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...

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...

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...

Oh What a Night!

1st October 202414th January 2025 By Ruth HancockNo Comments

Another fabulous year culminated in an entertaining Awards Night at The Governor’s House, Northallerton, on Saturday. Members were treated to an inspirational talk from Matty Hynes, before he presented the winners with their well-earned trophies. Matty was British champion over 10k, represented Great Britain at the European and World Championships and finished 15th in the 2015 London Marathon, and his tales gave members plenty of food for thought. HARC’s awards are given in line with the club’s principles: ‘Caring & Supporting’; ‘Coaching-led’; ‘For Everyone’; and ‘Enjoying Our Sport’.On the receiving end this year were: Sinton-Hewitt Trophy for participation and volunteering at parkrun... Winner - Sam Scarlett; Runner-up - Graham Finlay Volunteer of the Year for outstanding contribution to progress the club’s aims... Winner - Nick Wilson; Runner-up - Michelle Slade The Rock Trophy recognises members’ commitment in their attendance at club sessions... Winner - Sara Sherwood; Runner-up - Carolyn Keeble Mighty Oak Trophy for improvement from last year to this... Winner - Sara Sherwood; Runner-up - Mary Gregory Captain Cook...

HARC C25K Graduation at Fabulous Fountains Abbey

30th September 202430th September 2024 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Report by Ruth Hancock Another Couch25K programme, another graduation, and what better place to hold it than at Fountains Abbey which was named most scenic parkrun in the UK in the new book ‘The Ultimate Guide to Parkrun’. Hambleton Athletics and Running Club are proud to have another gaggle of newbie and returning runners swelling their burgeoning ranks, and lots of current members turned out to support and encourage them around the stunning 2 lap course. After the recent rain for their practice runs, athletes were blessed with a fine, dry start, and the sun eventually made a welcome appearance. Mike Hollinshead, one of the leaders of the course, had this to say: “It was fantastic to see so many club members turning out to support the graduation of the latest C25K cohort. It really does lift their spirits, and shows what HARC stands for!” Head coach, Chris Lees, found himself as a participant on the course this time round, using it as a...

Team HARC started 2024 with a bang!

26th April 20242nd May 2024 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Our athletes have started 2024 with a bang! Team HARC have taken on a wide variety of events since the start of January and we are proud of every single result. Firstly, a special mention to Victoria Maidwell for her fantastic performance at the Shakespeare Marathon, earning her a PB of 03:56:55. Victoria shows incredible commitment to her training, working extremely hard to push herself for every new challenge. Huge congratulations on breaking through the sub-4 hour mark, Victoria – we look forward to seeing you smash your next targets! Joanne Sinnott has continued her passion for ultra-distance events with a 50 mile run from Manchester to Liverpool. Jo relishes the kind of distances most of us only dream of… or perhaps have nightmares about! Huge well done, Jo – you are a machine! There was a great HARC turnout for this year’s Thirsk 10 Mile and Lightwater Valley 10k events, which fell on the same day. These are two very different events...

Transition Week

31st March 20242nd May 2024 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

This week has been TRANSITION WEEK! ? Our Thursday routes, both longer and shorter, have been getting progressively longer over the last couple of months. This week, both dropped back down to be at their shortest. This is no accident! The routes are carefully scheduled so that when a C25k group graduates, the shorter route is accessible for them at around 5km, and gradually builds up from there. At the same time, the distances of the longer routes also drop down. This is to help people who have been running the shorter routes to smoothly transition onto the longer routes. The clocks have now gone forwards so we've lighter nights to look forward to as we continue our running journeys. Lots of you have been getting out there under your own steam too, to supplement what the club currently offer. Well done! We've been dot-watching and eating curry this week too - never a dull moment at HARC!...

Celebratory Curry

28th March 20242nd May 2024 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

We had a great evening at Spice Restaurant & Bar - Bedale, enjoying a celebratory curry with our latest Couch to 5k graduates. It's not just about running and athletics at HARC… It's about feeling part of a community and building friendships with people who are there to help you work towards your goals and celebrate with you when you reach them. ?? For more information about what HARC has to offer, visit https://harc.uk/ or message us. harcfamily #C25K #running #athletics...

Weekly Update

25th March 20242nd May 2024 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

You may well ask 'What goes on at HARC, aside from intervals and the regular Thursday social runs?" The answer is: C25K support runs and graduation, parkrun milestones, marathon/ultra training runs, competing at Lightwater Valley 10K and Thirsk 10 miles, and the NYSD relays at Darlington South Park to finish off the Xcountry season. Phew! Aren't you glad you asked?...