Prospective Students
CUH&H welcomes runners of all abilities and focuses on training for distance running over all disciplines – XC, Track and Road. As a club, our biggest races of the year are BUCs and Varsity XC and these are great opportunities 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 country’s 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
Zara Yamani (3rd year Medic)
Having not really run much before uni and having no real experience of a club or competitive environment, I wasn’t sure what to expect from turning up to September training camp without knowing an yone! But everyone was extremely warm and welcoming and I felt part of the club straight away despite the fact that most people were much faster than me! Throughout the last 2 years, the club has continued to be a huge part of my life and I have made some of my best memories and met many of my closest friends through the club.
Cillian Doherty (2nd year Maths PhD )
It can be difficult to move to a new university as a postgrad, but I’ve found that sport has consistently been a way for me to meet new people and feel more at home. The Hare & Hounds has always provided a very welcoming environment, and I couldn’t recommend it more highly to anyone who is thinking of joining, no matter your prior experience.
The club is currently going through one of its most successful periods in recent years, having established ourselves as one of the top athletics universities in the country with 3rd place on both the men’s and women’s side at BUCS XC, alongside plenty of medals at BUCS Outdoors. Combined with our great coach Phil O’Dell, this makes Cambridge one of the best places to train in the UK at the moment.
Even with all this, the best thing about the club is the friendly atmosphere and the great group of people I have gotten to know over the last two years. The club has a wide range of members from different colleges and subjects; from people who run purely for the social aspect, to international athletes and everything in between. The Hare & Hounds has been without question the defining aspect of my time at Cambridge, and I have no doubt that most of our members would say the same.
Tom Adolphus (4th year Physicist)
I’ve found the club to be one of the most friendly and welcoming communities in the whole university! One of the most isolating things as a runner is to get injured, but when I had to spend a long time on the sidelines I could still stay involved with all sorts of social events in the meantime.
Running is a great way to make friends from other colleges and year groups, and you are free to get involved as much or as little as you want. Furthermore, running is super time efficient so easy to fit in around your degree, and unlike rowing you don’t have to get up early if you don’t want to. Also unlike rowing, you can run anywhere you want, and are not just confined to shuttling up and down the same stretch of water all year round.
Some of the trips we’ve been on as a club, including the September Training Camp to Hebden Bridge and BUCS XC in Wales, are some of the best memories I’ve had from my time at uni, and I highly recommend that anyone on the fence about joining simply gets involved to see what it’s really like!