The Hitchin Town players faced the infamous Brett Donnelly 10k Run as part of their preparations for the new season.
We asked the man himself to tell us all about it.
“The 10k run came about when I stopped playing and had to start coaching,” said Donnelly, who took over at the helm of his hometown club towards the end of last season. “How can you fill a session, get them running and also get them thinking about teamwork and winning?
“Four teams set out at three-minute intervals armed with only a phone and a postcode to their first destination. There they meet one of the staff who give them the next postcode and an item of their choice.
“They have to carry the item around to the end and get time penalties for not bringing it home or if it’s broken. Normally we have five stop-offs around the route and they pick up various items along the way.
“On this occasion it was an open bottle of liquid, which had to be full by the end, a quaver, doughnuts, baguette and a plastic chair! The timer stops once the last man in the group crosses the finish line.
“Once back, we work out the times with the penalties they accrued. The winners then get to soak, flour and egg the losing team.
“As you can imagine, the winners take great delight in doing this. The losing team of Lewis Barker, Jay Rolfe, Kieran Forbes and Harry Titchmarsh all took it really well (ish!).
“It’s a huge part of team build, which is something I’m massive on. Averages teams with the right team spirit can out-perform much better sides just by going that extra mile for their mate.”
Donnelly has been playing catch-up after his side were handed a reprieve from relegation following Coalville Town’s decision to drop out of the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central.
“Pre-season is going as it usually does; long and fake,” he added. “I hate it. It serves a purpose but it’s not real. In three years of managing, I think I’ve won three games in pre-season. It’s there to get the players fit and build relationships on and off the field.
“We are implanting the new ideas we have and slowly the lads are taking it on board. It’s a pretty much entirely new squad so it’s going to take time but the past week or so has shown me that we have built a good squad.
“The reprieve at the time wasn’t ideal as we had had five weeks of planning for Step 4. It meant new targets, changing friendlies we had organised and dealing with players we had agreed with who didn’t want to do the travel or asking for a lot more money.
“But it’s obviously where we want to be so it saved us a year of trying to get promoted. That all seems a long time ago now; we’re nearly where we want to be.
“This season, recruiting for Step 3 is hard as everyone will just look back on the season we had. We have to build from a point of weakness.
“We want to consolidate over the campaign ahead and show what a great club we have, as well as proving we are looking to push it forward and be aiming for Step 2 soon.
“It’s going to be hard as the League is tough. There are some huge clubs in it but it’s something I’m embracing. What an opportunity we have. I’m looking for us to be competitive and to enjoy it. Mid-table will be a great achievement as based on budgets we’re right down there. But we have a great following and I’m hoping our gates can push to 1,000 every week this season.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be in charge of my home club. I’ve got a few local lads signed on as well as I feel it’s hugely important that the fans are able to associate with the players on the pitch.
“I want to get a team out that’s fun to watch and will leave everything out there for me. Hard-working and bold. We need to give the town a team to cheer on.
“I can’t wait, bring it on!”
IMAGE: Hitchin Town FC
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