Hambleton Athletics & Running Club

HARC does Taskmaster Season Two

16th May 202516th May 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Season Two of ‘HARC does Taskmaster’ culminated in the live finale last month. Five of our bravest HARC members faced a series of hilarious tasks set out by our Taskmaster (Head Coach, Chris Lees) and his long-suffering assistant, Little Katy “Bamber” Foster. This year, the contestants had to put their artistic skills to the test via Strava, with some very questionable results and estimate the Taskmaster’s height… in beans, with some even more questionable results! Emma Haresign will never hear the last of the characters in her backwards video… beep, boop, boo, bop! Erin Marley made a rod for her own back, bringing a homemade HARC scarf for the prize task… now everybody wants one so watch out in the club shop for details of how to order! 😜 Kate Stead’s spud and skewer tower in the grand finale was truly impressive and won by, well, several centimetres. Nick Wilson’s (unbelievably successful!) attempt to mime ‘duck-billed platypus’ will stay with us all for a very...

Blazing through London Marathon 2025

13th May 202513th May 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

London Marathon 2025 was the event’s 45th birthday. And a record-breaking one at that. The number of runners topped 56,000 and there were about 800,000 supporters lining the route to cheer them on. Our club place this year went to Sara Sherwood, selected by the infamous spinner of marathon destiny at our Awards Night. Sara couldn’t wait to get going with her training and started in plenty of time to allow for any hiccups along the way. Although she described the training as tough, she stuck to her plan and by race day was fully-prepared for her first ever marathon. Sara was joined at the start line (or in a nearby pen at least!) by fellow HARC members Richard Slade, Nick Wilson and Dan Farrington. Sara said, “The sun blazed overhead as I stood at the start line, surrounded by thousands, yet lost in my own storm of nerves and hope. Six months of relentless training, early mornings, sleepless nights – all...

Super Turnout for Snape 5k & 10k

25th September 202425th September 2024 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Another great turnout for a local event! The annual Snape 5k and 10k has become a firm favourite in our race calendar, with no less than 20 HARC runners competing this year. The morning started with many shivering at the registration desks and rain showers threatening. However, once the running got underway, the temperature rose and the rain stayed away – perhaps a blessing and a curse! This event was particularly special for Annabel MacGregor, who has volunteered at Snape for several years prior to challenging herself to run the 10k. She said, “I’ve been wanting to run one of the races in Snape since 2021 when I first helped manage the 10k finish line. I finally managed it in 2024 - it was lovely to start and finish in my village and run past my house. Running over the finish line was brilliant with so many of the club members and marshals there to give me a cheer. Can’t wait to...

HARC Angels put the fun in fundraising!

16th February 202314th June 2023 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Hambleton Athletics and Running Club undertake a 5km challenge in support of a different local charity each year – and through the power of social media, a number of non-club members also take part virtually. Congratulations and a massive well done to all those who ran or walked (on two legs or four!), in order to raise £300 for Hambleton Foodshare this year. Lots of club members opted to use their ‘Christmas Lights Run’ in Bedale to complete the 5km, donning angel wings, haloes and Santa hats to add to the fun. Max the greyhound was delighted with his medal! Max’s owner and club member Michael Bonner had this to say: “Our whole family took part in the HARC Angels event. I walked 5km while my wife ran hers with the club. Even the dog managed to complete a 5km walk! It was good to be able to help out such a great cause at a time when their services are...

Swainby Sweep Trail Race

15th April 202115th April 2021 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Members of our club attended the Swainby Sweep Trail Race on Sunday. After months of cancelled events, it was fantastic for athletes to experience the return to a race atmosphere. Eight runners, including some of our Stokesley based members, braved the snow and wind to tackle the challenging trail event, taking in views of the Yorkshire Moors and across to the Dales. Sunshine prevailed, despite the early snowfall that led to the rerouting of the 16 mile race. Runners who had entered that distance were instead asked to complete two laps of the seven mile course – two miles shorter, yes, but with the added psychological hurdle of passing the finish line to continue for a second lap! In the seven mile race, Head Coach Chris Lees came 6th in his category (25th overall) with a time of 58:23, and Kay Kelly crossed the finish line in 1:13:16 to take 7th in her group. Anna Bonner (1:31:57) and Sara Sherwood (1:31:58) completed...

Back to Running in Groups

16th March 202116th March 2021 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

We can’t wait to get back to running together as a group – fingers crossed for 29th March! In the meantime, we are continuing to offer virtual sessions via Zoom (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6.00pm, Saturdays at 9.00am and Sundays at 9.30am) with our fabulous buddy system. Please contact us if you’d like to find out more about all that our friendly club has to offer....

Couch to 5k – Stokesley, Northallerton, Bedale & Virtual

16th March 202116th March 2021 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Our next Couch to 5k is starting on Tuesday 6th April and registration is now open! You can find further details and register by visiting https://harc.uk/c25k. The programme is suitable for complete beginners and those returning from injury. The sessions will be offered in-person from our Stokesley hub (and in Bedale/Northallerton if there is demand). You can also join in via Zoom (from anywhere!), and this will be the method of delivery for everyone if Government plans change and Covid restrictions at the time do not allow us to meet in groups. If you have any questions at all, please get in touch - coaching@harc.uk....

Stokesley Couch to 5k

2nd January 202113th January 2021 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Our Stokesley Couch to 5k is starting on Tuesday 19th January and registration is now open! Please visit https://harc.uk/c25k for further details and to register. It is suitable for complete beginners and those returning from injury. We will be running the programme from our Stokesley hub (meeting outside Let's Run) and virtually (via Zoom). If you have any questions at all, please get in touch - coaching@harc.uk....

What a year for HARC!

31st December 202031st December 2020 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

2020 brought the formation of our wonderful club, which has swelled to 70 members in its first six months. This has led to lots of fun and laughter with friends old and new. We have managed to keep on running throughout these strange times, in groups or with “buddies” around Bedale, and through our pioneering virtual running option, which has been a huge success. We are proud to have welcomed 24 new athletes to the world of running via two Couch to 5k programmes, with a further eight due to graduate in January. Plans to develop a hub in Stokesley have progressed as we begin interval sessions and a Couch to 5k programme there. Although many events have been cancelled, our determined club members have tackled several Lakeland Trails courses, a couple of Gin Runs, the Falls and Castle, and the Three Peaks Challenge, not to mention a first marathon achievement. We even squeezed in a few “away runs” – Cod Beck,...