Hatch Warren Runners
Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday to Hatch Warren Runners…
Hatch Warren Runners turned six years old on the 6th March – what an achievement! The club are simply growing from strength to strength with membership numbers and our breadth of running ranges and options has become more extensive than ever. If you are thinking about joining the Hatchie hordes or you fancy a taster run, please visit www.hwrunners.co.uk, our Facebook page or email enquiries@hwrunners.co.uk.
You will be encouraged, welcomed and hopefully find that running and the club are a happy addition to your life and loves. March means masses of marathon training plans You might be wondering why you’ve seen numerous Hatchies running in the wet, the dark and the freezing cold since Christmas with pained expressions and soaked to the skin in hi-vis outfits…the reason is… marathon training madness!
Britain’s most popular marathons happen in spring, mainly during April and May, with London tending to be the Holy Grail. Training in winter is hard for our Hatchies, but it’s somewhat preferable (for most) to train in cooler weather and then race 26.2 miles on (what everyone hopes) will be a cool, grey day with a gentle and pleasant breeze. The dawning reality of training for a marathon is a 17 week training plan commitment and around 400 – 1000 training miles. That’s one ginormous time and bodily commitment! The last few weeks of the training plan involve reducing mileage, lots of leg rest (called tapering) and eating lots of carbs. This might sound fantastic, but the sheer anticipation of the actual day means that ‘maranoia’ can kick in. ‘Maranoia’ can only be described as the irrational belief that disaster is imminent and running the marathon will not be possible meaning all your hard work and training will be scuppered.
Hatchies across Basingstoke have been avoiding any situation that could result in injury, freak accidents or contracting the dreaded lurgy. Is it all worth it…? Watch this space for news about our Hatchie marathoners in forthcoming articles. 10km, half marathons, 20 milers… and a very impressive long jump! The return of some milder weather means March has, as always, been a busy month for big races. We’ve had 10km races Lulworth Cove and Eastleigh; 20 mile races ‘The Grizzly’, Milton Keynes and the Larmer Tree and huge HWR half marathon attendances at Fleet, Reading, Surrey, the Big Vitality Half and London Landmarks with lots of money raised for charity. There were half marathon firsts for Ali Grant, Cobie Milsom, Jo Mills, Karen Patterson, Kerrie Hoyles, Matt Evans and Vicky Hallett. Proving that you can smash your Personal Best at any age and after a substantial period of time was Greg Haynes who achieved a half marathon PB of 1:25:52, breaking the 90 minute barrier and his previous PB time of 1:30:14 which he achieved in 1999! Showing us that runners make exceptional athletes in other disciplines too was Neil Barton who won the British Masters long jump title and was the Long Jump (M35) bronze medallist at the World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor.
