20th Anniversary Time Capsule

Throughout 2026, the memories of our members and friends will be collected and added to this time capsule, creating a permanent record of what our club has meant and continues to mean to us all!

If you’d like to add thoughts to the time capsule, please fill out the form – you’re welcome to fill it in (all or any part of it) as many times as you like!

FILL OUT THE FORM HERE

If you’d like to add any photos to the time capsule, please email them to hello@hydeparkharriers.co.uk with the subject line “Time Capsule”.

MEMORIES

  • 2017 – The first time I ran down any of the ginnels to the MVT (in a group led by Caroline Sanders around summer 2017) – a whole little dimension of Leeds opened up to me!
  • 2020 – The infamous West Park PECO in 2020. Weather warnings, sideways hail, flooded roads, trees down and yet the race went ahead. Some of us turned up, stood on the field for two minutes and then ran away again – it was THAT bad. Predictably, numbers were incredibly low and a couple of people ended up needing medical attention for hypothermia. What a day.
  • When I first joined the club there were competitions at PECO races to see who could come back with the muddiest legs (a competition enthusiastically endorsed by many club members past and present – Caroline, Maika, etc).
  • HPH Beer! Kudos to Amy for organising a cracking collab with North Brewing for our special beer, complete with a label showcasing lots of HPH favourite routes. A framed label adorns our wall!
  • 2019 – Getting so severely chafed at the Palma half marathon that I thought I’d never be able to sit down again.
  • Ultra Tour of North Bars was an ace idea by James Tarbit! All the North Bars in a single day (Harrogate to Otley to Meanwood to Chapel Allerton to Roundhay to the city centre taproom to North Street to Springwell…) – more than 50km of running and the beers really stacking up by the end… JT also came up with a really fun route, mostly on trails.
  • 2020 – The Covid years were awful in so many ways and I’m very reluctant to suggest any nostalgia for them. However, it was incredible to see how our club responded and adapted to the tough times – we had webcam-based quizzes on Tuesday, photography challenges courtesy of Lizzie C (and her doorstep HPH portraits!), art challenges from Anne A and huge participation in so many other events (the LURGY challenges organised by Tom T, the Virtual Opposite coffee mornings in place of Woodhouse Moor parkrun). – Toby A
  • 2025 – After missing out on the men’s PECO Premier Division by an extremely narrow margin in 23/24, it was great to return as men’s team captain and win the division in 24/25! Richard K (AKA King Richard)
  • 2023 – The time Toby wore Naomi’s shorts to club 🥲
  • When autumn trail runs turn into a walking picnic of blackberry picking – as happened a couple of times in pre-pandemic group 3 – Naomi A
  • 2022 – Supporting Rich G’s Bob Graham was an honour – the club turned out in force to provide road and leg support. Seeing a very tired Rich triumphantly make his way to the Moot Hall was such a great moment.
  • 2018 – Phil Hammond being absolutely appalled that he couldn’t find vegan porridge in Budapest the night before the marathon.
  • 2015 – In my very early days of HPH, Richard Edwards was a regular leader of group 2. At the time I was fine in group 1 but struggling in 2. With Richard’s encouragement, I managed to get comfortable in G2, then a little group of regulars moved up to G3 together. Thanks Richard for the encouragement ☺️ it made me a regular HPH! – Grace R
  • 2024 – Lisbon was a great city for a club trip (although the less said about the race route the better – mmm industrial estates!). The unofficial “parkrun” was a cracker, the food was fantastic and some of us even got to murder Blink-182 via the gentle art of karaoke… – Toby A
  • 2019 – SO many PECO memories!!! Nostell Priory was amazing (wish they’d bring it back, although parking was dreadful)
  • Seeing all the photos taken by talented camera-wielding Harriers after an event – Anne, Lizzie, Steve, Ed and the much-missed Rolf all spring to mind!
  • 2018 – The year of the snowy Christmas party! Richard G decided it was a good idea to run from the city centre all the way back home to Yeadon. In non-running gear.
  • When I started running 2 years ago and I heard about the Tuesday night sessions I didn’t know that it was HPH training night but after attending for a while I decided to join up because I used to run on my own and now I am a HPH member i couldn’t be happier I’ve made some new friends and I’ve even ran some cross country which I never thought I’d do.the thing I love about the club is the way they get together before a race and have a chat even after the race has finished. – Raymond H
  • 2014 – In memory of Paul Hedley. Cancer took him from HPH in May 2014 aged just 39. Great athlete, wonderful person. I spent several years enjoying club runs with him. The weekly home chases down Kirkstall Road were the highlight of my training week. Still missed. – Sam D
  • 2022 – We had an “HPH village” at Endure24 in 2022 – so many Harriers taking part either in teams or solo. The grit and, yes, endurance displayed by all our runners was a sight to behold and it was lovely to support each other along the way.
  • 2018 – So many great memories from the Budapest trip (not least the extremely leathery locals hanging out in the 90C sauna at Széchenyi Baths…). Loads of us did the marathon as a relay (shout out to Nick P who was an honorary member of the women’s team). Naomi and I did the marathon as a pair – NJ got all the scenic river bits, and I got the Soviet-era industrial estates and motorways. – Toby A
  • Summer evening picnics in the park after Farhad’s strength and speed sessions, when he’d bring fruit along from his stall – Naomi A
  • 2025 – It feels quite recent but the Billy Bland this year was something I’ll never forget. Felt quite emotional when I saw Amy, Sarah, Jo and George running up Keswick Main Street knowing we’d smashed the 24 hours. In general, the fell trips that we did in 2023 to Eryri for Moel Siabod, and then 2024 and 2025 to the Lakes for Blisco Dash and the Billy Bland were some of my favourite weekends from those years. – Sarah J
  • 2017 – There used to be a series of races in Leeds that were sort of like Summer PECOs with fun names like Tempsey Torture… I took part in the Roundhay Rampage in July 2017 – it was my first ever race in a red-and-white race and I’ll always remember the incredible support and HPH spirit before, during and after the run! – Toby A
