Harriers of the Month and Chair’s Blog – June 2026

Another wonderful month of running for HPH, despite the heatwave. There was so much for our club to be proud of in June, culminating in the Summer Mile! Read on below, but firstly congratulations to our…

HARRIERS OF THE MONTH – JUNE 2026

  • Phil Hammond (multiple nominations):
    • Three hundred marathons. An incredible milestone – well done indeed Phil
    • The man, the myth, the Legend. 300 Marathons, enough said.
    • Completing 300 marathons (& longer) is an amazing accomplishment 
    • Three. Hundred. Marathons. Wtf?!
  • Richard Cartwright (multiple nominations):
    • On the paria race stopped to help an unconscious runner. Performed cpr (learnt after paying for his own outdoor first aid course), called an ambulance and followed up the runner in lgi making sure he was OK, all whilst sacrificing his race. Lovely chap!
    • I want to recognise Richard for looking after a runner who suffered a medical incident whilst on a social run this month – his quick action and compassion were the epitome of how anyone should act in a scary and potentially life-threatening situation.
    • For stepping in to help when a fellow HPH had a seizure on a run.
    • On a recent run I ended up having an epileptic seizure. Thankfully I was with Richard Cartwright who was able to call for an ambulance and then accompanied me to the LGI where he stayed for several hours. Not everyone would’ve sacrificed their Saturday afternoon, but I’m incredibly grateful that Richard did.

Well done to all our nominees, copied below:

  • Chloe Brooks – 4th grand union canal, Still amazing as ever. 145miles in hot weather, amazing performance.
  • Chris Worfolk (multiple nominations):
    • Back yard ultra…. 100km,Then atpatc 7 days later…. Madness 2 ultras in Leeds than a week! Great work!!
    • For running seemingly infinite miles the past week & still turning up and being good support for others at atpatc on Sunday!
  • Coralie Bell – Winning her heat and setting a new club record at the Podium 5K!
  • Curtis Broadhead – Curtis was amazing at the Summer Mile, just a superstar
  • Daisy Wales – Daisy ran a brilliant 5K PB at the Podium races this month, well done!
  • Dan Stevenson – A sub5 minute mile for Dan at the Summer Mile and a new MV40 club record – take a bow Mr S!
  • Eliza Taswell-Fryer – First woman at the Solstice Saunter; brilliant work Eliza!
  • Emma Knowles (multiple nominations):
    • Absolutely demolishing her heat at the Summer Mile and setting an insane time – well done Emma!
    • Amazing summer mile run, the fastest HPH gal for 2026!
  • Euan Douglas – A storming run at Ilkley 10K – nice work Euan!
  • George Fidczuk (multiple nominations):
    • George ran a fantastic 50k fell race in the Andorran mountains, finishing in the top 100 out of over 600 runners on a blazing hot June day. Over 3,335m of elevation and still smiling at the end! Well done George!
    • George completed an incredible 50K trail race in Andorra, with over 3,000m of ascent, in under nine hours!
  • Grace Roberts – I genuinely feel emotional nominating Grace for this – she paced 75 mins on the Leeds 10k and honestly was so impressive, compassionate and enthusiastic. It was my first ever ever ever race and i honestly think Grace started pacing me about 3 months before we even got to the start line, getting me coming to club, helping with my training plan, answering every stupid question and then throughout the race she was amazing. I cannot think of someone that exemplifies the clubs values and shows HPH in a more positive light and that really shone today. I wouldn’t have had the best time without her, and I know everyone around us felt the same. 
  • Helen Noyes – For the second year in a row, Helen completed the full 36 laps of Around the Park, Around the Clock – a brilliant achievement!
  • Joe Lawley – Congratulations to Joe on completing his 214th and final Wainwright! Lake District fells? Completed it mate
  • Jonny Spain – Congratulations to Jonny on going sub17 for 5K this month!
  • Julie Haddon (multiple nominations):
    • Julie ran an amazing 10K at Leeds, with a new PB and third in her age category
    • Brilliant 10k this year, Julie is absolutely flying!
  • Kay Jefferies – I want to nominate Kay for completing her 500th parkrun on 6 June; such a fantastic achievement deserves to be celebrated
  • Lara Chapman – Lara’s completion of the full 36 miles of Around the Park, Around the Clock was so great to witness – she absolutely smashed it and should be incredibly proud of an amazing achievement!
  • Lucas Johnstone – A 10K PB (and a 5K PB in the midst of it!) at Leeds 10K!!
  • Sam Townson – Victory at the Solstice Saunter! Nice one Sam!
  • Sharron Neugebauer (multiple nominations):
    • Her around the park around the clock performance – she genuinely blew me away and i’m so proud to have run a loop with her. what an inspiration blowing her furthest distance (10k) out of the water with her 25k total. 
    • Sharron was phenomenal at Around the Park, Around the Clock this year – five full sets, adding up to 25km across five hours. Well done indeed Sharron!
  • The Summer Mile organisers (Jonny, Sam, Kay, Julie, Amy, Curtis and Hannah) – On behalf of the club, a huge thank you to our organising team for another excellent Summer Mile!
  • The Summer Mile volunteers – Getting the job done! Months of efforts, well done team!
  • Your humble scribe was very appreciative of the nominations submitted this month too:
    • Our glorious leader, Fabulous 5km at Keswick,  Then an equally blistering 5km podium at whm!!! Organises the atpatc race for his birthday every year, and every friend up and smashes an ultra in super speedy time! Heroes dont wear capes…. 
    • For doing a really inclusive event each year for all of us to join in

THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to all our leaders this month – Adam L, Alex B, Alice H, Andy B, Bethan M, Cat M, Caite B, Chris W, Clare E, Daisy W, Dan S, Eleanor M, Eliza T-F, Hannah L, Helen N, Grace R, Jonathan S, Laura G, Lucas J, Lizzie L, Lucy R, Mike G, Naomi A, Richard G, Sarah R, Sharron N and Tom W!

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 2026

  • As part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we’re undertaking a club-wide year long relay! As of the end of this month, the baton has travelled 1,971km in total! During June, it was carried by Amy R-Y, Naomi A, Sharron N,  George F, Kay J, Julie R, Chris K, Helen N, Lou G, Sienna J, Lucy B, Ben D, Sam T, Richard G, Lee T, Dan S, Jamie R, Jack H, Dan D, Paul S, Curtis P-M, Harrison G and your humble scribe! If you’d like to get involved, there’s a specific chat in the club’s WhatsApp community to co-ordinate handovers.
  • The Otley Chevin fell race is always a HPH favourite and it was great to see a hug squad take on the extremely hilly course – well done everyone!
  • Cat M represented the club at the Rush Around The Rhubarb in Pudsey!
  • We had several Harriers take part in the Podium 5K race series at York, with PBs all round! Kudos to Jonny, Will, Daisy and Coralie (who also set a new club record)!
  • Adam L, Lucy M and Colin T headed back into the dales to take on the Pen-y-ghent fell race; nice one folks!
  • We all know Paul R loves mountains – he proved it again this month with a cracking run at the Scafell Sky Race, a nigh-on marathon up and over the heart of the Lake District!
  • There aren’t many five mile races, but Lee T ran a great sub35 on the challenging Bronte 5 course this month!
  • Paul C ran the Crackpots 10K near Kirkby Malzeard, finishing in the top 10!
  • Three Harriers took part in the Pete Shields Ilkley 10K – congratulations to Euan on a top-20 place and Sharron for a fantastic run so soon after her Around the Park heroics at the end of May!
  • The YVAA Grand Prix continued, with seven Harriers taking on the Stainland event, and seven at the Morley race!
  • Otley 10 Mile is a notoriously tough race, so big kudos to the nine Harriers brave or mad enough to race it! Sam T and Doug B were both in the top 10 – nice one lads!
  • Your humble scribe joined Dr Donnelly at June’s edition of the York 5K series – it was a windy evening on the cycle track, but we both had good races! Congratulations to Dan on a new age-grade PB!
  • We all know Phil H loves a marathon (or more!) and this month saw him complete his 300th! Yep, that’s right – 300 marathons or ultras… An incredible achievement, well done sir! Phil, being the legend that he is, carried straight on with more marathons this month too…
  • George F conquered a brilliant 50K UTMB race in Andorra – serious heat, serious hills (over 3,000m of climbing!), but George crushed it!
  • It was great to see so many folks taking on the Leeds 10K this month, with strong performances left, right and centre! Congratulations to Ben and Abdu for their 6th and 2nd places respectively, and to everyone who ran – so many PBs, pacing duties and fundraising targets smashed!
  • The Solstice Saunter consistently has the best finisher medals of any local race, and six Harriers headed over to Bolton Abbey for this year’s edition! HPH had both the overall winner, with Sam T taking first place, and Eliza T-F as first woman – great to see!
  • Scorching weather, 14 heats of incredible running – it could only be the HPH Summer Mile! A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the evening happen, especially our Summer Mile organisers (Jonny, Sam, Hannah, Amy, Curtis, Julie and Kay) and well done to everyone who ran!
  • Adam L and Colin T, HPH’s most consistent fell champs contenders, took on the Eldwick Gala race, with Adam finishing on the podium!
  • Ben D represented HPH at the Harrogate 10K, with a storming third place finish!
  • If you’ve not tried the Round Sheffield Run yet, you really should! A fun race format, a scenic route around a Yorkshire city, great camaraderie amongst the runners and summer and winter variants, what’s not to love? Kudos to Alan and Helen for taking part in June’s edition!

Phew, what a scorcher (and other cliches…)! As ever, apologies to anyone I’ve overlooked in the write-up; we’ve had such a busy month and it’s great to see! July looks to continue the trend, especially with our 20th anniversary celebration – can’t wait! Ain’t no barriers!