I never thought that I would ever run...... Let alone do the famous London Marathon.

A surprise club ballot place came round really quickly... Training (slowly) seemed to work for a change and running twice a week was also part of a sensible plan. With runs to Ashurst, Lyndhurst and Gosport,.. mainly in Rain, Dark and Snow... I was ready for "The Big One".

Thunderstorms the night before ruined any chance of an early night, and a 4.00am alarm for a 5.30am coach was a shock to the system!!!. Arriving at the start line around 8.30, was a great feeling, It was very warm by the time I entered my pen at 9.30, very compact and busy... the Elite went off and we followed around 10.40. My training and plan was to run 25 minutes, then walk 5. Feeling fresh but boiling, I somehow went off with the crowd and ran the first 8 miles, I stopped for a foot issue and applied some Vaseline, kindly supplied by my amazing support team (Girlfriend).

The crowds were amazing, and wearing my charity shirt, I had so many shouts... Not sure if I had drank too little or too much, but by mile 11, I saw lots of people doing the same. I started to feel faint and drifted left towards the barriers... by Tower Bridge, I felt sick to go with the dizzy spell and was unsure what was going on. The Bridge indicates that you have made half-way point. I saw a friend shortly after, he too was struggling and so we walk/ran for a bit, I left him thinking "How will I find the guts to find another 12 miles".

I had the goal to get to Mile 17 as the GF would hopefully be there, The crowds seemed to roar, and even my walk breaks were quick, The heat was immense and even the showers didn't cool us down. By the time I reached the girlfriend at the 17 Mile marker, I was totally broken and did think of calling it a day. "No way" she said... "You can do this. Dont give up!!!", I didn't want to let my friends/family/training buddies/running club/gang down, so stuck at it and carried on...

At Mile 20, the sickness whilst running had eased, and although the dizziness remained, I was loving the whole experience... I had only ever dreamed of this. My plan now was to run 600m and walk 400m,....and by sticking to this, I thought "I can do this".

The March Member of the Month Award is presented to Stefan Hargrave

Stefan loves a weird event and has taken the HERC colours all over the country and abroad. He is kind and encouraging to all, be it through his blog (www.slowbutstubborn.wordpress.com), his Facebook posts or in person. He’s even volunteered to lead a group of members for their first ultra marathon in October!

At the beginning of March, Stefan organised the Hedge End Scramble based on his orienteering adventures in France. This saw over 40 club members running around Hedge End with sodden maps in atrocious weather, but everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it nonetheless.

To quote one of the members who nominated him: “Not only does Stefan enjoy his running along with the other lesser sports such as cycling and swimming that he partakes in, but he encourages everyone and sacrifices his time to make everyone else have fun – even those who couldn’t attend the scramble for various reasons had an enjoyable evening. I know from experience that it takes a huge amount of time to organise things like this.”
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Very well deserved Stefan and thank you for all your hard work

The February Member of the Month Award is presented to Kym Crosswell.

Kym joined the club last year and has made tremendous progress since. Last year she ran several major marathons, including Southampton and New York, and ran 8 of the 9 RR10 events. In February this year she ran a PB of 89:55 for the Ryde 10M to score valuable HRRL points for the club, on the notoriously un-PB friendly hills of the Isle of Wight.

Kym also completed her LiRF qualification and has become a committed leader for Thursday group runs whilst also assisting with the Tuesday Interval training at the Ageas. Wanting to get (even) more involved with the club, she has also become a member of the Running Steering Group leadership team.

She takes her training very seriously and can regularly be seen running solo in all weathers around the streets of Hedge End on non-club training nights and weekends.

​Many congratulations Kym and thank you for all the time and enthusiasm you've given to the club in such a short period.

The HERC AGM will be held in the Hampshire Suite at the Ageas Bowl, commencing at 20.00 on Thursday the 22nd of March 2018.

The January Member of the Month Award is presented to Chris Winbourne.

