Club Run Sunday May 22
15 Spartans made their way to the Tan the morning after the 2022 Federal election. It was pleasing to see that five female Spartans attended, perhaps a record high. Geoff Sloan came for the first time, and it was very good to see Legend Wayne Thompson.

Note that Pamela and Candida are wearing long sleeved T-shirts.
Next Club Run Sunday June 26
Join President Jay Fleming to run around the Tan on June 26. Spartans, friends and family are all welcome. We will meet outside the Observatory, Birdwood Avenue at 8am and run/jog/walk a lap or two of the Tan. Afterwards we can have a socially distanced drink at Jardin Tan. Please wear your Spartan singlets so we can make a show. Parking for three hours is free on Sundays. We will run clockwise (up Anderson St hill) so if you arrive late, run in the other direction and you should meet up with a group.
Note that club runs are scheduled for the fourth Sunday of every month except December.
Club Run Sunday April 24
On another lovely morning 13 Spartans met for a Club Run.
Missing from Photo: Peter Seal
Club Run Sunday March 27
On another lovely morning 21 Spartans met for a Club Run. We were joined for the first time by Paul Delaney who has spent a two years in England thanks to Covid restrictions. Paul De Stefanis didn’t come from quite so far, but it was also the first time for him to be mentioned on this page. Ray Cilia made the trip from Shepparton after a gap of several years.

Thanks to John Kaparelis and Kai Ooi for photographs.
Club Run Sunday February 27
At 8am on a humid Sunday morning a record 34 Spartans met at The Tan. Some had already run one or even multiple laps. As usual, we set off together but soon broke up into smaller groups at varying paces. Afterwards, many filtered back to Jardin Tan for a coffee and a snack generously provided by President Jay Fleming.
Front Row: David Foskey, Jon Strachan, Hamish Blair, Grant Padula, Andrea Lung, Yao Wang, Justin Hansen, Jay Fleming, Candida Baskcomb, Simon Iskenderian, Kai Ooi
Photographer: Matt Callaghan

Club Run January 23 2022
On another very pleasant Sunday morning we had 20 plus Spartans run a lap or two of The Tan, and most went back to Jardin Tan for a drink afterwards. It was good to see a few members there for the first time.

Club Run November 28
On a very pleasant Sunday morning we had a record 28 Spartans run a lap or two of The Tan, and most went back to Jardin Tan for a drink afterwards. It was good to see a few members there for the first time. We also had a couple of incoming Spartans who have shared their running stories in recent newsletters: Matt Arms (page 6) and Hamish Blair (page 3).
Club Run October 24
Club Run, Sunday June 27
On a crisp Melbourne morning, five days after the shortest day of the year, we had approximately 20 Spartans meet to run around the Tan. Some members chose to run a warm-up lap before the main group set off just after 8:00am for one or two laps. President Jay Fleming asked all members to sign-in, either by scanning our QR code, or by signing a register.
Front, Kai Ooi, Yao Wang, Justin Hansen, Jay Fleming, Brenda Hutchinson, Ian Gainey
Missing from photograph: David Foskey, Gavin Criddle
Club Run, Sunday May 23
Eighteen members met for the third run of 2021 on a crisp morning. It was pleasing to see some members present for the first time as well as a good proportion of regular participants.
Club Run, Sunday March 28
Fourteen members met for the second run of the year.

First 2021 Club Run, Sunday February 28
We had a relatively small attendance at our first club run for 2021. A pity, because conditions were absolutely ideal.
Thanks to Kai Ooi we have our very first action videos. (Warning, these are large files!) See Rod Bayley here or Kimbra Stanfield, Candida Baskcomb and Pamela Young here.
Front (kneeling): Milan Stanisic, David Foskey, Jay Fleming, Candida Baskcomb
See Rod Bayley running.
Club Get-Together December 20
There was a Spartans Christmas get-together at Ferdinando Gardens in Hampton on Sunday December 20.


