Welcome to the latest Newsletter. And it’s a very Happy New Year to everyone at Horsham Joggers!
As I sit drafting this up, it’s the end of the first full week of 2026. The Christmas tree is now launched into the back garden (temporarily, don’t worry); the decorations have been taken down and the box of Celebrations which were (I thought) carefully hidden out of sight in the living room cupboard are now mysteriously empty and headed for the recycling bin.
Talking of the recycling bin, I’ve had to wait nearly a month to be able to put anything in mine. The reason? The old bin – also somewhat mysteriously – was eaten up by the fortnightly refuse collection.
Now, the incident occurred on a damp and drizzly morning in early December. The bin wagon had arrived as normal and emptied the 6 recycling bins which my neighbours and I had left out. I could hear the truck outside doing its job. Or so I thought.
When I went out to pull the bin back across the road it was nowhere to be seen. It had literally vanished. So, I checked with my immediate neighbours as they gleefully retrieved their own bins and, once they’d stopped laughing, I wandered through to the next Close, in the outside chance it had been taken/moved by accident but alas, all traces had gone. After an hour or so, with a couple of coffees sunk, head scratched, roads inspected, work informed, and the subsequent brown bin refuse pick up people consulted, I called the Council.
And, yes, the Council were able to confirm it had now been recorded on their system as – their words not mine – ‘eaten by the recycling truck’ and they were sending me a new one … but not for nearly a month.
The good news is the replacement bin turned up a couple of days ago, although I don’t think putting a bin out for collection will be quite the same again.
Anyway, moving on and now is a time to look forward to the year ahead, and we have stacks coming up in 2026 with our wonderful club.
There is the Marathon training which takes place on Sunday mornings, Tuesday night sessions have returned, as have both Thursday track and the alternatives to Thursday night track, and there are many WSFRL runs and other various races coming up to get the juices flowing (and not just the Bailey’s) once again. And voting will shortly open for the Jogger and Volunteer of the Year for last year. More of that will follow below.
As we know, the New Year is a time for making resolutions to try and stick to. One of mine is to reduce the number of poorly delivered jokes I make during the Newsletter. And another one of mine is to stop using spray deodorants after I run…..roll on 2026!
A few words of thanks from one of our club members, Trevor Scott
One of our most popular club members, Trevor Scott, has been undergoing treatment for cancer recently. Trevor wanted me to pass on his sincere thanks to everyone at the club for their recent support for him.
It’s given him extra strength in his fight.
Everyone at the club wishes Trevor the very best and we look forward to seeing him back out running again soon.
UNSUNG HEROES – Carl Laver and Nikki Barnes
Now, many hj’ers turn up to various running events. And many take photos too. However, a couple of our members have been doing this regularly and for many years now, and at a huge number of events including marathons, WSFRL races, the Horsham Round, Roosthole Time Trial (and pretty much any other event they turn up to). These regular snappers are Carl Laver and Nikki Barnes.
Ready and always primed to snap a good shot (mostly!) of a Horsham Joggers participant, they put others ahead of themselves when it comes to enabling our members to look back on various races with pride (or pain, depending on the picture!).
They are both highly thought of by our members, and so they are jointly the Unsung Heroes for this Newsletter. Thank you for making our running memories more visual!
![Nikki Barnes [left] with another runner](https://www.horshamjoggers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/20457.jpg)
A message about the Sussex AA funding for Young Athletes
For the past five years, the Sussex AA-Arena 80 Young Athlete Grant has supported more than 25 young athletes from clubs across the county, providing small awards of up to £250 to help with travel, kit, and competition costs. The scheme was jointly funded by Sussex AA and Arena 80 AC.
Arena 80’s five-year commitment has now come to an end, and Sussex AA are keen to keep the grant going so that financial hardship does not prevent talented young athletes from reaching their potential. Sussex AA will continue to match the amount raised, so every pound given by clubs will be doubled.
In 2025, Sussex Olympian Amber Anning also supported young athletes, contributing £100 Nike grants towards kit. Her involvement shows how powerful local backing can help the next generation progress.
