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What do you do when an old uni friend rings you up and asks if you will join him for his first ever marathon? You say yes of course, how hard could it be? Cambridge is well known for it’s lack of hills and the event offered me the perfect opportunity to increase my stamina for the SDR and impress Captain Fab.

As advertised on the website the boundary marathon takes runners around the outskirts of Cambridge, incorporating a mixture of road, muddy footpaths and trails and takes in Cambridge’s best known beauty spots.

700 runners started the race, hosted by the university, most of whom opted for the half marathon with only a couple of hundred continuing on the full loop around the city.

It was a very laid back race with a friendly and pressure-free atmosphere. Spectators could be seen waving from windows and a few others lined the course with large containers of Haribo sweets and Jellybabies. The 5 water stations around the course, mostly erected in people’s gardens, were often a place for runners to gather and gorge themselves on a fine selection of biscuits, sweets and fruit.

The course was well managed, signposted using a mixture of signs and flour arrows marked out on the ground and runners were marshalled by a very enthusiastic bunch who kept popping up at random points on the course, most travelling by bike to get to their next station.

I really enjoyed the run, perhaps a bit too much. My aim was to get my friend around in under 4 hours. We were well on course until mile 17 when he realised he had perhaps been a little naive with his preparation. I continued with my motivational speeches until at mile 20 my friend snapped at me, shouting, “stop being so chirpy!”
A mixture of fatigue and mud led to a couple of slower miles and we eventually finished in a time of 4 hours 9 mins.

All In all it was a good race but I look forward to getting back the hills and the West Sussex fun runs!

Tom Brown

As most people know, I don’t do races, as I much prefer long trail events where the camaraderie and views are more important than time. However I have run the Brighton half marathon frequently and achieved one of my best times of 1.39 several years ago. Since then, I have gradually become slower, mainly due to the lack of motivation to put in the necessary training to run a good time.

This year has been particularly difficult for various reasons and I approached the start with even less confidence than usual – so much so that I didn’t even realise the race had started until I walked under the timing clock! It was a cold, bright day, ideal for running apart from the strong south easterly wind and, after having to jog the first couple of miles due to the number of runners on the course, I settled into quite a good – albeit fairly slow – rhythm.

In fact, I overtook quite few runners and actually recognised both Dani and Paul, who were doing a great marshalling job. I was almost starting to enjoy the experience until we turned for home at the western end of the course and started running into the wind. Those 3 miles seemed to go on forever – mainly because of my lack of training – but eventually we reached the pier, where I changed my mantra from ‘Easy boy’ to ‘Enjoy the pain’, as my quads were really complaining by now!

Unsurprisingly I was not pleased with my time, particularly when my great rival was 13 minutes faster – quite incredible, but I was not very far behind several of the Joggers and ahead of a few. It was also a comfort to see it was a 67% performance on the Age-related scale [I am usually happy with anything above 65%]. In any event, I have been inspired to enter at least 3 more marathons this year after the Stinger – the 3 Forts, the South Downs and Beachy Head, all across our incomparable South Downs.
Hugh Martin

“Saturday night out at Ropetackle with three top comics from the UK comedy circuit and beyond. Every month Barnstormers Comedy Club promises, and delivers, a great laugh-out-loud night out.

Unbeatable sell-out Saturday night entertainment cabaret style and the perfect way to get together with your mates. Each month our compère introduces three top acts from the comedy circuit. A barnstorming night out!”

As last year was such a success I have organised tickets to the Barnstormers Comedy Night in Shoreham on April 16th 2016. Three acts of stand up comedy in one evening, plenty to drink and great Henfield Jogger company, what could possibly go wrong?
There is only a set amount of tickets available so get in quick! Its £12.50 per person for the comedy. I am still looking into possibly getting a minibus from PG/Henfield to Shoreham and back (like last time) so will keep you posted. If not, I will organise as many lift shares as I can to ensure everyone can come and let their hair down.

If you would like to get a ticket, HJ Members and families (18years plus) can either pay by BACS to the usual Henfield Jogger account with COMEDY and your surname plus how many tickets eg COMEDYKAELIN2, or by cheque or cash. If you pay by BACS please let me know by email that you have done so.

Tickets are on sale now and will close on March 15th (or before if we run out of tickets) so don’t delay get your tickets today!

Ok guys, the weather forecast is reasonable on Saturday, so let’s go for it – the Stinger half marathon course, that is. Some of us have to be back in the village by noon at the latest, so we need meet up on time at HLC to enable an early start from Steyning. Mud is pretty much guaranteed, although hopefully it won’t be anything like it was on the actual event this year!

The penultimate Handicap Results of 2015 are in from Chris (see them here) and its clearly going to be a nailbiting finish in December! Its a marathon not a sprint and those who have participated regularly and focused on the opportunity to measure their own progress are, unsurprisingly, ahead of the pack. So, hem hem, ladies and gentlemen, one more Handicap to go and we have a top three of Gill, Liz and a definite lead for Suzie James! Remember that the winner will be announced at the Christmas Bash – so get your tickets from Dani SOON!!!!!!

It’s quite a challenge to devise a route that will keep our feet dry at present, but the first unavoidable mud [or water] that we encounter with this one shouldn’t be until we are approaching the river on the way back from Ashurst. It’s only 11 miles and pretty flat, but Brian and I have lots of steps to climb at the Amex in the afternoon!