Category Archives: Uncategorized

HOTW 1 – Martha

HOTW Posts

Written by: Nancy Britten

My first Harie of the week interview took place on a grey and windy Thursday morning. Unfortunately for Martha, I’d decided 9:30 am was the best time to meet. In hindsight, that was very antisocial of me- especially since she’d trekked all the way from morningside at such an hour! The ensuing interview, however, with a very smiley Martha did two things: first, it provided a great start to the day and offset the frankly miserable weather; second, it convinced me to pay a visit to run club on Sunday to experience the wholesome vibes for myself.

Name? Martha Hawksworth 
Degree? Earth Science and Physical Geography (3rd year)

What do you love about your course?
All the field trips! I love being outside and exploring. Geology is a great excuse to do both. 

Coffee order?
Hot chocolate. (Ahh we have ourselves a non-coffee enjoyer) 

Favourite Coffee Spot?

Summerhall is a favourite spot and Lady and the Bear is another go-to. (both solid picks-extra points for the subtle nod to our sponsors at Summerhall)

Where are you from?
Perth

How did you get into running?
Both parents ran, so I joined when I was younger but didn’t join a club until I was 12. I started out as a 400m runner on the track and gradually moved to longer distances. (a classic Harie origin story) 

Freshers’ Week recap? How did it go?
So good! Everything went so well. Out of three freshers’ weeks so far, this one was my favourite. Being on committee and planning everything was just as fun as taking part. 

Why did you choose to come to Edinburgh?
I wasn’t fixed on a university, but when I visited I loved the city. Great for running and I’ve really enjoyed living here. (Strong endorsement for the capital and the hills)

Do you have any goals for the year?
Looking forward to leading more run club sessions and meeting new people. I haven’t raced since school, so I’d love to try cross country again, although track will always have a special place in my heart. 

How was the first run club of the year?
It was so good and so much fun. Around 25–30 people came along (great turn-out!) plenty of new routes to explore. Last year I joined the jogging group and loved it. Thomasina took us on lots of nice routes too. Big shout out to Thomassina for the encouragement to lead this year. (Some top-tier headhunting from Thomasina here.)

If you didn’t run, what sport would you do?
Climbing would be so cool. Or maybe something rogue like golf- I used to play a lot in school and might pick it up again. Living next to Bruntsfield Links makes the idea of a quick pitch-and-putt pretty tempting. (Haries X Golf society collab pending?)

If you could only race one distance forever?
3 km. I’m still not a fan of long, long running- sprinting has a special place in my heart, so 3 km feels like the perfect in-between. 

Highlight of last season?
The final jogging group of the year in December. We finished at Uplands Roast, and it was so cosy even though it was freezing outside. (I’m convinced that the Uplands hot chocolate solves everything)

Dream dinner party guests?
Jakob Ingebrigtsen- he’s so cool, Femke Bol for some 400-hurdles chat, and Mikaël Attal- he’s a geology expert and all-round fun fact machine. (Martha elaborated that Mikaël Attal teaches at the uni and is universally considered a bit of a legend)

A non-running related fun fact?:
I play the violin for fun- started when I was about seven or eight. (Multi-talented and modest about it.)

Favourites

  • Meal to cook: Chilli con carne
  • Harie: Caitlin Heggie- because she worked so hard over Freshers’ Week to get everything going.(Caitlin, take a bow.)
  • Place travelled: Norway- it’s so scenic. 
  • Rock: Gneiss. It’s a beautifully banded metamorphic rock I spotted on a field trip to Inchnadamph. (Nice… gneiss… apologies for that one)
  • Hill in Edinburgh: Blackford Hill- less busy, great for a loop.
  • Running route: Up Blackford, toward King’s, then down through Morningside.
  • Dream sponsor: Lidl! Specifically the bakery. I have a cinnamon bun obsession. 

Would You Rather

  • Never run a Meadows lap again or only run Meadows laps? Never run a meadows lap again. (controversial)
  • Run up Arthur’s Seat in a blizzard or through New Town during the Fringe?Run up Arthur’s seat in a blizzard. (anything, literally anything to avoid the fringe carnage)
  • Only run at 6 a.m. or 9 p.m.? Only run at 6! I’m definitely more of a morning person (respect.)
  • Only run when it’s pouring with rain or when it’s boiling hot? Only when it’s rainy! 

National Relay Medals, #smashthedash and a Relay fun weekend!

Race Report, Uncategorized

After the standard week 6 trauma of busy university life, the Haries vest was worn proudly by many runners across the whole of Great Britain.

