Welcome to the first newsletter of this calendar year!

Actually, we’re a quarter of the way into 2025 already and with the volume of hj’ers taking part in a number of various events there is no surprise that time is starting to motor past us similar to a Gary Tomlinson kick finish at parkrun, or perhaps more apt a Malcolm Footer Half Marathon PB at the racing home of Goodwood (well done on that one, Malcolm!!).

I’ve recently managed to successfully start wearing contact lenses.  I say successfully, there are times when it takes me more than one attempt. In fact, on occasion you could probably watch Titanic, The Godfather (all 3 parts), and the Jaws series (including the rubbish sequels) and I’d still be in the bathroom fighting to put them in my eyes. But it’s worth it.

I’m now loving the fact I can run without my glasses steaming up. Being able to see what is in front of me as I run is a positive (unsurprisingly), especially as I’ve started attempting taking part in so-called ‘trail runs’ lately, previously an area of running I had no intention of ever being a part of. I’m enjoying running with a bit more freedom.

The only minor downside is I now can’t see items close up to me. So, for example, when I try and read a message on my phone (like ‘race cancelled, go home’) I’ll still be blissfully turning up at the event fancying my chances against the three or so other competitors who have also turned up (all of whom are no doubt experimenting with contact lenses too). 

This also gives me a chance to throw in some jokes about this (the cornea the better, though don’t forget I am also a pupil in this area, eye-ronically).

Anyway, moving on swiftly and before I lose ‘contact’ with reality, looking at the calendar, there’s some fabulous events coming up this year which no doubt our intrepid hj’ers will enter in abundance. Let’s see what’s been happening and what is coming up! 

Unsung Hero  –  Lawrence Roy

Lawrence has been a key coach at HJ for a number of years now. 

His support, encouragement and general know-how has inspired countless hj’ers to improved running achievements for a very long time. His Thursday track sessions are always well-received. If anyone reading this newsletter has not tried one of Lawrence’s sessions I whole-heartedly recommend you do. 

Thank you, Lawrence.  

Jogger of the Year (JOY) and Volunteer of the Year (VOY)

Voting has now closed for the Jogger of the Year and Volunteer of the Year awards. 

The winners of these prestigious awards will be announced at the AGM on Friday, 11^th April at the Horsham Sports Club (Cricket Field Road), along with a number of other awards together with the usual AGM agenda. This event starts at 7pm!

West Sussex Fun Run League

Unfortunately, the opening run from the WSFRL was cancelled due the appalling weather conditions experienced on New Year’s Day. The Hangover 5 has now been re-scheduled to take place on Monday, 5^thMay.

The ‘Run Your Heart Out’ event at Tilgate did take place on 16^th February, with a huge contingent of hj’ers (64 of us!) turning up to record lots of fantastic points for the club. And at Fittleworth on 23^rd March we came third, enough to keep us in the overall top spot. After the opening race we have stormed into the lead so let’s see if we can keep it going. The next race is Lewes on 21^st April (Easter Monday). Sign up in Memberzone.

I really think we can bring home top position again in 2025, regaining our trophy from the glory year of 2023! 

Sussex Grand Prix 

The Sussex Grand Prix race series was due to get underway on 23^rd March at Hastings.

As you are probably aware this Half Marathon race was cancelled after explosive chemicals were found at a property on part of the route. 

Obviously this was a serious issue, but has made the SGP a little harder to orchestrate as the re-arranged date for this race is now 5^th October … the same day as the SGP Downland race at Lewes!

However, the next SGP race is the Haywards Heath 10 mile on 4^th May.

Those with eagle eyes (or those who just looked at the calendar) will note you could run the SGP at Haywards Heath on 4^th May, then the rescheduled Hangover 5 the following day, and if you really wanted to, on 3^rd May at the start of the weekend you could also enter the East Grinstead 10 miler which is a HJ Challenge Trophy race! 

Please keep your eyes peeled on the HJ calendar for any changes/upcoming events.

Quiz Night

Florian organised the annual hj quiz night which was held at the Holbrook club in early January.

Something in the region of 120 members turned up in their teams to take part.

Congratulations goes to Andrew Wright’s team ‘Cirque de More Sore Legs’ for scoring the highest number of points across the night, just ahead of SaggyDas.  Flying out of the blocks like Ben Johnson on anabolic steroids in 1988, Andrew’s team were high scorers in each round of the quiz and took the winning prize of some delicious biscuits.

The usual annual commiserations went to Tess Adams and her team, who came joint last. On for a hat-trick of bottom places (2023 and 2024 were already in the bag), at the halfway stage Tess’s team were actually doing very well, sitting near the top of the points table at that stage. However, the usual lack of concentration, disinterest, visits to the bar and a seemingly deliberate attempt to not bother too much with the second half of the quiz meant her team came home joint last (which you could argue is an improvement of sorts). Disappointingly, Tess gave the black brush prize to the fellow ‘bottom-placers’ leaving her team with a selection of chupa chup lollies instead.

Curry Night 

A lovely evening was had at the hj Curry night out on 12^th February at Chak De India in Horsham town centre. This was a very social night and helped some of us Joggers get over the Christmas blues. There were certainly plenty of Pad Thai-Dings of comfort and joy had on this evening to lift our spirits in the winter gloom.

Box Hill Social

In mid-March Florian was busy again arranging a scenic social walk up Box Hill. Please keep your eyes peeled on the HJ calendar and HJ Runs group on Facebook for future socials. 

Parkrun Away Days

The historic ‘Bushy Park’ parkrun was attended by a splattering of hj’ers on 22^nd February in amongst a large field of well over 1,000 parkrunners.

Mole Valley is the next Away Day on 5^th April so let’s get lots of Joggers along to that one to hopefully mole-tiply the numbers at that event too.

Charity Funds

We’re a great club but also one which is non-profit. Over the past year we used surplus funds brought in by various events to raise £3,800 which we have split equally across two charities this year (namely St Catherine’s Hospice and Olive Tree – both hugely deserving causes). Such funds are testament to every one of us at the club for being a part of this.

Tuesday night groups of 12 (max)

After discussion with the Tuesday night group runners and after some feedback, it was deemed that a number of the groups were too large to safely run together, some groups at times in excess of 20 runners. 

In the interest of both individual safety but also, importantly, taking into account how a member of the public might feel with such a large volume of runners coming towards them, it was agreed that the maximum number in any one group would be 12.

Thank you to everyone for stepping up to take a split-group at very short notice and indeed for our members to be accommodating and agreeing to this.

Marathon training

The Marathon training sessions have been extremely successful so far. Taking place on Sunday mornings (meet 7.45, set off at 8am) these have been very well received.

Remember, you don’t HAVE to be entered into a Marathon to take part in these, but you do need to be able to run the distance set that week! 

We are now entering Marathon season with Brighton on 6^th April and London on 27^th April so good luck to anyone who is running those!

Five minutes with … Steve Wilson           

1. How long have you been a runner and what made you start?
   Started at school following my older brother who ran 400m for Great Britain (unfortunately, I was 5 seconds slower than him!) but I still loved the sport
2. Why do you run?
   After 15 years of rugby in my 20s and early 30s I needed something less painful so returned to running!
3. How long have you been at Horsham Joggers?
   38 years
4. Biggest running achievement so far?
   In my early 40s I ran a 2h 58m Marathon, won the Sussex County 400m V40 Gold, and ran a 34.43 10k all within 12 months
5. What are you future running goals and ambitions?
   I just want to keep going as long as I still enjoy it
6. What’s the best thing about hj?
   HJ has been a big part of my life. I’ve been a Committee member, newsletter writer and my late wife Karen was also very involved and helped organise many things like the Joggers water stop at Barns Green and position recording at races, and helping me with club cross country entries and the old club golden mile. We also looked after the club kit for a few years. Our 2 children joined in the fun runs and my daughter Roz went on to run a 3 hr 19 marathon. I think the club has evolved brilliantly through the many changes over the years thanks to our great succession of Committees. It is great that the club has such a large membership, although I do rather miss the old days when I knew who everybody else was!!
7. Specialist subject on Mastermind?
   Beatles song lyrics (but don’t ask me to sing them!)
8. Tell us something we don’t know about you?
   I was in Marylebone Station with a school group to catch a train in the sixties, when a screaming crowd of hundreds of young people came racing madly through the station. Evidently, it was the filming of the opening sequence of the Beatles’ first film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Unfortunately we were not nominated for an Oscar!

Other News

Horsham 10k

Tickets for the Horsham 10k are now on sale. Please note as an hj member you are usually asked to Volunteer (to ensure those roles are filled) before purchasing a 10k race ticket, however there is nothing to stop you buying one for your loved ones – potentially a perfect present for another medal hunting member of your family!

Note the request for volunteers for the Horsham 10k has now been sent out – see the link in the weekly email which was sent round on 26^th March for details of how to sign up.

Membership Numbers

There are currently 700 members of our ever-growing club, of which approximately 222 are EA affiliated (as at mid-March). 

If anyone ever wants to know more about EA affiliation then please feel free to ask any of the Committee, or your fellow hj’ers ‘in the know’, for an explanation into how this works and whether joining EA is suitable for you.

Membership is now due (probably overdue by the time you read this) so please renew via Memberzone!

Social Events

Please check out the HJ calendar and the ‘dates for your diary’ below for more social events (and runs) coming up!

Dates for your diary

• 1^st April – Membership Renewals
• 5^TH April – Parkrun away day (Mole Valley)
• 6^th April – Brighton Marathon
• 21^st April – WSFRL (Lewes)
• 27^th April – Angmering Bluebell Run
• 27^th April – London Marathon
• 3^rd May – East Grinstead 10 mile (HJ Challenge Trophy)
• 4^th May – SGP Haywards Heath 10 mile
• 4^th May – Three Forts Marathon/HM/5 mile
• 4^th May – Worthing Run Fest, HM and 10k
• 5^th May – WSFRL Hangover 5
• 11^th May – Horsham 10k
• 11^th May – Seaford 10k
• 11^th May – WSFRL Hedgehoppers 5
• 17^th May – Parkrun away day (Preston Park, Brighton)
• 18^th May – Bognor Regis Prom 10k
• 18^th May – Reigate Priory Park 10k
• 18^th May – SGP Rye 10 mile
• 21^st May – WSFRL Trundle View
• 28^th May – WSFRL Arunners Beach Run

Wishing everyone success in whatever running they may do over the coming couple of months.

Be lucky.

Simon Holmes 

Welcome to a (slightly) restructured Newsletter.

Obviously our 40th Anniversary year was always likely to be a busy one, and as a club we have achieved so much. Individually too, there have been some standout performances. It doesn’t matter what pace you run or the position you come, it’s the personal achievement which is important.

As mentioned in the last newsletter, this edition sees the introduction of a “Five Minutes With…” section, where one of our fellow club members tells us a little bit more about themselves. We’re such a big club now with so many members (665 at last count!) we don’t want to lose that identity and so I think it’s nice to learn a little bit more about our individual members at the club, and what inspires them to run.

Additionally, in the Newsletter there’s a little less specific focus on races completed and more on the events we do as a club. Every day, runners seem to complete a race here or there (or everywhere in some instances!) so it’s not really feasible to report so much individually now.

A Merry Christmas to you all, and I do hope 2025 is prosperous for all and your personal goals – whatever they may be – are reached. See you in the New Year.

Unsung Hero – Claire Butler and Karen England

This edition’s unsung hero is actually two members of the club who give up a lot of time to help others achieve their goals.

Claire Butler and Karen England take Thursday night sessions as an alternative to track. From tricky Lemmington Loops, Games in the Park, Fartlek Fun, even Oregon circuits (!) they have an array of drills to keep us runners up to speed.

On top of this, both also take out Tuesday night running groups and have been a part of the club for many years. Their efforts are very much appreciated.

Thank you both!

West Sussex Fun Run League

All the races in the WSFRL for 2024 have now been run.

After a steady start we managed to propel ourselves up the table and ended the league in an extremely respectable 3rd place overall. Given we were the defending champions but had encountered a few race clashes over the year, this is a very impressive end position.

Our home race the Gunpowder Trot was yet another roaring success. So many hj’ers put themselves forward to marshal, assist and generally give support to the other WSFRL clubs who turn up, often in tricky race conditions and on a difficult course, runners going through mud, water and awkward trail routes. An awful lot of planning and hard work took place late in the day, including a minor route change which ensured the race went ahead.

Well done to everyone who took part this year!

Entries are now open in Memberzone for the first race of 2025 – the blistering Hangover 5 on New Year’s Day, which is likely to be a test of those with the sorest of heads. Let’s sign up and get ourselves off to a great start!

Sussex Grand Prix

Not to be confused with Motor Racing (although this has been a pretty ‘Goodyear’), it has been terrific to see renewed interest in these events in 2024.

Over the year, four hj’ers completed at least six of the Grand Prix races, namely Mal Thornton, Melissa Galea, Brian Frost and Phyl Weston.

On the overall rankings, on the male side Brian came a commendable 44th overall, with Mal showing a glancing return to form again with 50th position.

On the female side, Melissa came a remarkable 2nd lady overall, with Phyl a superb 15th.

It’s a huge well done to anyone who took part in the races this year – hopefully the momentum continues next year too. The provisional dates for the twelve 2025 races are in (a couple may be subject to change), but the first three are the Hastings Half on 23rd March, then the Haywards Heath 10 miler on 4th May and our very own Horsham 10k the week after.

Awards Evening, Winter Handicap and London Marathon ballot – 26th November 2024

A successful evening at the Horsham Sports and Social club was held at the end of November for a trio of events.

The Winter Handicap (won by Nicola Barnes) was followed by the Awards Evening. Of note, Mick Duplock shared a ‘Friendship award’ with a number of hj’ers who assist Mick during his runs and races. Mick gave a lovely speech and noted that since he lost his sight in 2000 he has been overwhelmed by the support our fellow runners give to him. He also gave an interesting demonstration into how a walking cane was used during his runs in the pandemic when the ‘6 foot’ rule applied.

Rob Jochimsen closed the Awards part of the evening by receiving a very well deserved ‘Teamwork, Leadership and Unity award’ – a thank you to Rob for the extraordinary efforts he has made this year (and other years) to assist the club across a variety of events, including the Alf Shrubb 10k this year.

Finally, the London Marathon ballot took place. With one LM Volunteering place and only one Club Marathon place up for grabs the draw was nervously anticipated and it was Paul Arnold who was drawn to receive the LM Volunteering place. However, Paul declined his place and so this was re-drawn at the Christmas party with Caroline Bransden subsequently pulled out of the hat.

The Club Marathon place went to Matthew Horne, which feels particularly deserving given the efforts he has made over the past year, leading groups on a Tuesday, organising various away days and events for the club. There’s a video circulating of Matthew when it was announced – to see how happy he was to be drawn from the ballot was heartwarming particularly as he had to pull out of the Brighton Marathon this year due to an illness on the morning of that run.

Lee Walker narrowly missed out on a potential 2nd Club Marathon place. The number of places we get is dependent on the cut-off date England Athletics (EA) give us for the numbers needed by the club to successfully obtain a 2nd place. The criteria states there need to be 190 EA affiliated members as at late July – and unfortunately we crossed that boundary later in the summer. Please see more about EA affiliation under the Membership Numbers section below.

