Haslemere Border Athletic Club (HBAC) members have enjoyed a busy start to 2023.

Sunday, January 15, brought blue skies together with some chilly temperatures, but what better way to spend a January morning than in one of London’s iconic land spots – Richmond Park.

So this is exactly what Haslemere Border athlete Charlotte Finden did, by lining up at the start line for the ever-popular Richmond half marathon.

The race takes runners through the glorious grounds of the park, surrounded by the local wildlife, notably the home ground of the deer that live there.

The route is a fast-paced, four-lap course with the added expectation for runners to possibly grab a personal best, and for Charlotte she not only achieved her goal in a superb time of 1:58.37, but she also finished third lady in her age category. With Charlotte in training for her first marathon later in the year, the race was an indication of how her training was going – and clearly, it’s going well.

The following weekend was the usual setting for the ever-popular Farnborough half marathon, which is the first of the races to prepare runners for those taking part in a spring marathon or perhaps setting themselves a benchmark for 2023.

A group of 12 HBAC athletes braved the elements in zero degrees and lined up at the start line ready for the off.

The route starts under the historic airship hangar alongside Farnborough Airport and takes runners on a road trip through a delightful, semi-rural loop around Farnborough and its surrounding areas.

The race is an ideal opportunity to grab a new-year personal best because of its fast-paced terrain, and that is exactly what the intrepid 12 did with some fantastic results.

First home for the team was Dave Jarrett in a superb time of 1:16.42 – hot on his heels was Jon Fairs in 1:16.44.

Luke Brooks was third home in 1:18.45, with a four-second gap before head coach Daniel Allaway came through in 1:18.49 – grabbing himself a 57-second personal best and fifth place in his age group.

Colin Butfield was next home in 1:21.57, followed by Tom Millns in 1:23.48 – who gained a 44-second personal best. Katy Ward finished in 1:27.43 and was tenth lady in her age group. Tom Bampton came through to complete his race in 1:51.16, followed by Steve King in 1:52.54.

Gemma Reeder was next home – she finished her first half-marathon in 1:58.39, which was a superb effort. An elated Louise Bampton was next through after finishing her race in 2:05.30, and Zoe Davies finished in 2:19.27.

At the same time as the Farnborough half, the fourth race in the Southern Cross Country League was taking place, in the beautiful setting of the Chawton House Estate.

With everyone arriving to clear blue skies and the sun glistening over the frosty fields, it was a perfect day to take on the five-mile course.

The route takes runners across undulating tracks, paths and trails through the estate, across fields and woodlands before the downhill run to the finish line.

The glorious day saw a team of 25 HBAC runners on the start line and there were many excellent performances. Bringing the men’s team home was Alaistair Rose, finishing in 11th place, followed by Chris Shipley in 27th, Lawrie Baker in 63rd, Dean Kellaway in 91st, Marco DiCapro, Josh Loveday, Tim Wishaw, Richard Spandley, Peter Varnes, Dave Bateman and Steve Loveday.

In the ladies’ team, Tania Corrigan ran a fantastic race finishing in 14th place, closely followed by Philomel Bennett in 17th, Sarah Owen in 18th, Christine Archer in 19th, Sam Walker, Yvonne Grayson, Tina Laing, Karen Sinclair, Ann Varnes, Lorraine Herring, Ann Marie Greenaway, Caroline Lawlor, Suzy O’Rourke and Janet Govan.

With the first four team members scoring, and the ladies’ team performing exceptionally well, they were rewarded with second place on the day, with the men finishing in eighth place.

Christine Archer rolled her ankle during the race, but still managed to finish in 19th place.

It was also great to see Dean Kellaway, Karen Sinclair, Suzy O’Rourke and Yvonne Grayson return to cross country following time out from running because of injury and illness, and Josh Loveday ran well having moved up to the senior cross country league.

Cross country captain Steve Pendegrass organised the team and provided support on the day. The only disappointment was the sheep not coming out to play… perhaps next year.

With a strong performance from the whole team, HBAC go into the next race at Alice Holt with confidence running high and hoping for another successful day.

On Friday, January 27, Haslemere Border ultra runner extraordinaire Peter Auchamp set off to begin his intrepid journey along the National Cornish Coastal Path, by taking part in the Arc of Attrition.

The 100-mile point-to-point race starts in the picturesque fishing village of Coverack in the heart of Cornwall and finishes in the small village of Porthtowan, all the while passing through some of Cornwall’s highest points which encompass some of the country’s most outstanding areas of beauty – notably Kynance Cove, Cape Cornwall, Botallack, Zennor Head and Godrevy Head.

Runners were not only challenged with the 924 metres of elevation, but being the time of year, the winter variable weather conditions can also play havoc with the terrain, together with the fatigue on tired legs and concentration throughout the race.

Peter had trained extremely hard, and ploughed his way through his epic journey, together with his loyal poles, to complete his race in a phenomenal time of 29 hours, 17 minutes, racking up a total mileage of 104.66 and taking in 16,952ft of elevation, placing him 180th out of 300 competitors. Time for a well-earned rest, Peter, and maybe a gentle dog plod with Isla.

Sunday, January 29, saw Peter Surma compete in the Crystal Palace half marathon. Set in the iconic venue of Crystal Palace, the undulating course is run within the Crystal Palace park on the Norwood Ridge and offers views of central London, Greenwich and the North Downs. Peter finished another strong run, finishing in a time of 2:28.00.

With every runner receiving the customary medal, and an added bonus of flapjacks and bananas when crossing the finish line, this is likely to be a popular race with some club runners next year… we all know who they are!

Elsewhere, and new for 2023, the South Downs and Arundel winter trails marathon was the chosen event for club member Seb Linke.

The point-to-point trail run started in Heyshott, then headed up on to the South Downs Way and on towards the finish line in Arundel.

Seb was treated to river runs, rolling hills and the hidden Gurkha bridge, before descending to the River Arun and heading back to Arundel Castle and the finish line.

The challenging route, and not to mention the 907-metre elevation gain, did not stop Seb from completing the course in an excellent time of 4:58.22.

Ann Varnes and Philomel Bennett