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Miles of smiles!

2024ArcOfAttrition

Wow! What an amazing achievement!

This is the moment two of our fantastic coaches crossed the finishing line of the Arc of Attrition which is a 100 mile ultra marathon run across the stunning and dramatic Cornish Coastpath with competitors running through the challenging winter conditions and with strict cut-offs.

The checkpoints are a full 20 miles apart so all runners need to be fully self sufficient in this time. That includes, food water and most importantly the ability to not get lost! This one is definitely not for the faint hearted.

Looking at the finish photo though and I can't believe they are still smiling after all that time on their feet they look fresher than most people do after a parkrun or running back upstairs to grab that thing you forgot.

So well done ladies we are all very proud of you here at the Harwell Harriers and who knows, maybe this inspires someone to do something equally as stupid amazing!

New & return to running group starts in 10 days!

10_days_to_go.jpegHappy new year everyone!

I hope you had an amazing time over the festive period but now it's back to business.

Time to put down the mulled wine, throw out the last remaining chocolates that no-one wants from the selection box (you know the one's I mean!), feed the pigs in blankets to the dog and dust off those running shoes!

There are only 10 days left to sign up to our unforgettable new and return to running group and this year it's even easier than ever, signup via our google form, pay the entry fee by secure card payment or bank transfer and you are done.

Last year was an absolute blast and I promise this year will be no different so come and join us, what do you have to lose apart from a bit of rubber from the bottom of your shoes?

Happy running!

 

Merry Christmas & Goodbye 2023

WhatsApp_Image_2023-12-22_at_09.20.56.jpeg

 
So... here it is, Merry Christmas and everybody was having fun on our last run of 2023!
 
We had members out and about in festive dress for a nice chilled final run of the year that lead us into neighbouring East Hagbourne and back to Boundary Park for something completely new; a fireside chat (complete mince pies with real fake fireplace!).
 
Rich and some of our more experienced members took the time to talk through their experiences of running longer distance races including how they find it best to train and prepare ahead of a race, what sort of things you should look out for and expect during races and how to keep up motivation afterwards so those good habits don't stop at the finish line.
 
It's been another incredible year for the Harwell Harriers and here are just some of the things we are most proud of:
  • Rich and Lisa have joined our amazing coaching team
  • We have been a fore-runner in working with England Athletics around new Health & Safety policy
  • Our fantastic Connor McGurk finished 2nd in the Oxfordshire Grand Prix
  • New members have joined us - we love meeting new people ❤️
  • We introduced new socials every first Thursday of the month
  • In March we did our first ever foodbank run
  • Our members continued volunteering at various community events and parkruns
  • We've also been working away to improve documentation and processes within the committee - less admin = more running!

Finally we would like to say a big thankyou to all our members for their continued support, our coaching and run leading team for all the time the give to make sure each session is the best it can be and all of our committee for keeping the club running seamlessly.

We really hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a new year and we will see you again on the 2nd of January for our first club run of 2024 and probably our second day of hangover from new year's eve!

Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

Community Matters

DidcotWellness

We are here in Didcot's Civic hall helping to promote walking and running in general to anyone interested in making a positive change to their health. 

Local health centres and charities have pulled together local organisations, charities and clubs to talk about all aspects of health whether that is guide dogs for the blind or yoga there are all sorts of people passing out good vibes and good advice to the local community and we are proud to be part of that.

Our little table is shared with Didcot Runners, Didcot Parkrun and a 5k your way against cancer group. We are all here to simply promote the health benefits of walking and running and the mental health benefits that come with running - especially in a group.

Let's work together to get healthier and happier!

XC 2023 Starting This Weekend

News Xc23

Mud glorious mud!

Remember being at school and having to do cross country runs and it was the worst thing ever? Well, good news! you were totally wrong.

The Oxfordshire Cross Country League is about to start this weekend and we absolutely love it. Sure, there's mud... there's a lot of mud but it's really great fun day out.

We get a bunch of harriers together, put up a tent grab some cake and some tea/coffee then go for a play in the mud like care free children!

The great thing about the cross country - like our hill training sessions - is that you truly feel like a champ for completing it and you'll have all the support from the rest of the the Harriers XC team. What's even better is that you don't really have to worry about your race times if you don't want to. Treat this as a team fun run is all we ask so what do you have to lose (apart from maybe the odd shoe in some mud!).