Parkrun Away Days

The parkrun away days continue to be extremely popular, with recent parkruns at both Cranleigh and Littlehampton. Check out the HJ calendar and dates at the bottom of the Newsletter for the upcoming Parkrun away days.

Christmas Party – 6th December 2024

The Christmas Party was held on Friday, 6th December at Brookfield Barn.

Another successful party night was had, which started with some wonderful singing from our very own Beth Stapleton during the welcome drinks.

The food was extremely tasty, and a random mix of songs on the dance floor included the unusual one-off appearance of “I never dance” Gary Tomlinson, who moments after declaring this point was seemingly roped into taking part in a stirring rendition of the Macarena.

High-Vis – REMINDER

Please remember to wear high-vis and/or a running torch when out on your morning/evening runs. We had a narrow miss during the Winter Handicap. Remember, your own safety is paramount and more important than clocking a good time!

Marathon Training

The Marathon training is due to start at the beginning of 2025. For those who are unsure about it, this is not designed exclusively for those taking part in a Marathon in 2025 (though a lot of Marathon runners will participate) but rather Sunday morning runs across a variety of routes which increase in mileage as they progress through January, February and March. There are usually water stations at one or two places (though depends on the distance/route).

Keep your eyes peeled for more information in the next couple of weeks!

Hot Pod Yoga Session

A free ‘taster’ yoga session is taking place on Sunday 12th January 2025 at 12.30pm in town at Hotpod Yoga. If you want to take part please email Sok Wah for a place (limited numbers available).

Quiz Night

A quiz night is to take place at the Holbrook Club on Friday, 10th January 2025. Tickets are now available on Memberzone (only £3.50 per person) so get your teams ready.

Last year my team finished last, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Worst case scenario you end up with another item for your kitchen which might actually be quite handy (or so I told myself) – certainly a ‘whisk’ worth taking!

Five minutes with … Emma Walters

1. How long have you been a runner and what made you start?
   I used to run at school but got back into it when my youngest son was 1 (to get fit again and have some me-time). I started going to parkrun then joined HJ a few weeks later.
   
2. Why do you run?
   To clear my head, spend time with my friends and as a role model for my boys.
   
3. How long have you been at Horsham Joggers?
   Since 2015
   
4. Biggest running achievement so far?
   My first marathon – the Downslink Ultra
   
5. What are you future running goals and ambitions?
   A coastal marathon in February, a 50km trail race in March and being a support runner for the London Marathon in April. Then back to some shorter runs, a spot of parkrun tourism and discovering some new trails.
   
6. What’s the best thing about Horsham Joggers?
   The people, the inclusivity and Thursday night track!
   
7. Specialist subject on Mastermind?
   The musculoskeletal system of the human body.
   
8. Tell us something we don’t know about you?
   I used to be a street dancer.

Other News

Committee place available from April 2025

After some consideration and due to varying time constraints, I’ll be standing down from my place on the Committee as of April 2025. However, this gives someone else a chance to put their name forward. It’s a very rewarding role as you are giving your time to help the club continue to grow and progress.

I know we have a vocal bunch out there so, if you think you would enjoy the challenge please put your name forward! If interested, you can come along to one of our informal Committee meetings to see what is discussed.

If permissible, despite leaving the Committee I am still aiming to continue with the Newsletter, so you’ll have to put up with my occasionally poor choice of jokes for a while longer.

Horsham 10k

Tickets for the Horsham 10k are now on sale. Please note that as an hj member you will be asked to Volunteer (to ensure those roles are filled) before purchasing a 10k race ticket. However there is nothing to stop you buying one for your loved ones – potentially a perfect Xmas present for another medal hunting member of your family!

Note: the request for volunteers for the Horsham 10k is sent out towards the end of March.

Membership Numbers

There are currently 665 members of our ever-growing club, of which approximately 196 are EA affiliated.

If anyone ever wants to know more about EA affiliation then please feel free to ask any of the Committee, or your fellow hj’ers ‘in the know’, for an explanation into how this works and whether joining EA is suitable for you.

Social Events

Please check out the HJ calendar and the ‘dates for your diary’ below for more social events (and runs) coming up!

Dates for your Diary

• 1st January – WSFRL – Worthing Gazelles ‘Hangover 5’
• 10th January – Quiz Night (Holbrook club)
• 11th January – Parkrun Away Day (Lewes)
• 12th January – HotPod Yoga
• 19th January – BrighTEN 10k / 10 miler
• 2nd February – Bedgebury Forest 10 mile / 5 mile
• 9th February – Farnborough Half and 10k
• 16th February – WSFRL – Run Your Heart Out
• 22nd February – Parkrun Away Day (location TBC)

I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and see you in 2025!

Be lucky.

Simon Holmes

I mentioned in my last newsletter that the Olympics and Paralympics were likely to be inspirational, and they didn’t fail to deliver. Team GB produced some excellent results, and usually that has a positive knock-on effect for us runners.

Whatever our distance, speed, personal goals or reasons for running you could not help but be lifted by watching some of those amazing events unfold.

Talking of amazing events, the Horsham Round was fabulous this year. I note this below but it’s also worth pointing out here too. Most running clubs (certainly few of the size of our club, which is now the size of a small business) have such a wonderful group of members and volunteers who can make an event like that such a joyous occasion. A wonderful way to mark our 40^th anniversary.

I’m scaling down the number of races/results reported in the Newsletter a little. We now do so many as a club, with so much already recorded on HJ Runs on Facebook that it makes sense to focus on just a few events over the period.

A while ago, I did think about arranging a podcast with individual club members to record and post on HJ Runs, especially as we have such a range of members with fascinating backgrounds and history. I’d always prefer a 1-2-1 verbal discussion with someone rather than trying to communicate on Messenger or WhatsApp where things can be misconstrued.

For example, if on Messenger someone says something like “I can’t stand reading” then effectively you have two options as a reply, either “Yes, I struggle to pick up a book too” or, more worryingly, “Yes, ghastly place with lots of concrete structures built in the 60s and 70s. Place should be knocked down”.

And then you find you have offended the person you are chatting to, subsequently finding out they are born and bred Reading, have an all-over body tattoo of Reading town centre, and are also on the local council and likely approved the very buildings you’ve now told them you dislike.  

Anyway, happy reading…

Unsung Hero – Simon Perkins

This edition’s unsung hero is Simon Perkins.

Several of you will know Simon anyway, from his great help at Parkrun as both a leader and a volunteer (and a fast 5k runner!), from his help leading various courses such as the 5-10k and some of the other training activities we do as a club. He’s also done this for many years and as a club we would like to thank him for his hard work and endeavour, often giving up his own time to help others achieve their goals.

Now a representative for the club at GB Masters level, Simon is inspirational for both new joiners to the club and those of us that have been here many years.

Thank you, Simon.

Christmas Party at Brookfield Barn – 6^th December (sign up NOW to get a place!)

On Friday, 6^th December we have the Christmas party at Brookfield Barn which is a ticket only event (not subsidised by the club).  Tickets are already selling fast.

Your ticket includes a 3-course meal, wine on arrival, half a bottle of wine per person, teas and coffees and mince pies, along with a photobooth and a DJ playing until midnight.

Tickets are now available on memberzone, and remember you can also purchase tickets for non-members (such as spouses etc).

Brookfield Barn need to know final numbers by mid-October so please sign up now if you haven’t already. After the fun at the Horsham Round Disco the night of the Christmas party is now eagerly anticipated!

40th Anniversary Celebrations and Horsham Round Weekend

A simply brilliant day and night. So many runners took part in the event during the day, and it was also fabulous to see a number of the original HJ club members be a part of the day too.

A few endurance runners even managed to complete the entire Horsham Round, including the legendary Dave Dawson who arguably has more historic HJ memorabilia and photos than the rest of us put together.

The evening Disco was also a great occasion. I’m sure most runners’ step counts were higher on the dance floor they were running the distance covered that day. It certainly kept my energy levels in check, though I certainly didn’t anticipate dancing with Morrissey or Adam Ant beforehand.

Talking of which, the unplanned, off-the-cuff dance-off between Florian Yeates and Joe Minogue was fantastic to witness.

The following day saw breakfast, yoga and then some rounders to cap off a wonderful weekend of activities.

Thank you so much to everyone but particularly the volunteers who made sure it was a special event.

Runs and Races

Here’s a selection of the runs and races which various hj’ers have taken part in, a number of which seem to have taken place on the same day!

West Sussex Fun Run League

The WSFRL continued during the summer with the Highdown Hike, Fittleworth Flyers and then the Tilgate 5.  

It was pleasing to hear all hj’ers completed the correct course unlike last year, where the front runners were taken on an almighty detour around Crawley. This time the organisers got the route bang on and it was lucky they did as four hj’ers came home in the top ten. Michael Daly won the event (30.33), Lewis Reeves was 3^rd (31.55), Luke Minogue 6^th (32.42) and Simon Perkins 10^th (33.20). Anna McLauchlan was first female hj’er home in 40.25.

Great running by all that took part.  We have moved up to third place in the overall table for this year, which is fabulous.

Time Trial (Roosthole)

The final time trial race took place on 13^th August and the overall results will be shared shortly.

Bacchus Half Marathon (Denbies) – 8^th September

Some weird and wonderful outfits were worn by runners at the Bacchus Half Marathon at Denbies. Clearly the option of having a few drinks may have had something to do with the clothing worn, and I’m not sure any PBs were set (unless it was based on alcohol consumed?). Well done everyone.

Great North Run – 8^th September

Well done to all hj’ers who took part in the Great North Run on 8^th September, with  conditions thankfully a lot cooler than last year’s event. In particular well done to new hj’er Beth Stapleton who ran with Dad and fellow hj’er Alex. The Half Marathon training sessions clearly paid off.

New Forest races – 8^th September

A range of hj’ers completed the New Forest events on 8^th September, with individuals completing the 5k, 10k, Half and full marathon events in very wet weather. Big shout out to regular Tuesday night runner Josh Weller who ran his first ever marathon too.

Alf Shrubb 10k – 15^th September

A large contingent of hj’ers took part in the newly revived Alf Shrubb 10k over at Slinfold, with hj’ers the main team of volunteers ensuring this event went ahead again.

Congratulations on this being such a success, and well done to everyone who completed the race. Our very own Michael Daly won the race, and Mark Alger continued his superb form by finishing 3^rd place.

In particular Lorraine Hunter, who was the Tail Walker for the 10k, showed fantastic determination after suffering a bad fall recently. This kind of achievement is inspiring for anyone who may be returning from injury. Well done Lorraine.

Hellingly 10k – 22^nd September (Sussex Grand Prix event)

Following on from the club’s success at the Alf Shrubb, the Sussex Grand Prix race at Hellingly saw Melissa Galea come through as 2^nd placed lady overall … flying through the finish line in 43.35.

Berlin Marathon – 29^th September

Liz Giannopoulos completed her 5th World Major Marathon with a stonking PB at Berlin, running a terrific 4.26.20 to smash her previous PB by over 8 minutes. Another great achievement by Liz, well done!!!

Barns Green 5k, 10k and Half Marathon – 29^th September

A humungous number of hj’ers turned up to run the Barns Green races at the end of September. This popular local race didn’t fail to deliver, with some terrific performances across all the events.

In the 5k, Lucinda Potten ran 23.26 and (I think) was our sole representative in that race although I do spot a couple of other potential hj’ers on the results.

In the 10k, Miranda Huisman was 3^rd in her age category (F50-59) with 47.41, Caroline Bransden 2^nd in her age category (F70+) with 59.22, and Steve Wilson – who has shown incredible recovery coming back from triple heart by-pass surgery last year – won the M70 category with an outstanding 54.01.

In the Half Marathon, Rob Brundish – on his return from injury – came 2^nd overall and won the M40-49 with 1.14.50, Kat Owens was 1^st in the female 40-49 category with 1.30.59, closely followed by Melissa Galea who was 3^rd in 1.32.32.

Simon Perkins was 2^nd in M50-59 in 1.20.32, and Mike Clark was 2^nd in M70+ in 1.47.47.

Across the board at BG, people were smashing personal achievements. There’s far too many to mention so here’s just a couple it’s a huge well done to super volunteer Matt Horne who dipped under 2 hours for the first time, Frankie Bailey who ran a 12 min HM PB (and 18 min course PB) going through the Half Marathon in 1.43.36.

A few well-known club runners also set personal milestones by running their first ever half marathons, Marcus Leach and Trevor Scott being two of them. Both are in the 60+age category and to be honest I’m totally awe-struck by people like this, setting personal achievements which you can tell meant so much to both of them. It’s what running is all about.  

Well done to you both, and anyone else who set personal records, goals, or just scrambled across the finish line at the event.

Also a big shout out to all the pacers across the 10k and Half Marathon, you are all stars.

TG Lage – Visit from Germany (weekend of 27/28/29 September)

Huge thanks to our twinned running club TG Lage, who cycled from Germany to Horsham as part of meeting Horsham Joggers for our 40^th anniversary.

James Munden accompanied the cyclists on their final section, ending in the Carfax. Despite the mixed weather conditions, they arrived in good spirits.

Half Marathon Training

Huge thanks must go to all volunteers involved with the HJ Half Marathon training sessions which have taken place on Sunday mornings since July.

In particular, thanks go to Matthew Horne, Marcus Leach and Lee Walker for taking control (in most instances!) of these runs. Thanks all.

Membership News

There are currently 637 members, of which 196 who are EA affiliated.

If anyone ever wants to know more about EA affiliation then please feel free to ask any of the Committee, or your fellow hj’ers, for an explanation into how this works and whether joining is suitable for you.

Social Events

Please check out the calendar and the ‘dates for your diary’ below for more social events (and runs) coming up!

Gunpowder Trot – 3^rd November

We need volunteers as we are hosting the Gunpowder Trot on 3^rd November. This is the last of the West Sussex Fun Run League races for 2024 so let’s make ours the best one yet!

Winter Handicap and Awards Evening – Tuesday, 26^th November

The winter handicap followed by the Awards evening is due to take place at Horsham Sports Club (Cricketfield Road) between 7 and 9pm on 26^th November.

If anyone wants to return the award they received last year to enable them to be re-loved by a new award winner this year, please can you hand it back to a Committee member on either a Tuesday club run or at track on a Thursday.

Christmas Party – Friday, 6^th December

As noted earlier in the newsletter, please move fast to secure a ticket for the Christmas party as we need to get final numbers in to Brookfield Barn in October. There are details on hj runs of the food options available, and also for any seating plans you may wish.

Dates for Your Diary

• 6^th October – Heron Way 10k
• 6^th October – Lewes Downland 10 miler (Sussex Grand Prix)
• 13^th October – WSFRL Great Walstead 5
• 19th October – Parkrun Away Day – Cranleigh
• 20^th October – Hove Prom 10k (Sussex Grand Prix)
• 20^th October – WSFRL Windlesham House 4
• 27^th October – WSFRL Steepdown Challenge
• 3^rd November – WSFRL Gunpowder Trot – this is our race
• 17^th November – Brighton 10k
• 17^th November – Crowborough 10k
• 26^th November – Winter Handicap followed by Awards Night (Horsham Sports Club 7-9 pm)
• 30^th November – Parkrun Away Day – Littlehampton
• 6^th December – Christmas Party and Disco

I hope everyone has a nice couple of months and see you again very soon!

Be lucky.

