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