November’s Member of the Month Award is presented to Ian Bowers.

In November, Ian completed the Wendover Woods 50 mile race to complete the Centurion 50 mile grand slam of 4 races.  This is a truly phenomenal achievement, best summarised by the member who nominated him:
“Ian and I were running together for a few months when we discussed entering an ultra marathon. So in June 2017 we did the race to the King. We finished in 12 hours 40 minutes, in the daylight as well, for 54 miles. However it was Ian who kept us going and pushed us on, while I moaned for Britain! He decided soon afterwards to try to complete the Centurion 50 mile grand slam during a difficult year for him, Ian stuck to his plan and trained hard but sensible. Still managing to fit in park runs at Netley, HHRL races, CC6 and RR10 along the way. He has certainly come a long way in a short time, he loves being part of the club, he constantly encourages others to try these events and he is right up there with the top ultra runners in the club. He has set his sights on the centurion 100 mile grand slam next year and will as ever give 100%.”

Many, many congratulations on an outstanding year Ian, and all the best for next year’s challenge!

In a slight twist to proceedings, October’s Member of the Month award is presented to two members – Tracey Shepperd and Robbie MacNab.

Both Tracey and Robbie represented Great Britain at the European Aquathlon Championships held in Ibiza at the end of October (for those not familiar with the format, the race was a 1km sea swim followed by a 5k run).

This was Tracey’s first race in a GB trisuit, demonstrating the impressive improvements she has made in her running over the last few years  She’s represented the club at numerous races this year and has recently achieved great PBs.

In contrast, Robbie has been representing Great Britain at Triathlon and Aquathlon for 10 years, showing tremendous dedication and commitment, and he always gives 100% in a race (ask him about his sprint finish in Ibiza).  Robbie has also been a dedicated and proactive Hedgie over the years, representing the club at numerous races, including HRRL, RR10 and Lakeside 5k races.

Many congratulations Tracey and Robbie.

We are pleased to announce that England Athletics registered athletes can now apply for a guaranteed entry into the 2019 Brighton Marathon. The club have 10 places available which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Entry into the Brighton Marathon costs £75 and entries must be applied for through the Club Secretary. If you are interested in entering the Brighton Marathon via the England Athletics Club entry, please speak to the HERC Club Secretary. The organisers can only accept requests to enter from Club Secretaries.

England Athletics Club entries are available until 1st March 2019. Race packs will need to be collected by the runner or a friend / member of family from the Brighton Marathon Exhibition held on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th April.

• Click here for British elite athlete opportunities information.
  
• Click here for Masters information
  

secretary@hedgeendrunningclub.com

September’s Member of the Month prize is awarded to Jason Salkeld

Jason has been a valued member of the club for several years, but more recently has taken on helping to co-ordinate Thursday run groups.  This is not an easy job considering the range of abilities that need to be catered for every week.  He has also been a regular run leader and attendee at Tuesday and Thursday training sessions.  

As the person who nominated him said, “When he leads a group it is always a well planned and thought out route, run to the agreed pace.”

Many congratulations Jason and thank you for all your hard work!

August’s Member of the Month prize is awarded to Max Maxwell.

This summer, in his first year as a Hedgie, Max took part in both the RR10 league and the Lakeside 5k series.  In the latter, his consistently strong performances meant he not only finished in the top 3 in his age category in each of the events he raced, he PB’d in each race too.  This earned him the series win for the Mens Vet 50 category in this highly competitive race series. 

A fantastic achievement Max, and many congratulations on a very successful summer of running.

Congratulations to everyone that has taken part in the Lakeside 5k this year.

A magnificent 33 Hedge End members took place over the 5 race series with Henry Penfold, John McKenzie, Geoff Collins and Lisa Small competing in all 5! 

Matt Risden posted the fastest HERC time of the year posting a new 5K time of 16:11 which was also we believe a PB, well done Matt.

Hedge End took 3rd place in the Alexandra Sports Inter-Club Challenge winning a £100 voucher for Alexandra sports, a fantastic achievement given the level of competition.

In addition to this Max Maxwell competing in his first year for HERC won the Mens Vet 50 category. A fantastic achievement Max! Billy will be expecting you at track some time in the near future :-)

Thank you for giving up your time to the club, it is much appreciated.

