Haslemere Border Athletics Club (HBAC) members showed their initiative after the Great South Run was cancelled because of forecast bad weather.
The Great South Run is a hotly-anticipated and popular run with HBAC members, so a hardy bunch of more than 30 runners turned out in force on the day of the Great South Run to run their own ten-miler along the Downs Link in Godalming.
A large number of those runners were attempting their first ten-mile run, not long after completing the club’s Get Up and Run (couch to 5km) programme.
After ten weeks of training under the care and guidance of club coach Annalisa Alexander they were ready for the challenge.
While conditions were wet and windy, they all smashed their personal bests and finished in style.
Dan Keane and Tess Evans had decided to run their ten-mile virtual Great South Run in Portsmouth and took the full force of Storm Ashley as they completed the last mile along the sea front.
Elsewhere a group of six HBAC runners took on the Blackdown Hill Challenge. And indeed it was a challenge, with the trails to the Temple of the Winds appearing more like streams – and with an abundance of mud.
Fabulous results saw them all complete the gruelling route, with Helen Barran finishing as first lady and Christina Jenkins third lady.
Anyone who is interested in joining HBAC’s popular Get Up and Run programme, which will be kicking off 2025 with a new course on Tuesday, January 14, at 7pm in Hindhead, should drop an email to [email protected] to find out more and to register.
No previous running experience is needed. The course will take new runners from running for just 60 seconds to running comfortably for more than half an hour in the space of ten weeks.
By Ann Varnes & Philomel Bennett
