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On Saturday 8th July, five HRR members (Charlotte, Nicola, Simon, Rachel and Lucy) plus one member’s daughter, Zoe, took on the challenge of the Race to the Stones ultramarathon: a stunning 100km trail, spanning from Lewknor to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Avebury Stone Circle. All six runners opted for the ‘non-stop’ version of the race, which involves running the entire 100km in a single day.

The day started early, with the runners setting off shortly after 7am. The weather was incredibly changeable, starting off as sunny and humid, followed by bouts of pouring rain and thunderstorms, interspersed with more sun! Fortunately, the runners had plenty of support from other club members and family who met them at various points along the course to provide fresh clothes, snacks and endless amounts of cheers and encouragement.

All six runners completed the course, some in the dark! Charlotte was the first HRR finisher, completing the race in a very speedy 12 hours 16 minutes, giving her 106th position overall and 24th woman. It was a great day out and, as spectators, we were inspired by the incredible achievements of all five runners who were tested to their limits – both physical and mental. While they are enjoying a well earned rest from intense training, many of us spectators are tempted by the idea of entering next year’s race!

Full results are available here.

An ever-popular event on the HRR’s race calendar, this year’s Ridgeway Relay (25th June) certainly did not disappoint. The day started with team managers frantically looking for a substitute runner, and ended with the celebration of HRR bringing home the prestigious winner’s shield – 9 years after the club’s last Ridgeway victory.

For this year’s event, we managed to enter a team for each of the 3 categories – “Mostly Men”, “Mostly Ladies” and “Vets” – to compete with 39 other teams from clubs across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Unfortunately, one of the original “Mostly Men” team members had to pull out at the last time due to an injury, and our backup runner was already covering for another injury. Harry Geddes, the team manager, was quickly on the phone looking for a replacement. Matthieu Marshall was first to volunteer running two legs, which, considering the heat, would have been a massive undertaking even for a superhuman like him.

With that plan in mind, James Eve, Rachel Shaw and Duncan Henning set off from Ivinghoe Beacon. After the first leg, the “Mostly Men” team gained 2nd position, while the “Mostly Ladies” and “Vets” teams were at the very respectable 27th and 29th positions. After the second leg, the “Mostly Men” team climbed up to 1st position, and never looked back. As the temperature rose to over 28 degrees after midday, the running got very tough, and after 5 legs, our team positions were 1st, 30th and 34th.

Out of the blue, we had a message from Tom Dobra, who had just run a fast race at Thame 10k in the morning, saying that he could take the last leg. This was a huge relief for us, but he still had to make his way from Oxford to Barbury Castle, the start of the last leg. Somehow he got there with plenty of time to spare to receive the proverbial baton from Fergus Campbell. He ran an amazing 6:08 min/mile leg to claim overall victory. Soon after, Anita James and Nicole Hare also crossed the line to claim 28th and 33rd positions for the “Vets” and the “Mostly Ladies” teams, bringing to an end a very successful day for the club.

Once again, the Ridgeway Relay proved to be an amazing team event for all. Well done to all those all helped organise and took part.

Full list of runners and leg results

P.S. some of our runners claimed that they only got to maintain their positions because other runners went the wrong way, but that is the fun of Ridgeway Relay – to not get lost!

HRR Quiz Night Thursday 24th February after the runs

Club nights are restarting on 3 September. Because of the need to stick to COVID-19 protocols, it will be necessary to sign up in advance using https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-cpEtSg2qKlgSfgjlkS0e1VpCfI4_qtGsrdJv7xjngk/edit?usp=sharing. But it’s a start! Hope to see you there soon.

More info: Google Doc

From Thursday 19th August, we’ll be meeting together as a club without restrictions. No need to sign-up for sessions in advance, no need for staggered starts. Meet at Oxsrad 7pm.

With the Prime Minister’s announcement that there is going to be another lockdown of at least 4 weeks, we’re going to have to cancel club runs. Hopefully, (new) normal service will be resumed on 3 December.