Simon Holmes

It is fair to say it has been a slightly bewildering summer weather-wise.

I can’t run anything longer than about 400m in the heat. So, you’d think the summer we have had so far would be conducive to being a happier runner because it’s not always sweltering.

However, that mix of humidity and wet weather seems to have thrown any running plans out of the window and caused mass confusion.

Turning up at a WSFRL race expecting drier – but not too hot – conditions because its June or July just doesn’t work. Often the course is muddy, puddly, even a little iffy at times and finding that your running vest is soaked through only a mile into a 6-mile course is baffling when the temperature gauge suggests it’s only 15 degrees.

Even on the track on a Thursday, at times we have seen lane 6 covered in leaves, lane 3 covered in twigs and lane 1 effectively representing a swimming pool which would be better placed in Paris for the Olympics.

Talking of the Olympics, bring it on. The Athletics of course is the number 1 sport to watch, but it’s so much more than that because of the human endeavour, achievement and emotion which is involved.

Watching a competitor from somewhere like, for example, Tonga turn up at the mixed 10m Air Pistol event (having only taken up the sport by virtue of the fact they accidentally ordered a rifle instead of a trifle back in 2017) and securing an amazing 2^nd from last position with their final shot is something to behold.

And the inspiring thing about the Olympics is you know full well each and every one of the Athletes have sacrificed so much to get to that point. And whilst records tumble, there is something so very special about the Olympics that you feel perhaps a stronger connection to the athlete who came nearer the bottom of the results, perhaps even the athlete disqualified for a false start or for turning up late due to a flat tyre, than those who finish with the medals at the top.

Let the memories begin. 

40^th Anniversary Celebrations

Horsham Round  – Sunday 25^th August and Monday 26^th August (at Horsham Rugby Club) – Evening 80s Disco, Hog Roast, Camping, Games

As we roll past the halfway mark of our 40^th anniversary year, there is much to look forward to over the coming months.

The end of August sees the main 40^th anniversary celebratory weekend with the Horsham Round taking place on Sunday, 25^th August, and into the following day. After the Horsham Round in the evening of 25th there is a Hog Roast, 80s disco (prize for best dressed!), camping and then on the following day (Monday 26^th August) there are a range of fun activities and games taking place.

Teams for the Horsham Round are now being put together so if you want to join a team then do reach out to the captains of those teams (or Roger Johnson) who will be able to add you.

• Please note we’ve also had clearance from the Rugby Club that camper vans are allowed for camping at the Horsham Round.

Please purchase your tickets for the Evening Disco via Memberzone. There is also Hog Roast (vegan option available) and you can buy your food for this in advance on Memberzone too.

• Login to Memberzone here

Christmas Party at Brookfield Barn – 6^th December

Separate to any 40^th anniversary celebrations, but at the request of a number of members, on Friday, 6^th December we have the Christmas Party at Brookfield Barn which is a ticket only event and is not subsidised by the club.

This includes a three-course meal, wine on arrival, half a bottle of wine per person, teas and coffees and mince pies, along with a photo booth and a DJ playing until midnight.

Tickets are now available on Memberzone. Remember: you can also purchase tickets for non-members (such as spouse’s etc).

Unsung Heroes – Marcus Leach

Former Committee member Marcus Leach is this edition’s ‘Unsung Hero’.

Marcus often gives up his own time to help others in the club. This includes taking out various Tuesday night group runs if the group leader is unable to take their lead, stepping in at the last minute. He is also willing to listen and help others, and to give advice or recommendations.

Marcus also continues to assist with some of the club work behind the scenes too, including helping with the Alf Shrubb 10k.

Well done Marcus!

If any members would like to nominate someone specifically, please let the Committee know. Thank you!

Charity News

For 2024 the Committee have decided that any surplus funds raised for worthy causes be split between two charities, namely Olive Tree and St Catherine’s Hospice.

Runs and Races

So, what have we all been up to these past few weeks? Putting our feet up watching the Football? Wimbledon perhaps? Golf? Maybe even some clay pigeon shooting perhaps? Not a chance of it of course as we’ve been our usual busy selves and here’s a selection of runs and races which have taken place (sorry I can’t include them all!).

West Sussex Fun Run League

As the current reigning champions, we’ve obviously had quite a few other events taking up our time, but we still sit towards the higher end of the league table. And we’ve competed brilliantly at some recent races, such as the Downland Dash, the Roundhill Romp (where the large downhill at the end is now a large uphill at the start), the Hove Stinger and the Henfield Seven Stiles – which clearly needs renaming as this year I didn’t count any stiles whatsoever … I may write and ask for a refund on the entry fee.

Finally, the ever-popular WSFRL Beach Run at Littlehampton took place on 10^th July. This one deserves particular acclaim for those who sacrificed watching some of the Euro Semi-final to produce some terrific performances not only during the race but also afterwards with the food consumption. 35 portions of cod and chips, 16 portions of Jumbo battered sausage and chips, and 15 standard portions of chips were consumed after the race by hungry hj’ers … costing over £450!

I have no trout we’ll be back again next year.

Thanks as ever goes to Julie Jochimsen for all her hard work in continuing to make the WSFRL races such a success.

Sussex Grand Prix Races

Also proving to be popular this year are the Sussex Grand Prix races.

These have included the Rye 10 miler (19^th May), Hastings 5 miler (2^nd June), Heathfield 10k (23^rd June), and Bewl 15/5 mile on 7^th July.

At Bewl, in particular, there was a huge hj contingent turnout for the 15 mile (and 5 mile) which was unusually muddy and resulted in a number of runners falling over.

Jon Fengaras was first male hj’er home in 2.11.29, and Kat Owens slip-slid her way to being the first female hj’er to cross the line in 2.13.52. I know there were a number of fallers that day so well done to everyone who took part and hopefully uninjured from the process!  

There are more Sussex Grand Prix events coming up so please keep your eye on the Joggers Calendar to find out when they take place. Thanks to Mal Thornton for helping promote these and give updates on the league tables.

London to Brighton 100km – 2^nd June

Robert Swan ran the full 100km in just under 18 hours. The actual total measurement was 109km. This is simply a tremendously impressive achievement so huge congratulations go to Robert.

SDW 100 miler – 9^th June

Of course, talking of long distances … Michael Dargue is one of those club members pushing his body to the extreme. This time, Michael took part in the South Downs Way 100 miler and completed this in 23 hours and 14 minutes (with a bit of assistance from wife Vicky!).

Leonardslee Summer 10k – 9^th June

The Heritage Trail 10k at Leonardslee, with some hj’ers completing this lovely little event including Dawn Whamond, Margaret Wadman, James Munden, Mike Bransden and Caroline Bransden.

Endure 24 weekend, Reading 8^th/9^th June

Ahhh, our old friend Endure 24 was back for 2024 and as ever a number of hj’ers took part in this annual event.

The run started midday on 8^th June and finished at midday on 9^th June. Each lap of the course is 5 miles and the various teams camp out overnight whilst taking it in turns to run the route, some doing more laps than others!

Hull 10k – 9^th June

Simon Markham used the cooler weather to run a fantastic 10k up in Hull. Going through the 10k mark in 40.44 included running the last couple of kms in under 4/min km pace. A brilliant run, well done Simon!

Worthing 10k – 9^th June

The Worthing 10k took place in hot and sunny conditions along the front. Despite obvious chaos regarding the pacers and the starting pens (leading to most faster runners starting nearer the rear), there were some good times posted including:

Trevor Barrett (38.16), Luke Minogue (39.21), Hadley O’Dwyer (40.35), Simon Holmes (42.12), Ian Lucas (45.39), Stuart Cox (46.41), Emily Brookes (48.18), Matt Cooper (48.54), Frankie Bailey (48.55), Sarah Clark (49.16), Mohit Shah (49.07), Warren Marks (50.50), Karen Hobbs (50.49), Jill Page (54.03), Christian Liberman (55.23), Kerry Short (56.56), Emma Catlow (1.01.34), Laura Holmes (1.02.47), Geoff Noble (1.04.50), Louise Moore (1.08.20), Jane Footer (1.11.14), Emma Woolley (1.13.46), Jim Minogue (1.14.12), and Karen Denness (1.18.43).

I know at Worthing sometimes unless you are UKAA affiliated then names don’t always show up with your running club, so apologies for any hj’ers not shown as a hj’er on the official Worthing results page.

Wisborough Green 5k and 10k – 9^th June

On the same day as Worthing, a large contingent of hj’ers turned out at the local Wisborough Green 5k and 10k event and with immense success! We’ve performed well as a club here before in the past and this year was no different with some terrific results across the board.

David Wilkinson was 3^rd in the 5k with a super 18.49. Nick Street (M50) was 1^st in his age category coming home in 22.03 and Marcus Leach was also 1^st in his age category (M60) in 24.59. Miranda Huisman (F50) was 2^nd in her age category with 23.14, and Val Purnell was 1^st in her age category (F60) in 25.09, just ahead of Jo Tomlinson who was 2^nd in her age category (F40) in 25.20.

There were other good runs by Guiseppe Maccarrone in 27.02, Sally Arnold (32.06), Suzanne Bunch (32.40) and Ian Bunch (33.24).  

In the 10k, there was a 1^st place overall finish for Gary Tomlinson (not ahead of the lead cyclist this time) in 35.08, followed home by Chris Moore (who shattered his PB in the process with 39.10), and Melissa Galea stormed home as 1^st female in an outrageous 42.21.

Phyl Weston was 1^st in her age category (F50) in 47.35.

Other fast finishers were Andi Marfleet (41.37), Jon Fengaras (42.51), Pete O’Connell (42.58) amongst a number of speedy club runners who took part.

Mike Clark was also 1^st  in his age category (M70) in 47.45 though running under his Mel’s Milers guise (so a little lucky I’ve mentioned you here, Mike 😉 ).

In addition, Kim Emson was 2^nd in her age category (F60) in 59.16, and Julia Johnson was also 2^nd in her age category (F70) in 1.00.23.

There were a lot of hj’ers who took part in the 10k so well done to everyone who took part that day.

Race to the King – 16^th June

The Race to the King ultra saw a few club runners take on this difficult challenge. Brian Frost took part and was accompanied by late stand-in Baz! Baz entered as a very last-minute replacement for Alan Pettitt (literally only a couple of days before the run) and took on the 50k challenge as though he had been preparing for it for months.

Robert Swan, fresh from his achievement at London to Brighton, also took part albeit without an actual race number meaning he was unable to make use of any of the refreshment pitstops along the way! But, he stopped at pubs and other places on the route!

Improve your Time Trial (Events 2 and 3 – 11^th June and 16^th July)

There continues to be a good turnout up at Roosthole for the time trial 5k runs. With just one event left (due on Tuesday 13^th August) there is all to play for!

Summer Handicap – Horsham Park, 18^th June

57 hj’ers took part in the annual summer handicap in Horsham Park.

Ella Neave took 1^st place, just ahead of Harry Wilcox who came home in 2^nd. There was drama with the 3^rd place as Chris Swann took this, though this was prior to him becoming an official member of the club, so unfortunately under the Club Rules he had to forfeit his 3^rd place this enabling Steve Wright to move up a position.  

This didn’t put Chris off though, he’s still joined the club!

Ultra Wales 50 miler – 22^nd June

Matt Whyman produced a typically resolute performance with a brilliant 12 hours 22 minutes at the 50 mile Ultra in Wales. This included elevation gain of 3,325 metres and included runs up Craig Lwyd, Craig Cwm Amarch, Cadair Idris – Penygadair, Cyfrwy, Y Llethr and Rhinog Fach!

To be honest it’d take me over 12 hours just to pronounce those names let alone run them. Well done, Matt!

Midnight Sun Marathon, Tromso (Norway), 22^nd June

A massive well done goes to Oliver Cannon for knocking 22 minutes off his PB with a fantastic 4 hrs 5 mins.

Iron Man, Austria – 25^th June

Congratulations go to David Capsey who completed the Iron Man in Austria in a tremendous time of 10 hrs, 9 minutes and 20 seconds. I’m not sure David has quite yet fully recovered from this!

Vets 5k at Battersea – 27^th June

There were some terrific performances by club members at the Vets 5000 in Battersea.

Chris Lee took v65 bronze, and Margaret Wadman followed up her World’s success last time out with a bronze in the VW60.

Serpent Trail 50k/20k – 6^th July

Some brilliant performances at these two events which took place in unseasonable weather conditions, with Tom MacDonald and Chris Newberry completing the 50 k (both finishing in just over 6 hours) and Lee Walker completing the 20 k in an excellent 1 hour 43 minutes.

Brighton Phoenix 10k – 17^th July

This fast event remains a popular one for hj’ers, with 19 of us taking part in the 2024 edition. Warm but relatively calm conditions meant some fantastic times were produced and I know a number of you PB’d. Results from the official site as follows:-

Simon Perkins (36.31), Steve Wright (40.34), Raff Vitale (41.10), Melissa Galea (41.14), Simon Mills (43.05), Nick Street (45.07), Richard Harwood (45.16, Phyl Weston (46.02), Frankie Bailey (46.37), Matt Cooper (46.38), Anna McLauchlan (46.59), Lea Quentin (47.58), Aoife Calnan (48.33), Andrew Wright (49.23), Mal Thornton (49.43), Clive Walker (50.07), Marcus Leach (51.33), Crispin Scott (1.21.11), Matt Duplock (1.21.11).

Half Marathon training

The Sunday morning Half Marathon training runs have now started. Please keep an eye on the HJ Runs Facebook group during the week as the runs are advertised a few days beforehand.

Remember you don’t need to be signed up to a half marathon to take part, just make sure you know the route and can do the distance before you arrive. These runs are suitable for all and start at 8am (meet 7.50am) every Sunday up until the Barns Green weekend at the end of September.

Just be aware there are no drinks/gels/refreshments provided during the training runs, so bring your own if you need them.

Other News

Club Membership

The club currently has 610 members, of which 187 are England Athletics affiliated.

If anyone ever wants to know more about EA affiliation then please feel free to ask any of the Committee, or your fellow hj’ers, for an explanation about how this works.

The size of our club now makes us larger than many small businesses!

New Pacer Vests

A range of new pacer vests have been ordered and received by the club. There was some discussion as to what sort of pacer items we could order. We had looked at flags/backpacks though this option was surprisingly expensive.

Instead, it was agreed that bright bibs would be the most economically viable option, and these have now been received. Thanks to our club kit specialist Jane Footer for organising and ordering these.

Social Events

Social events continue to come thick and fast.

You will have noted the paragraph above mentioning the 40^th anniversary celebrations over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of August.

On 5^th June there was an Alf Shrubb talk by Cliff Comber. The resurrected 10K Alf Shrubb race will take place on 15th September at nearby Slinfold. I know this is already proving to be a popular race so sign up fast if you want to secure an entry.

There was a Horsham parkrun ‘salute’ by hj’ers on 8^th June where all the volunteer roles were taken by hj’ers, including the pacer roles for that week. Club colours were the order of the day and it was a highly successful morning. Following the parkrun .the cakes and biscuits supplied were hugely popular too, with a whopping 300+ individual food items being consumed!

A few days later and it was the track ‘games’ night on 13^th June, orchestrated by Florian Yeates and Anna McLauchlan, with Jane Footer helping on the night too.