Club Run, Sunday November 22
It is always pleasing to welcome members who have not joined us before and there were new faces at this run. Afterwards, President Jay Fleming organised drinks from Jardin Tan.

That’s a 1.5 metre tape measure between John and Francis.
Club Run, Sunday May 31
It was with considerable trepidation that this run was organised: would anyone turn up at all given the ramifications of Covid-19?
We were delighted that more than 20 Spartans, including some we hadn’t seen before, met to run a variable number of laps, and then adjourned to Jardin Tan for a stand-up coffee. The Committee is determined to find a more efficient method of organising the ordering of coffees, but we think everyone was eventually served. The last Spartans left some time after 11am, perhaps because they’d parked in a 3 hour zone!
Club Run, Sunday 15 March 2020 at the Tan
17 Spartans met for a lap or three of the Tan on the scheduled day for the 2020 Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix,.


Jardin Tan is normally crowded when we have our coffees, but was very quiet this morning despite excellent weather conditions.
Club Run, Sunday 24 November 2019 at the Tan
Once again about 20 Spartans came to the Tan to run some laps and drink some club supplied beverages. The weather was good, and we shared the Tan track with the Sri Chinmoy Tan Team Relay competitors.
Middle: Len Hallett, Bryan Flegg, Gavin Criddle, Anubhav Tewari, Carlo Iovenitti
Front:Frank Biviano, Candida Baskcomb, David Foskey, Nev Gardner, Archie Ingram, Tewari Jnr1, Tewari Jnr2
Missing: Pete Battrick, Steve Miller, Justin Hansen
Club Run, Sunday 18 August 2019 at the Tan
Once again more than 20 Spartans came to the Tan to run some laps and drink some club supplied beverages. Brenda Hutchinson took the occasion to a completely new level by supplying some cake!
Front: David Foskey, Brenda Hutchinson, Archie Ingram, Jay Fleming, Ian Gainey
Missing: Vicky Chung, Pete Battrick, Nev Gardner. There was another green singlet Spartan on the track who didn’t join us.
Club Run, Sunday 30 June 2019 at the Tan
More than 20 Spartans came to the Tan to run one or two laps, and many stayed for a cup of coffee. (Jay Fleming, as president, bought the beverages on behalf of the club.) Not everyone made it into a photo, and a few names were missed. If you are shown as “Unknown” please email David Foskey
Club Run, Sunday 24 March 2019 at the Tan


Club Run, Sunday 2 December 2018
Thunder, lightning and heavy rain at 3am did not augur well for a successful club run. However, the morning was clear, the sun appeared and 15 Spartans enjoyed a pleasant run followed by light refreshments at Jardin Tan.

Club Run, 5 August 2018
15 Spartans met at the Albert Park Carousel on a cold and windy day.

Club Run, 24 June 2018
Clear skies and no wind greeted us on a day ideal for running. Due to the failure of the organiser of the run to check the race calendar, we shared the Tan with the “Tan Ultra”. However, we were able to see several Spartans as they went past on one of their several laps. Candida Baskcomb (50k), Jane Sturzaker(42k), and John Kaparelis(42k) took enough of a break to join us in the photo below.
John Dean, Jay Fleming, John Kaparelis, Pamela Young, Candida Baskcomb, Steve Miller, Jane Sturzaker, Nev Gardner, Ken Miller. Missing from photo: David Foskey.
After our one or two laps, we shared an outside table at Jardin Tan where Felicity Doolan joined us for a chat and a coffee.
Club Run, 22 April 2018
A small group enjoyed a lap or two of the Tan, at widely varying paces, in beautiful autumn weather. Afterwards we gathered around an outside table of Jardin Tan for a chat and a coffee.
We will do it again in a month or so. Pamela has requested that more female Spartans attend!

Ian Gainey missed being in this photo.

