Sara Sherwood, Author at Hambleton Athletics and Running Club

Darlington 3K and 10K 2023

26th August 202315th September 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Members from Hambleton Athletics and Running Club took on the two races at Darlington on 6 August. In total HARC fielded a team of 15 seniors and 2 juniors. Notable performances were produced by the following athletes who secured new PBs: Luke Allen 00:44:05Joanne Sinnott 01:03:38Gemma Wardle 01:09:03 However there are a couple of other special mentions for club members Andy Garner completing his first ever event in 00:54:32 and Richard Slade completing the course having only just graduated from HARC’s C25K program the week before! Club juniors Florence Barnes and Coco Mildren also smashed their first ever competitive 3K events too. Hearty congratulations to all! There was a great atmosphere along the course with lots of local residents cheering on all runners along the closed roads, and there was quite a buzz in the event village both before and after the races. As ever, support from other HARC members and their families, was much appreciated. If you’d like more information about what HARC can offer in...

HARC C25K going from strength to strength

13th August 202313th August 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Hambleton Athletics and Running Club have seen the graduation of their latest Couch to 5K participants at Fountains Abbey parkrun on 29th July. Once again the weather was kind and a goodly number of club members, with program coaches Ruth Hancock and Nigel Haresign, ran alongside each graduate to ensure that everyone had full support around the popular 5K course. Graduate Richard Slade has returned to running after a long time out. He thoroughly recommends to anyone thinking of taking up or returning to running to sign up to HARC’s program saying “Don’t worry if you think you’re not going to be as good as everyone else, as there are people of all different abilities running together and the club ethos of ‘no one gets left behind’ is fantastic and reassuring as it keeps everyone together, helping to build a close knit team spirit and camaraderie.” Ruth and Nigel are rightly proud of their newly fledged runners and say it has been gratifying...

Endure 24 – 2023

14th July 202315th September 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

A number of club members recently took part in ‘Endure 24 Leeds’, a 24-hour running challenge at Bramham Park. We had a team, a pair and three soloists entered, and their achievements were fantastic! The weekend was one of the warmest of the year which made running the five-mile circuits much tougher than they might otherwise have been. Part of the course meandered through some woodland areas giving much needed shade, but it was mostly very exposed to the blazing sun. Even the after-dark laps could not be described as cool, and the humidity was pretty unpleasant. Head Coach, Chris Lees, is extremely proud of everyone who took part. He said, “This event is an extraordinary challenge even for seasoned athletes. It requires enormous mental strength, not just physical ability.” Our team of six – Bridget Wilson, Jane Wilkinson, Dave Oldacres, Polly Oldacres, Becky Williams and Gemma Wardle – surpassed their own expectations and managed 100 miles (20 laps) between them, maintaining one...

Team HARC Bouncing Around in the Sunshine

12th June 202314th June 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

A team of eleven HARC members travelled to Harewood House at the weekend for the Leeds Inflatable 5k. The group looked so fabulous in their blue tutus and glittery face paint that the start line marshal declared them the best dressed group of the day. Tackling 32 inflatable obstacles in the glorious sunshine was great fun, especially with the usual HARC team spirit – the runners did turn-backs to stay together and gave each other plenty of help getting back on their feet, plus the occasional gentle nudge to get over some of the hurdles! ...

HARC Athletes with a ‘Spring’ in their step

12th June 202314th June 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

By Ruth Hancock. Since our last report, members of Hambleton Athletics and Running Club have been very busy achieving a variety of personal goals and working hard to raise funds for charity. Phill Heward became HARC’s first recipient of a club place at the London Marathon. Phill was really happy to finish in 4hr 10 min. He said “It was every bit as tough as I expected but even more enjoyable than I’d hoped. Thanks to all for the encouragement and to HARC for the opportunity.” Graham Finlay achieved a huge milestone of 200 Parkruns in April and chose his favourite at Fountains Abbey to host this momentous occasion. As ever, HARC members turned out in force to support him and celebrated with a special cake in the café afterwards. At the Kieran Maxwell Memorial event in Middlesbrough, junior shot putter Harvey Wilkinson secured the top spot with a personal best throw of 11.38m and edges closer to the UK top 20 as a...

