Many of you know that DGB has recently hung up his Postal colours after many years of service. We couldn't let this go without mention so we've rounded up the best anecdotes from the YPH family and simply list them below as our way of saying thank you and all the best to DGB. The tricky bit is making it sound less obituary like and more thank you like.
Here we go, these are all for you DGB.
Very positive guy who always had time for anybody in the club. Always encouraged others and put others before himself.
Mr Motivator colour coordinator.
A gentle tap on the arse as he glided past during races, with a whisper, "looking strong Edd." Will miss Shakespeare.
You are a lovely lovely poet and an excellent runner, hiding it by being ever so humble. You will be amazing, whatever you do and wherever you go.
Can't believe DGB, our great scribe, not to mention his running prowess is leaving us. It's really been a sad year but he will be someone else's gain I guess. We can't even have a decent drink to see him off. At least we had him with us for a few years, so we should be pleased. I hope he's happy wherever he is bound.
You made us standout as a club (teeth and tan obvs) and you helped take the club to the next level with your drive and enthusiasm. I'll miss your Shakespeare esque write ups (I think we all can admit we felt a little warm inside if we got a mention). You will most definitely be missed by all the Posties. See ya down the pub / at work / parkrun...whenever we're allowed to do so. Run well my friend.
I know that there will be plenty of positive stories from many of us. Mine usually involve the times he passed me in races with encouraging comment (I think that's what you call them!)
The first time I came across DGB was when he was part of that pack of elites loitering on the parkrun start line every Saturday morning. I then saw him occasionally walking through town during the week, always dressed like he'd just stepped out of a luxury menswear catalogue shoot. Who was this man? This man was one of those rare breeds - humble, kind, down to earth, respectful.
A DGB cheeky smile always cheered me up. I could go on all day...he just meant a lot to all of us. Always encouraging. Gutted.
DGB was there leading the training at the first session I attended last Summer. It was evident from that first session what a big personality he was in the club and how much it meant to him. He always had cheery words of encouragement for everyone during training albeit the one night he kept shouting 'last man in, last man in' when I came in considerably later than everyone else. I was slightly embarrassed! I made the mistake of telling some mates from another club who now call me 'last man in Campbell'. He also has no ear for accents having been convinced for about a year that I am Welsh when I hail from Belfast! I am really sad that he has decided to leave, I think it's a loss for the club but I suspect a loss for him too.
Always on hand to bring a bit of funk, soul and power to the Postie spirit, DGB has been a much loved driving force in our ranks for many years and will be sorely missed. He has an incredible ability not just to encourage, but to genuinely make you believe you CAN push that little bit harder and achieve the impossible, whether that's cracking out a new PB or sinking 8 pints on a school night and still being able to function the next day. Sadly, we've learned (or perhaps failed to learn) that the latter is not nearly as achievable as Darren might lead you to believe. But every hangover has certainly been worth it! So cheers to you, DGB. Thank you for all you've done for the club as a whole, but also for each of us as individuals. Your shout-outs, support and boundless, contagious enthusiasm have made us all better runners, Posties and people. We wish you all the best going forward and hope you won't be a stranger.