Club Run, 23 July 2017
A select group of runners braved the inclement conditions for a run on the 23rd of July.
Club run, 5 March 2017
We met outside the Observatory, Birdwood Avenue at 8am and ran/jogged/walked a lap or two of the Tan. Afterwards we had a coffee or orange juice at Jardin Tan.
Standing: John Kaparelis, Conor McNeice, Frank Biviano, Pamela Young, Nev Gardner, Vince Politino, Jane Sturzaker, Bruce “Digger” Hargreaves, Carlo Iovenitti, Brian Walsh, Justin Hansen. Kneeling: Jay Fleming, Candida Baskcomb, David Foskey. Missing from photo: Peter Ryan
Hall of Fame Social Run and Get Together, 5 July 2015
Our first club run for 2015 attracted 17 runners who did one or two laps around the Tan, then adjourned to the Jardin Tan eatery for refreshments. We were very glad that we had a few members attend who aren’t (yet?) in the Hall of Fame.
The date chosen coincided with the Gold Coast Marathon which ruled out a few potential starters. We will organise a similar run in the future.
David Foskey, Nev Gardner, Cath Bombardieri, Roger Weinstein, John Dobson, Peter Ryan, Dennis Nish, Justin Hansen, Mike Zervos, Jay Fleming, Ray Cilia, Brian Walsh, Frank Biviano, Bryan Flegg, Antony Martin, Felicity Doolan, Carli Iovenitti.
Before the Run
Setting Off

Bryan Flegg, Justin Hansen, Mike Zervos, Peter Ryan, Jay Fleming, Cath Bombardieri, John Dobson, Ray Cilia

Nev Gardner, Antony Martin, David Foskey, Carlo Iovenitti, Brian Walsh, Frank Biviano, Roger Weinstein, Dennis Nish
End of a lap
In Jardin Tan

Dennis Nish, Justin Hansen, obscured, obscured, Bryan Flegg, Brian Walsh, Jay Fleming, Ray Cilia, Ken Bolitho
Victorian Road Runners Runs
Join the Victorian Road Runners on the first Saturday of each month at the Tan, commencing at 7.30 am for a run of 4km or 8km (or more!). President Jay Fleming hopes to see you, in your Spartan singlet, for a lap.
The picture shows committee member John Kaparelis on the left and President Jay Fleming on the right.
Club Run, Sunday May 4
A few stalwarts turned up even though the weather was less than promising. True to expectation, there were periods of heavy rain during the run, but the sun came out by the end. There was always the prospect of a warm drink in the comfort of the Observatory Cafe – alas, closed for renovations! This meant that there was at least one Spartan on the Tan (running much faster than me) that I didn’t meet, so if you read this, please send an email and let me know who you are.
We will organise another run: we can’t guarantee the weather, but we do promise to check whether coffee will be available.
22nd March 2014 Club Run
We started a little after 8:00 am on the Tan, near the Observatory Cafe. We had ten members and broke up into a number of groups according to the desired speed of the runners. One group ran a single lap at a leisurely pace. This group included Nev Gardner who was knocked off his bike by a car on New Years Day. Other groups ran two or three laps at varying paces.
Jane Sturzaker, Frank Biviano, Nev Gardner, Maurice Gregory, Peter Ryan, David Foskey, Jay Fleming, Bruce “Digger” Hargreaves, John Dobson, John Kaparelis
Most of us adjourned to the Observatory Cafe for a snack and a chat to round off an enjoyable morning.
2013 Club Runs
Starting in May, the Sunday Run is back! They commenced May 5, continuing weekly until Sunday the 30th of June which was the last in the first series.
The May 19 run doubled as an opportunity to shoot some footage for a future documentary. Those who attended were treated to some marvellous weather and had an enjoyable day. We would like to thank the Carousel Cafe for reserving two tables for us on their busiest day of the year and making their deck available for filming.

Added in 2022 – the documentary did not eventuate.