Lancaster University Running & Athletics Club (LURAC) were fortunate to have been joined by Lancaster alumnus, Dr Norman Poole (Applied Physics & Electronics, 1970, Bowland) for their annual awards evening.

The event was hosted online via Zoom, giving our members the chance to virtually ‘meet’ and celebrate the individual and team achievements in cross country and track and field from the past academic year. Norman, who was a member of Bowland College and graduated Lancaster in 1970 with a degree in Physics & Electronics, gave an inspirational talk about his life, portraying the highs and lows of his own athletic, business and coaching career. Norman is best known for his athletics coaching, having worked with the likes of Dame Kelly Holmes, Steve Cram and Paula Radcliffe and having been part of coaching set ups for various Commonwealth and Olympic games, including the London 2012 Olympics.

Norman spoke of how he has balanced both his coaching and engineering passions, discussing his business adventures in China. His talk also dipped into sport psychology, including ways to manage stress in pressure situations and control your inner ‘chimp’, something which proved highly relevant to coping with the mental health impacts of our current Coronavirus situation. The talk was followed by a question and answer session, in which our members asked Norman a range of questions from the comfort of their own homes. Raffle ticket sales from the event also helped to contribute towards our annual charity fundraiser efforts, in which we raised almost £600 for the Morecambe Bay Foodbank. In all, it was a delight to have listened to the successes of Norman’s life, and it is our pleasure to welcome Norman into the LURAC family.

Joseph Earl, VP Lancaster University Running & Athletics Club