Despite the weather this was well attended with six teams taking part in a variety of games including a wheelbarrow race, an egg and spoon race, ‘threading the hoop’, paper plane throwing, and a ball ‘over and under’ race.

There was immense fun for all competitors and in an (apparently) ‘non-competitive’ atmosphere.

On 22^nd June there was a trip to the Milkchurn and Firebird Brewery on the Saturday afternoon.

Once again Florian was the organiser. Horsham Joggers had the choice to either run to the Brewery or take the bus, the idea being that the runners would run the Downslink and arrive at the same time or just ahead of the bus!

For those running the 9.3 km route from the Bridge to the Milkchurn they would set off at a time which would see them arrive around 12.30 pm … hopefully ahead of those not running and taking the bus.

Once there, a number of joggers enjoyed lunch/tea/coffee at the Milkchurn and then some drinks at Firebird Brewery.

The option was there for anyone to either return by bus or alternatively run the 9.3 km route back!

Please check out the calendar and the ‘dates for your diary’ below for more social events (and runs) coming up!

Parkrun with a Z

On Friday 20th September, 12 HJ members are flying from Gatwick on the same flight to Krakow to run Zielony Jar parkrun on the Saturday followed by a trip to Auchswitz on Sunday. Most are flying back either on Sunday evening or Monday evening.

If anyone is interested, contact Sok Wah Lee for more information.

Dates for your diary

• 24^th July – Wakehurst Willow 8k
• 27^th July – Parkrun away day (Wakehurst)
• 2^nd August – Brighton and Hove Rainbow 5k
• 6^th August – Run and Talk Tuesday
• 7^th August – WSFRL race Highdown Hike
• 11^th August – Guildford 10k
• 25^th August – WSFRL Fittleworth Flyers
• 25^th August – Horsham Round followed by BBQ, Hog Roast and 40^th Anniversary celebration 80s Disco, plus optional camping
• 26^th August – 40^th Anniversary Fun and Games including Yoga, Rounders and more!
• 7^th September – Parkrun away day (East Brighton)
• 8^th September – WSFRL Saints and Sinners Tilgate Forest
• 15^th September – Alf Shrubb Memorial 10k race (Slinfold)
• 15^th September – East Grinstead 10k
• 20th September – Parkrun with a Z trip to Poland
• 22^nd September – Run Reigate 5k, 10k and Half Marathon
• 22^nd September – Sussex Grand Prix Hellingly 10k
• 29^th September – Barns Green 5k, 10k and Half Marathon

As ever, please check the Horsham Joggers calendar and the HJ Runs group on Facebook for forthcoming events.

With the weather at least partially warmer now, let’s hope we keep this drier spell for the next few weeks (to include Horsham Round/40^th celebration weekend too please!)

Be lucky.

Simon

Well, I’ve clearly left it a little too long since the last Newsletter.

My aim of doing them 6-weekly falling by the wayside at the busiest running period of the year. So, I’ve aimed to keep this one as compact as I can, and I’m sorry for any omissions but Microsoft have been in touch and told me to keep it brief to avoid risk of the file being too large in size, such has been the extent of some outstanding and extraordinary performances over the past 3 months.

Outstanding is an oft-used word, and one which is not always used in the same way when talking about running. Not ‘Outstanding’ in the sense of the letter I received from HMRC about my tax return, when I was delighted that they thought so highly of me (I don’t even recall even sending it in). But outstanding in the sense of some tremendous personal achievements by the runners at our wonderful club.

I’m typing this up at Thorpe Park, my youngest off on the rides with her mate. I went on Swarm at the start, then promptly declared myself finished for the day, and headed off for a 6-hour long recovery coffee. A bit like I felt after the Brighton Marathon, in fact.

So, let’s get cracking to review the past few months.

Unsung Hero

This edition’s unsung hero goes to Warren Marks. Warren is always happy to take out a group on a Tuesday, is very helpful behind the scenes and offers his support to other runners regularly. Very well respected amongst HJers and other group run leaders, Warren has also come back from injury and had no hesitation in taking up the role again on his return.

This is also a good chance to ask any other HJers who have considered stepping up to be a group run leader to do so (I’m sure Warren/other current group leaders can advise if you have any questions!). It’s a very rewarding thing to do and helps keep the individual running group numbers down a little.

Charity News

Apart from some HJ’ers raising money for several good causes during respective races in this quarter, the club have also made some large donations to a few charities following a surplus of funds after the Gunpowder Trot and Horsham 10k (2023 event). Charity donations of £1,180 each were made to Mind, The Olive Tree, and Chestnut Tree House.

Race Results

Kingley Vale Trail HM – 24^th February

Rebecca Ramsey came 1^st in her age category and was 7^th female overall in this race, which I am informed was a muddy, wet, chalky, hilly course. Sounds like a bit of everything!

Brighton Half Marathon – 25^th February

A huge turnout of HJ’ers took part in the Brighton Half Marathon in windy but fair conditions. Despite a few initial random results issued by the organiser, for example Richard Shergold finishing in 1 second just ahead of Lilian Tse (who finished in 2 seconds), there were actually a number of genuine PBs which tumbled, such as:-

• Rob Brundish – 15^th overall and 2^nd place M40.
• Barnaby Smith – smashing his PB by a whopping 15 minutes.
• Margreet Potter, Jade Miller, Lilian Tse, Richard Harwood, Emily de Luzy, Frankie Bailey (8-minute PB!), Jo Stone, and a few other HJ’ers all beat their previous PBs which is so great to see.

Kristall Marathon 500 (Germany)

Former HJ’er of the year Chris Yeomans ran this in a terrific 4 hours 50 minutes. This race is run 500m under the earth in tunnels of an old salt mine!

Greenham Common Half

Richard March came 17^th overall with an excellent 1 hour 39 minutes, arguably trying to impersonate the speed of a nuclear missile given the location of the race.

Cambridge HM – 3^rd March

Andy Robins ran this in a PB of 1 hr 41 minutes. Andy gives a lot to HJers and so it’s always lovely to see someone like this achieve a personal goal. Well done Andy!

Tokyo Marathon – 3^rd March

Liz Giannopoulos completed her 4^th World Major Star.

Tony Mason, despite an Achilles injury, also completed this race.

The Tokyo Marathon was run in very hot conditions, and also measured a little long!

More races which were run on this date including the Steyning Stinger Marathon (Alan Pettitt) and HM (Josh Weller), the Eastbourne Half (including Brian Frost, Paul Chantler  and Emma Walters), the Great Yarmouth HM (Ian Wilcox, Harry Wilcox, but not baby Wilcox!), and Graeme Hull ran 15k at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville.

European Championship Gold (Masters) – Margaret Wadman (Torun, Poland)

One of the more extraordinary performances was Margaret Wadman winning the Gold medal at the Masters Team Cross Country (W60-65) event in Torun, Poland.

Margaret was on top of the podium, received her Gold medal, and even had the National Anthem played! A fantastic achievement.

100 Hills Centurion 50k trail

Alan Pettitt, Brian Frost and Emma Walters took part in this 50k race, in Chilterns near Henley. The course was very muddy but that was never going to stop these three musketeers from completing the race.

Lisbon HM – 17^th March

A surprisingly large number of HJers ran the Lisbon HM.

Erica Hall, Colerne Hall, Lee Wood McGean, Margreet Potter, Jill Page, Luke Minogue, Hadley O’Dwyer, and Lee Jestico all took part.

Liverpool HM – 17^th March

Simon Markham came 3^rd in his age category with a fabulous 1 hour 31 minutes.

Heritage Trail 10k – Leonardslee Gardens

Closer to home, it was certainly a case of getting satisfaction as Katie Jagger stormed home in 1 hour 21 minutes, which is an excellent time given the awkward terrain of this course.

Hyrox (Copenhagen) – 23^rd March

Marion Haggerstone followed in the footsteps of husband Paul with a tremendous effort at the Hyrox in Copenhagen, Denmark. Marion came 2^nd in her age category, pushing herself through the dane-ger zone.

Hyrox is becoming more and more popular, with a range of worldwide locations now hosting these events. Other locations include Madrid in Spain for example. And you start to wonder whether this event will take hold in more random places like China or Albania too, though that may mean too many red flags.

Mel’s Milers 10k – 24^th March

As usual there was a plethora of HJ’ers at the annual Mel’s Milers 10k at Christ’s Hospital.

A course record was set by our very own Gary Tomlinson, who ran 34.36 in demolishing the opposition with his trademark breakaway kick in the second half of the race.

Other performances of note were Melissa Galea coming home 1^st F40 female, and Sally Foster coming home 1^st F50 female. Sally ran so fast she must have kept going as she didn’t turn up to receive her award.

Stuart Cox ran 44.15 to PB, and Dave Dawson rolled back the years with another tremendous time, placing 2^nd M60.

Hastings Half – 24^th March

Rob Brundish certainly battled through this race and came a brilliant 5^th overall and 1^st M40 with a flying 1 hour 11 minutes.

Sussex Road Relays – 30^th March

Brighton was calling for a few speedy HJ’ers who took part in the Sussex Road Relays at Preston Park. Some notable performances were Simon Perkins (2^nd fastest M50), and Dean Angell (3^rd fastest M60). Dean was also part of the M60 bronze medal relay team which also included Steve Wigmore and Pete O’Connell.

The senior ladies’ team of Lea Quentin, Anna McLauchlan and Lilian Tse (fighting illness) came 13^th overall. The men’s senior B team of Trevor Barrett, Michael Daly, Paul Davis and Simon Perkins were also 13^th, just ahead of the men’s senior A team of Luke Minogue, Simon Lockwood, David Capsey and Harry Wilcox.

London Landmarks Half Marathon – 7^th April

A good smattering of HJ’ers ran the LLHM on 7^th April. Despite a gusty wind, there were terrific performance by a number of HJ’ers including Caroline Bransden, Margreet Potter, Jill Page, Lee Wood McGeean, and Josh Weller who demolished his PB with an excellent 1 hour 46.

Brighton Marathon – 7^th April

As we hit April, the Marathons ramped up starting with the popular Brighton Marathon on 7^th April.

In some very humid and sunny conditions (against what felt like a gale force wind!), there were some notable performances, with Ian Dickinson (3.32), Crispin Scott (3.37) Michaela Finlayson (3.47), Malcolm Footer (3.48), Alex Stapleton (3.59), Simon Holmes (4.09), Rob Hampson (4.12), Tim Hampson (4.12), Anna McLaughlan (4.14), Richard Harwood (4.20), Andy Mitchelson (4.39), and Daniel Price (4.45). Sorry if I’ve missed any off.

Crispin was a phenomenal 2^nd in his age category (M65-70). Crispin is another HJ’er who gives a lot of time to help others at the club, notably running and assisting our blind runner Mick Duplock on a number of occasions. Great running, Crispin!

My family have banned me from any future Marathons, particularly as my humongous energy levels in the week leading up to the race made me a little unbearable at times. And thank you once again to Alex Stapleton and Malcolm Footer who checked on me during/after the race when my breathing went very shallow. I’ll stick to sprinting, it’s safer and over much more quickly!

Ibiza Half (and a bit), and 10k (and a bit) – 13^th April

Impressively, a number of HJ’ers travelled to Ibiza to take part in the Half Marathon and 10k races, both of which measured considerably longer than we are used to. The Half Marathon was more like 22k instead of 21k, and the 10k was more like 12k!!

Well done to everyone that travelled.

Rotterdam Marathon – 14^th April

Chris Newberry  ran in this race with an excellent finishing time of 4 hours 18 minutes, made even more impressive as he missed a lot of training in the run up to this event. Great work, Chris!!

London Marathon – 21^st April

Some fabulous times were posted, alongside the vast number of HJ’er volunteers at the London Marathon this year. This event is so well organised, it was a delight to behold and thanks to Phil Liberman for his hard work organising the volunteering again.

In the race itself. Rob Brundish ran an astounding 2 hrs 23 minutes, coming home 1^st in his age category, 30^th in the masses and 55^th (including the elites) overall! He has shattered the previous HJ Marathon record, and this positioning must rank alongside the most impressive of any HJ times in our 40 years as a club.

Alongside Rob there were tremendous runs by Kat Owens who ran a blistering 3 hours 3 minutes, Lee Jestico (3.11), Michael Dargue (3.13), Tom MacDonald (3.17), Simon Markham (3.28), Sorcha Cotter (3.30), Simon Lockwood (3.31), David Lord (3.35), John Crayford (3.40), Andy Robins (3.46), Victoria Robins (3.49), Rebecca Ramsey (3.52), Baz Panchal (3.54), Brian Frost (4.00), Dave Razzell (4.19), Frankie Bailey (4.23), Mike Clark (4.34), Tony Hogben (4.35), Mark Newman (4.37), Clive Walker (4.40), Roger Johnson (4.40), Nara Dashzeveg-Sullivan (5.15), Connor Allen (6.40).

• Clive Walker blogs about his London Marathon race.

Some HJ runners also competed virtually, though interestingly whilst volunteering we did actually come across a couple of runners (non-HJ’ers) who turned up to run the actual London Marathon as a virtual competitor and asked us where the start zone was!

Well done to all HJ’ers who ran and volunteered.

Worthing Half Marathon and 10k events – 28^th April

As ever, a large contingent of HJ’ers descended on the south coast to take part in the Worthing HM/10k.

Wet and windy weather greeted the runners but that didn’t stop a number of the team from achieving some fantastic results. I know the results at Worthing events tend to not always include the club name (likely to do with EA affiliation or something) so I’ve only been able to include those where the results came up on the filter under HJ’ers!

In the 10k Michael Daly (33.37) came 4^th overall. Other HJ’ers were Malcolm Footer (42.01), James Klanczkowski (45.39), Sally Arnold (1.03.02), Mary Klanczkowski (1.07.52), Jane Footer (1.10.04), Sandrine Yeates (1.11.28), Jane Adams (1.18.25), Mick Duplock (1.19.32), and Julia Johnson (1.19.34).

In the Half Marathon there were some great runs, including Phyl Weston (1.41.30), Rebecca Rankin (1.42.43), Michaela Finlayson (1.43.22), Theresa Ward (1.47.37), Karen Hobbs (1.49.53), Luke Street (1.50.58), Sarah Clark (1.51.05), Jill Page (1.55.15), Kerry Short (1.56.42), Mariela Rutherford (2.14.21), Steph Charman (2.20.57) and Claire Butler (2.21.08).

I also know David EJ ran a terrific Half Marathon and put a lovely post on HJ Runs thanking the club for helping him improve his running.

Well done everyone!!

Jigsaw 10k – 28^th April

There are rumours this might have been the last Jigsaw 10k held at the Dunsfold Race track. It will be a real shame if that is the case as it’s a great local event on the racing track which is also used for Top Gear.

As ever, it was great to see some HJ’ers turning up to run this event and not being put off by the ‘Stig-ma’ of the location.

Gary Betts (48.10), Abigail Brett (49.11), Christian Liberman (56.39), Lou Johnson (1.01.32), Sophie Betts (1.02.49) and Sue Hensman (1.07.03) all completed the 10k route.

Madrid Marathon – 28^th April

Mohit Shah ran this race alongside Emily Brookes, which was part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series. Emily came home in 4 hours 37 minutes, and Mohit ran 5 hours 11 minutes,  Fantastic running both of you!