Tracy Puttock & Mike Bridgeman

July’s Member of the Month Award is presented to Tiggy Sinclair
Last month, Tiggy took on and completed the legendary “Race to the Stones” - a 100km ultra marathon along the Ridgeway, the oldest path in the UK, finishing at the Avebury Stone Circles in temperatures exceeding 30°C. This was all after having done the Giants Head Marathon a few weeks before (for those of you that aren’t aware, it’s quite hilly!)

On top of that, Tiggy is no stranger to ultras and gruelling endurance challenges, completing 40 miles at the Bad Cow Frolic in April and being a regular at Endure24, but I’ve never seen her without a smile on her face and an encouraging word for others. I genuinely don’t know how you do it, 1 marathon a year is enough for me!

Thoroughly well deserved Tiggy and many congratulations for all that you’ve achieved this year.
(Also Special congratulations too to Linda Francis and Julie Ward for completing Race to the Stones with you, but as they’ve both won the Member of the Month award before we thought it only fair to let Tiggy have her moment of glory!)

MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Bit late I’m afraid, but June’s Member of the Month Award is presented to Mike Bridgeman

Mike took over as the Men’s road running representative for the club, encouraging as many people as possible to take part in the HRRL league races. He also took part in all 12 races himself, achieving numerous PBs along the way.

He’s dedicated much of his time volunteering in other aspects of the club, such as the Thursday night group run leaders and the running steering group leadership team. He’s proactive, not only suggesting new ideas but also offering to participate or even lead in their implementation. He’s also very encouraging to new or less experienced runners, both within the club and the wider running community.

Many thanks for all your hard work and dedication to the club Mike, and congratulations on a very well deserved award!

MEMBER OF THE MONTH

We’ve been inundated with nominations for one particular member, so it should come as no surprise that May’s Member of the Month Award is presented to Matt Bowers.

Matt is well known for doing crazy things when it comes to distance running, but last month he (willingly) took part in the 145 Mile Grand Union Canal Race, running from Birmingham to London along the Grand Union Canal path. For those of you that didn’t follow the story as it evolved, Matt started off well, but torrential rain and thunderstorms overnight took their toll. By the time he got to 120 miles he’s feet were heavily blistered and running was no longer an option. Undeterred, Matt continued to walk the final 25 miles (ie a marathon) to the finish line, through the constant pain from his feet, the heat of a late May day and general exhaustion. He completed the race in 40 hours and 38 minutes, finishing joint 32nd.

Not only is this an incredible achievement and demonstration of grit and determination, Matt is back up and running, and waiting for entries to open for next year’s race so he can better his performance.

On top of this, Matt has always been incredibly supportive and helpful to other club members, particular sharing his experiences and providing advice to novice ultra runners.

Incredibly well done Matt, very well deserved!

The 12 race season finally finished last Sunday, after 10 months of racing! Across all clubs, over 1,000 ladies featured and over 1,200 men. With the final results now published, this post aims to recognise and celebrate HERC's achievements and progress.

TEAMS
Both teams had superb seasons, particularly the Ladies, showing great progress over the last few years for our young club. The final 17/18 standings:

Ladies A - 3rd in A Div 1
Ladies B - 2nd in B Div 1
Ladies C - 12th in B Div 2

Mens A - 5th in A Div 1
Mens B - 4th in B Div 1
Mens C - 12th in B Div 1

INDIVIDUALS
An amazing 165 Hedgies (66 ladies, 99 men) ran in 1 or more HRRL races this season, all of whom played a part in either scoring points for HERC and/or taking points off other clubs. Of those, the following 25 ran in 7 or more races and therefore qualified for the individual standings. The number is their overall HRRL position:

Ladies
13 - Kate Maslin
15 - Marie Droniou-Bordry
17 - Jo Labram
23 - Kirsty Cartwright
32 - Elizabeth Bamber
49 - Tracey Shepperd
52 - Yvonne Coxhill
53 - Lucy Kemp
72 - Tracy Puttock
84 - Maria Sparks

Mens
24 - Peter O'Donnell
27 - Will Baggs
38 - Mark Smallwood
41 - Carlo Van Leeuwen
46 - Jordan Winbourne
52 - Mark Chamberlain
73 - Mike Bridgeman
81 - Joe Amber
91 - Christopher Chester
111 - Keith Sheppard
118 - Alan Cowan
129 - Chris Winbourne
144 - Cliff Manton
148 - Ian Bowers
150 - Bryan Barry

A massive thank you to everyone who ran for, coached and supported HERC this season. All starts again on 2 Sep with Overton 5 - entries are open!

Cheers,
Mike Bridgeman and Tracy Puttock
HERC Road and Track Team Reps