Junior Member Experience - Amelia Posted in Voices on 15 September 2024.

The first in our series of “Voices” is written by Amelia, one of HAC’s Junior members.

I joined Harborough Athletic Club in 2021 to get fitter after lockdown, after my good friend Eve told me about the Club. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with the sport.

I started HAC shy and nervous, but since being introduced to the friendly coaches and other athletes I’ve become a different person.

I would recommend Harborough Athletic Club to anyone, Juniors and Seniors alike, as you immediately feel welcomed and are introduced to the kind coaches and lovely people of all abilities so you will never feel left out! From the different training sessions, track, road, and cross country, you always get to try something different and can find something you really love.

Since joining the Club I’ve gone from not being able to run 1km without stopping to being able to run 10km in June 2024 without stopping. This is all thanks to the amazing coaches and the encouragement from everyone who gave all their support during my training. My next goals for 2025 and 2026 are more 10k races and A HALF MARATHON!  This has been my goal since I started taking running seriously and I’m looking forward to the training and the support from the Club who are always right behind me through everything.

I started on Monday nights in 2021 and then moved to the Tuesday Juniors with the Seniors. At first, I found it very overwhelming as I felt so slow compared with these runners. But at Monday, Tuesday and Saturday training it doesn’t matter how quick or slow you are going, you will always feel a part of HAC and you will always have people cheering you on!

One thing that’s stuck with me whilst being at HAC was my late coach Simon Poynton pacing me at many of my Parkruns until the last Parkrun he paced me. He would always encourage me to just enjoy running, and we had many chats and laughs at training and always at Parkrun. Since then, I’ve always enjoyed running, as Simon loved making running fun for everyone. His kind words and encouragement will forever stick with me during tough times when running.