  • As a newer member, I have felt so welcome and loved so that would be the most memorable part for me. – Josh S
  • 2017 – For a few years, HPH got a few teams for Thunder Run (before Endure 24 came to Leeds). I’ll always remember the second year when it rained all night, slip sliding around in the dark and mud with just a headtorch can be quite tricky! – Clare E
  • 2020 – The pandemic pantomime. Expertly written and directed by Anne A, I think I had a little too much fun playing the Evil Queen in our version of Snow White (featuring a plethora of dwarves all played by James U). Rumours persist of a live version some day… – Toby A
  • 2018 – In winter 2018, we did a social run (organised by Sam S, I think?) from Hyde Park via Meanwood to Headingley for milkshakes! I remember getting to know lots of people on that run who are now good friends.
  • Yorkshire Marathon always has lots of HPH runners and great support. There have lots of PBs over the years, and even a world record when Harriers joined a 40-person Viking boat!
  • 2019 – Saltaire Stampede was a brilliant event! The unusual rules (rather than being a straightforward first past the post, the winner would be the last person to set off and still make it back before the timer expired) made for a really interesting race. The HPH crew took different approaches – Sarah U followed the rules and won (much to the chagrin of another runner who didn’t follow instructions…), Paul D set off immediately so as to be first person in the queue at the Saltaire brewery bar, and I drastically overestimated my abilities on the hottest day of the year… – Toby A
  • 2021 – Turning up the Victoria Statue in pouring rain at 7:45am on the day of the first Around the Park, Around the Clock and finding, to my astonishing, a good-sized collection of Harriers ready to join in the madness! I can’t believe we’ve now had five editions of the event (with the sixth already being planned) and that folks are still up for running laps of Woodhouse Moor, hour after hour, year after year…
  • 2018 – Becki G’s awesome self-guided runs! The Forge Frolic and Adel Adventure were brilliant fun and made me aware of some great paths that I use on group runs to this day – if you’ve ever wondered if you’re completely lost in the vicinity of Meanwood Park, now you know why! – Toby A
  • 2024 – Doing Around The Park Around The Clock in a relay format for 2024 was a really fun way for it to be an all day event for those not trained for long distances!
  • 2017 – The Koln trip was brilliant, but I’ll always remember it for two mishaps: 1) When we got on the train from the airport and all of us bought the wrong ticket… The very scary ticket inspector checked the first ticket and was about to start writing up a fine, then realised that she’s have to do the same thing for all thirty or so Harriers. She sighed and let us get away with it. 2) When I finished the half, I somehow managed to leave the finish funnel via a side street. Not only did I miss out on what was apparently an incredible array of post-race food stalls for the runners, but I had to negotiate with the security staff to let me re-enter the funnel (from the wrong end) to get my finisher’s medal… – Toby A
  • 2021 – The atmosphere, enthusiasm and excitement of the return to races and events as the pandemic receded. Special mention to PECO that year, promoted by our captains Laura G, Mike V and Anne A
  • We’ve done it several times but not for a few years – all the parkruns of Leeds in a single day! Exactly what constitutes a “Leeds” parkrun is up for debate, but the challenge kept getting bigger as more and more parkruns started. It’s always been a fun day out though!
  • 2016 – Trying to convince Toby to join HPH and him refusing for months and months because he “didn’t need any more friends”. – Naomi A
  • 2017 – My very first HPH session was in Group 7 (the penultimate group at the time), led by HPH legend Adam L. We did the Cockshott Classic and I nearly collapsed in exhaustion multiple times. Nine years later, HPH forms a core part of my life and I’m proud to say I’ve led several Harrier stalwarts on their own first sessions via the same route. – Toby A
  • 2022 – Our first post-Covid club trip to Munich was so well-attended – everywhere you went in the city, you bumped into a Harrier that weekend! We helped the local parkrun smash its attendance record, drank many pints of German beer and generally had an epic time!
  • 2025 – The club marathon relay! Nearly 30 Harriers took part and we absolutely smashed a sub3-hour time – kudos to Matthew B who completed four of the 54 laps of the Summer Mile route.
  • 2020 – Our small-group sessions during Covid were born of necessity (when we could have gatherings of six people maximum), but they were great fun! I’ve never been fitter than when I was leading two Kirkstall Hills sessions in one evening, and the intervals sessions on the Cinder Moor and at Hanover Square were a welcome respite from all the solo runs during the pandemic.
  • The time Adam had a run in with a portaloo at the 24hr race 💩 He doesn’t like this story…
  • 2018 – The Billy Bland Relay and recces in 2017-18. 8 years ago there wasn’t much of a fell running ethos or tradition in the club and this really kickstarted it and now you’ve got runners regularly doing Bob Grahams, the Three Peaks has become a big club thing etc and it all started from Steve Rhodes cajoling lots of people to just get out and give it a go. – Tom T
  • So many great memories at Springwell, North Brewing’s tap room for a few years after the pandemic. It was an unofficial clubhouse for HPH and was the venue for multiple Christmas parties and socials. We also provided leaders for its monthly run club on Sundays, which was a gateway to the club for quite a few people. A real shame when it closed!
  • 2019 – joining Team Garratt to support Em T on her marathon in 2019 was a brilliant afternoon and rekindled my interest in long-distance races (I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing). – Toby A
  • Every edition of the Summer Mile is special in its own way, but special mention to the 2017 event – it chucked it down all day (Sam was sweeping the worst puddles off the course between heats…) and we were all sheltering under the trees. Not the best for running, but certainly a memorable evening!

