| January | Josh Wigmore | Josh was selected for his outstanding performance in various Cross Country (XC) events held in January, in which he represented both club and county.
More specifically:
– He came 7th in the Suffolk XC Championship held on 5th January, which qualified him to run for Suffolk on 8th March, in Nottingham.
– He came 6th in the Suffolk Winter League XC at Haughley Park on 12th January, holding his position of 1st overall in his age category.
– He ran Suffolk schools where he came 10th to qualify to run for Suffolk in the Intercounty East of England. He subsequently ran this race on 1st February coming 30th in a very strong field.
Brilliant performance, Josh – well done! |
| February | Thomas Allen | Since transitioning to the seniors Tom has gone from strength to strength. He is conscientious, regularly attends club training, and represents the club in a range of events. He always pushes himself to do the best he can and, as a result, has continued to improve on his achievements and stack up some new PBs.
Tom participated in most of the Suffolk Winter League XC races, including the one in Pakenham on 9th February. He usually finished amongst the top runners in these races, which have played a key part in his strength conditioning.
In addition to pure running, Tom regularly competes in duathlons and triathlons at a national level, ranking 45th in his age group in 2024. He hopes to improve on that this year and, judging by the amount of training he puts in each week, as well as results from recent events, he’s certainly on track to do so. For instance, in a duathlon event over the weekend of 8th/9th March he came 3rd in his age group and 16th overall in a competitive field.
Tom’s swimming training continues year-round and during the lull in the triathlon and duathlon calendar he enters swimming competitions. In one competition held in February, he achieved PBs in both the 50m and 1500m freestyle, which is certainly something to celebrate.
Tom should be extremely proud of what he has achieved and we look forward to hearing more about his achievements in the coming weeks. |
| March | Sil Clay | When Sil gets something in her head she makes it happen. This time it was the JJs 3K Time Trial, which was held alongside the 5K Time Trail for the first time on 27th March.
The evening was amazing and went off without a hitch. There were 19 JJs in attendance and at least two more wanted to come but couldn’t make it. After they finished, they all asked when the next one would be, which just
goes to show how much they all enjoyed it!
Well done to Sil and her amazing team! Thank you for your dedication and the support you always give to our young members. |
| April | Louise Harris | Louise was voted Member of the Month for her performance in the London Marathon.
Here are some of the comments from other members about Louise:
“Lou Harris for completing the London Marathon and defying all odds”.
“Louise’s effort at the London Marathon epitomises everything that is positive about running. Unconcerned about the man-made invention of measuring time she runs for the pure pleasure it provides. There are times on my runs when I have to tell myself to chill, relax and be more Louise”.
“Louise shows you don’t have to be a fast runner to take on the best and run the London Marathon, she took it all in her stride and totally enjoyed the run”. |
| May | Trevor Hastings | Trevor was nominated for achieving a fantastic time of 3:02:40 in his very first marathon in Milton Keynes – a brilliant performance!
Trevor joined HRC in October 2024. His wife Emma is also a member, along with their daughter, Fern. Since joining, he’s proved himself to be a strong, versatile runner, performing exceptionally well across a number of races, including the Winter Series XC events and the Debden 5K where he came 3rd overall.
Well done, Trevor! |
| June | Kristina Bright | Kristina has not only advertised and prompted entries for all the team races where HRC have had teams but also attended each of these events spread throughout Suffolk. At these events she has also taken on the task of club photographer!
During June she has also had the unenviable task of trying to get as many members as possible agree to running Ekiden and to this end managed to have four full senior teams, which is over a 50% improvement on recent years, as well as a junior team.
Although it might be argued that these are duties she should do in her role as Ladies’ Team Captain, the fact is that she has performed them to such an incredibly high standard.
Despite having young children to look after, Kristina is more often than not in attendance at team events herself, supporting and cheering on our members, irrespective of whether she’s running herself or not.
Brilliant job! Well done, Kristina! |
| July | Joe Winter | Although totally unplanned, Joe ended up running two legs at Ekiden Relay after a last minute drop out, due to unavoidable circumstances. He wasn’t keen to begin with, but he was the strongest runner on the day and put in a great performance in both the 5k (in hot and sticky conditions) and then the 10k (in wet and windy conditions), admitting afterwards that he really enjoyed it. He certainly saved the day and showed amazing team spirit.
Well done Joe! |
| August | Shirley Fowler | Shirley completed her 195th marathon at the inaugural Abbotts Major in Sydney on 30th August – an amazing achievement!
Shirley joined HRC way back in 2007 and can often be seen supporting the beginners and juniors. She is such an inspiration to other club members.
Well done, Shirley! |
| September | Bill Banner and Lynnette Garstang | This month we have two very worthy winners – Bill Banner and Lynnette Garstang!
Bill worked extremely hard during the RNR, acting as timekeeper and supporting our runners throughout the night. More impressively, and even with the loss of his lovely mum, he still made time to fulfil his volunteer duties at both the HRC parkrun takeover and HRC Time Trial, which just goes to show the level of his commitment to the club. In addition, he has continued to work with the beginners, supporting them both before and after graduation. He is a true club legend.
Lynnette’s support and commitment to the RNR cannot be underestimated. Not only did she recruit and co-ordinate both the runners and support crew (not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination) she also ensured everything ran smoothly during the event by time keeping and supporting everyone throughout the night shift, promoting team spirit and camaraderie amongst all participants. Lynette is always willing and ready to support the club in so many ways and is always the first to volunteer if something is required, e.g. treasure hunt, time trial, cake making co-ordination, the list goes on. She also supports our juniors and knows most of them by name!
Well done to you both! |
| October | Stephen Husband | Stephen has been awarded Member of the Month for achieving a fantastic 17.11 in the Abington 5k, coming first in age category. Such an amazing achievement following some hard training.
Stephen has been an active member of the Committee and recently completed his Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF), allowing him to take up a new role as Run Leader for the Club.
Well done, Stephen! |
| November | Ian Elden | For completing the London 10 (his furthest run in 3 years) in a very respectable time following his recovery from injury.
Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Ian has put in several long hours of work behind the scenes to finalise results (incl. club champs and PB league) in time for the end of year awards. This was no mean feat, especially with the complex club champ rules!
Well done, Ian! |
| December | Andrew Gage | Member of the Month for December 2025 goes to Andrew Gage, for absolutely smashing his 200 mile ultra across the South Downs.
Andy truly is a legend in the way he attacks these distances. Having been part of the running club for around 6-7 years he can also be seen on training nights and club runs supporting and encouraging other members. He’s darn good with a BBQ too!
Well done, Andrew! |
