Six squirrels made the trip to Reading for the Half Marathon where several PB's were achieved. Conditions were not ideal as the wind was tough in places and there were some undulations to negotiate however team spirit was high and some great efforts were the result. Darren Sunter lead the way, finishing in 77:55 – a PB by over 4 mins. John Auld was just behind finishing in 78:02 - a PB by almost 3mins. John Rayner completed the sub 80 mins trio, finishing in a new PB of 79:51. The PB's continued when Darren Matussa crossed the line in 83:10 and another PB when Stuart Overton finished in 85:44. Kat Burr completed the NHRR line up with in a respectable 1:41:23.

Andrew Leach finished 2nd in the V50 category at the British XC championships held in Liverpool on Saturday. Andrew was only 9 seconds behind the winner and 22 seconds ahead of 3rd place.
Ed Price ran 77:40 finishing 6th and first V40 at the Welwyn Half Marathon.

Some squirrels ran the Muddy Mayhem 5k obstacle course in Knebworth Park raising money for the Garden House Hospice. Richard Harbon, Sheila and Helen all put in superb efforts.

Jo Summers ran the Charnwood 27.75 mile off road route starting in Quorn in Leicestershire. Slightly overcast weather meant the views weren't quite as good as they might have been but were still worth the effort. Jo finished in 4:48 which was 10 mins quicker than last year.

Naomi Parkinson travelled to the Lake District for the Lakeland trail series opener of the Cartmel 10k. Following the rain over the few days prior to the event the course was nice and muddy and it rained during the event too. The forrest provided some shelter from the elements but didn't last. Naomi battled through the mud and finished in 66mins soaking wet and caked in mud.
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Several squirrels participated at Parkrun. Darren Matussa ran at Roding Velley. Chris Poole finished Highbury Fields in 22:58. James Keogh finished Cambridge in 18:37. A few squirrels ran at Stevenage, Sarah Kimpton finished first lady in 21:55. Also running was Claire O'Sullivan ran 24:03 and Paul Bowal finished in 25:51. Phil Hunt ran the Ally Pally parkrun in 23:02 and Lucy Hurley ran Wimpole estate in 27:00.

Two NHRR members were chosen to represent the county at the Intercounties XC Championships held in Loughborough.  Andrew Leach and Mark Vaughn finished in 42:28 and 44:34 respectively seeing Hertfordshire finish in 21st position.
 
With marathon season upon us three squirrels competed in the Finchley 20M.  Enjoying good racing conditions, they all saw excellent finish times.  Rob Harris finished in 2:02:39 in 18th place and 3rd in county, John Auld completed the course in 2:16:39 64th place and 9th in county and Helen Nuttall finished in 2:31:27 336th place 2nd in the county and 1st FV35.
 
Sue Foot travelled to Amersham to take part in the Humanity Direct 31 mile Ultra race.  The route took her through the Chilterns, following the South Bucks Way and Chess Way.  Sue finished the course in 6 hours and 5 minutes.
 
Jeni Spurr-Jones took part in the Silverstone Half Marathon.  The route, which was on the world famous race track saw Jeni set a new PB by 9 minutes, finishing in 2:10:53.
 
Jo Summers went to Essex for the Thaxted Trail Marathon.  The 27.5 mile course took her through beautiful scenery and several fields and she finished in 4 hours 43 minutes.
 
Michelle Grudzinski ran the Thames Meander Marathon which took her along, and at one point, through the river.  The course started and finished in Richmond, taking her to Putney and back.  Michelle completed the course in 5 hours and 5 minutes.
 
Several squirrels ran Parkruns.  Stevenage saw the most runners from the club.  Finishing in fourth overall was James Keogh 19.03, followed by Vince Wright 19.22, Peter Sibbett 20.02, Ellie Scott who was second lady to finish, secured a PB with 22.27, followed by Chloe Lucas who was third lady in 22.52.  Also running the course around Fairlands Lake was Claire O'Sullivan 24.03; Oliver Garbas 24.35; Naomi Parkinson 25.08; Bob Davis 25:29; Paul Bowal 27.19; Richard Fox 28:35; Lindsay Cook 29.00; Helen Giffin 30.07 and Brian Judkins 31:44.  Joseph Sherry travelled to Newcastle where he completed the 5K course in 22.27 and Chris Poole ran in Ipswich, a course he completed in 22.43.

​North Herts Road Runners took three of the first four places at their monthly 5k run on Norton Common. 
 
Ed Price won the First Saturday of the Month event with a speedy 17. 46 and John Auld was second in 18.24. Past winner Oliver Brady took fourth place on his return from an injury lay-off with 20.04. Ellie Scott was first lady finisher for the squirrels in 24.38.
 
Other NHRR finishers: Simon Poole, 22.06; Johnny Spinks, 24.00; Bob Davis, 27.53; Rachel Annetts, 29.11; Jeni Spurr-Jones, 29.32; Sheila Leavy, 30.47; Dawn Power, 30.52; Lindsay Cook, 31.51; Helen Giffin, 33.42; 
 
Chris Poole clocked up his 100th different Parkrun venue and a personal best to boot when he travelled to Hackney Marshes Parkrun on Saturday morning.  Poole celebrated his remarkable century by crossing the line in 22.14 - his fastest ever Parkrun time.
 
Poole was supported by a travelling band of NHRR runners. Darren Matussa finished in 17.50; Kat Burr 22.19; Joe Sherry, 22.29; Steve Lummis, 22.43.
 
Pete Sibbett and Karen Dodsworth took the shorter journey to Bedford Parkrun, finishing in 20.17 and 27.50 respectively.
 
James Keogh recorded an impressive new personal best at the Cambridge Half Marathon. A recent recipient of the NHRR Coaches’ Award for his dedication to training, Keogh proved that consistent application pays dividends by finishing in 1.24.59
 
It was half-marathon action also for Jim Marvell at the Milton Keynes Festival of Running. Despite running most of the race with soaking feet after tackling a flooded underpass in the early stages, Marvell was pleased to finish in 2.24.53. He is now well on course for a full marathon at the same venue in two months’ time.
 
John Rayner encountered similarly wet and windy conditions at Regent’s Park, but still finished his first 10k of the year in 36.41.