Haslemere Border Athletic Club members were busy throughout the Christmas and new-year period.

Festivities kicked off early for members with the annual Christmas party being held on the first week of December.

Back by popular request was the excellent display and tuition of the ‘Jive’ by the club’s very own Strictly Come Dancing couple Steve and Charlotte King.

And once again they succeeded in getting people up on the dance floor. However, despite their excellent lesson, there was still some evidence of ‘dad’ dancing… no names being mentioned.

Despite dancing the night away to the early hours, a few hardy runners still kept to the Saturday morning parkrun ritual, with some still wearing their party hats and looking slightly worse for wear and, needless to say, for once there were no personal bests.

Next up in the club’s busy social calendar was the return of the annual Christmas pub run with, of course, a festive fancy-dress theme.

With a meeting point in the centre of Haslemere, the festive group headed out to their first hydration stop at the Mill Tavern, and then heading back to Haslemere via the Apple Tree, the Swan Inn and finally the White Horse.

Always a great end-of-year social run and a chance to say thank you to the excellent coaching staff for their help, support and time they give up each week.

Club members took up the opportunity to parkrun on two consecutive days over the festive break – either running on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or again on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The array of venues included Northala Fields, Rickmansworth, Mote Park and Tollcross Glassgow.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the traditional Boxing Day fun run that takes place at the Punchbowl each year – organised by Matt and Jules Dellar in conjunction with the National Trust and with all proceeds going to the Holy Cross Hospital in Haslemere.

This year we were blessed with glorious sunshine, albeit chilly temperatures that adorned the atmosphere at the start of the race which saw more than 400 runners lining up for the 3.65-mile run.

The conditions were as expected – mud, mud and more mud – and with lots of spectators out to line the route with extended families.

In the later stage of the race, some of the runners had chosen to partake at the ‘Beer (AKA) water stop’ which saw a number of runners indulge in a pint of Hogs Back Brewery Tea beer and then run the last 800 metres or so to the finish line.

There were 28 HBAC athletes taking part, and within the pack James Turner took second place in the Male Drinking Category and Katy Ward was second in the Ladies’ Drinking Category.

True to say us runners not only indulge in a beer once in a while, as well as a mile or two!

Out on the course was our HBAC unofficial photographer Tania Corrigan, who captured some fabulous pictures for the team to enjoy!

With the new year comes new challenges and for two HBAC runners that meant a flight to Disney World Orlando, to take part in the Dopey Challenge, held during the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, in which runners complete four races in four consecutive days – 5km, 10km, half marathon and finally a marathon, running a total of 48.6 miles (78.2km).

The routes covered all Disney World theme parks in Orlando and offered lots of opportunities to meet your favourite Disney character and have your photo taken.

Some might ask why it is called the ‘Dopey challenge’ and many would say because you have to be ‘Dopey’ to take part. But not so for Steve King and Andy Steele – both were fundraising for the Genie’s Wish charity.

Steve was completing in the event for the fourth time, having first run the marathon in 2015, then the Dopey challenge in 2016, 2017 and 2018. For Andy this was his first attempt.

With all races starting at 5.30am, and with a requirement to catch a bus at 3.30am to make it to Epcot and the 20-minute walk to the start, it was certainly not for those who don’t like early mornings.

But with races starting in the dark, you do get to watch the sunrise at the park, so there is some bonus.

The weekend’s events are about having fun rather than performance, and with Disney costumes almost mandatory, Steve and Andy did not disappoint in their chosen attire for each race.

No wonder Steve is a regular at the Dopey Challenge – any excuse to get the makeup out and a dress on and Steve will be there!

Another added bonus are the medals won for each race, another for completing the Goofy Challenge (half marathon and marathon) and a medal for the Dopey Challenge (all four races), so a total of six medals if they complete the challenge – and complete the challenge they did!

A tremendous achievement for both, a memorable weekend and six medals to take home and show off.

Well done Steve and Andy – time to rest and recover and put the makeup away for another year!

Ann Varnes and Philomel Bennett