| Month | Who | Why |
|---|---|---|
| January | Steve Mason Andrew Gage  | A little bit about Steve Steve joined HRC in 2017. He is one of our quiet but quick runners and can often be seen near the front at our monthly time trials. Our reason On 16th Jan, Steve took park in the notoriously hard Benfleet 15. Weeks of rain meant that this hilly trail course was even muddier than usual, yet he still managed a fantastic time of 1.44.29, which brought him home in 18th place out of 625 runners!! Well done Steve, what a performance  A little bit about Andrew Andrew only joined HRC in early 2021 and has been a regular at Thursday night club runs ever since. Our reason Andrew took on The Peddars Way trail ultra on 22nd Jan. This event sees runners complete 48 miles of mostly fields and in order to gain your medal, runners must complete the course in just 12 hours and if they are not at mile 27 in 6 hours, they are disqualified  Andrew completed the whole distance in a very respectful time of 10.23.53, getting to marathon distance in 5.05. What an achievement! Well done Andrew. |
| February | Dave Percy | Dave joined HRC in June 2016. He is a regular at training sessions and is one of the loudest marshals you’ll here at Thurlow! Our reason; On Sunday 27th Feb, Dave ran Tarpley 20 ( a great achievement in its self). He ran it in 2.22.07, finishing in 40th place out of 299 runners, he earnt himself a 2m 40 pb and moved himself from 10th to 7th in the all time club records. Great running Well done Dave. |
| March | Sam Boreham | A little bit about him: Sam joined HRC in May 2020, after taking up running at the beginning of Lockdown, in a bid to keep fit, and realising that he was actually ‘quite’ good! Our reason Where to start!? At the beginning of March, Sam was picked to run for Suffolk at the Essex 20. Sam did himself proud on the day, getting a great time of 1hr 54 and knocking 15 minutes (YES, 15 MINUTES!) off the club 20 mile records. A week later, Sam again ran for Suffolk in the British Inter-county Cross Country and finished in 99th place. A great achievement in a top class field of runners. The very next day, on a bit of a whim, Sam decided to run Haverhalf. He finished in first place, with a time of 1hr 14 and broke the course record. As if that wasn’t a good enough reason for his nomination, at the end of the month, Sam ran at Stoney Fields Parkrun and finished first in 16 mins! What a great month of running Massive well done Sam  |
| April | Keeley White | A little bit about her: Keeley joined HRC in 2017, following in the footsteps of her Dad, Mark. She was ladies captain in 2021 and did a fab job of keeping us all active through lockdown with her many challenges. Our reason: Keeley has had a great month of running, earning herself no less than THREE PBs! She knocked 4 minutes off her 10k time at Bungay on 10th April. Five days later, she knocked 3 1/2 minutes off her 5 mile time and then at the first Hockeys race of the year, she took an impressive 1 min 40 off her 5km time! Fantastic running Keeley, well done. |
| May | Tujan Sari | A little bit about him; Tujan joined HRC in July 2019 and can often been seen supporting our wonderful junior section. Our reason; After running our Hockeys 5k at Horseheath, Tujan heard a runner from another club inform me that he had lost his car key somewhere on the site. Without any hesitation, Tujan offered to re-run the undulting 5k route again with the man to look for the key. Unfortunately, the key could not be found, but Tujan did not stop there. With the help of his daughter, Erin, they managed to open the mans van, let out his dog and get his house key out. Tujan then offered to drive the man to his house in Milton to collect his spare van key, and bring him back, a total of just under 40 miles, so he could then collect the stranded vehicle from the carpark. Tujan eventually made it home at around 11pm. What a gentleman, he most definately went above and beyond. Well done and thank you Tujan. |
| June | Dave Greenham | A little bit about him Dave has been a member of HRC for many years and is often one of the first to volunteer, whether it be to marshal on ‘Daves bridge’ at time trial, to organise the team at 2am at Scole for Round Norfolk Relay, or be cycle support at the back of a club run. Dave is without a doubt, one of our most valuable members and as someone once said ‘Every club needs a Dave Greenham, but they can’t have ours’. Our reason Dave had by far the most votes EVER received for Member of the month! Each and every one of them was to say what an amazing job he did of pulling off Neils dream of 1000 miles in 1000 hours. The things people mentioned most were how he brought the community together, how he ‘did Neil proud’, supported Neils family as they adjust to a new ‘normal’ and enabled people to share experiences that they had had with Neil, but most of all, to raise awareness and much needed funds for MND. Dave spent many, many hours at ‘base camp’ or walking the route, come rain or shine, night or day, even if he was not on the rota. I think you’ll agree, Dave deserves squatters rights in the gazebo next to the rugby club. Dave Greenham, you truly are a legend! |