Three Forts Half Marathon – 5^th May

Lee Walker ran the Half at Three Forts in a time of 2 hours 3 minutes, promptly declaring this to be the hardest half marathon he’s ever done.

Lee no doubt ‘fort’ his way on three occasions to the finish line.

Loch Ness Ultra XC – 6^th May

Helen Morgan ran this undulating race which included a whopping 4,300 ft of ascent around the beautiful landscape which is Loch Ness. Well done, Helen!!

Run to the Sea – 50km – 5^th May

Rob Brundish followed up his achievements at the London Marathon by running the trail Run to the Sea 50km, winning the race by an incredible 55 minutes, in a time of 3 hours 25 minutes.

And HJ’ers produced a fantastic team result by winning the 5 Person Team prize by over 3 hours, the 5-strong team of Rob, Paul Davis, Anna McLauchlan, Tom MacDonald and Steve Wright proving to be too strong for the other teams taking part.

Helsinki Marathon – 10^th May

You’ll normally get an array of jokes about Finland whenever any of our club members take part in an event in this country. Of course, nothing will happen here like that. So, it was a very well done to the two ‘finnishers’ of Brian Frost (appropriate name) and Alan Pettitt, who both completed the race in under 4 hours. I wonder if they did a lap-land of honour after the race?

Horsham 10k – 12^th May

A fabulous Horsham 10k was held on Sunday, 12^th May. As ever, HJ’ers stepped up to take the 100 or so volunteering roles. This year was even more special than normal due to a trio of HJ club legends starting the race, namely two members of the first ever Committee team of David Bridges and Ted Coleman, along with the super speedy Mina Burton who is widely regarded as arguably the greatest HJ female club athlete of her time.

A huge amount of work goes into making sure the 10k goes smoothly, and the 10k Committee (led by Ian Dickinson) deserve a huge amount of credit for this year’s event.

Gatwick 10k – 12^th May

Dawn Whammond and Josh Weller avoided the undulation of the Horsham 10K by taking part in the relatively flat (or flatter than trying to run up Hammerpond Road) Gatwick 10k.

Josh again showed he’s in good form by running 46.53 to smash his previous PB, and Dawn ran an excellent 1 hour 4 mins to show they certainly aren’t ‘winging’ their times at the moment.

Lindfield 10k – 19^th May

A few HJ’ers took part in the (measuring very long) 10k at Lindfield including Brian Stone (55.59), Jo Stone (1.06.14) and once again Dawn Whamond (1.33.46). This is a particularly undulating course so well done all.

Reigate Priory 10k – 19^th May

Despite humid conditions, Malcolm Footer finished an outstanding 2^nd place to win a trophy with an excellent 42.23. Jane Footer also took part and finished in 1.09.42 and will no doubt be ensuring the trophy is shared in the Footer household!

Run Rabbit Festival – 19^th May

Anna McLauchlan took part in this awkward event, set across trails and potted fields, but came home 1^st female over the 5 laps of 5km, winning this by just 3 seconds overall having clawed back a 15-second deficit at the start of the last 5k. Not finished with that, Anna then took part in the 10k event later that day, and then the Half Marathon the following morning.

With so much running in such a short space of time and on such awkward terrain, it’s a wonder that Anna didn’t need to visit the hops-spital.

Jurassic Coast 100km – 19^th May

Continuing the theme of long distances, Giuseppe Maccarrone completed this event, a whopping 100k ultra challenge, despite a lack of training and in a tremendous time of 23 hours 8 minutes.

Edinburgh Marathon – 26^th May

Simon Markham continued his outstanding form by producing a top run at the Edinburgh Marathon, with a terrific 3 hours 20 minutes. This was even more impressive given he had run a 23-minute parkrun the day before!

Other club races/runs

West Sussex Fun Run League Events

The first of the WSFRL races for 2024 have now been completed.  

The end of June and July see a number of WSFRL events (including Downland Dash, Roundhill Romp, Arunners Beach Run, Hornets Stinger and Henfield Seven Stiles all taking place). These WSFRL events are fantastic, great value for money and as defending champions let’s continue the momentum we have built up by having as many HJ’ers taking part in these as possible.

Sussex Grand Prix Events

There have been a couple of SGP events already, with the Haywards Heath 10 miler (5^th May) and the Rye 10 miler (19^th May) being enjoyed by a number of HJ’ers taking part.

At the Haywards Heath 10 miler, Gary Tomlinson celebrated being voted for as 2023 HJ’er of the year by running most of this race ahead of the lead bike, finishing in 1^st place in a fantastic time of 57.04. Despite a couple of issues with knowing which direction to take (understandable when the lead bike is behind you!), Gary still kept his focus to take the top prize.

Well done to all taking part in these SGP events. It’s great to see so many HJ’ers entering these and there are more to come – just check the dates for your diary below and the calendar on our website to see when the next ones are coming up!

‘Improve Your Time’ Trial (run 1) – 14^th May

Over 70 runners took part in the first ‘Improve Your Time’ trial run up at picturesque Roosthole. Well organised, it’s great to see so many HJ’ers taking part in this club event. The next one takes place on 11^th June and remember you don’t need to have run the last race to enter this one, just turn up on the night, sign your name and have a run!

Naked Run – 21^st May

75 Horsham Joggers ran round the parkrun route in Horsham Park in a generally vain attempt to finish the 5k-ish route in the same time (or as near to) their own predicted estimate, and there were some exceptionally close times run.

Phil Surlis won the event by running 30.01 having predicted a time of 30.00. Just behind Phil was Fiona Lear in 2^nd place who ran 33.29 just 3 seconds outside her predicted 33.26, and Christina Harrison was third running 29.25 just 4 seconds outside her predicted time of 29.29.

Well done everyone, especially Phil being just 1 second outside of his predicted time!

Social Events

There has been a real ramping up of social events in our 40^th anniversary year.

On 20^th March, a number of HJ’ers attended the Brolly Brewing night out. Holly who runs the Brolly said what a nice crowd the Joggers are (hopefully we’ll get invited back!)

On 10^th April there was a well-received talk from Cheryl and Sam from the Sports Injury Clinic, who gave a highly informative talk on injury prevention.

On 14^th April a group of HJ’ers took a walk through the beautiful Knepp Estate, organised by our social guru Florian Yeates.

Please check out the calendar and also the dates for your diary below for more social events coming up!

AGM and Awards evening

On 26^th April, we had the AGM and this was very well attended. At this event the Committee were able to provide details of the position of the club, including finances, kit and details of the current membership amongst other items up for discussion. Founding member David Maurice was astounded to learn that the current membership is around 600, given in the mid/late 80s the club membership was less than 100.

Awards were also handed out to reward various Joggers and of some fantastic Coaches/Volunteers who helped us over the course of 2023. Members had a chance to vote for their Volunteer and Jogger of the Year at the start of 2024.

The Volunteer of the Year award went to Roger Johnson, and the Jogger of the Year award went to Gary Tomlinson.

The award for largest trophy went to Melissa Galea, who will need to purchase a new sideboard following her receipt of the trophy for the Eileen Quinton Award.

Dates for your diary

• 5^th June – Cliff Comber Alf Shrubb talk at The Bridge (7-8pm)
• 8^th June – HJ Salute parkrun – Horsham Parkrun 9am (please wear your hj race/training kit if possible).
• 8^th June – South Downs Half Marathon/10k
• 9^th June – Run Wisborough 5k and 10k
• 11^th June – Improve your Time trial (Roosthole, meet 6.30pm)
• 13^th June – Track ‘games’ evening 6.30-8.30
• 15^th June – Parkrun awayday (Tilgate)
• 16^th June – Madehurst 5k and 10k
• 18^th June – Tuesday club runs start from Horsham Park on this night
• 22^nd June – Run to Firebird Brewery
• 23^rd June – Heathfield 10k (Sussex Grand Prix event)
• 23^rd June – Greener Earth Trail Race (Uckfield)
• 29^th June – Downland Dash (WSFRL)
• 3^rd July –  Roundhill Romp (WSFRL)
• 7^th July – Half Marathon training starts
• 7^th July – Bewl 15 (Sussex Grand Prix)

Don’t forget there is the HJ 40^th anniversary celebration taking place on Sunday 25^th and Monday 26^th August. Tickets for the disco evening on Sunday 25^th August are on sale now through Member zone for £10 each).

As ever please check the calendar on the Horsham Joggers website for forthcoming events, and also the HJ Runs Facebook group of course.

Have a great few weeks everyone and we look forward to seeing more success stories!

Be lucky.

Simon

The December 2023 – February 2024 newsletter is now ready. You’d think we would have been a little less busy over the Christmas period, but as we enter our 40^th anniversary celebratory year there’s no chance of anything quiet happening!

Petting on a Good Outcome

As winter starts its long departure, Christmas already feels like a very long time ago. Or so you would think. I’ve literally just put someone’s recently worn Christmas socks in the wash. You’d think this would be no big deal, but harking back to Christmas when it’s the middle of February feels like trying to reminisce about the good old days of playing with BigTrak as a 5-year old in 1982, when everyone else had already moved on to those Tomytronic hand-held machines.

Anyway, moving on to 2024 and I’m always intrigued to see how many runners there are who run with dogs. Now, my daughters are on at me regularly about wanting to get a dog. Not just any dog, but specifically a sausage dog. I attempted to appease them a few years ago with Guinea Pigs (aptly named Max and Stuart), but of course you can’t really take them out for a jog up at Roosthole. I’m not actually sure you can run with a sausage dog either given their little legs move so fast but without covering much distance, taking them approximately 25 minutes to make it from the living room to the kitchen.

I know several of our members have dogs that they run with, albeit initial confusion can arise with the various names they have been called. For example, Anna McLauchlan runs with a dog called Gin, which is confusing if only because when her Strava suggests ‘Plod with Gin’ the immediate reaction is that she’s had a bad day at the office, and she’s curled up on a street corner, swigging straight from a bottle of Bombay Sapphire. Interestingly, Anna told me her 10K PB had been ‘dog assisted’, set when Gin had pulled her along like a pacer.

Now, I’m sure they probably help when you’re going through a bit of a rough pooch (sorry), but whenever I’ve run with a dog close by, I find they try and trip me up. In fact, they seem quite happy when other runners are nearby, but as soon as I come close there seems to be a deliberate move to cross into my path, a little look round, almost a dog-style chuckle at my expense as I am forced to switch from side-to-side, with our canine friends alternating at the same time. I’ll stick with the Guinea Pigs for now.

Anyway, here we are. Our 40^th year as a club and what a year we anticipate it to be. There’s a section included about the various events taking place this year. It’ll be a busy one.

Let’s bring it on!

Unsung Heroes

The unsung hero for this edition of the newsletter is Kath Barnes.

Kath helped out at the recent annual awards evening, and regularly puts herself forward as a volunteer.

Also, she has a very kind heart. This was never more evident than when she provided Matt Horne with a water bottle which incorporated his recent ‘stick man’ design.

Thank you, Kath, for your help and for your kind nature.

Races, Runs and Events

Now, as it has been the Christmas period, you’d maybe expect us to have put our feet up, cracked open the bubbly and watched Back to the Future (part one) for the 200^th time. Well, as ever with us sumptuous HJ’ers you’d be wrong.

Lanzarote Half Marathon and Marathon – 1^st December

A few HJ’ers attempted to avoid the wintery climate by running the Lanzarote Half Marathon/Marathon.  I attempted to obtain some of the finishing times by accessing the official website, but I’m not overly fluent in Spanish and so I’ll just say well done to everyone who took part in this event.

Apparently, there was lots of free food at the end of the race too, and it was good to know in the mad rush for refreshments that nobody ‘Spained’ their ankle in the process.

Montane Cheviot Goat Race (Ultra) – 1^st December

Talking of canine lovers, one of those is Vic Baker who continued her theme of only running in races which are of both distance and elevation by completing the 60-mile course in freezing conditions. A temperature of minus 5 ‘welcomed’ the runners at the start, and with a lot of the course covered in heavy snow it was certainly a case of competitors not wanting to get their slopes up.

Vic completed the course in just over 20 hours and was 9^th female finisher overall.

The race itself starts and finishes in the village of Ingram, Northumberland and covers the wild hills of the surrounding area, including a lung-busting 12,139 ft ascent with the summit at 2,674 feet…there’s not likely to be much ‘Winternet’ access at that height.

However, it was certainly a ‘peak’ performance so well done, Vic.

British Masters 5k – 3^rd December

Some speedy Horsham Joggers took part in the British Masters on 3^rd December, with some terrific results.

Val Purnell was 8^th in the women’s over-60 category in 24.39, and in the men’s event Dean Angell (6^th m60 in 18.42), Bryan Camfield (11^th m55 in 18.44) and Pete O’Connell (11^th m60 in 20.00) produced super performances.

Run the Seasons (event 2) – 9^th December

A total of 117 runners took part in the 2^nd Run the Seasons event on 9^th December. Once more our esteemed hj’ers turned up and did a cracking job.

Natalie Wettler (still refusing to run as a hj’er at these events!) was 3^rd overall and 1^st female in a staggering 37.06, Lee Walker continued his return to running form by coming 31^st in 45.13, and Samantha Marshall was 49^th in an excellent 49.28.

Well done all.

West Sussex Fun Run League (WSFRL) – Hangover 5 (1^st January 2024)

Over the past 12 months, perhaps nothing has got the juices flowing like the West Sussex Fun Run League.

Without re-iterating the obvious we won the title in 2023, and whilst the local council denied us an open-top bus parade around Horsham (don’t worry, we didn’t actually apply), we are aiming to perform well again in 2024.

So, it should be no surprise that we were very well represented in the first race of the year. To pick a few notable finishers, Matt Mason was 6^th, Simon Perkins 12^th, and Anna McLauchlan was first hj female home.

Clearly the organisers of the Hangover 5 had too much to drink as the results of the race took the best part of January to be finalised. In fact, there are probably people waiting for hip operations who have no doubt been through the entire referral, wait time, operation and recovery process faster than these results were announced, but they got there in the end.

Winter Spine Challenger North Race – Multi-day Event

Huge congratulations go to Mark Gibson in completing this race.

This is a non-stop, 160 mile race along the Pennine Way. In extremely cold conditions, Mark ran this as a potential swan song as far as his multi-day event racing is concerned. Personally, I think he’s such a good runner he’d be quackers to give them up.

Sussex Masters Cross Country – 20^th January

Ian Dickinson and Matt Whyman ran the Sussex Masters Cross Country on 20^th January, held at Coombes Farm. It’s always hard to run in such open conditions at any time of the year let alone during the middle of winter, so well done to both.

Hyrox – Manchester (27^th January)

Paul Haggerstone showed that his recent track work has been paying off by coming 1^st in his age category at the Hyrox race in Manchester.

In fact, Paul and 4 others have been regularly turning up at track to train for Hyrox and have found the interval work on a Thursday evening hugely useful.

Congratulations to Paul.

Murcia 10k – 4^th February

In comparison to some of the other runs taking place in the harsh British winter, Penny Sanders completed the Murcia 10k. This was run under clear blue skies, with free beer and a free massage too after the race.

We all know Penny – she usually sends round the weekly parkrun update, which is always well received. She even managed to submit the parkrun results whilst she was away doing her race…..perhaps aware we were pleading ‘Murcia’ to get her to do this for us.