Sussex AA have asked each club in Sussex to consider contributing up to £100 to keep the fund active for 2026 and beyond. With support from across the county, Sussex AA can maintain this small but valuable source of help for those who need it most.
Horsham Joggers have contributed £100 to this very worthwhile cause, and Sussex AA have asked to pass on their thanks to all our club members.
Marathon training (every Sunday)
The Marathon training sessions for 2026 have now started. This training starts every Sunday morning at 8 am from the Bridge (meet no later than 7.50 am).
You do not have to be entered into a Marathon to turn up and do this – it’s a great training run, regardless whether you are running a Marathon or not. However, we do ask that anyone who turns up is able to run the distance for that week.
The first week was a 10-miler, the second week was an 11-miler, etc, going up steadily each week until April. You can run at any pace.
Please check HJ Runs on Facebook for the routes/plans for this.
Thank you to all our leaders and support teams who enable these runs to go ahead along with 1 (or 2 as the mileage increases) refreshment stops along the way.
Marathon ballot winners
Talking of Marathons, at the end of the Awards/Handicap evening a draw was made to pick out the two lucky winners to run the London Marathon this coming April.
With the suspense in the room at the Horsham Sports Club right up there with the type you see at the end of a bush tucker trial on ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of Here’, the lucky numbers pulled out of the hat were those of Malcolm Footer and Robert Swan.
We wish both of them all the very best at London in April.
West Sussex Fun Run League (WSFRL) update – 2025 result
So, the end results are in from the 2025 WSFRL and we came a highly respectable 2nd place overall. This was an excellent achievement by the club.
As ever, our very own Gunpowder Trot was the final race and that did include some issues with the mud, including the rescue support vehicle itself getting stuck.
Thankfully, with the help of some of the day’s competitors (who then had to subsequently start the race covered in mud themselves) the run went ahead as planned. At least it was a clean race.
Well done to all our volunteers for making this day a success.
West Sussex Fun Run League – 2026 update
However, no sooner has the dust (or mud) settled on the 2025 races, and we are straight into the 2026 edition. And what a start we have made at the Hangover Five race. Clearly, as a club we either don’t drink enough or we handle our drink better than other clubs in the county, as we have raced to the top of the leaderboard with some fabulous results.
In the top 6 overall we had 4 runners placed.
Gary Tomlinson roared home in second place with 31.37 (noting he took parkrun steady that morning), closely followed by Matt Gordon, Matt Mason, and Tom MacDonald.
First female HJ home was Katie Horton (12th overall female) with Victoria Welsby hot on her tail (13th overall female) and Laura Stephenson 15th overall female.
A whopping 56 HJ’ers took part in total.
Well done to everyone for scoring the crucial points to put us in pole position!
The next mud slinger is ‘Run Your Heart Out’ which is due to take place on 15th February 2026.
Sussex Grand Prix 2026 races
Please keep your eyes peeled on HJ Runs on Facebook and our weekly email for the 2026 Sussex Grand Prix events. It would be great to get a few more HJ’ers along to these races going forward.
Please look out for more information about these races over the course of 2026.
Challenge Trophy Races 2026
The club’s Challenge Trophy races for 2026 have been decided, including a new 5k distance.
The races are as follows:
- 10 miler – Haywards Heath (3rd May 2026)
- WSFRL – Trundle View (27th May 2026 – entry will be through MemberZone for this one)
- 5k – Wisborough Green (7th June 2026) – new distance for 2026!!
- Half Marathon – Henfield Half (16th August 2026)
- 10k – Alf Shrubb (13th September 2026)
Please remember that, apart from the WSFRL race (which you can enter on MemberZone nearer the time), you will need to sign up separately to the other races. Make sure you include Horsham Joggers as your club when you enter and also wear your HJ race vest on the day!
Over 65 5 km record – Two records broken in under 96 hours!
