Blazing through London Marathon 2025

Blazing through London Marathon 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...
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Super Turnout for Snape 5k & 10k

Super Turnout for Snape 5k & 10k

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...
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Sessay Swift 6k

Sessay Swift 6k

By Ruth HancockNo Comments
It was the perfect evening for this local race held by Thirsk and Sowerby Harriers, and true to form HARC were out in force to enjoy it.  The course was easy enough to navigate, being a left, left and left turn on open, but quiet, country lanes around the village of Sessay. And afterwards, there was a well-deserved BBQ for our competitors. Most members were competing for the first time at Sessay but worthy of special note are Emma Haresign, who won a prize for being the first junior back; Lucille Allen, who completed her first ever road race; and Sara Sherwood, for her course PB. Well done! As ever, athletes all had their own targets in mind as they set out, and a few ran in support of their buddies to help them with their achievements, demonstrating the HARC ethos in bucket-loads. Special thanks to the marshals for keeping us safe, and to the HARC support crew who waved us off and cheered...
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Smiling Faces at Darlington 10k

Smiling Faces at Darlington 10k

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
Team HARC enjoyed a fantastic morning at the Darlington 10k event. First up was one of our youngest members, six year old George Martinson, who took part in the Fun Run with his dad, Paul. George, who is already asking when he can take part in the 10k event, was the envy of the club, as the only one of our runners to receive a medal! In the 10k race, our wave of blue vests headed out on the two lap course with great gusto, cheered on at various points by our lovely band of sideline supporters. Despite the muggy weather and lack of medals, there was a huge haul of PBs. It was Caroline Pounder’s first big road race. She said, “This was my first major race since returning to running following a cycling accident, and Darlington 10k provided a safe closed road course with plenty of marshals and public support. I thoroughly enjoyed the fairly flat two loop course and the...
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Endure24 Leeds

Endure24 Leeds

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
What a weekend! HARC had a squad of 13 runners who took on the immense challenge of running lap after five-mile lap of Bramham Park for 24 hours at Endure24 Leeds. The undulating off-road course yielded lovely views with majestic red kites gliding overhead, coupled with features such as the ‘Deep Dark Wood’ and ‘Ripple Rise’. Heavy rain added to the fun, creating muddy, slick conditions underfoot just as darkness fell. Team HARC was not put off though and kept on running, with teammates cocooned in their sleeping bags between laps back at Camp HARC. HARC runner Victoria Maidwell made her Endure24 soloist debut in style, clocking up an incredible 18 laps (that’s 90 miles or 144km) in 21:30:38. Toria finished 16th out of 240 in the female solo category. She said, “I had an amazing weekend. All the training finally paid off to help me reach a new maximum distance. The support from Nick and my mum staying awake through the...
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Northallerton 10k

Northallerton 10k

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
What an amazing turn out we had for the Northallerton 10k last month! The blue vests were out in force on the course, as well as some super supporters at the start/finish area. This year, the organisers changed the notoriously hilly course and the runners were directed clockwise meaning the long, steep Scholla Lane was an uphill section rather than down. Perhaps surprisingly, most of our runners reported finding this easier than the more gradual incline up Sandy Bank in previous years. Don’t be fooled though, this is still a tough 10k, so the slew of PBs bagged is testament to the determination of Team HARC on the day. Here are the official results:Luke Allen, 42:51; Marc Blair, 45:21 PB; Victoria Maidwell, 46:56; Andy Garner, 50:00 PB; Harriet Holmes, 54:13; Rich Slade, 58:48 PB; Chris Lees, 58:48; Sheila White, 1:04:06; Mary Gregory, 1:04:43; Robert Gregory, 1:08:12; Craig Dennis, 1:08:13 PB; Ruth Hancock, 1:08:49; Carolyn, 1:10:27 PB; Jane Kirk, 1:10:28; Michelle Slade, 1:11:46...
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All Aboard for Dementia Forward!

All Aboard for Dementia Forward!

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
For the third consecutive year, our members have assembled a crew of ‘HARC Hydras’ for the Scarborough Dragon Boat Challenge. The squad of 17, plus supporters, enjoyed a brilliant day out at Yorkshire Water Park, paddling against 19 other teams, all raising money for their chosen charities. HARC paddled on behalf of Dementia Forward, a charity which provides support and advice for those living with dementia across North Yorkshire, helping them to live well and stay connected with their communities. So far, the team has raised £651 via their fundraising page. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to that super total. If you’d like to add to this, you can still make a donation here: https://scarboroughcavaliersrotary.enthuse.com/pf/harc-x-dementia-forward. The event was initially blessed with sunny weather as the teams gathered on the lakeshore. The HARC Hydras took part in three races, each comprising four boats, with two second place finishes and one third. This placed them mid-table by the end of the competition,...
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A week of sunshine ☀️

A week of sunshine ☀️

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
This week brought more sunshine and humidity which can make running much harder. It didn't stop the HARC team though. Intervals, longer and shorter social runs, parkruns, marathons, and Race for Life 10k. The coaching team met up on Saturday to keep up to date with their coaching skills and discuss future routes/training warmups. Busy, busy, busy - just the way we like it!...
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LonDONE Class of 2024 Run Report

LonDONE Class of 2024 Run Report

By Sara SherwoodNo Comments
by Ruth Hancock, recipient of our club place for the 2024 TCS London Marathon It’s taken a while to process what happened on 21st April, I’m not going to lie. What an absolutely fabulous experience! From the moment my name was announced at Awards Night, to crossing that illustrious finish line, London Marathon surpassed every expectation. And I cannot be more grateful for the opportunity – I am extremely lucky. As an event, the TCS London Marathon is exceptionally well organised – the most difficult thing was having to visit the Excel in advance of the race itself to collect my bib number and t-shirt. But that passed without a hitch and I managed to meet up with Jo to do a little shopping and continue the carb-loading process over lunch. The HARC cheer squad (Gemma, Katy and Sara) were treated to cocktails at Searcy’s champagne bar before they went off to meet Shalev and deliver his HARC hoodie. I started Race Day...
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