Dark Star Marathon – 4^th February

Four HJ’ers completed the Dark Star Marathon on 4^th February. 

Alan Pettitt, Brian Frost, Chris Yeomans and Matt Whyman completed the awkward course in decent  conditions, the race running from Shoreham to West Grinstead and back, and actually measures a little long (28.2 miles instead of 26.2 miles).

This didn’t put them off as each came home in under 5 hours, Matt leading the way in 4 hours 20 minutes.

Chichester 10k – 4^th February

A large contingent of around 20 hj’ers turned up to this event, with a stack of PBs set during decent conditions.

Husband and wife Brian and Jo left no Stone unturned in their household as both of them set PBs.

The roll call of hj finishers were: Trevor Barrett (38.12), Malcolm Footer (40.11), Melissa Galea (41.45), Brian Stone (42.02), Matt Cooper (44.56), Rob Shapland (46.06), Christopher Lee (47.01), Jo Stone (47.59), Pete O’Connell (49.34), Kate Short (50.41), Tom Vanhinsbergh (52.24), Julia Johnson (56.17), Nathan Atkins-Brooks (56.02), Peter Atkins (56.54), Julie Gallagher (58.09), Rachel Denton (1.02.00), Claire Gray (1.02.31), Karen Wigmore (1.04.34), Jane Footer (1.12.01), Mick Duplock (1.16.43).

Natalie Wettler finished in 41.14, but as she ‘accidentally’ entered under Horsham Amphibians again I’ve removed her from the official list above!

Marathon Talk by Tanya Boardman (Holbrook Club) – 7^th February

This was a very enjoyable talk given by club member Tanya Boardman, who discussed her experiences of running marathons to a group of HJer’s at the Holbrook Club.

Tanya gave hints and tips using her extensive knowledge of running marathons and from being an England Athletics coach, and at the end of the session a number of HJ’ers discussed their preparations (or fears!) ahead of the Marathon races coming up this year.

West Sussex Fun Run League – Run Your Heart Out (Crawley) – 11^th February

Over 60 HJ’ers turned out for this local event, the second race of the WSFRL for 2024.

At the time of typing official results are unavailable (although let’s hope they are posted faster than the Hangover 5 ones!).

The third of these races takes place on 24^th March 2024 – see calendar at the end of the newsletter (and here).

Runthrough 10k – QE Olympic Park – 14^th February

Kat Owens produced a terrific performance to win the ladies race with a 10k time of 39.38 (official time 40.08 as the race measured about 150m long).

Against a strong field, Kat took some of her recent track work into race conditions and came home with the Gold Medal. Well done, Kat!

This also set off some discussion about female sub-40 minute 10k runners at the club. There have not been very many in recent years, but with a plethora of female members now representing the club we may see the number of sub-40 10k times start to increase.

Roller Disco Evening – 16^th February

Interestingly there is a sign up to say ‘I Skate Because Running Sucks’. This is clearly not the case as a  group of hjer’s enjoyed one of this year’s first social events by attending an evening of Roller Disco at the Rec in Horsham Park.

Roller Disco was hugely popular in the early 1980s and seems to be making a strong comeback now. The evening was enjoyed by all. I am wondering whether another early 1980s fad – break dancing – may also be making a comeback and if so, Sandrine Yeates will no doubt be able to take this forward given her attempt at it during the Roller Disco!

40^th Anniversary News and Forthcoming Events!

There’s an array of events planned this year, to celebrate our 40^th anniversary including:-

• Roller Disco (now taken place but don’t rule out another!)
• Brewery and social evenings out
• Various talks from our members
• Camping at the rugby club
• 80s disco
• TG Lage visit
• Parkrun 40^th special
• Alf Shrubb memorial race
• Christmas Dinner
• Horsham Round being the 40^th anniversary ‘day’ celebration

Please keep your eyes peeled on HJ Runs for further news on these events. It’s shaping up to be our busiest but best year as a club. Let’s make our 40^th anniversary year something special!

London Marathon Club Places

The draw for the two London Marathon club ballot places was eagerly anticipated by those hoping for a slice of luck. And it was congratulations to Baz Panchal and Tony Hogben who won the respective ballots. Allegedly Baz is not running in his panda outfit for this one.

Marathon Training Sessions

Following on from the above, the Sunday morning marathon training sessions have started with large numbers of HJ’ers turning up to run the respective routes set each week. Remember, you don’t have to be running in a marathon to take part in these sessions. They are extremely good for building your endurance, with many of them taking place on the undulating but peaceful roads which surround our town.

Other Events

Tuesday Night Club Runs

Please continue to take care in the evenings during your runs at this time of year. Head or body torches/lights and bright running gear is a must and please ensure you stay within your group and make the relevant leader aware if you are struggling. If you do happen to trip over, please alert your group leader so they can ensure you are okay to carry on.

Lighter evenings are coming!

Run and Talk Tuesdays

Once a month, a Run and Talk Tuesday takes place, whereby after the Tuesday night session people can gather in the Bridge café for a chat and a catch-up to talk about things either running or non-running related. Please keep your eyes peeled on HJ Runs and the calendar for future events.

Track – Thursday Nights – 6.30pm

Thursday’s nights at the track continue with their popularity, and with a few new coached sessions also throwing variety into the mix.

Just a reminder that its £2 to pay by card (or via your phone if you are savvy enough) – and please arrive at 6.15pm to pay so that everyone (including the volunteers) can be ready to start on the half-hour.

Thursday Night Non-Track Sessions – 6.30pm

The Thursday night non-track events hosted by Claire Butler and Karen England continue to prove a resounding success.

The same applies to Andy Robins, who has also been taking groups out on a Thursday evening.

These sessions are great fun – often a mix of hill-work, fartlek training, interval work and conditioning depending on the week. Again, keep your eyes on the HJ Runs page for upcoming sessions.

Other News and Dates

Vote for VOY and JOY

An email has been sent for you to cast your vote for Volunteer of the Year and Jogger of the Year for 2023. The award will be presented at the AGM in April 2024.

SportsShoes Discount Code

Don’t forget you can use the exclusive HJ SportsShoes code which is posted in the HJ Runs FB private group each month to get a discount on your orders and delivery.

Membership Renewals

Membership renewals are not far away, please look out for your renewal email which should come out to you in early March 2024.

Dates for the Diary (a few clashes this year)

• 25^th February – Brighton Half
• 3^rd March – WSFRL Steyning Stinger
• 17^th March – Balcombe Bull Run
• 17^th March – Leith Hill Half
• 17^th March – Surrey Half
• 20^th March – Brolly Brewing social evening
• 24^th March – Mel’s Milers 10k
• 24^th March – Sussex Grand Prix Hastings Half
• 24^th March – WSFRL Fittleworth 5

As ever, please keep your eye on the calendar on the Joggers website for any additions/updates to the above, and of course our Facebook page too.

Have a great couple of months and, as ever, be lucky.

The October/November 2023 newsletter is now available. Two months of races and events crammed into one newsletter up to the end of November, though we have some sad news to share to start with.

Erich Winter (1932-2023)

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Erich Winter from TG Lage, our twin running club in Germany. Erich was the former Chairman of TG Lage (his son is the current Chairman), and long-standing members will remember Erich fondly. Without Erich, we would not be twinned with TG Lage, and in the 35 years since the bond has been made there have been many events and moments shared by both clubs, many of which were orchestrated by him.

Here is a full obituary for Erich.

Music Must Change

I wonder – as a percentage – how many HJ’ers listen to music when we run? I see lots of HJ’ers listening to music as they pound the streets, but I’ve personally never quite got on with it despite my love of tunes.

Now, this may stem from the old days of the Sony Walkman and trying to clip it to my running gear, the weight of the device and enclosed cassette tape clearly too much for the light-weighted but multi-coloured Bermuda shorts I used to wear. Finding myself hastily attempting to stop them falling down whilst Duran Duran’s ‘Come Undone’ is playing at the same time could feel like a deliberate attempt by Sony, long before George Michael took them to court.

I also remember that with each jarring movement the range and quality of the song I was listening to would pitch either higher or lower, the bass button on the Walkman inconsistently jolting with every step. On occasion, it would make Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’ sound more like Barry White after a bottle of wine.

It’s not like earphones are my friend either. They often seem unable to stay in the right place, flying out at the most awkward of locations. Purchasing new pairs doesn’t seem to help either… I still can’t hear the difference. My namesake Dan Holmes encountered similar issues the other week, his earpiece departing unexpectedly in the dark, the headphones never to be seen again amongst the overgrowth of autumnal Billingshurst.

So, all you HJ’ers who listen to music must have some tips on what you do? And what sort of tunes do you listen to as you run? Punk? Hip-Hop? Glam-rock? It’d be interesting to know as I think we’re quite a diverse bunch in terms of personality and age, but also very similar in other ways too. If I could find a pair which work for me and let me listen to ‘Quadrophenia’ – or perhaps allow me to concentrate on AC/DC rather than ADHD – without worry of them potentially flying off into the path of an inquisitive Labrador or Sausage Dog – then that really would be music to my ears.

Unsung Heroes

The unsung hero for this edition of the newsletter is Mark Alger. Not only is Mark a regular volunteer, but more than that he has done a lot of work behind the scenes helping the Committee with various tasks, including assisting putting up some shelving at the club’s storage unit, which certainly helped when a few Committee members needed to locate various items ahead of the recent WSFRL Gunpowder Trot. Thanks for your help, Mark – there’s a picture of you later in the Newsletter!

Races and Runs (and the WSFRL!)

Talking of the Gunpowder Trot, let’s have a look at some recent events and races which have taken place over the past couple of months including this incredible news……..

West Sussex Fun Run League (WSFRL) – CHAMPIONS OF WEST SUSSEX!!!!!!

Since the last newsletter, the final four WSRFL runs have been completed and the overall Champions of 2023 are the amazing Horsham Joggers!

• 2023 WSFRL Race Results

The Great Walstead 5 (which sounds a little like a group of 1970s criminals, sent down and then reprieved years later) took place on 8^th October, and Michael Daly won this event with Simon Perkins 3^rd. Melissa Galea again scored top points for the women, taking home 5^th place in the category. As well as being an ever-present at WSFRL races this year, Melissa has also returned a fantastic number of points for the club this year, top scoring each time.

Following that was Windlesham House on 22^nd October where again we scored well, the Steepdown Challenge took place on 29^th October and then finally our very own Gunpowder Trot on 5^th November. You can check on our FB page for the results of each event, but as ever the HJ’ers scored tremendously well with several high point-scoring individuals.

To win this trophy is no mean feat. Last year we finished 9^th. In other years we have competed in the runs but as far as points are concerned, we haven’t brought the trophy home since the 1990s. This year was different. We embraced the races, we picked up momentum, we suddenly realised we were in with a chance of taking the title. And that’s exactly what happened.

This is a fantastic achievement for the club. And whilst we know this is a ‘Fun Run’ league it is without doubt lovely to put our name on the trophy.

The biggest thanks go to everyone who organised these events. Julie Jochimsen put in a lot of hard work for this behind the scenes, along with several others within the club. Without their organisation and enthusiasm sorting out the races, the point scoring and the overall work which takes place in sorting these runs for the enjoyment of others cannot be underestimated. The collaboration behind the scenes to make our own Gunpowder Trot go ahead – particularly given the weather in the days leading up to the race – was tremendous.  And of course, well done to all who participated. Your free HJ badge is available for pick up!

Loch Ness Marathon and 10K – 1^st October

The start of October saw a few HJ’ers embark on Loch Ness, not only to attempt to locate the infamous Monster, but also to conquer the Marathon and 10k races which took place.

The Marathon saw David Malins, Mark Adams (despite a brief tumble), Brian Frost and Alan Pettitt complete the race.

The 10k saw Sally Malins and Tess Adams finish the run, who perhaps more impressively then managed to be back at the airport whilst David and Mark were still in the middle of running the Marathon. Not waiting to travel home with their respective husbands might be considered a little un-nessie-sary by some.

It also appears everyone seemed to do their best to locate the Loch Ness Monster too. The photos seem to suggest there is more than one monster in Loch Ness, and even more worrying is that nobody appears concerned the Monsters were standing right behind them. Us HJ’ers really are unfazed by anyone or anything.

Downs Link Ultra – 1^st October

James Tombs and Tim Hampson ran the Downs Link Ultra on 1^st October. This was a 63km race, with James coming home in an exceptional 4^th place overall in 6 hours 17 minutes.

Tim wasn’t too far behind, completing the run in just over 8 hours.

Heron Way 10K – 1^st October

Michael Daly stormed home in the local Heron Way 10k trail race. As ever speedy and strong during the latter stages of a run, Michael kicked on and took the pole position in a time of 37.36.

Looking at the results there were bizarrely a lot of runners competing in this event using just their first names, such as ‘Arnie’, ‘Sharon’ and ‘Sonia’ (not sure if it is the one and only Sonia though). However, it was certainly a case of better the devil you know as there were several HJ’ers who took part using their full names and ran some great times, which included Brian Stone (49.01), Dave Dawson (51.55), Jo Stone (53.21), Dawn Whamond (1.04.55) and Steph Charman (1.08.05) to name but a few who took part. Well done all.

Chicago Marathon – 8^th October

Tony Mason and Liz Giannopoulos travelled far to compete in the Chicago Marathon. And both runners are certainly an inspiration to us all, by achieving times of 5 hrs 29 minutes and 4 hrs 39 minutes respectively. Congratulations to both for completing this historic event.

Royal Parks Half Marathon – 8^th October

Amy and David Capsey, together with Amy Devaney competed in the Royal Parks Half Marathon.

Amy Capsey ran a terrific 1.50.29, with husband David remaining in fine form running an equally excellent 1.25.13. A special shout out to Amy Devaney though, who came home in 2.24.50, another great effort particularly as this was her first half marathon since giving birth last December.

Spartan Half – 8^th October

Rob Shapland, Gary Tomlinson and Matt Elnaugh completed the Spartan Half Marathon, which is a slightly different event to your normal running race. The Spartan includes tackling 30 obstacles along the way, quite a varied run and although we know Rob is used to these events I’m not sure Gary or Matt often take on these challenges… but all did so with suitable aplomb on this occasion.

Run the Seasons 10 miler – 14^th October

Lee Walker bounced back from his Cheesegrater disappointment (see last Newsletter) to run this extremely difficult course. Lee finished an excellent 9^th position overall in 1 hour 31 minutes… almost too-Gouda be true.

Baltimore Half Marathon – 14^th October

Roger Johnson continued the transatlantic trend of HJ’ers by taking on and successfully completing the Baltimore Half Marathon in a time of 2 hours 5 minutes.   

Cabbage Patch 10 miler – 15^th October

Amy Devaney was back running again only a few days after her outing at the Royal Parks, as her and Matt Mason ran the Cabbage Patch 10 miler, Matt setting an outstanding new PB of 58.50 over the course.

Great South Run 10 miler – 15^th October

A whopping 36 HJ’ers took part in the annual Great South Run event, and there were some notable times set by a number of club members who took advantage of favourable conditions to set some tremendous personal PBs. In particular, Rob Brundish was 30^th overall in an incredible time of 52.54. First female HJ home was Rebecca Ramsey in a super 1.18.35. On top of this, and there are too many great performances to name them all, particular well dones must go to both Victoria and Andy Robins, both squeezing under the 1 hour 20 minute mark, Josh Weller 1.19.28, Kath Barnes with her fabulous 1.39.33, Emma Chapman 1.43.17, Sue Zanin 1.43.23, Barnaby Smith 1.49.45, Megan Noble 1.52.33 and Geoff Noble 1.52.45.

