Monthly Handicap
As summer is relatively quiet for racing, (although Hook Runners can usually always find somewhere to get a medal), this month we’re focusing on a key part of our local running calendar: The Hook Runners Handicap.
This monthly event has been with us since the club began back in 2016 and as a Hook resident you may well have witnessed flashes of purple (and our orange and other shades of active wear) circumnavigating the village from the front garden of The Raven.
The goal for the handicap event is that based on expected pace (based on previous times or recent 5K paces), all runners should complete two laps of central Hook, roughly 3.7 miles at near enough the same time. Our clever and experienced team (Anna, Steffen, Kristie and Kath) are skilled in their jiggery pokery in allocating each runner their dispatch time, issuing finish time tokens and allowing for the inevitable improvements our runners make as they get more experienced with the course and get stronger over time. They are great cheerers too and it’s always nice to see their faces – twice when we run from The Raven.
In recent years, the handicap has evolved to include a 3 consecutive month summer trail series departing from The Coach and Horses in Rotherwick. This course is a little more challenging underfoot but is arguably more beautiful taking in the network of fields that connect the two villages.
Anyone who has visited the Coach and Horses will be aware of their amazing wood fired pizzas of which the club provides free for the first and third event. *Whether these evenings yield more runners is our secret. **It does.
Over the course of the year, Coach Mike tracks all handicap performances, and male and female best times of the year are recognised with awards, as are the most improved runners. We also use our December handicap to collect, usually very large, donations to the local foodbank and to celebrate spring marathons and share our bling. It’s a pretty versatile event.
So, on the first Thursday of every month (notwithstanding a few that get jiggled due to the Yateley 10K series), if you see flashes of purple, hopefully it will make more sense. Please give us a wave.
If you are interested in joining Hook Runners, (this is only a very small part of the fun), please check out our website: hookrunners.com.