Furthest south, we had 28 Haries reppin’ the vest in Manchester, in the 2019 edition of the Manchester Uni Relays. The boys A team’s race got underway with Harie legend and Manchester veteran Gregor Malcolm running 10.04 on the wet and muddy course. Just like at Harie holiday, Gregor handed over Andrew Johnstone who managed to avoid any fights over the 3k course, and finish just a few seconds slower than Gregor, in 10.13. Next up were Rob Sparks and Josh Liddle: both first year’s ran 10.01, to tie for the fastest Harie leg of the day. Ifan Oldfield swapped his usual hills for this flat course round Wythenshawe Sports Ground, completing his leg in 10.39. Sadly, he ran too fast for Telfer Gray, who was still busy doing his strides as Ifan crossed the finish line. Telfer’s stressful start didn’t affect him too much, as he flew round the 3k course in 10.41, whilst wearing the better coloured vest this time! The boys finished in 15th place overall.

The girls A team got off to a flying start with social sec Katie Lowery, running 11.21, which was the 18th fasted female leg all day. She handed over to Elodie Chatel, who ran well, finishing in just over 12 minutes. Captain Lydia saw off the girls race in just over twelve and a half minutes, which is faster than she saw off her captain’s initiation pint, bringing the girls home in 13th spot.

The girls B team were not far behind. Physics fresher Becky Nisbett made her Haries debut, completing the course in 14.46, she handed the baton over to Jenny Hall and Katelyn Roush completed the trio, bringing them home in a total time of 49.32, in 72nd place.

In the mixed race, there were green vests everywhere, with two Haries mixed teams. Ex, ex captain Ben Murphy swapped the mud brown of HBT for Haries green and completed the course in 10.35. He handed over to our jogging sec Catriona Allan, who finished in just under 12 minutes. Next up was Caitlin Beagan and then Jackson Woodruff, with Gina McGill bringing the mixed A team home in 11th position.

Our star baker Calum McLeod opened up the Haries mixed B teams campaign, running 11.23. He handed over to Tara Karsinsky and then Isle of Man legend Tucker Owens, who was dressed more appropriately this time, ran his leg in just over 12 minutes. Vicky Tans was up next, and she handed over to our lovely American couple Ethan Fiallo and Ellie Erichen, with Ethan getting the better of Ellie by half a minute, bring the team home in 23rd place.

Whilst all this was going on, we had Haries putting in podium performances at Cumbernauld, in the 2019 National XC Relay championship. The girls A team took home gold in convincing fashion. Rebecca Johnson ran the first leg in 14.38, handing over to Constance Nankivell in 7th place. Constance’s big mileage of late is paying off and she moved though the field well, running 14.40 and finishing her leg in the lead. Fresher Eilidh Jaffray was up next, she stepped up to the mark and ran 15.02. Holly Page had the glory leg, but even a big lead didn’t slow her down. She ran 14.20 and crossed the line in first place, over 70 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals. That’s four gold medals in a row for the girls in this event, I wonder if they can continue the streak and win 10 in a row? We think so ;).

National XC Relay Winners 2019

The girls B team were not far behind. Zoe Pflug had an outstanding run, running the faster Hare leg of the day, 14.13, finishing in 3rd place. Polly Edwards was next up and had a great run, handing over to Laura Stark in 5th position. Laura continued her racing comeback with a great run and finally Niamh Carr swapped her green, Irish vest for a Haries vest and had a cracking debut bringing the girls home in 5th spot!

Again, the girls C team were not far behind either. Hannah Morrison, Alex Kiltie, Rona Tytler and Carly Cameron all ran well to finish in 11th position, rounding off a great day for the Hares.

On the boy’s side, Callum Tharme had a cracking run, finishing leg 1 in 8th position (and running only 20 seconds slower than a certain other Callum!). He handed over to orienteerer Alistair Thomas, who had a good run, finishing in 13.30. He handed the baton over to fellow orienteerer Boyan Ivandjikov, who ran 13.25. The boys were brought home by Alex Muir, who finished in just over 13 minutes, in 14th position. 

The boys B team got off to a good start with Paul Morrison, who bettered his time from East Relays by just under half a minute. He handed over to Connor O’Riordan who finished in just under 14 minutes. Sadly, leg three had to drop out due to a nasty fall.

The C team was made up of Zach Finch, who ran 16.03. Well done to all the boys!

Come Sunday, we moved back down South to Leeds, where we had four boys taking part in the 2019 Age UK Leeds Abbey Dash 10k. The course is renowned for its super-fast times and boy did it live up to expectation. Max Milarvie absolutely smashed the 30-minute mark, finishing in 29.28 and in 15th position. This time places Max in the top 25 all time for 10k ran by a Scotsman. 7 places and 11 seconds behind, Jack Leitch also annihilated the 30-minute mark, running 29.39 for a big pb. Adopted Harie James Donald also reached the sub 30 milestone, running 29.53. A few minutes later, triathlete Nick Allen cruised home in 33.15, for a massive pb and he was followed closely by myself, who ran a 30 second pb! I can highly recommend this race to anyone who fancies running a fast 10k next year – great route, great atmosphere and lots of fast people to run with! 

Big kudos if you made it this far – it probably took you longer to read this than the time it took the lads to run 10k on Sunday!!