 Yesterday,10 October, was World Mental Health Day. For many people, myself included, running is not only important for my physical, but also my mental wellbeing. Sadly, running - in and of itself - will not fix everything. Talking is pretty important too. Observing the world around us and noticing the changing seasons. Learning something new will help your wellbeing. Making sure you are getting enough sleep… all of these are really helpful ways to care for your mind. This year has been especially tough on many of us: maybe you’ve been missing your friends; maybe you’re worried that you’re behind with schoolwork; maybe money is a bit of an issue… or maybe it all just feels a bit weird and unsettling. Next time you see a fellow Chiltern Harrier, ask them how they are and make sure you really listen to the answer. And next time someone asks you how you are, think about how you answer before you go with a quick “Alright.” You’ll both feel better for it.
A lack of races hasn’t stopped the Harriers from taking on endurance challenges. Living up to her most inspirational award at last years’ social, Miriam Kempson ran the length of the Ridgeway in a solo effort. Not deterred by the official R86 being cancelled, Miriam set off to run it solo, with the support of many of her fellow Harriers. Tim Dawson took on a lot of the organisation and, together with Rashi, offered support across the whole 37 hours from a van. They raced from checkpoint to checkpoint, making sure Miriam had everything she needed and that her support runners were all in the right place at the right time. Ben Hetherington, Harriet Lemon, Tamsin Finch, Ruth Holroyd and Victoria Lucas all took shifts supporting Miriam. A special shoutout must also be given to Ellie and Neil Bates, who shared the dreaded ‘night shift’ between each other. Miriam thanked all her supporters, saying: “You were all stars and I can’t thank you all enough for putting yourselves out for me. We are blessed to be part of a wonderful Harrier family.”  A few marathons have also been completed. Matt and Tim Hipgrave completed a virtual marathon, running the 26.2 miles around Milton Keynes. Supported by friends and family, they raised a lot of money for charity and showed off their Harriers vests in the process.  Ramsi Nanda ran his 21 st marathon last weekend. He completed the New Forest Marathon in 4 hours 11 minutes.  Our virtual 5 mile relay saw 84 harriers, both juniors and seniors, compete over their own circuits in a bid to run the fastest time possible for their team.
And the runners did not disappoint. The vast majority of people ran significantly faster than their predicted times, some by nearly 5 minutes, showing that lockdown training really is paying off for all. Don't forget that we are hoping to use these entries to 'spread a little goodness' on behalf of Chiltern Harriers. Please show your support for our wartime generation, by donating here: bit.ly/CHACVEDay75
"Never was so much owed by so many to so few." Chiltern Harriers have gone to town on the creativity front this week! We wanted to know what our members were doing in lockdown, and to show us them doing it in their kit. Well, they didn't disappoint. Enjoy this selection of videos and 'still life' submitted on social media. Sound needed.
UPDATE: The Results Are In! 1st Place: Neil Bates is working 9-to-5 2nd Place: Ben Hetherington's Barefoot Boy 3rd Place: t's Raining Men in Alex's life Meanwhile junior athlete Savarnah Pandya has run a marathon this week. Savarnah ran just over 6k everyday for 7 days around the local fields and roads where she lives. She has raised more than £900 (!) for local charity, Florence Nightingale Hospice, which is suffering from the lack of fundraising events in the current circumstances. Well done, Savarnah! If you want to sponsor Savarnah, please visit JustGiving. Next weekend's #HarriersChallenge will be in honour of #VEDay75, so get thinking. Full details at the end of this post. What a bunch of musically-minded people you Harriers proved to be! We received a plethora of entries for the Ultimate Playlist of running themed tracks. Thank you for taking part!
Following a public vote, it can now be revealed that your top three were as follows: Ellie Bates: A Life in Running Abi Chapman's Race Neil Bates' parkrun PB Playlist Sue Elliott and Tim Dawson were highly commended. You can view all of the entries below... who knows, maybe a few of these tracks might feature on the night at our Awards Evening & Social on 4 July? ;-) Chiltern Harriers didn't disappoint when set the challenge of coming up with something creative for Easter.
Following a vote on a shortlist of six, the top three entries were as follows: Katherine Day's poem Alistair Melville-Smith's Easter Bunny Strava art Katie Royals' biscuit race Well done to everyone for their wonderful entries, which display the full range of CHAC creativity. All of them are included below. (Sound recommended for the videos.) Well, it had to happen at some point. There are no races to report on, I don’t think you fancy pictures of Spring flowers (although they are truly beautiful), and I am not techy enough to create funny videos. I’ve written you a poem!
Well today was the first day of British Summer time and I, for one, am enjoying the fact that I am looking at my window and it’s still light. And I think I’ve made excellent use of it: in the last hour I have continued to feed my recent addiction to Spooks on BBC iPlayer, made some very questionable flapjacks and and ferreted about in my shed (without needing a torch).
Good Evening Race Report fans. I know that people look forward to Sunday evening Race Report, so in these extraordinary times, I did not want to leave you bereft! Given that there is more than enough content out there on the Internet about staying fit and healthy, and I did not think anyone needed to hear a lengthy account of the inner workings of my mind, I thought some pictures would brighten everyone's day.
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