Beachy Head Marathon (21^st October), Half Marathon (22^nd October) and 10k

Two contrasting days of weather firmly took hold across this weekend. On the Saturday (21^st) there was so much torrential rain coming in from the sea that the runners almost had a beachy head themselves, however that didn’t stop Brian Frost (4.55.39) and Alan Pettitt (4.56.40) from completing the course.

The following day and the weather was more favourable, with some top HJ performances of note. Natalie Wettler, a HJ’er but competing under the Horsham Amphibians for this run finished an exceptional third place in 1.49.07.

Other performances were Erika Hall (2.30.09), Colette Hall (2.30.10) and Julie Gallagher (2.31.15).

In the 10k, Clive Walker came home in 1.05.53 and Steve Hook ran 1.23.19.

Well done to everyone across both days.

Valencia Half Marathon – 22^nd October

Luke Minogue, Hadley O’Dwyer and the returning Lee Jestico ran the Valencia Half.

Luke ran a PB with a tremendous 1 hour 25, Hadley was not far behind in 1 hour 27, and Lee showed that he’s coming right back into shape with 1 hour 24 minutes.

At the end of the race the lads were provided with a goodie bag full of treats, including some random vegetables… including Broccoli!! 

Worthing Seafront 10k – 22^nd October

On the same day as the Valencia Half, a few HJ’ers took on the Worthing 10k Seafront Run.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in this, including Jon Fengaras who was 25^th overall in 43.17, Lilian Tse who was a superb 5^th female home and 38^th  overall in 45.22, Daniel Price 47.32, Richard Shergold 51.30, Sophie Betts 58.56, Gary Betts 58.58, Ian Michaelwaite 1.01.40, Claire Gray 1.07.40, Tracey Martin 1.07.54, Michelle Worsey 1.11.09, Jackie Garner 1.11.47, and Pat Radley 1.14.30.  Well done to any other HJ’ers who also took part.

New York Marathon – 5^th November

Lilian Tse and Liz Giannopoulos both took part in the New York Marathon.

Liz ran a fabulous PB in 4 hrs 34 minutes, a brilliant achievement.

Lilian, fresh from her terrific run at Worthing Seafront (and Worthing parkrun PB the following week), then made it three consecutive weekends of running different distances by completing the Marathon in a time of 4 hrs 14 mins, astounding given the two previous weeks efforts.

Brighton 10k – 19^th November

The fast and flat Brighton 10k had the complication of a very strong headwind on the return part of the course. This didn’t stop a number of HJ’ers running PBs amongst a total field of over 2,000 runners.

Rob Brundish continued his fantastic year and was first HJ’er home in an outstanding 32.40 (and a very impressive 23^rd overall).

Of note amongst the other HJ finishers, Kerry Short knocked an amazing 3 minutes off her PB with a finishing time of 53.40, despite doubting herself in the week leading up to the race. Self-doubt amongst us runners is common, so it’s always nice to hear of success stories.

Other finishing times of note (sorry I can’t include you all) were:- Lewis Reeves (35.59), Simon Perkins (36.29), Matt Mason (37.09), Luke Minogue (38.31), Simon Lockwood (41.03), Daniel Price (46.48), Phyl Weston (47.59), Jo Stone (50.10), Geoff Fisher (54.08), Richard Barron (54.47), Graham Lunn (57.08), Julia Johnson (57.57), Nigel Best (1.00.42), Ian Hines (1.19.59), Sally Arnold (1.06.09), Ian Hines (1.19.59), Mick Duplock (1.26.50), Crispin Scott (Mick’s guide – 1.26.50)

Crowborough 10k – 19^th November

Mal Thornton, Brian Frost and Tim Hampson ran the Crowborough 10k, which was the final race of the Sussex Grand Prix.

The course is not straightforward but makes for a fabulous challenge.

It would also be amazing to see more HJ’ers taking part in the respective Sussex Grand Prix events in 2024. It starts with the Hastings Half Marathon in March.

Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

Squeezing in ahead of the cut-off for the newsletter, Robert Swan took on and conquered the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. In all, Robert did the 25 miles with an elevation gain of 1,633m. He completed this in just over 7 hours. A frankly terrific effort given the icy conditions he experienced.

Winter Handicap and Awards Night – 28^th November

The Winter Handicap took place two weeks later than scheduled on 28^th November, delayed thanks to an FA Cup match involving Horsham FC being re-arranged, thus ruining our original plans.

However, it appears some HJ’ers took this delay of a fortnight by the scruff of the neck, with some fine individual performances on the night. Viv Underhill – following up her victory at the Summer Handicap – took third place. Second place went to Alan Pettitt, and the overall winner of the Winter Handicap was Helena Jordan. Congratulations to Helena on this terrific result.

Following the run, the Annual Awards Night was held and it was a terrific way to celebrate the achievements of our club runners. Approximately 75 awards and trophies were handed out, to various HJ’ers for their achievements across a variety of races this year.

There was also the ‘big reveal’ of the winning design for the 40^th anniversary t-shirt. Mark Alger proved he is not only an unsung hero but also decent at designing and even strutting the catwalk, as he was the winner in a closely fought contest against some fabulous entries. The commemorative t-shirts are now available for purchase.

Unfortunately, Matt Horne’s ‘stick man’ attempt didn’t win but we appreciated the effort. Maybe next time, Matt.

Other Events

‘Slaying the Dragon’ talk at the Bridge – 19^th October 2023

It was a packed-out room at The Bridge which heard Michael Dargue and Gary Tomlinson give an in-depth review of their stunning 6-day adventure across the Welsh mountainside in September (see last Newsletter for more details). The one-hour presentation featured a day-by-day breakdown of the event, with a projector used to highlight both the training they undertook and photos of various parts of the course.

Unfortunately, everyone in the room was so engrossed with the talk that no pictures were taken, but all the HJ’ers who attended were very impressed and learnt much about the event. Following the presentation, cake and drinks were consumed in the café area as the discussions continued, with both Michael and Gary very happy to talk about their respective experiences of the event.

Whether anyone has been inspired (or put off) in attempting this run next year remains to be seen.

Quiz Night – 24^th November

The annual quiz night was another success. Great fun was had by the participating teams and thanks go to Florian Yeates for the questions and to Marcus Leach for his assistance too.

It was a closely fought contest, with not much separating the scores from first to last place. The winning team was ‘Cirque Du SoreLegs’, captained by Andrew Wright. Each member of his team winning a £10 Sportshoes voucher.

In last place and taking home the wooden spoon was Tess Adams’ team ‘Scrambled Legs’. Despite being well placed in the scores at the halfway point, the bar was unfortunately also a little too well placed for this team, with a couple of team members seemingly spending most of the second part of the night ordering drinks rather than answering questions. This is the second year running Tess’ team has propped up the points table, let alone the bar.

Naked Run – December 2023 Runners World Edition

Those of you who took part in the Naked Run earlier in the year may already be aware, but Horsham Joggers made it into the December 2023 edition of Runners World. A few HJ’ers were also named in the article, and there was a large photo of the group at the starting point by the Rec Rooms.  

Family members with children

Just a reminder that family members with children need to sign the code of conduct for parents prior to their children competing in any events or attending any club nights. Hopefully you have received an email asking for this form to be completed, but if not please message info@horshamjoggers.co.uk where we can re-send you another one.

Safeguarding and Welfare Officers

It should be noted that Horsham Joggers now has two Welfare Officers.

Julie Gallagher has been the club’s single long-standing Welfare Officer for many years. She has been a HJ member since 1986. Julie is the club’s Primary Welfare Officer.

However, a second appointment was required to include a Committee member and Simon Holmes has therefore been appointed the club’s second Welfare Officer. I promise to do my best.

The Welfare Officers can also be contacted by any HJ members who have any concerns, queries, or issues at the following email address: Welfare@horshamjoggers.co.uk

• Full details regarding the Welfare Officers

Committee Meeting – 22^nd November

The Committee meet every six weeks to discuss a variety of matters. The latest Committee Meeting was held on 22^nd November, and several items were discussed including the 2024 HJ Challenge Trophy. After some input from members, we have agreed on the following:-

• Haywards Heath 10 miler (May)
• WSFRL Arunners Beach Run (July)
• Barns Green Half Marathon (September)
• Barns Green 10k (September)

Interestingly, a few people have asked why have both the Barns Green Half Marathon and the 10k. However, having two Challenge Trophies taking place at the same time makes sense as it avoids someone ‘clean sweeping’ all 4 trophies.

With the Half Marathon usually starting at around 10am and the 10k at 10.20am, surely this rules out even the likes of Mo Farah or Eliud Kipchoge from trying to win all four, not that either are current HJ members. Mind you, now both are at the end of their careers they may be looking for a nice, friendly running club to join… so you never know, we may see them on a Tuesday or Thursday night club run sometime in the future!

The Committee can be contacted at any time – details of your Committee members can be found on the Horsham Joggers website.

Tuesday night club runs

In December, a new 9-minute mile group is planned to start with Lee Walker stepping up to the challenge of taking a group out. It’s always fantastic to see members volunteering to take a group out, often partly sacrificing their own targets as a result. Well done, Lee.

As ever, please take care in the evenings at this time of year. Head or body torches/lights and bright running gear is a must and please ensure you stay within your group and make the relevant leader aware if you are struggling. If you do happen to trip over – and a few members have in recent weeks – please alert your group leader so they can ensure you are okay to carry on.

Run and Talk Tuesdays

Once a month a run and talk Tuesday takes place, whereby after the Tuesday night session people can gather in the Bridge café for a chat and a catch-up to talk about things either running or non-running related. Please keep your eyes peeled on HJ Runs and the calendar for future ones.

Track – Thursday Nights 6.30pm

Thursday’s nights at the track continue with their popularity, and with a few new coached sessions also throwing variety into the mix.

Just a reminder that its £2 to pay by card (or via your phone if you are savvy enough) – and please arrive at 6.15pm to pay so that everyone including the volunteers can be ready to start on the half-hour.

Thursday Night Non-Track Sessions – 6.30pm

The Thursday night non-track events hosted by Claire Butler and Karen England continue to prove a resounding success.

The same applies to Andy Robins, who has also been taking groups out on a Thursday evening.

These sessions are great fun – often a mix of hill-work, fartlek training, interval work and conditioning depending on the week. Again, keep your eyes on the HJ Runs page for upcoming sessions.

Spitting

Unfortunately, there have been some reports of runners on Tuesday night club runs, and also at track on a Thursday night, who have been seen spitting. Please do NOT do this. Spitting is disgusting at any time – the fact you are running does NOT change this. It is extremely unpleasant for other runners to witness. Horsham Joggers is an inclusive club, and nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable or feel they must change groups due to the poor hygiene and manners of others.

Other News and Dates

Vote For VOY and JOY

Please continue to get your votes in for Volunteer of the Year and Jogger of the Year. You can submit your own nominations by emailing the Committee (or individual Committee member) with the Horsham Jogger you wish to see nominated.  The closing date for this is the end of December so if you have someone you wish to nominate, please do so now.

SportsShoes Discount code

Don’t forget you can use the exclusive HJ SportsShoes code as put up in the FB private forum each month for discount on your orders and delivery.

Membership Numbers

At the latest count, we have 614 members in total, of which 211 are also affiliated members of England Athletics.

Dates for the Diary

• 19^th December – Xmas Lights Club Run
• 30^th December – HJ parkrun away day (Littlehampton)
• 31^st December – Spring Marathon Training starts
• 1^st January – West Sussex Fun Run League 1^st event – Hangover 5
• 2^nd January – ‘Run and Talk’ Tuesday
• 21^st January – Farnborough Half Marathon

As ever, please keep your eye on the calendar on the HJ website for any additions/updates to the above, and of course our Facebook page too.

The next edition of the Newsletter will be early in the new year, so may I wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year. I hope you manage to finish reading this edition by the time the first one of 2024 appears!

The September 2023 newsletter is now available and it is a volunteer special to commemorate and thank our amazing helpers.

This edition is for events up to and including Saturday 30^th September. I’m sorry I can’t include them all, or necessarily congratulate direct individuals, but we’re a massive club and we do an equally massive load of events!

Volunteering is Contagious

They say the best things in life are free. And I’d say volunteers at HJ’ers fall into that category.

One of the things which sets us apart from other running clubs, is the sheer volume of helpers we have. People giving up their own time to help others, even relinquishing their own running goals temporarily to help others achieve theirs.

At HJ’ers we are unique, because as a ratio I can’t think of another running club that has so many volunteers helping so regularly.

Seeing others giving up their time not only inspires people, but as a result it also has the knock-on effect of more volunteers subsequently putting their hands up to help. I know this happened to myself in the past when I first joined the club, when considering whether to help at an upcoming race.

“Volunteering’s contagious” my wife told me. “It’s not going to take ages” I replied, slightly mis-hearing her Teesside accent. “No, no” she replied, “It’s contagious – you’ll get addicted to it.”

And this is exactly what happened. The kick you get out of helping others and the feel-good factor at the end of an event is up there with taking part in the actual event itself, so much so that you genuinely want to help even more, whether at individual or event level.

So, along the journey of this latest newsletter there will be the occasional nod to our volunteers.

Unsung Heroes

The unsung hero for this edition of the newsletter is Mary Klanczkowski.

Mary has been a regular (almost an ever-present) at the West Sussex Fun Run League races not only this year but in previous years too. This year has seen an unprecedented turnout of HJ’ers at these races, but Mary’s been doing these and other events representing Horsham Joggers for many years. She is an inspiration to lots of us at the club. Well done and thank you, Mary!

Races and Runs (and the WSFRL!)

Yet again we’ve gone through a whopping spike in HJ’ers taking part in various events. And yet again there is absolutely no way I can cover all of them, but here’s a selection of a few which have hit the headlines.

West Sussex Fun Run League (WSFRL) – Tilgate 5 Miler – 3^rd September

I must start with an overview of the WSFRL, mainly because we are top but also as the momentum still remains with us for now and we need to keep it going – we are so very close to the end now.

And it was yet another whopping turn-out of HJ’ers that took part in the Tilgate 5 on 3^rd September, which incurred chaotic scenes towards the end of the race.

HJ’ers ran superbly throughout, though some were so fast that the first 32 runners in the race clearly confused the marshals so much they sent them in the wrong direction, effectively meaning over a mile was missed off the course.

Although it would likely have had only minor issues in respect of final placings, it must have bemused those at the front seeing the finish line come up early, with those placed 33^rd and below who have a strong finish (such as the effervescent Malcolm Footer) likely aghast at not being able to close in on the leading places like they usually do.

It was also lovely that some of our more junior members took part too. No doubt ‘Jog-raphy is their favourite subject at school (unlike the Marshal who sent everyone the wrong way, clearly!).

As noted at the beginning we remain top with not many races left. Keep it up, HJ’ers, glory is almost within touching distance. Check out the calendar on our website (and the dates at the end of this newsletter) for the remaining WSFRL dates.

Marathon des Ousscuilles –  27^th August

Horsham Joggers travel far and wide to run, and this was no exception as Rosie Inman, Selina Elborough and fellow Committee member Florian Yeates travelled to this oddly sounding place which is located just to the south of Toulouse, France.