I’m not sure what the record is for ‘shortest held HJ record’ but the men’s over-65 5 km record was smashed twice in just over 3 days, which is surely the quickest any record has been held at the club.
For it was on a cool Wednesday evening in late November at Battersea Park, where Chris Wigby ran a superb 21.26 to smash the original record (held by Chris Lee) by over 90 seconds.
However, on the following Sunday morning and at the same course during the British Masters, the equally sprightly Pete O’Connell decided to tear up the record book again by running a super 20.07 to bring the record down even further.
Incredible stuff by both!
British Masters – 30th November 2025
I mentioned Pete’s 5k at the British Masters above. But there were some other terrific displays that day and a few more club records were broken at the same time.
There was a Gold medal for the v55 Ladies team of Phyl Weston, Miranda Huisman, Penny Barron and Val Purnell, and a Silver medal for the v65 men’s team of Pete O’Connell, Warren Marks and Clive Walker.
Gary Tomlinson broke the v45 men’s HJ 5k record, and Simon Perkins narrowly missed out on breaking his own v50 men’s time.
There were also v65 female records for Penny, and Phyl equalled the female v60 time. And I’ve already mentioned Pete’s cracking record 5k time in the section above.
Outstanding running by all!
Jogger of the Year and Volunteer of the Year – Voting for 2025
It is nearly time to select your Jogger of the Year and Volunteer of the Year for 2025. The shortlist has been comprised, thank you to everyone for your nominations.
Please look out for when the vote opens. This is expected to be at the beginning of February so please look at the list of nominees and make your selections for both categories. Links to vote will be shared on both HJ Runs and the weekly email.
HJ Socials
Florian was extremely busy during 2025 organising a number of social events, and there will be more to come in 2026.
Towards the end of 2025 there was the Pizza Night in October (a few slices of entertainment), the Disco in November (a fun-tastic evening), and the Christmas Curry in December (no doubt people were having to Bhaji past one another to get the food at that one).
We thank Florian for his efforts with the socials, as they are not always easy to set up and organise. Having these events really strengthens the chance to get to know your other HJ’ers, they are for all of us at the club to attend – and you will always be made to feel welcome.
You will hopefully have received the questionnaire about HJ Social Events (this was also included in the weekly announcements email on 7th January) so you can have your say in what socials you’d like to see later this year.
Parkrun Away Days
The Parkrun away days provide an opportunity for HJ’ers to meet up at a variety of local parkruns. It’s always good to have a change occasionally and they are always popular with our club members.
The next Parkrun away day is scheduled to be at Brighton and Hove on Saturday, 14th February, followed by Cranleigh on 21st March.
Our Run Leaders
As we know, we are very fortunate that our club has so many run leaders that are willing to take out groups on Tuesday nights. Thank you to everyone who is a run leader!
Being a run leader is not an easy task, and it comes with a great deal of responsibility as ambassadors for our club. Remember that run leaders are required to run a set pace for an hour, so please pick a group which you can run with, or if you aren’t sure on the evening please pick a slower group or chat to a fellow HJ’er if undecided.
If for any reason during your club run you feel unwell or need to stop please either let the run leader know directly or tell one of your group to pass the message on to the run leader. This is because the run leader takes a note of how many are in their group when they set off. Ideally anyone stopping/leaving a group in the middle of a Tuesday night club run needs to be comfortable to be able to return to the Bridge, and if you need someone from your group to accompany you back (always advisable) then please do ask so the run leader can be made aware.
I caught up with Laura Stephenson to give her own Pros and Cons of being a regular Tuesday night run leader. Laura takes out the 8.45 group and incidentally is also the subject of the ‘Five minutes with…’ section below.
Pros of being a run leader
I love being a run leader. I was really anxious about putting myself forward at first in case no-one chose to run with me!! I love supporting others to reach their goals and love the surprise of who is going to join me each week! I have some great conversations with members and the runs are always really enjoyable.
I also really like making up routes and the challenge of keeping to a consistent pace!
