Hambleton Athletics & Running Club

Sunday Social Run – Masham & Hackfall 🌿

26th July 202629th July 2026 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

This week’s Sunday social run, expertly led by Ste Moon, started from Masham Market Place and followed a beautiful 13.4km (8.3 mile) route along the river through the stunning Hackfall Woods before returning to Masham. With around 509ft of elevation, there were plenty of climbs to challenge the group, but the spectacular scenery and friendly atmosphere made it well worth the effort. A big thank you to Ste for leading another fantastic route, and well done to everyone who took part. The Sunday social runs are a brilliant opportunity for members to explore new routes, enjoy great company and get the miles in together. Here’s to the next adventure! 💙...

HARC BBQ & Bingo Garden Party 🌭🎉

25th July 202629th July 2026 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

A huge thank you to Gav and Annabel for hosting another fantastic HARC BBQ & Bingo Garden Party on Saturday. It was a brilliant afternoon filled with great food, lots of laughs and some very competitive bingo and fundraising games. A special mention goes to Gav, who did a fantastic job as Head Chef, with Nick stepping in as Sous Chef to keep the barbecue running smoothly. The food was absolutely amazing and went down a treat with everyone – thank you both for all your hard work! Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we were delighted to raise £130 for Herriot Hospice through our fundraising games. A big thank you to Amy and Ste for generously donating their winnings from the scratch card game and bingo back to Herriot Hospice. Thank you to everyone who came along and helped make the afternoon such a success. It was fantastic to see so many members enjoying themselves together, and we’re already looking forward to the next HARC...

Operation Lone Eagle – Can you escape 🧩🔐

28th June 202629th July 2026 By Sara SherwoodNo Comments

Today, six of us from HARC swapped running for riddles and took on Operation Lone Eagle at Can You Escape! 🔐🧩 Our mission? Stop the evil Dr Aquila Mind from activating his mind-wipe machine before it erased everyone’s memories! 🧠⏳ With a difficulty rating of 4/5, it definitely kept us on our toes. Thanks to some great teamwork, communication and plenty of laughs along the way, we escaped in 49 minutes and 7 seconds! 🎉 A brilliant afternoon with a fantastic group of HARC members. It’s always nice to do something different together, and we’d definitely recommend giving it a go if you fancy a challenge! #HARC #EscapeRoom #Teamwork #OperationLoneEagle #CanYouEscape 🗝️...

HARC’s First Ever Sports Day!

16th September 20258th October 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

What a fantastic day we had at Catterick Athletics Track for our very first club sports day! It may have been cold, but we were lucky enough to dodge the rain and spirits were high throughout. We welcomed adults and juniors alike – club members and non-members – to compete in a brilliant mix of traditional athletics disciplines and fun challenges. Everyone had great fun competing in: 100m sprint 4 x 100m relay Long jump Javelin Shot put And the more adventurous events proved very popular, with lots of laughter echoing around the track… The Croc-throwing competition was Michelle’s favourite… even though she wasn’t allowed a fire pit to aim for! The tug of war saw some epic battles and a few grass-stained bottoms! There was fierce competition for the top spot in the three-legged race… and, miraculously, nobody fell over! The egg and spoon obstacle challenge was trickier than it looked and the eagle-eyed officials were handing out time penalties for those...

SUP Fun

26th August 202518th September 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

An adventurous group of HARC members swapped running shoes for paddle boards to take part in an ‘Intro to SUP’ session at Ellerton Lake. After being shown the basics on dry land, the group set off wobbly-legged across the water to practise different types of paddle strokes and turning techniques. It wasn’t long before the shrieks and splashes started, as people experienced some unplanned dismounts from their boards. Danny and Sarah from SUP Active Yorkshire were on hand to give instruction and advice, as well as a helping hand to those getting back on their boards. A game of SUP Polo followed, which could equally have been named ‘SUP carnage’! The two teams got a little competitive as they battled each other to score goals, resulting in numerous “accidental” crashes, a few hilarious falls, and some questionable ball handling! The group were then allowed some free time to explore the lake via SUP - most chose to stick with their solo boards, one...

Sun, Games & Grills – What a Party!

27th July 202518th September 2025 By Gemma WardleNo Comments

Our summer BBQ garden party was an absolute blast. From mouth-watering treats from the grill to sunny skies, it was the perfect day. Our bingo games were every bit as amusing as last year, with some questionable bingo calling from Head Coach, Chris, who also managed to drop all the bingo balls partway through the game. We battled it out in a few intense rounds of giant Jenga, which resulted in some nail-biting moments and a couple of near misses for crushed toes! We also played the Heads or Tails game, raising a fantastic £45.60 for Hambleton Community Action. This will be added to our fundraising pot and donated to the charity at the end of the 2025/26 year. Huge thanks to our fabulous ‘hostess with the mostess’, Annabel. And, of course, we’re very grateful to the amazing catering team – Head Chef Gav and Sous Chef Nick — for cooking up an outstanding feast. Thanks also to everyone who came along and made...

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!...

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...

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...