Perfect week for running

12th May 202314th June 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

It was so nice to see the sunshine at our sessions this week! Our Tuesday intervals session saw both our junior and senior sections enjoying their 'pyramid' training in Northallerton. On Thursday, we had our two social runs around Bedale, and despite the Met Office weather warnings, the skies cleared and we had beautiful sunshine to accompany our chatty group runs. ...

Autumn Awesome at Hambleton Athletics and Running Club

4th December 202214th June 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

There has been much to celebrate this autumn, with club members taking part in a huge array of races and events. Whilst we put enjoyment at the heart of what we do, often with the mantra “no such thing as too slow”, we also recognise the importance of celebrating the achievements of those who enjoy challenging themselves to go “faster, higher, stronger”. To that end, here are some particularly noteworthy performances for which huge congratulations are extended: Harvey Wilkinson is going from strength to strength, winning the U17 shotput in the Gateshead Indoor Series, having just moved up an age category – outstanding achievement! Joanne Sinnott tackled the Tadcaster 10 Mile and the Yorkshire Marathon, achieved course Personal Bests for both – fantastic! Craig Keedy came 10th overall at the Dalby Dash and finished in 2nd place at the Bridlington Half Marathon. Not satisfied with silver though, he absolutely stormed the course at the Gunpowder Plot 10k and took home the overall winner’s trophy – what a start to the season! Michael Hollinshead smashed his previous course PB at Arrachar 10k, knocking an incredible 7 minutes off his previous time,...

September Successes from Hambleton Athletics and Running Club

3rd October 20223rd October 2022 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

HUGE congratulations must firstly go to HARC’s junior shot putter, Harvey Wilkinson, who came first in the John Newsome Memorial Open Meeting in Wakefield on 17th September. He threw a brilliant 11.58m, beating the second place athlete by over a whopping two metres, and the distance was almost double that of his next nearest rival! The event was organised by Wakefield District Harriers and Athletics Club and offered a full array of track and field events from U11 to seniors and vets. Harvey was competing with a shot putt weighing in at 4 kilos in the U15 category, and with a throw like that he undoubtedly has a long and illustrious career ahead of him. Snape 10K and 5K ‘Fun Run’ saw a swathe of HARC runners competing this year. Notable performances came from Graham Finlay, who was first in his age category over the 5K distance, and Craig Keedy continues his success with 4th place overall in the 10K. Great efforts from all...

Hambleton Athletics and Running Club Awards Presentation Evening 2022

17th September 202214th June 2023 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Friday 9th September saw the very first Presentation Evening for HARC members, this year held at Tom & Nellie’s in Bedale. Gemma Wardle, the Club’s Chair, began the evening with a moving, heart-felt welcome speech. Much laughter and camaraderie followed, as between courses members of the Awards Sub-committee took the opportunity to introduce the awards that would be available for presentation at the end of the forthcoming season, which runs annually from the beginning of September. Members are to be recognised for their achievements based on the club’s founding principles which set out the values and ethos of their members: Caring & Supporting; Coaching-Led; For Everyone; and Enjoying Our Sport. Full details of the criteria used to determine each award can be found on HARC’s website. In future, awards will be presented for the following: ‘Volunteer of the Year’; ‘Mighty Oak’ (for improvement); ‘Greatest of the Year’ (performance awards); ‘The Sinton-Hewitt Trophy’ (based on participation at Parkrun); ‘The Captain Cook Cup’ for...

Latest C25K Success

2nd August 20222nd August 2022 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Hambleton Athletics and Running Club’s most recent Couch to 5K programme finished with a superb graduation run set in the stunning grounds of Fountains Abbey on 23 July, at the weekly Parkrun held there. The culmination of the ten week programme offered the newly-fledged runners the chance to run a continuous 5K with the support and encouragement of a number of club members, alongside coaches Alice Inglis and Gemma Wardle - all under the watchful eye of Head Coach, Chris Lees. It was certainly a beautiful morning for it and emotion ran high as a dozen graduates crossed the finishing line, especially so for those who were first-time runners. Chris Williams explained that HARC’s programme had not only turned a complete non-runner into a runner, but also into a person “that actually enjoys it now!” High praise indeed. Chris went on to say “If you are toying with the idea of starting or restarting running for fitness and fun, do it with HARC. You...