CLUB FAVOURITES

  • The Apperley Bridge Canter is always great fun, and an absolute must as an HPH – we turn out in force every year!
  • Adel Loop – it’s still the ultimate 8 mile route from the Edge.
  • B (multiple recommendations) – flat, scenic and fast (despite some sharp turns), and it actually runs through the centre of the host city.
  • The Meanwood Valley Trail ginnels, if you haven’t joined a group run through them during summer yet, make sure you do in 2026!
  • Big up the yearly Holly Hustle – I was the only HPHer in 2024 but I loved it. Also the Whernside Fell Race I would recommend to all who could be interested in dabbling with fell running as the descent was dreamy.
  • I really like the Leeds Dock Relay! Great to see so many clubs and Leeds folk getting involved for a fun event with a good cause.
  • If you’ve not done Fountains Abbey parkrun, get yourself there pronto! It’s probably the most beautiful parkrun I’ve ever done. Honourable mentions for Whinlatter in the Lake District (which is absolutely brutal but has stunning views of Skiddaw along the way), Dalby Forest and Fort William. Closer to home, Bowling Park in Bradford is a real hidden gem.
  • Sadly no longer an event, the Firefighters Five was a favourite of the club for many years. An unusual distance and a fun route, plus Mike V repeatedly proved himself the fastest fireman around!
  • Kirkstall 7 – always a great race, with varied and fun terrain (sometimes involving a dip in the river if it’s been raining heavily – ask Rick P…) and you sometimes get a beer at the end!
  • Bluebell Trail – A wonderful 10 mile race near Halifax. As the name suggests, the scenery is beautiful. There’s also no hill quite like Trooper Lane – the hill that mocks you at every turn.
  • Round Sheffield Run is definitely one to try if you like “weird” races – it’s made up of more than a dozen timed “stages”, which you run as fast as possible and then untimed recovery sections in between. The route takes you through some beautiful trails around Sheffield, highly recommended!

THOUGHTS

  • I often feel so lucky to have found HPH. There is always someone to talk to, there’s always something new to learn and I’m very lucky to know you all ❤️
  • Let’s do picnics again!
  • HPH was such a big part of my time in Leeds and I’m forever thankful for the friendships and the running encouragement. Being the last cheerers on the PECO finish line just goes to show why HPH is so special!
  • Just get involved and chat to everyone!
  • This club means the world to me. It’s been an absolutely classic example of “the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.”
  • Don’t ever take a relay leg with George A or Mike V lightly.