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The 2021 Richmond Castle 10k started and finished in the Batts Riverside Park area and was mainly on the roads. The route took the runners past the spectacular River Swale Waterfalls before crossing the river at Green Bridge and climbing Sleegill, offering a fine view of the castle. From there, the runners followed a short circuit around Catterick Garrison and returned into Richmond, where they circled Richmond Castle on Castle Walk before enjoying a fast downhill finish into Batts Park. Hambleton Athletics and Running Club (HARC) had three members take part in this event: Craig Keedy, Nick Wilson and Dave Oldacres. Craig completed the 10k in an impressive time of 00:39:41, coming in 6th overall and 2nd in his age category. Nick crossed the line in 00:53:47 placing him 23rd in his age category, and Dave finished in 01:04:02 (very nearly a PB!) coming 32nd in his age category. Craig said, “Richmond 10k, what can I say? Excuse my poetic injustice. This is a ‘must do’ event in my view! Three amigos from our fab club embarked on this fabulously brutally hilly course from the beautiful riverside area beneath the shadow of Richmond Castle. Moving swiftly on, which we did, the race went up and thankfully down several...

On Sunday 3rd October Hambleton Athletics and Running Club (HARC) member Charlie Villers took on the 41st annual London Marathon that was postponed from April to Octoberto maximise the chances of a mass participation event. The marathon distance is officially 42.195 km (26.219 miles) and is run over a mainly flat course. The 2021 race was run on the traditional London Marathon course starting in Blackheath. At about 10km into the race, the runners reach the 19th century clipper Cutty Sark docked in Greenwich and at about half way into the race, the runners cross Tower Bridge before heading east into Canary Wharf. The runners then pass through Tower Hill and enter the underpass in Blackfriars and run along the Thames Embankment past Westminster and onto Birdcage Walk. The course then runs parallel to St James’s Park before turning onto The Mall and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace. Charlie was delighted to find the last available space for I CAN which is a children’s speech and language charity, to run in The London Marathon. This meant a huge amount to Charlie as he has a personal...

The cross country season is finally upon us and Hambleton Athletics and Running Club (HARC) couldn’t wait to get stuck in to their first ever competitive league, joining the North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier League which caters for all ages from 8 to 80+. Individual and team points are awarded at each fixture and awards are made to the top teams and individuals at the end of the season. The weather was kind for the first meet at Acklam Grange School in Middlesbrough – not much mud to be seen but the course was tough and undulating. A number of runners couldn’t quite believe they were running a cross country raceat a school, having spent years avoiding them during their own school days. HARC had seven members taking part in a number ofcategories which covered different distances: Elsa Styles​Women U17​31:39 (6th in category) Ruth Hancock​Women V50​37:01 (15th in category) Hugh Jenyns​Men V70​37:44 (8th in category) Diego Segura​Men Senior​41:04 (13th in category) Craig Keedy​Men V50​41:05 (4th in category) Phill Heward​Men V45​51:01 (27th in category) Dave Oldacres​Men V45​1:03:15 (32nd in category) Dave Oldacres said, “I took part in my first cross countryseries race. It was quite a competitive event and I was one of the...

Alasdair McWilliam, a member of Hambleton Athletics and Running Club, recently took the long road trip (via a whisky distillery or two) to take part in the Loch Ness Marathon, which he completed fortified with a double homemade cheeseburger, loaded fries and a thick vanilla milkshake from Inverness’s trip-advisor-topping burger bar “Coyotes”! Saturday (supposedly a relaxing day before race day), started with the obligatory highland breakfast in readiness for the Torvean Parkrun. Parkruns in Scotland start 30 mins later – so there was time for a “wee” lie-in! There were international visitors there wearing vests from places as far afield as South Africa. Saturday afternoon was spent picking up race numbers at the Expo, and Alasdair accidentally buying a new pair of Hoka shoes. He said, “Well, with the 15% discount and a marathon to run the next day, it would be rude not to!” Sunday came soon enough and the athletes (all 2,500 of them) boarded a series of coaches at...

On Sunday 12th September, Nick Wilson took on the fast, flat, PB-friendly Vale of York Half Marathon in aid of Sue Ryder. The 13.1 mile race started and finished just outside the village of Wistow on the scenic roads of south York and north Selby. Nick crossed the finish line in a brilliant time of 02:00:59. He said, “This was the second time I have run the Vale of York Half Marathon. A well-organised and friendly atmosphere with plenty of marshals, family members and friends cheering everyone on. If anyone fancies challenging themselves for a half marathon PB, this is the course to do!” A massive well done to Nick, who has made Team HARC very proud!...

Hambleton Athletics and Running Club were very proud to have seven runners taking part in the Great North Run at the weekend. This event was extra special, not only because last year’s run did not take place due to Covid, but also because this was the 40th birthday of the GNR. Celebrations included a spectacular flyover by the Red Arrows who left their trademark red, white and blue smoke trails along the 1km long finishing straight. The event has a reputation for attracting top athletes from around the world, and this year’s race was no different. Local runner, Marc Scott, who recently represented GB at the Tokyo Olympics, won the elite men’s race and fellow GB Olympian Eilish McColgan came second in the elite women’s category. Meanwhile, GB Paralympian Jade Hall stormed to victory in the wheelchair event. Team HARC, although not represented in the elite class (yet!), did themselves and the club extremely proud. Our members finished with the following times: Katy Bamber...