| July | Mark Novels | A little bit about him; Mark joined HRC this year and has been running for a few years but only competitively since lockdown ended. He recently turned 59, one more year until a new age cat! Since joining the club Mark has given his all at events, steadily gaining a wealth of impressive PB’s. Recent noteworthy performances; He won his age category at Newmarket 10k. At Ekiden, Mark ran a 40-minute 10k. He also showed perseverance in pulling a team together, despite challenges and displayed a positive team spirit throughout. During the Hockey’s 5k at Carver Barracks Mark gave it his all, and carried on to finish strongly despite falling quite seriously and causing damage to his mouth. Not withstanding upcoming dental treatment Mark has remained positive, cheerful and fiercely competitive still. This epitomises his personality and resilience. Good luck now with your marathon training Mark and thanks for your commitment in club training sessions and support of the club both within running events and helping to organise social events too. We think you are an inspiration! Well done! |
| August | Angus Duckworth-Smith | Member of the month for August is….. Angus Duckworth Smith. Angus has always run with HRC since he was a young boy. He was the first of six juniors to join when HRC Juniors formed four years ago and is one of two from the original crew. He clearly enjoys his running, is very dedicated, trains hard and mixes very well with others. He is a team player through and through. He has represented the club as a junior in races and once he was of age Kevin Henry’s, and also now Hockey’s. He recently stepped up and helped the senior team at Ekiden. All of these reasons add up to his award as member of the month. Sil says it has truly been wonderful watching Angus grow into a responsible young man who is always happy to help and a real pleasure to coach. Well done Angus, we think you are a star  and wish you continued success in your running journey. |
| September | Charlie Minnette | Charlie has been with us for 3 years since he was 12 He joined the club full of enthusiasm and hasn’t waved since. He is very dedicated to his training and loves racing. He has gone from strength to strength This, showing in the results he is achieving. Improving to 17 min 40 at Carver 5k race in April , then to 17.36 at Shelford 5k Most recent a pb at Abington 10k with a time of 37min 38sec, 1st U18 After turning 14, Charlie began to represent the club at some races, Hockeys With a fantastic contribution at RNR recently, finishing with a second fastest time for his stage,5.49miles in 33.8 He is a great team player, very hardworking in training, he is wonderful/pleasure to coach. |
| October | Stephen Husband | Stephen has recovered from a fractured ankle earlier this year and has since gone from strength to strength, particularly over the last month where all that hard effort is paying off as he’s continually improving his times and getting a PB almost on a weekly basis. He is also a team player, encouraging of everyone. |
| November | Rachel Dickson | Since getting the running bug and completing the beginners’ course earlier this year, Rachel has gone from strength to strength in her running. She has become a regular participant in races for HRC, securing a number of achievements. Of particular note, Rachel managed to get a 5k PB at Carver Barracks, going on to get a 5 mile PB on a particularly tricky course at Hadleigh. Rachel also supports and encourages other members of the club. |
| December | Toby Wilson Waterworth | Toby has been a runner for a while having run a marathon or two before stopping but returned to running in the last few years and re-joined the club. He is known to really enjoy the Cross Country and last year he also took part in the Round Norfolk Relay running stage 15, the 10.59 miles between Wessington and Downham Market early on the Sunday morning, completing it in just over 1hour 35mins. Toby is known to enjoy running with his dog Louis. Being member of the month is not always about being the best and the fastest it is about embracing the spirit of the club, Toby turns up to many events full of encouragement and support for all the other runners. |