Cons of being a run leader
I honestly don’t really think I can think of anything major. Maybe the slight pre-Tuesday night anxiety that I get in the afternoon of ‘am I going to be able to run at the right pace tonight?’, and ‘Am I going to lose anyone?’ but this goes as soon as we start running!
Five minutes with … Laura Stephenson
1. How long have you been a runner and what made you start?
I did my first race in 2012. I decided to do a Race for Life in memory of some family members who I had lost to cancer. However, after this I didn’t run again until 2017 when I was working on a hospital ward and my colleagues thought it would be a good idea to run a half marathon for charity. This is when my running journey really started and I’ve been running consistently since then!
2. Why do you run?
I run mainly for my mental health. I have struggled a lot over the years with various mental health struggles (and still definitely have my demons!) and there is something about running that always makes me feel better after. Related to my mental health, it’s also important for me to be able to do something that allows me to focus on what my body can do rather than getting hung up on what it looks like.
On top of this, I love the social side of running and really value being able to run with others an connect with them whilst all doing something we enjoy.
3. How long have you been at Horsham Joggers?
I started Horsham Joggers at the beginning of 2021 when I moved back to Horsham from London.
4. Biggest running achievement so far?
Probably running the London Marathon in 2019 which was just over a year after giving birth to my first baby! I had always put into the ballot as my Dad had run it a few times in the past and I would go up and watch him. I loved the atmosphere and really wanted to do it one day. I think I entered the ballot 9 times before being lucky enough to get a place! Aside from this, I think my other achievements are just improving in speed and endurance over the years. I’m running at paces that I could only have ever dreamed of when I first started running.
5. What are your future running goals and ambitions?
I would quite like to do another Marathon, or maybe even an ultra when the kids are a bit older. Trying to fit in training with being a Mum to young children can be hard at times! I would also love to get my 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon times down a bit, but I don’t really have any specific times in mind. I’d like to just keep on improving.
6. What’s the best thing about Horsham Joggers?
The members in it. I have made some great friends in HJ and really value a lot of my friendships. I love going to events with my HJ club top on as you’ll always find someone to talk to from the club even if you don’t really know them that well! Everyone is so friendly and supportive and it really is an amazing community to be part of.
7. Specialist subject on Mastermind?
My general knowledge is absolutely shocking which has been shown when I’ve been to the HJ quiz nights and answered pretty much none of the questions! I’d say it would probably have be something to do with my career – so mental health and medical knowledge related!
8. Tell us something we don’t know about you?
I lived in the North East of England (Hartlepool and then Newcastle) for 10 years between the ages of 11-21, and I picked up a really strong northern accent which I have none of now! However, if I go back up north, I start speaking like a Geordie!
Other News
Sad news – Brian Bracey (veteran HJ Member)
We received some sad news over the past few days. One of our veteran club members, Brian Bracey passed away at the start of January after a long illness.
Brian was also a member of Henfield Joggers and was a regular runner, as they joined HJers in the long-distance relay runs, and taking part in the many trips to Lage.
We extend our condolences to Brian’s family and friends.
Membership Numbers
As at 31 December 2025, HJ currently has 669 members, of which approximately 210 of us are EA affiliated.
If anyone wants to know more about EA affiliation then please feel free to ask for an explanation of how this works and whether joining EA is suitable for you.
Dates for your diary
- 17th January – Sussex AA Masters XC Champs, Lancing
- 18th January – BrighTEN 10 mile and 10k, Brighton
- 1st February – Chichester 10k
- 8th February – Farnborough Half Marathon
- 8th February – Outrun Cancer Arundel 4 mile run
- 14th February – Parkrun awayday (Brighton and Hove)
- 15th February – WSFRL Run Your Heart Out
- 21st March – Parkrun awayday (Cranleigh)
- 22nd March – Surrey Half Marathon (and other distances)
- 23rd March – WSFRL Flyers 5 at Thakeham
As ever please check the calendar for any updates/changes which take place, especially as the year evolves.
May I wish you all a happy (and injury free) start to the year.
Be lucky.
Simon Holmes