To quote the person who nominated him, “Chris never posts about his runs within or beyond the HERC Facebook group, but has transformed his performances over last 12 months through hard work in training and significantly upping his mileage. As a result, his 5K PB went from 24 mins to 21 mins, his 10K PB went from 50 mins to 43 mins (at Stubbington in January), his 10 Mile PB went from 87 mins to 79 mins (at the Great South Run in October), and his Half Marathon PB went from 1:52 to 1:38 (at Gosport in November).”

Chris also represents the Club at a large number and variety of races. Last summer he ran every Lakeside 5K, every RR10 race that HERC members were eligible to run, and so far this Winter he has run five HRRL races and four CC6 races.

Chris is also the main driving force behind the informal Wednesday night running group, which has now grown to over 30 Hedgies participating.

Well done on all your achievements in the last year Chris and congratulations on a well-deserved award.

The December Member of the Month award is presented to Peter o'Donnell

As you are all no doubt aware, HERC participates in 3 different cross-country leagues over the winter months, providing numerous and varied opportunities for members to compete away from the roads and generally get wet and muddy.

Pete has made full use of these opportunities, competing in 7 races across all three leagues, being the first Hedgie finisher in every race he’s taken part in:
69th overall (10th Vet) at HCCL Match 2 in November
79th overall (14th Vet) at HCCL Match 3 in December
54th overall (11th Vet) at HCCL Match 4 in January
49th overall (3rd V40) at Hampshire Championships in January
7th overall (1st V40) at CC6 round 2 in October
11th overall (1st V40) at CC6 round 3 in November
4th overall at SXCL round 4 in December

As can be seen, he has performed consistently well in all leagues, and the Hampshire Cross Country League in particular, culminating in finishing 49th overall at the Hampshire County championships and 3rd in his age category; a stunning achievement in a highly competitive, county level race.

Many congratulations Pete on an excellent cross-country season and a well-deserved win.

The November Member of the Month award is presented to Lauren Udall.

Lauren has been a long standing member of the club and contributed much over the years. She has run in many HRRL and other races for the club and turned up to support at many others. She has been on the Committee in the past and organised several events for the club, including currently being the club contact with the Ageas.

She recently been competing for the Club in the Hampshire Cross Country League... finishing in 145th place (73rd Vet) at the race at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. Lauren has always hated mud and hills, so this is a big achievement for her
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Always fun to be with and positive about the club, thank you Lauren for the work you've done for the Club and your ongoing support.

A very well deserved win Lauren, many congratulations.

Through our England Athletics affiliation, the club received 3 places for the 2018 Virgin London Marathon.

A record number of 62 club members that had been rejected from the Public Ballot, put their name forward for a second chance in the club draw. 

The lucky (although some may say this is debatable) names that were pulled out of the hat (aka the Celebrations Box) were.... 

Congratulations guys - let the marathon training begin!

Many thanks to Julie and Becky for organising the club draw and to Lauren for making the draw. 

The October Member of the Month award is presented to Rob Peck.

On 7 November 2014, Rob had a stroke aged only 41. Subsequent tests found that he had a 13mm hole in his heart, resulting in an operation in June 2015. Having been a track runner in his youth, after he had recovered from these two major events he decided he wanted to get back into running.

Starting with a few parkruns, he entered the Wyvern 10k in 2016. It was there that he was introduced to various members of Hedge End Running Club and decided to join us.

Since then, his running has gone from strength to strength. He ran the Southampton Half Marathon in April this year, sacrificing his own race to have fun with other club members (some selfies may have been taken) and helping one struggling member to get over the finish line.

He then decided to run the Bournemouth Marathon in October in aid of the Stroke Association who helped him when he was ill, completing it in a very respectable 4 hours and 49 minutes.

This year, Rob has demonstrated all the values the club stands for and more - to push yourself to achieve time and distance targets you did not think possible, and to have fun whilst you are at it.
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Congratulations Rob - a very well deserved winner.