Wishing all GVH members, their families, and friends a fantastic New Year filled with health, happiness, and plenty of running adventures!
It’s been amazing to see so many of our harriers embracing the festive spirit with some incredible runs over the break. Whether it’s been conquering Parkruns or tackling long-distance challenges to burn off the Christmas treats, the dedication and energy have been truly inspiring. Here’s to kicking off 2025 with more miles, more smiles, and even bigger running goals! 🏃♂️🎉
Many of our dedicated parkrunners runners took advantage of parkruns offering events on Christmas day and New years day in addition to the usual Sat fixture to chase for Personal Bests.
On Christmas day Rob Hawkes scored a new course PB of 19:23 at Cassiobury parkrun
On Saturday 28th December Kim Morgan running her 99th parkrun , was the 4th lady home in 22:41 at Bexley, whilst Kirstie Hardiman took 5th place lady at Gadebridge. Anthony Fogden hit a new course PB at Wendover woods
However it was over at at Cassiobury that course PBs really fell: Huge Congratulations to
- Kimberley Yeates New PB 30:34 – just 4 secs off her parkrun PB
- Martha Woollett New PB 31:28
- Andrea Beattie New PB 31:35- just 15 sec from her parkrun PB
- Emma Reed New PB 34:03
The chase for parkrun PBs kicked off the New Year in style!
On New Year’s Day, Simon Morris set a blazing new course PB of 21:49 at Gadebridge, securing an impressive 7th place finish, just behind Matt Ashby in 2nd and Michael Lindon in 6th. Meanwhile, over at Cassiobury, Jack Boughton sprinted to a fantastic new Parkrun PB of 20:27! 🎉
The determination and competitive spirit are strong as ever – what a way to start 2025! Keep those PBs coming, everyone! 🏃♂️💨
Away from parkrun the Pednor 10 on was our biggest event over the weekend.
While the Pednor 10 was advertised as a scenic 10-mile road race through the rolling Chiltern countryside, many of us would probably describe it as 10 damp, misty miles packed with a relentless hill. Those “undulating lanes” seemed to favour the uphill stretches more than the downhills, leaving many of us questioning the definition of “undulating”! But despite the challenges; the stunning views, the very friendly marshal’s and the sense of accomplishment at the finish line, makes it a club favourite to finish the year with.
We had 35 runners take to the start and Matt Ashby led the charge as our top male finisher, powering through to a brilliant 5th place in a time of 56:55. Not far behind, Teresa Reason was our First Lady home, clinching 6th place with a strong time of 1:10:04. A huge well done to both of them! 👏
It was inspiring to watch the team race with such intensity – Gareth, Michael, and Jonathan were locked in an epic battle for top 20 positions, each pushing the other to their limits. Not to be outdone, Tom Evans, Russell, Robert Hawkes, Stephen Newing, Simon Morris, and Andrew Wells were all in the hunt for top 30 finishes, showing just how deep the competition runs in our ranks.
And it wasn’t just the top spots that shone – throughout the field, pairs and triplets raced side by side, driving each other to fantastic finishes. The camaraderie and spirit were contagious as shown in the stunning results from everyone including PBs for Jade Evans, Simon Morris, Tom Evans, Nick Jospeh, Russ Jones, Gareth Tucker, Natalie Wheeler, Ones Trent, and Rob Hawkes. Congratulations too to new Member Polly Cripps on her first ever 10 mile race!
Well done everyone – full results below
Finally two 10k races brought the running year to a close…..
New Years Eve St.Albans 10k
New member Deborah Fogden ran her first 10k as a GVH member and knocked a stunning 7 mins off her previous best time , finishing in 57.59. Well done Deborah and welcome to GVH.
New member Deborah Fogden
St John’s church Boxmoor NYE 10k run.
Billed as more of a social run than a race, its a lovely a 10KM run starting and finishing at St John’s Church in Boxmoor. Lovely to see a large group of harriers take place and the first to cross the line was Tom Evans. Well done Tom.
Well done all on a fantastic year of running. Here’s to kicking off 2025 with more miles, more smiles, and even bigger running goals! 🏃♂️🎉