Harriers of the Month and Chair’s Blog – June 2024

Another super-busy month – Hyde Park Harriers have been taking part in all sorts of races and events!

Firstly, huge congratulations to our Harriers of the Month for June 2024:

• Coralie Bell, who achieved not one but two club records this month over 5K (18:04 at the Podium series) and 10K (37:09 at Leeds). Brilliant running!
• Naomi Adkins, for spreading a lot of running joy around the club with her Postcode Postcard routes. We’ve heard from lots of people in the club enjoying each postcode run and posting lovely photos from all around Leeds. Thanks for inspiring other Harriers to get outside and try new routes!

It’s always tricky for the committee to pick our HotM winners but it was especially closely contested this month, with multiple nominees receiving similar numbers of committee votes. Well done to all our nominees, copied below:

• Adam Lomas (multiple nominations):
  • Not content with being one of the fastest runners in the club, Adam is an unsung hero who does a sterling job keeping an eye on our website infrastructure. He’s been busy behind the scenes sorting a few things out over the last month or so, and it’s really appreciated – thank you Adam!
  • Adam sprinted his way to a new club mile record at the Summer Mile – well done sir!
• Phil Hammond – Amazing work by Phil in taking on the Pennine Way, raising funds too! Well done Phil!
• Russell Webster – Russell completed the gruelling The Wall race from Carlisle to Newcastle – brilliant running!
• Sam Tecwyn – Sam stormed to finish as first woman at the June Leeds 5K race – nice one Sam!
• Jonah Kennedy (multiple nominations):
  • Jonah ran an incredible 5K at the Brownlee race in June, ending up second on the podium – he’s getting scarily quick! Well done mate!
  • For an outstanding performance at the Brownlee 5k. 16.25, which smashes his PB by a good 30 odd seconds. A truly heroic effort, well done Jonah!
  • Nominating Jonah again  – this time for his incredible sub34 run at the Leeds 10K…
• Laura Kettlewell – This is a belated nomination for Laura for May when she completed her 100 mile Ride London cycle in memory of her husband Alistair. She has raised a huge amount of money for Cancer Research in his name which is phenomenal, but the physical challenge of doing a one hundred mile cycle ride is absolutely amazing. Laura trained so hard in some awful weather and conditions to complete this challenge, which had huge emotional meaning for her. What a legend, well done Laura!
• Tom Moulding – Tom has been running brilliantly (and consistently) for ages now – really inspiring to see! He came third at the Solstice Saunter – another podium finish to add to his growing collection!
• The HPH pacers at the Leeds 10K – Always great to see HPH with massive flags on their backs! Big thanks to our pacers – looks like everyone nailed their assignments and I’m sure it was much appreciated by the racers!
• The Summer Mile Committee (and all the volunteers) – A huge thank you to the Summer Mile organising committee (and everyone who volunteered on the night) for organising another fantastic Summer Mile – it’s very much appreciated. Special mention to Debbie Brown for all her hard work over the years.
• George Anderson – George ran brilliantly at the Summer Mile, breaking his own record from 2016! Fantastic to see – well done mate!
• Amy Ramsden-Young – Amy continued her brilliant return to racing with another fantastic performance at the Summer Mile – inspirational as ever!

THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to all our leaders this month – Alice R, Chris H, Chrissy D, Clare E, Curtis B, Daisy W, Ellie W, Honor B, James U, Jane P, Joe L, Jon C, Jonathan S, Laura G, Lisa B, Lucy B, Lucy R, Matt B, Naomi A, Rafet O, Richard C, Richard G, Samantha T, Sarah U and Steve P.

Thanks also to those who led the North Running Club runs from Springwell!

If you’d like to give leading a go, speak to any of our existing leaders or committee members and we’ll give you all the support and help you need.

HIGHLIGHTS OF JUNE 2024

What a busy month! Check out what your clubmates have been up to below:

• Always a highlight of the HPH year, the Summer Mile took place earlier this week. Firstly, a massive thank you to the organising committee and everyone who volunteered on the night – it’s hugely appreciated. Well done to everyone who ran – I still believe the mile is probably the hardest race to run! Adam ran a phenomenal new club record as noted above, and massive kudos to George, who smashed his own club record (which he’d held since 2016!) and finished just seconds behind Adam.
• With the sad news of Rob Burrow passing, it was wonderful to see lots of Harriers honouring his memory by taking part in the run on 07 June and/or the various parkrun celebrations of his life.
• Phil Hammond spent much of June completing the Pennine Way – a truly epic trek across difficult terrain, covering big mileage every day for nearly three weeks and raising funds whilst he was at it! Well done Phil!
• Russell Webster completed the Wall – Rat Race’s brutal ultra from Carlisle to Newcastle. Fantastic work – rest up well Russell!
• Big thanks to Rich G for organising a trip to Ilkley Moors for those interested in the Billy Bland relay we’ll be attempting next summer – keep an eye on the Facebook page for details of future recces and the event itself!
• Also huge thanks to Cara, Laura G and Jonathan C for volunteering to coordinate our Leeds Country Way relay teams for 2024 – our two teams will be entered into the race shortly, and keep an eye out for recces being organised over the next couple of months.
• The June edition of Postcode Postcards was a beast! 19km in and around the Meanwood valley, but with some really lovely greenery to explore. Details of July’s route will be shared shortly…
• There have been so many races this month it’s been hard to keep track, but highlights included:
  • Lots of Harriers put on their fell shoes to take on the Pen-y-ghent Fell Race at the beginning of the month.
  • Brilliant to see lots of folk take on the Otley Fell Race, a perennial HPH favourite!
  • Otley was a popular venue this month, with another Harrier classic – the Otley 10! Really good to see lots of people taking on the brutal course with its multiple punchy hills…
  • There aren’t too many five mile races around, so it’s always a fun distance to run when you get the chance – several Harriers seized that opportunity at the Bronte 5.
  • Great to see some HPH vests at the new Ilkley 10K race – it sounds like it was a really good one, so perhaps one to try out next year!
  • We had a couple of Harriers taking on the Kettlewell half – well done Lou and Oli!
  • The YVAA Grand Prix races were well-attended this month – Morley was a mudfest by all accounts! All good practice for PECO season…
  • Coralie and Abdu took on the Podium 5K in June – well-known for attracting some seriously scary runners! True to form, Coralie set a new women’s club record at the event – read more in the HotM section above.
  • Closer to home, there were some brilliant performances at the Brownlee 5K event on 19 June – Sam T was first woman and Jonah finished second overall, with a stunning PB!
  • The Solstice Saunter always gets a good turn out – not least because it has some of the finest medals around! Well done Tom M on his podium finish!
  • Always good to see lots of Harriers at the Leeds 10K, especially these days given the route resembles a Tuesday night club run! Well done everyone – some fantastic performances all round! Not content with the 5K record this month, Coralie ran a new 10K club record too!

As ever, I’m sure I’m overlooking some brilliant Harrier activities, so my apologies if so! Well done everyone – super proud of our club this month!

Next month brings a whole load of races in our championships, including the Eccup 10 Mile and the Beamsley Beacon fell race, plus Chevin Forest in our parkrun series. We’ll also be heading to the cricket on Friday 19 July to watch Yorkshire’s last T20 of the regular season – come join us for a fun social!