And Rosie certainly didn’t go ‘Toulouse’ as she came an impressive 2^nd in the 10k with a tremendous time of 43.49. A fantastic result, and well done to the three of them.

Horsham Round – 28^th August

The ever-popular Horsham Round took place on Bank Holiday Monday.

Wonderfully orchestrated by Roger Johnson, this terrifically fun event remains as popular as ever, even resulting in some teams getting lost along the slightly altered route. However, it subsequently came to light that some teams also got lost during parts of the route which have remained unchanged, which added to the bemusement (or amusement) of others.

The team names remain a source of comedy with wacky ones such as ‘Ploddy Hell’, and ‘Old Gits & Co’. However, the winner of the team name and arguably the winner of the most impressive run during the entire round must go to Elisabeth Scott, who ran the entire route solo, having started at 5am in the morning and under the name ‘Two Is Company’. The early start may have been partly the reason for this of course!

Well done to everyone who took part. The Committee and Roger will be working together ahead of next year’s run.

Parkrun Tourism

Our HJ’ers regularly turn up at various parkruns across the UK and further afield. In fact, every week there seems to be a number of us randomly turning up at remote parkrun events.

Amongst the stacks of examples, Ali Shears ran in the 3^rd ever ‘Quakers Walk’ parkrun, Lisa Jestico and Kirstie Hedger ran at Uckfield (not remote but quite random), and perhaps one of the most extreme was Michael Dargue’s trip to Japan, as he came 2^nd at the ‘Sunshine Beach‘ parkrun (near Kyoto), out of a total field of just 10 runners.

When asked about the event, Michael said the winner of the parkrun came over to him afterwards and was a bit shocked when Michael offered to shake his hand….and after a brief pause the pleasantries were finalised with an exchange of bows instead!

Please keep your eyes peeled to our HJ Runs Facebook page where you will see our esteemed  parkrunners turning up at various locations, including our HJ parkrun tourism which takes us to Cranleigh on 7^th October and then to Lancing on 14^th November.

The Dragon’s Back Race – Monday 4^th September to Saturday 9^th September

There can be no denying the extraordinary achievement of both Michael Dargue and the flying Gary Tomlinson at the ‘Dragons Back’ race in Wales.

With Michael fresh from his parkrun visit to Japan, and with Gary fresh from his visit to, um, Horsham Park, the pair of them took part in the 6-day Dragon’s Back across the Welsh mountains, along with regular ultra runner Matt Whyman. This was a 6-day race, 380km, 17,400m of ascent mountain ultra of epic proportions from Conwy to Cardiff Castle. To put it into perspective, that’s 9 marathons and 2 Everest ascents over 6 days.

Gary and Michael placed in 30^th and 32^nd place overall – fantastic given this event has experienced ultra runners from all over the world taking part. An incredible achievement, more so if we also think back to how hot it was at the start of September.

Both Gary and Michael will be holding a talk at The Bridge on Wednesday 18^th October (7pm start) to discuss the run, followed by tea and cakes at 8pm.

Unfortunately, the event didn’t go quite as planned for Matt though. An integral part of the preparation and planning with Gary and Michael, Matt was forced to pull out early on following medical advice, much to his annoyance. Two years ago, Matt had similarly been unable to complete the event and ended up writing his book ‘Failure is an Option’ (a great read). The hope is this further attempt at the Dragon’s Back will again inspire a new book for Matt to start penning as a sequel…….over to you Matt, still time to get it on the shelves for Christmas!

Skyscraper Challenge – 9^th September

As mentioned above, as an athlete when you are unable to complete an event it leaves you with a sense of disappointment and frustration.

Lee Walker took on the London Landmarks ‘Skyscraper’ Challenge. He did fantastically well running up the whopping 42 floors of the Leadenhall ‘Cheese-grater’ building…..only to be told the 200 metre abseil back down had been called off due to the extremely hot weather that day.

Despite not being allowed to complete the full event, Lee raised a huge amount of money for the terrifically important ‘Tommy’s’ charity. Well done, Lee!!

Great North Run (Half-Marathon) – 10^th September

A splattering of HJ’ers ran the Great North Run, along with 60,000 others and there were some extraordinary biblical-type conditions experienced along the way.

With temperatures even in the North-East extraordinarily hot and humid and with a late-ish 11am start, it was a real effort to even start the Half Marathon without feeling the effects of the weather. Also, watching the locals attempting to hand out full pints of beer within the first couple of miles was a first and given the weather it was extremely tempting to take one on board. Many did.

In fact, even a plan to run the final part of the race with mouth open in the hope to digest some water coming off the North Sea home stretch was curtailed, as this left one susceptible to swallowing bits of old boat flailing in from the North Sea, as the wind began to whip up.

The weather was compounded by an extraordinary thunderstorm and flash flooding at the end which meant most finishers being stuck either in the car park, the queue for the North Shields Ferry, or the queue for the Metro for over 3 hours!

Despite this the race is a fantastic and very friendly event and I thoroughly recommend any HJ’ers to sign up to it.

Why the Great South Run is only 10 miles in length remains a mystery, however. Answers on a postcard, please.

Littlehampton 10K – 10^th September

A stack of HJ’ers took part in the Littlehampton 10k, on a hot September morning along the south coast.

When talking about volunteers, I know the fantastic work done by Simon Perkins, Sue Hensman and their team to help several runners make the transition from 5k runner to 10k runner in time for this race. The feedback from the course has been glowing and has been inspirational to many hj club members too, new, and old.

There were some terrific achievements at Littlehampton and a surprisingly high number of PBs on the day given the weather. Here is a selection of just a few HJ placings from the results (out of interest several Horsham Joggers were not actually recorded as HJ’ers on the Littlehampton results page!):

Lewis Reeves 36.52, Tony Jakens 41.52, Brian Stone 42.28, Ian Dickinson 42.29, John Crayford 45.17, Miranda Huisman 49.06, Matt Horne 51.08, Jo Stone 51.18, Yuko Casey 1.02.04, Tracy Jones 1.04.03, Barnaby Smith 1.09.07, Ali Boulton 1.13.52, Jane Footer 1.14.48, Brian Sessions 1.21.40, Penelope Sanders 1.25.13, Paul Morley 1.25.31, Emma Paine 1.25.48.

New Forest Marathon – 10^th September

Although it appears several races were deliberately set to be run on the same day, and on arguably the hottest day of the year, the New Forest Marathon was yet another run taking place on 10^th September.

A good number of HJ’ers were not put off by this sweltering race, which must have made remote islands in the Maldives feel more like Antarctica on a particularly cold day, though Crispin Scott has informed me this was tempered by a heavy shower during proceedings which did take the edge off the warmth.

Well done to everyone for finishing such a tough race.

10k Vets AC Championships (Battersea)

Christopher Lee and Clive Walker ran the 25 laps of the track at the Battersea 10k Vets Championships. To run this event, they had to run for their ‘other’ club, namely Vets AC. We are not offended by this (!) and they both produced fantastic runs in the race.

Run Reigate – 17^th September

A few HJ’ers ran at the Half Marathon and 10k races in Reigate on 17^th September.

The 10k race saw Colette Hall finish in 58.39, Jacqui Williamson 59.54, Sue Newman 1.01.01, Erika Hall 1.02.55, Steph Charman 1.06.00, Fiona Lear 1.17.51, Jane Adams 1.22.14 and Edna Clark 1.22.22.

The half marathon is actually a very nice route, albeit with an awkward climb towards the end, the likes of which even Kate Bush would have been delighted to run up.

Jonathan Fengaras came home in 1.36.39, Brian Frost 1.48.55, Alan Pettitt 1.51.26, Tony Hogben 1.59.03 and Caroline Bransden 2.17.50.

Spitfire 10k – 17^th September

Gill and Graham Lunn ran the Spitfire 10k at the RAF Museum in Hendon.

Apart from successfully completing the race, both also managed to fit inside a helicopter located within the museum…..though I am certain the version flown by David Malins in his RAF days were slightly more advanced!

Gill then continued her tour of 10ks by running at Windsor the following week.

London Vitality 10k – 24^th September

Plenty of HJ’ers took part in the London Vitality 10km.

Our club runners who finished were Kirstie Hedger (54.02), Colette Hall (55.57), Dawn Whamond (58.42), Erika Hall (59.49), Lou Johnson (1.01.06), Sue Bailey (1.03.24), Tracy Jones (1.03.32), Samantha Edwards (1.09.48), Heidi Chaney (1.22.41) and Jodi Bowbrick (1.24.24).

Congratulations to all that took part, especially those who raised money for good causes at the same time.

Run Barns Green 5k, 10k and Half Marathon – 24^th September

It’s quite hard to give a round-up of Barns Green without mentioning how much hard work was done by HJ’ers towards the event both in the run-up and on the day itself. Along with the Sunday morning half marathon training sessions (amongst other training runs), several of our club members also ended up being pacers during the various races which took place on this hugely successful day.

I know there has been some terrific feedback given by other runners on the day for the pacing team, our own Lilian Tse among those receiving lots of adulation. To sacrifice your own time to help others achieve theirs is a wonderful thing to do.

In the races, there were a huge number of success stories.

Michael Daly mistook the day as some kind of Mo Farah tribute, taking part in both the 5k and 10k races, comfortably winning the shorter distance and then coming 4^th place in the 10k, which started just a few minutes after the end of the 5k. His bid for double podium was thwarted by a Brighton Phoenix runner called William Russell, who is surely not the same person as the one who created Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. In any case, it was a tremendous effort by Michael to run back-to-back races with such aplomb.

For the males, behind Michael’s 35.30 was Lewis Reeves 37.28, Will Michel 38.54 and Tom Robertson 39.08.

First female HJ’er home in the 10k was Lucinda Potten in 47.06, then Margaret Wadman 49.08, Jo Stone 50.07 and closely followed by new Thursday night track regular Anna McLaughlan in 50.15.

In the half marathon, Neil Boniface (who these days competes for Horsham Blue Star Harriers, but we’ll include him as a HJ’er for this) won the race in a staggering 1.12.17. However, first official Horsham Jogger home (and 11^th overall) was Simon Perkins in 1.20.25 – even more extraordinary as he’d won Horsham parkrun the previous day – then Matt Mason in a fine 1.23.48.

There was some concern towards the end of the half marathon, as our very own Tom MacDonald finished the race as third HJ home but worryingly overheated in the final quarter-mile, only just making it over the finish line. Our former Chairman Phil Liberman was fortunately on-hand to help Tom, who then spent an hour in the Medical Tent. The excellent news is that Tom recovered quickly from this ordeal – perhaps stick to vertical ascent races in future as you seem to cope better with these, Tom!

First female home in the half marathon was Rebecca Rankin in 1.41.57 (who hopefully now realises that the Sunday morning training runs were worth it!), followed by the ever-smiling Amy Johnson (now Capsey) in 1.51.10. Phyl ‘Westy’ Weston ran a tremendous 1.52.31 and Fran Gunning was firing on all cylinders closely behind in 1.52.53.

I know there were some other fantastic personal achievements set by so many at Barns Green. To hear from some of you that had previously doubted whether you could complete a half marathon (or a 10k) and to see that you not only completed the event you entered but did so with such resounding success is a real accomplishment.

I also know everyone at the club who took part in the training runs found them to be of benefit to them, and thanks goes to everyone who volunteered on those Sunday mornings and also to Clive Walker for helping provide the route plans.

Sussex Cross-Country relays – 30^th September

To show we’re not just a running club that’s great on both track, road and ultra, the HJ Seniors and over 60s took part in the cross-country relays at Goodwood on 30^th September.

A fine 6^th place for the Seniors team (which included more people aged in their 40s than 30s) was outshone by the terrific 1^st place finish by the over 60s team of Pete O’Connell, Dean Angell and Steve Wigmore. As ever this group demolished all opposition in their path to bring home gold for HJ’ers.

Fantastic work chaps!

Tuesday night club runs

A huge number of club runners attend the Tuesday night runs from the Bridge. Thanks goes to all the various group leaders who volunteer and take charge of the different mile paces along the way, even more so now the dark nights are setting in.

Please take care in the evenings as the lighting along the routes we take isn’t always the best. Head or body torches/lights and bright running gear is a must and please ensure you stay within your group and make the relevant leader aware if you are struggling.

Run and Talk Tuesdays

Once a month a run and talk Tuesday takes place, whereby after the Tuesday night session people can gather in the Bridge café for a chat and a catch-up to talk about things either running or non-running related. It’s good to talk.

Track – Thursday night 6.30pm

No question that Thursday night track continues to increase in popularity, and with a few new coached sessions also throwing variety into the mix.

Just a reminder that its £2 to pay by card – please arrive at 6.15pm to pay so that everyone can be ready to start on the half-hour.

We also had some interest from a few members regarding whether track was suitable for their younger children to attend. As a ‘one-off’ we would not refuse younger children, but parents would need to complete a safeguarding code of conduct and ensure family membership was covered beforehand.  It’s probably also worth pointing out that HJ’ers isn’t really a suitable regular running group for under 12s and we’d therefore steer parents towards signing their children up to the Horsham Junior Athletics Club instead, which is for children aged 5 years up to 12, or to Horsham Blue Star Harriers which has specialist training and is for both children and adults from 10 years and up (noting some of our club runners young and old are also members of Blue Star).

Thursday night non-track sessions – 6.30pm

The Thursday night non-track events hosted by Claire Butler and Karen England continue to prove a resounding success.

Both Claire and Karen regularly give their time both at these sessions and at the Tuesday night club runs too for the benefit of others at the club. The feedback is the sessions are great fun – often a mix of hill-work, fartlek training, interval work and conditioning. Behind the scenes remains the super Fiona Clifton, who ran these sessions for many years in the past but still provides tips and support. Keep your eyes on the HJ Runs page for upcoming sessions.

Other News and dates

Vote for VOY and JOY

Please continue to get your votes in for Volunteer of the Year and Jogger of the Year. You can submit your own nominations by emailing the Committee (or individual Committee member) with the name of the Horsham Jogger you wish to see nominated.

SportsShoes discount code

Don’t forget you can use the exclusive HJ SportsShoes code as put up in the FB private forum each month for discount on your orders and delivery.

Some other key races/events coming up

• 7^th October – parkrun away day (Cranleigh)
• 8^th October – WSFRL Great Walstead 5
• 15^th October – Hove Prom 10k
• 15^th October – Gunpowder Trot ‘trial’ run
• 18^th October – Dragon’s Back Race talk by Gary Tomlinson and Michael Dargue
• 22^nd October – Worthing Seafront 10k
• 22^nd October – WSFRL – Windlesham Whip
• 29^th October – WSFRL – Steepdown Challenge
• 29^th October – New Forest 10 miler
• 5^th November – WSFRL – GunPowder Trot (The finale!Volunteers needed please!!!)
• 11^th November – parkrun away day (Lancing)
• 14^th November – Winter Handicap followed by Awards Night
• 19^th November – Brighton 10k
• 19^th November – Sussex Grand Prix Crowborough 10k
• 24^th November – Horsham Joggers Quiz Night

Please keep your eye on the calendar on the Joggers website for any additions/updates to the above.

Have a great few weeks everyone, be lucky and see you next time!

Simon Holmes