual in a running club, it contains a majority who are recreational runners. This is undoubtedly because hill running has a non-competitive side to it that track and field athletics doesn't have. Carnethy offers these runners something too (something the stereotype athletic club doesn't) - journeyruns, weekends in the hills and foreign trips running over well-trodden trails or through remote wildernesses. This interesting mix of competitive and non-competitive members makes Carnethy a breath of fresh air. The club newsletter is alive with stories of exploits as well as races and is a huge incentive to make you 'get out there' and join a trip, enter a race or organise something yourself.


Anne Nimmo on the summit of Gerlachovsky Stit in the Tatras
Races
Carnethy organise, or are involved in organising, about a dozen races a year, spread across the running year and across the country too. From East Linton to East Fife, from Moffat to the Moorfoots, from Skye to the Skyline (Pentlands that is) we try to contribute to well-organised competition in the hills.
Night Runs
In the winter months when the moon is up and the darkness descends Carnethy organise a series of night runs in the hills.  The locations and terrain vary but always end with ‘pub and grub’ somewhere near at hand. The pace is often slow but the conversation and the wit is usually quick.
Handicap Races
In the summer months we organise a series of handicap races.  Based on the Biblical principle that ‘the first shall be last and the last first’, runners are given different start-times, with the slowest off first and the fastest off last and gives everyone the opportunity to beat a British Champion or two.  There is a catch of course.  If you thought Catch 22 was bad, wait until you try to outsmart our handicapper.  For points are gained throughout the series and the only way to gain points is by running fast but the faster you run the worse your handicap is next time out.  The only way to get a good handicap is by running slowly but then you don’t score points.  So how is it done?  Come along to a handicap race and find out.
The Newsletter
The Newsletter has been an integral part of the Club and a mainstay of its fabric and cohesiveness, since the Club’s formation.  Many members have said how much they enjoy it and read it from cover to cover on the day it drops through the letterbox.  Bi-monthly, and free to all club members it has expanded over the years from a one-page NewsSheet to a 40-page Newsletter with a wide variety of contributions from many members.  From poetry to politics, records and results, tales of derring do and didn’t dare, it is an invaluable record of the doings of the Club and an important archive resource.  Want to find out what the Club’s been up to or is planning for the months ahead it’s all in the Newsletter.
Social Events
Throughout the year Carnethy organise a number of social events, including Club Weekends away, occasional trips overseas and long, leisurely, all day ‘journey’ runs, interspersed with dinners and dances, video nights and talks, and lots of other events.		 CIMM 2003
Carnethy HRC Constitution
1 Name
The name of the club shall be Carnethy Hill Running Club, hereafter referred to as 'The Club'.

2 Object
The object of the Club shall be to encourage the pursuit and enjoyment of hill running in Scotland and elsewhere.

3 Membership
Membership shall consist of the following categories:
(a) Senior Members (being those aged 18 or over at any point in the year of membership); and
(b) Junior Members (being those aged 17 or less for the whole of the membership year).
Any person seeking to join the Club shall submit an application to the Membership Secretary. Membership is open to all and no application will be refused on other than reasonable grounds. The Committee is under no obligation however to disclose the reason for refusing any application.

4 Officials of the Club
(a) The office bearers of the Club shall be a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Membership Secretary, a Men’s Captain and a Ladies’ Captain.
(b) The Committee of the Club shall comprise the office-bearers, the Editor of the Club Newsletter, the Webmaster, representatives of the Club on other bodies (if not already members of the Committee), plus three ordinary Committee members. The Committee must also comprise both males and females. Additional members and race organisers may be co-opted onto the Committee in a non-voting capacity as required.
c) If an office-bearer demits office between AGMs, the Committee shall appoint a replacement from amongst its elected members. The replacement shall hold office until the next AGM or special meeting.

5 Subscriptions
The annual subscription shall be suggested by the Committee and any proposed changes shall be agreed or otherwise at the next AGM.
Subscriptions will become due on 1st January of the membership year. Fees for new members after January are payable pro-rata for the remaining months.

6 Annual General Meeting
(a) The annual general meeting of the Club shall be held on a date fixed by the Committee, which shall not be later than 31st October each year; the meeting shall be called by the notification of all members at least fourteen days before that date. At the annual general meeting (i) reports shall be submitted by the Secretary and by the Treasurer; (ii) office-bearers and members of the Committee shall be elected; (iii) and any other competent business shall be transacted.
(b) To vote or take part in the proceedings of the meeting Individuals must be current members of the Club of at least thirty days standing. Only Senior members shall have voting powers.
(c) The annual general meeting shall appoint an Honorary Auditor who shall not be a member of any Committee or Sub-Committee of the Club, but who may be a member.
(d) The annual general meeting may elect an Honorary President, and Honorary Life Members, if the Club so desires.
(e) A special meeting of the Club may be called at any time by the Secretary on the authority of the Committee or at the request in writing of any ten Senior Members. The notice calling such a meeting shall specify its purpose and no other business shall be transacted.
(f) The chairperson of the annual general meeting and of any special meeting shall be the President, or any other Club member nominated by the President.
(g) The outcome of all non-Constitutional votes shall be determined by simple majority. In the event of a tie the chairperson shall have a deliberative as well as a casting vote.

7 General
(a) The duties of the Committee shall be to govern the affairs of the Club in all respects.
(b) The duties of the Secretary shall be to keep a correct record of the proceedings of the annual general meeting, of any special meetings and of Committee meetings; to attend to all correspondence; and to take charge of all Club books and records; The duty of the Membership Secretary shall be to keep an up-to-date list of Club members and ensure the collection of annual membership subscriptions. The duties of the Treasurer shall be to keep the accounts of the Club in a proper form and to deal with all financial matters pertaining to the Club. All cheques issued in the name of the Club shall be signed by two of the office-bearers. The Treasurer shall transfer all monies to the bank account of the Club, and shall submit a detailed audited financial statement to the annual general meeting.
(c) The Club shall be affiliated to such bodies as considered appropriate.

8 Carnethy Hill Racing Club
The Club shall grant automatic Club membership (both Senior and Junior) to members of the Carnethy Hill Racing Club. Members of the Carnethy Hill Racing Club who have paid their annual subscriptions shall enjoy the same membership rights and services as other Club Members. The Club shall review these arrangements should any change to the constitution or practice of the Carnethy Hill Racing Club threaten or alter the existing close relationship between the two clubs.

9 Club Colours
Club colours consist of a red vest with a horizontal yellow band on the front bearing the name ‘Carnethy’ in red. A yellow Carnethy clansman is printed on the front left and back middle.

10 Alterations to the Constitution
(a) No alteration shall be made to this constitution except at an annual general meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose and unless supported by two-thirds of the Senior Members present. A quorum at any meeting at which a change of constitution is proposed shall be twelve Senior Members. Any proposed change shall be submitted in writing to all members at least fourteen days before the meeting.
(b) The Committee shall have power to make bye-laws which shall be binding to all members until the next annual general meeting or special meeting, when these shall be confirmed or otherwise as may be determined by the Club.

11 Winding-up
The Club can be wound up if a resolution to that effect is passed at a general meeting by a two-thirds majority of those Senior Members present. If on dissolution and settlement of debts any property remains, this will pass to an organisation with similar aims, as determined at the general meeting which votes for dissolution.

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