Djerk Geurts - Welfare Officer & Committee Member
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Djerk Geurts - Welfare Officer & Committee Member
Co-opted onto the committee in 2021 and ratified at the AGM Feb 2022
For Welfare or Wellbeing queries please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., talk to me at the club, reach me on Facebook Messenger or contact me at 07535-674620.
I joined Arrows in 2014, and have been running on and off since my teens finding it a great way of getting fit for a week frolicking in alpine snow. Only to find that I'd get too hot in the summer if I tried to keep running all year. So my early years of running were mostly winter flings. But then, as I approached my forties, I came to the painful realisation that my ability to just bounce back to where I'd left off only six months earlier had unceremoniously left me. How rude life can be. Struggling to self-motivate I sought friendship and encouragement, hoping this would maybe result in some accountability for my non-existent self-discipline.
Searching for a local running group I came across the Arrows, and I tried out a 4-mile loop involving Crabtree Lane, which is where I found my lungs on fire and my legs vowing to kill me. Yet a friendly Arrow stayed by my side, distracting me by explaining they were actually injured etc. Part of me felt like it was adding insult to injury as he didn't break a sweat at all! But, that friendly approach, the smile and the great company have proven to be a central feature of the club, and I'm so grateful for it.
Since those early days, I've been lied to: That race is pretty flat (aka somewhat undulating), this other race is undulating (read: uphill all the way). And I've been coaxed into races, XC, parkrun, a Club League and all sorts of painful exercises like hills and speed work. Yet I've loved every bit of it and can only recommend running (with the Arrows of course) to all willing to hear me out. The Arrows have stretched my physical ability, and resilience and given me a great group of friends. All this brought me to the point where in 2019 I ran my first ultra, Country to Capital.
Since then I've battled various injuries, but after lots of prayer, skilled health specialists and hard work I'm now (2023) booking races again in the hope of at some point returning to ultras. Thank you Arrows for all your support, love and care through all these years. I look forward to all that the future may bring you and me.
Outside of running, I enjoy my work, tinkering with things and long holidays in the mountains. I'm married (vehemently not a runner, please forgive her!) and have two boys, one is trying to work out what to do now he's done with his A-levels and the other has just started college.