Prospective Students
CUH&H welcomes runners of all abilities and focuses on training for distance running over all disciplines – X-Country, Track and Road. As a club we primarily focus at performing at BUCs and Varsity XC and these are great opportunites to compete either as a first timer or a seasoned pro.
Cambridge is not only a fantastic place to study it also boasts some of the countries best runners and is a fantastic place to achieve ambitious running goals alongside your studies. A few examples of current students experiences are below.
Freshers are actively encouraged to join our September Training Camp, this is a fun relaxed training week where you can join in as much or as little as you like. Don’t be shy, we are a really friendly diverse club and no one will feel left out! To find out more contact current club captains Milly Dickinson (email: mded2@cam.ac.uk) or Lawrence Hollom (email: lh569@cam.ac.uk).
Messages from Students
Oliver Fox has been CUH&H’s star man for several years now. He has worked his way to the top of Great Britain’s XC scene with a third at UK intercounties and consequent GB selection for the 2019 World XC Championships. The 14:00 5000m man also balances international running with a medical degree. He said this about applying to Cambridge university:
When I considered applying to Cambridge one of my biggest concerns was whether or not the sport was any good. During the application process they made it quite clear that sport would not help the chances of getting in. This obviously sounded quite hostile! Fortunately I needn’t have worried at all. Once I had got my grades I got in touch with the Hare and Hounds secretary. She was immediately very welcoming and suggested I come on their September training camp. It sounded fun so I got involved. Everyone there was friendly, good fun and relaxed. The atmosphere was down to earth and accepting. There was a vast range of standards, from international level through to those who just enjoyed running for the scenery. It was a great comfort to know that I needn’t have any qualms about the standard of sport at Cambridge or the possibility of training alone. In short, whatever type of athlete you are, be it serious or relaxed, there’s definitely room for you in one of the friendliest groups of people you’ll ever come across.
Nancy Scott is also a medic in the 4th year of her degree and does superbly at balancing studies with running. The 2019 Varsity XC winner also stormed to 3rd at U23 British Championships in the 3km Steeplechase. She listed these three reasons to join CUH&H as a fresher:
1. There are Hareys at every Cambridge college, and I’ve made close friends from different colleges studying different subjects.
2. It’s an easy sport to fit around your studies, because you can choose how often and when you want to run each week (and running is fun!).
3. We’ve celebrated different holidays throughout the year (Burns’ Night, Bridgemas, NowRuz and Thanksgiving – it turns out that most Hareys are also great cooks) and visited lots of places.
James Coxon has been at the forefront of Cambridge Middle distance running for many years now running 3:50 for 1500 and 8:27 for 3000m. All this from starting as a fresher having barely run pre-uni. He writes:
I’m currently in the 4th year of my PhD and my 8th year in Cambridge after finishing an undergraduate degree in natural sciences. Running has been a huge part of my university experience since picking the sport up in my first year, with only a small taste of running during school and being part of CUHH was a big factor in my decision to stay on as a postgraduate. I initially joined CUAC, fancying myself as an 800m runner, but my fitness has improved substantially since training more with CUHH. I now specialise in 1500m and managed to achieve the Full Blue standard last year. While the high quality training group has helped me to progress from a novice to a contender in Varsity and BUCS matches, the fantastic team spirit and close knit social group has really helped me to enjoy running and university life. Nothing is more bonding than getting through a gruelling cross country race in the middle of the winter and cheering your teammates home! Both the training and the social side have helped balance the stress of studying at Cambridge so I’d recommend joining CUHH to anyone interested in running!