List of Active Run Leaders
Mandy Waldon
Age group: 50+
Job: Nurse Consultant
Club Runner since 2007
Bio: I started running at University in Brighton as it was cheap and very flat along the sea front! I ran my first half marathon in Reading in 1996 encouraged and supported every step of the way by June (another run leader). I have run many races over the years and still get the same buzz as I always have. I love the sense of freedom running gives me, the chance to explore new places and to feel strong physically (and mentally!).
Quote: It doesn’t get easier you just get stronger
Simon Hodkin
Age group: 55+
Job: Humanist Funerals Celebrant
Club runner since 2012, competitive runner since 2007.
Bio: I got into running to help me through a bad time in my life. Now it’s among the best things I do in my life. I’m continually seeking PBs (personal bests), before I get too old to get any more. Glad to give something back to the Hares by becoming a Run Leader. I was once a Fencing Leader. (I’ve heard all the jokes thanks). Have won more medals running than fencing though.
Quote: Never trust how you feel in the first mile
Andy Davy
Age group: 30+
Job: Software Developer
Club runner since Jan 2018
Bio: I started running in 2014 with some friends from work and ended up running a half marathon later the same year which is when I got hooked! Since then I have run several half marathons as well as London Marathon and a couple of ultra-distance events. What I really enjoy is getting out in the countryside and exploring, taking in the view at the top of a hill, and of course running with friends from the Hares! Time out from the daily grind! I’m normally found out and about on a Sunday morning, map in hand, getting muddy and looking for new routes.
Quote: “That’s not a hill!”
Brian Billington
Age group: 45+
Job: IT Technical Specialist
Club Runner since 2014
Bio: Started running after having to retire from national league hockey in 2012 , Got into running though parkrun and now has run over 80 different parkrun locations and more than 300 runs, Has no issue with getting caked in mud so cross country is his preferred surface to run on , Can also be found on a bike.
Quote: If you find me passed out at the finish line … stop my Garmin for me!
Ami Taylor
Age Group 30+
Job: Project Manager
Club Runner since April 2022
Bio: I have loved running since school and held various sports leadership roles in my teens. In my twenties I branched out into cycling to support some running injuries and found I loved triathlon and open water swimming too. I much prefer trail running, I love exploring new places, seeing nature, mud and also, my old injuries prefer it!
More recently I have found that the only way to keep running is to take my daughter with me in the buggy, so she frequents Parkruns and Hungerford High Street with me, while I get the peace of a long run to myself on Sundays and of course the Club run on a Tuesday!
Caroline Bowyer
Age group:
Job: Fundraising Operations and Compliance Manager
Club Runner since 2015
Bio: I never enjoyed running at school and only started to lose weight for my brother’s wedding! But now if I stopped I’d really miss that great feeling you get AFTER a run (never beforehand – like most people I have to arrange to go with someone otherwise I’d talk myself out it!). What I really appreciate about being part of a club is having a group of lovely people to run with and finding new places to run. My OS Map App is my favourite piece of running kit to find new routes (not always paying great enough attention to the gradient lines – so be warned!). I relatively recently started open water swimming and once in a while I try a triathlon.
You’ll find me in very colourful running leggings or coveting other people’s colourful running leggings.
Quote: We’ll be pleased we went!
List of honorary Run Leaders
Catriona Turnbull
Age group: 35+
Bio – I took up long distance running for real in 2006 to enter a race called the Exmoor Stagger with a couple of my housemates – it kind of says it all. Since then I’ve done quite a few half marathons, a couple of marathons and spent 2018 training for an ultra which I didn’t run in the end due to an injury – but I still managed my goal of running 1000 miles in the year – just! I’m more of a ‘tourist’ runner – I love to stop to admire the view to get my breath back – but find that running is an excellent way of seeing a bit more than I would if I was walking (and is less of a faff than cycling). Often accompanied by my four-long-legged companion, Barley.
Job – Historic buildings conservation and civil engineering
List of Non-active Run Leaders
Hilary Murgatroyd
Age group: 50+
Club runner since 2016
Job: Major Projects Communications Manager
Bio: I was an athlete during my school days competing mainly in sprints and long jump but was never really inclined towards distance running. That changed in 2016 when I joined the Hungerford Hares Beginners Programme in an effort to improve my general fitness. Since then I have completed several 10K and half marathon events and completed my first marathon in Bournemouth in 2019. I couldn’t have achieved this without the support and encouragement from members and running has given me a whole new lease of life.
Quote: I’m just going as far as that next bend to see what’s round it.
Victoria Chidsey
Age group:
Job: Personal Assistant
Club Runner since 2009
Bio: I’ve always been active throughout my life but hated running at school because I was never a natural athlete. I discovered the joys of running later in life when I joined two of my colleagues for a couch to 5k programme at work – just because it sounded like they were having so much fun! It wasn’t long before I didn’t want to stop for the walk breaks and when I turned up for the beginners session one week only to find myself in amongst the actual running group, I realised that I could run and was hooked. Joining the Hungerford Hares was a turning point for me – with the help and encouragement of the run leaders and fellow club members I took it to another level and completed my first (and only) marathon in 2012. I became a run leader to give something back to a club which has done so much for me and to encourage fellow club mates on their own personal running journeys.
Quote: “I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.” — Bart Yasso
Geoff Anderson
Age group: 65+
Job: Retired Primary School Headteacher and University Lecturer
Club Runner: since 1974
Bio: I ran quite a lot at school and university, then joined my first club, Bracknell AC, in 1975. I have run regularly and competitively on track, country and road, from 800 metres up to marathon. I ran in the first London Marathon in 1981. I have represented Berkshire at County level, and more recently have enjoyed the challenges of running in ‘masters’ events,. I am now a ‘Coach in Running Fitness’, and still run competitively when the muscles and bones allow!
Quote: “While I can, I do!”
Mel McKernan
Age group: 30+
Job: Pilates instructor
Club runner since 2017.
Bio – Started running as a way of spending longer outdoors, having time with my little dog and keeping fit alongside my Pilates teaching. I really enjoy the freedom of running, being outside in all weathers and experiencing a different form of movement to Pilates. Although I have done a couple of 5k races in the past, I’m not very competitive as I just like running and looking at the scenery! I joined the club to make a change from running by myself and found they are so friendly and supportive; being a run leader enables me to encourage other people whatever part running plays in their life.
Quote: Any movement is better than no movement.