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

The nights are drawing in and the weather has been… changeable! But HPH have still been up to all sorts in October – read on below, but first, congratulations to our…

HARRIERS OF THE MONTH – OCTOBER 2026

  • Hannah Long (multiple nominations):
    • Hannah should be so proud of herself for a great first marathon.
    • An excellent marathon debut, Hannah did herself very proud and raised a lot of money for charity too!
  • Pip Piperdy (multiple nominations):
    • Amazing pb at Yorkshire marathon!!
    • 12 minute PB at Yorkshire Marathon? Crazy – you love to see it!
    • Pip ran a fantastic PB at the Yorkshire Marathon. She’s come back from injury and smashed that marathon with a 12 minute PB.

Well done to all our nominees, copied below:

  • Alice Houldcroft: Smashing her 5k PB by over a minute at Rother Valley parkrun!
  • Amaia Imaz Blanco and Paul Sawyer: Finding pizza for exhausted runners, taking the stress out of what to eat after a big race day!
  • Becki Gray (multiple nominations):
    • Brilliant to see Becki run so well at the Amsterdam Marathon, coming away with her longstanding goal of sub 3:30!
    • Having a brilliant marathon that was hard earnt over many years!
  • Ben Rispin: A smashing sub40 10K PB at Yorkshire Coast 10K (with a 5K PB buried in the midst of it) – great to see Ben going from strength to strength!
  • Chris Jones: Not just a VM70 marathon record at Amsterdam but also a VM65 record for good measure! Amazing work Chris!
  • Erin Shepherd: Congrats to Erin on a brilliant run at Brigg 10K – coming in well under an hour despite the high winds of Storm Boelo!
  • Flick Burton: A superstar was born!! Flick ran like a supersonic speed machine at the York ten miler and finished as the second fastest lady! So impressive.
  • Julie Robson: Loads of hard work going into Amsterdam half marathon and her training really paid off with a great result to be proud of
  • Lucy Rider (multiple nominations):
    • Lucy deserves so much credit for her run at the Soft Shoe Shuffle, managing five laps for over 50km, after a run of bad luck with recent ultra races. Kudos Lucy!
    • Lucy has recently developed type 2 diabetes but still managed to complete her second ultra marathon
  • Matt Batten: Matt has had a great couple of months! A 5k AND a 10k PB – proof that hard work pays off! Not to mention his commitment to pun-writing in every single strava caption…
  • Will Sykes: A blistering performance at the Yorkshire 10 Mile to take 15th place and run comfortably under 57 minutes – amazing stuff from Will!
  • Your humble chair was also grateful to receive the following nomination: Another sub three hour marathon. After this year!!? Rude tbh

THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to all our leaders this month – Adam L, Alex H, Bethan M, Chris W, Clare E, Curtis B, Daisy W, Dan S, Deb A, Eleanor M, Euan D, Grace R, Helen N, Jonathan B, Josh S, Lisa B, Lucy R, Mike G, Mike V, Naomi A, Richard G, Sarah U and Sharron N!

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 OCTOBER 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 more than 3,600km! In October, the baton was carried by Clare E, Kay J, Curtis P-M, Edward H, Hannah L, Julie R, Andy J, Lizzie L, Lucy R, Tim L, Claire H, Andy B, David G, Ed S, Jed M and your humble chair! If you’d like to get involved, there’s a specific chat in the club’s WhatsApp community to co-ordinate handovers.
  • The HPH Winter League kicked off with the decidedly undulating Morley 10K! A cracking race with multiple brutal hills and excellent local atmosphere – well done to everyone who took part!
  • The YVAA Grand Prix wrapped up with a final race at Ackworth with a dozen Harriers taking part. It’s been great to see good turnout from our veterans at the YVAA races – shout-out to Helen for ringleading on these!
  • Ben smashed the Yorkshire Coast 10K, setting a sub40 PB!
  • Good to see Jack C representing the club at Oxford Half!
  • London Royal Parks Half saw Andy and Shabana racing around the capital amongst some beautiful autumnal leaves!
  • Phil H completed his 305th marathon at Chester, and his 306th at York!
  • Lucy R ran more than 50K whilst completing five laps of the Soft Shoe Shuffle Ultra near Knaresborough!
  • The 2026 club trip to Amsterdam was a great success, with more than 40 Harriers and friends heading to the city for various races, parkruns and beers! Congratulations to all the runners, thanks to all the supporters and watch this space for details of the next international trip…
  • Yorkshire Marathon day is always a highlight in the HPH calendar, with loads of red-and-white runners heading to the county’s capital to take on the marathon and 10 mile routes. We had loads of brilliant performances and PBs in both races, well done indeed everyone!
  • Erin S ran a cracking sub1hr 10K at Brigg!
  • Claire H took the 20th anniversary relay band round the very trailly (and hilly!) Canterbury Half Marathon!
  • Our annual tradition of running to Saltaire for beer and pizza was nearly derailed by Storm Boelo, but more than a dozen Harriers braved the wind! The autumnal colours along the canal at this time of year are always beautiful and the sun even came out for most of the morning!
  • The penultimate Leeds 5K series race of 2026 saw Gordon C break his own club VM70 record, and new HPH member Grace W run a cracking sub20! Kudos to John B as well, who has been by far the most frequent flyer at the series this year!
  • Light Night is always a great event – the good, the weird and the surprising! A merry group of 14 Harriers ran (well, mostly waded through the crowds) around the various zones and somehow all managed to stick together as a group! Lovely stuff – same time next year!
  • Ed and Hannah took on the brutal Race You to the Summit at Blackstone Edge – four miles of ascent and descent!

What a great month! And there’s more to come in November with our Bonfire Night quiz and the return of PECO cross country!