Hambleton Athletics & Running Club

Darlington 10k Festival 2025 – Come Rain or Shine… or Both!

14th August 202514th August 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

What a fantastic day for Hambleton Athletics and Running Club at the Darlington 10km, 5km, and Junior 3km! The day began under a grey and rainy sky, with a steady downpour soaking the early starters. By the time the final 10km runners crossed the finish line, the sun had broken through – perfect timing to end the event on a high. A special shout-out to Oscar, our sole junior representative, who ran superbly in the Junior 3km and said afterwards, “The atmosphere was really good. It made me want to run even faster!” Great effort and determination from one of our rising stars – we’re very proud of you! This year saw the introduction of the 5km event. Well done to Rose Kirk and Emma Anderson, who both took on this new distance and represented the club with strength and smiles. It’s always exciting to see new events on the calendar – especially with our athletes there at the inaugural starting line....

C25k Graduation at Fountains Abbey

7th August 20257th August 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

A huge congratulations to our latest group of Couch to 5k runners who completed their programme with a fantastic 5km run at the breathtaking Fountains Abbey parkrun last Saturday! Over the past ten weeks, this amazing group has worked their way from walking and jogging short intervals to confidently running a full 5km. The Couch to 5k programme is designed to support beginners in building fitness, confidence and a love for running – and this group has truly embraced the journey, showing determination, perseverance, and team spirit every step of the way. The course was led by our newly qualified Leaders in Running Fitness, Rich and Garry – this was their first ever C25K programme – and what a brilliant job they’ve done! Their dedication, encouragement and positivity have helped guide each runner to achieve their personal goal. We’re incredibly proud of them for taking this step into leadership and inspiring others in our community. The grand finale took place in glorious sunshine...

Fabulous Day at Northallerton Carnival

15th July 202515th July 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

We were delighted to support Northallerton Carnival again this year by organising a free kids’ fun run. About 25 youngsters took part, dashing around the park to earn themselves a cool drink and some sweets at the finish line. Our HARC team stayed for the rest of the day, raising funds for Hambleton Community Action. The total was £70.64, which will be added to the pot for our donation at the end of the year. The big bear star of our “Guess the Bear’s Name” game turned out to be called Luna. She was won by Lynn, who took her home as a gift for her great nephews. In our “Kids’ Target Game”, lots of children won some bubbles, but only three super-accurate throwers managed to get all three beanbags in the hoop to be entered in the draw for the top prize. Oscar was the lucky winner - well done! The “Chain Game” was won by Lewis who managed a chain of six...

HARC Members Saddle Up for Fun!

19th June 20252nd July 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Following the success of our ‘HARC Juniors Pony Fun Day’ at Miniature World Riding Academy last year, the club returned for two evening sessions over the last couple of weeks – this time with adult members. There was a broad range of experience amongst the participants, but they were well looked after by Gill and Sarah. Grooming time came first, with the groups learning how to use the different types of brushes, pick out a horse’s feet, and how to stay safe when handling equines on the ground. Next came preparations for riding – learning how to tack up and then ensuring that everyone had the necessary safety equipment. And finally, a fantastic riding session for each group! The riders’ faces displayed a few nerves and a great deal of concentration at first, followed by lots of smiles and laughter as their confidence grew. By the end of the session, there was marked progress with everyone’s ‘sitting trot’! Rachel commented, “I had just...

Relaxing with Sound Bath Therapy

2nd June 20252nd July 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

We like to offer our members a broad range of experiences through our social calendar. Our most recent opportunity to try something a little different was a ‘sound bath’ with Angela Smith Therapy. Described as a holistic therapy that taps in to the healing vibrations of music and frequencies, the session involved us getting comfy on mats, cushions and blankets while a variety of instruments were played around us. A very interesting and relaxing experience to recharge us ready for a week of running! Thank you, Angela - we all slept very well after the session!...

Record HARC Attendance at Northallerton 10k

31st May 202510th June 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Despite being a tough race with a huge hill, Northallerton 10k never fails to attract plenty of HARC runners. This year, a record 41 Team HARC athletes took part, meaning we had more runners than any other club! The event is always well-organised and the race director even arranged good weather for the 2025 run, a welcome relief for runners and supporters alike after last year’s torrential rain. Our runners had a wide range of goals for the day with some seeking a PB, others hoping to achieve a particular time, several aiming to conquer their first 10k (and first ever race for some!), and a fair few just out to enjoy the run. And whether sprinting to the finish line or run/walking the whole way, we’re proud of every single one of them! Congratulations, everyone! And a big thank you to our support crew who stationed themselves around the course as well as at the start/finish area to give Team HARC strategic...

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...