Who are the KUHACs?
The clue is in the name
We are road runners so we run on roads – right? Well, most of the time yes but we also get our shoes muddy on some of the great trail runs in the area. The Kuhacs are all about supporting other runners of all paces on their journey through running. We have training plans to help you reach your goals and people who have done it will be happy to help you as you try to improve your stamina and speed – up to and including running with you on the big day. Long Run Sundays will help you head for the longer distance races. When we’re not running we get together for social events, where we usually chat about running 😊
Our own Winter League and Hill Race runs take us round some great local trails and when we go to do the Humber Bridge parkrun, that’s all in the country park. Occasionally our Thursday night runs will go off-road and we usually celebrate Christmas, by dressing up and getting out across the fields near Cottingham, and Hallowe’en, by a spooky run into the woods near Welton 😱😱. It’s not compulsory, but it’s great fun!
The Athletics Club
When you join our club, you are actually becoming part of a wider sports community. Kingston upon Hull Athletics Club has nearly 300 members, over half of whom are young track and field athletes, the rest being us “Road Runners”. The track and field athletes train throughout the year, either at the Costello track facility or indoors. Competitions are throughout the season, largely in the Yorkshire and Humber area. Members range from 8 years old to people in their 60s and 70s.Together we make a great club, the only one of its kind in the area.
Giving back to the club
Our club is run by club members, kindly giving some of their spare time to help keep the club moving and growing. If you would like to contribute to the club by taking on a small role please contact our Chairman, Brian Long, at [email protected]. Brian is a former road runner and would be delighted to have a chat with you.
How to become a member
Trying us out first
You are welcome to take part in up to three of the club’s weekly runs before you have to decide whether or not to become a member. Just text Paul Clarke on 07989 113756 and let him know which date you would like to attend. Our main runs are on Thursday evenings where you can choose one of the 4, 6 or 8 mile routes with other members. We are welcoming of all paces! Park at Costello Stadium (free) by 6.20pm, ready for a 6.30pm start. Paul will arrange for you to be met and introduced to some of the people running your chosen distance.
How to join & the cost
The trial runs are free. If you decide to join, just go to https://www.kuhac-road-runners.co.uk/membership and fill in the membership form and pay the annual £20 fee. You can also pay an extra £21 to become registered with England Athletics. Basically, this option will give you a £2 discount every time you sign up to take part in an official event such as the local Beverley, Walkington or Doncaster 10Ks.
If you are not sure whether these events are going to feature in your future plans, feel free to leave the EA membership for the time being: you can always pick it up at a later date if it seems useful. You will need it if you want to take part in events such as Champagne League – of which more later.
Join us now
https://www.kuhac-road-runners.co.uk/membership
Regular club runs
Club run (every Thursday)
Club members meet up at the Costello car park every Thursday at 6:20pm to catch up and prepare for the runs at 6:30pm. Each week there is a choice of three distances. The routes alter each week for each distance, keeping the runs fresh. We announce the routes on a Monday on Facebook and attach a link to the route on Strava.
- Short run ∼ 4 miles
- Middle run ∼ 6 miles
- Long run ∼ 8 miles
Club run Kavaliers
Our golden rules during runs are that no-one is left behind and no-one runs on their own. This is where our KUHAC Kavaliers come in. On each of the three weekly distances, there is a named club member who will be the back marker and will ensure that he or she will be running with the slowest person in the run. The Kavaliers also carry basic first aid kits in case of any falls or injuries. We are never short of volunteers for this special job so please join in. The current Kavalier rota can be found on the club website at https://www.kuhac-road-runners.co.uk/news/kavaliers-rota-2024.
Track training (every other Tuesday)
Qualified run leaders take training sessions on the track that will give you a new experience of track running and possibly help your speed! At the moment the council charges £6.50 to enter the stadium for this session, which is paid by you as you enter the stadium
Hill training (every other Tuesday)
Join us for hill training sessions where a qualified run leader will have you running hard up slopes at Welton, Skidby and Brantingham (in the summer) and under the lights at the Humber Bridge (during the darker months). Excellent for your stamina, if you have never tried it!
Parkruns and tourism
The club’s home parkrun is Peter Pan where you will find a lot of our members each week, as well as at other local parkruns such as Humber Bridge, East Park, Beverley and Normanby Hall. We often arrange group tourism trips to parkruns which are a little further away.
KUHAC Hill races (Summer)
Once a month over the summer, the hill training session is replaced by a hill race as part of a series that will give you the chance to test yourself on courses at places such as South Cave, Brantingham (Spout Hill!) and across the Humber Bridge and back (which is tougher than you think). There is a trophy for the person who accumulates the best times over the series which is handed over at a special club presentation evening in December. And the winner on handicap is also recognised with an award – we like to spread the glory.
KUHAC Winter League (winter)
Once the hill race series comes to an end, it’s time for monthly Winter League runs to take its place. Another free to enter event for club members only, Winter League will take you - one Sunday morning a month - on some of the area’s best trail runs over a wide variety of courses including Hessle foreshore, Brough and Barton. Each run is about 5K and is run on a handicap basis so that everyone, in theory, has an equal chance. Sounds complicated but that’s why we have a club statistician (David Rivers) who understands these things.
Couch to 5K (April)
This is the way some of you will have come into the club: our annual 10-week programme starting in late April and culminating with a “graduation run” at Peter Pan parkrun. When it does come round again, we really need your help as the best thing about the programme is the number of club members turning up to run and walk with the new recruits. This is particularly useful if you started with Couch yourself as you can tell them how you progressed afterwards – maybe show them your latest 10K/ half-marathon medal 😊
Champagne League
You will hear people talking about taking part in the Champagne League and it’s definitely one you could be thinking about. The leading running clubs in the area are invited early in the year to submit a team (we are allocated 20 places) to take part in 10 races. Taking place every other Tuesday, starting in early April, these vary from 3 to 8 miles and take you to locations including Hotham, Beverley Westwood, Kiplingcoates and Elloughtondale.
So how do you make it into the team? Just ask! As soon as we get the invitation, it is opened up to the whole club and we prioritise giving new members a chance (provided they have EA membership). So if more than 20 put their hands up, the ones who have not had the chance to run in the series previously will get the places. There are cash prizes to be won for age group and event wins and, if you manage to complete all 10 runs, you get…..a t-shirt (but it will be one you can be really proud of!).
South Cave 10k
Our very own race
KUHAC created the South Cave 10k in 2021 and we continue to organise the event. Full details can be found at> https://www.southcave10k.co.uk . Club members are asked to help marshal the event and because of this Kuhac members are not allowed to take part in the South Cave 10k race. Put the last Sunday in July in your diary!
Our online community
Facebook group
Once you have officially joined KUHAC, you will be invited to join our Facebook page where you will see the following
- Member chat, support and updates
- Weekly events including the three weekly club runs (with maps of the routes)
- Other events including races, training and parkrun tourism
- Social events including quizzes, Christmas get-togethers, Halloween trail runs
It is important that you tick “going” on any event that you are planning to attend both for safety reasons and because it makes planning much easier for the people organising the race or training session. Plus it lets everyone know who else is going which makes things like car-sharing much easier to sort out.
Strava group
You probably use your Garmin watch or an app on your phone to record your runs. If you haven’t already, it would be good for you to download the Strava app then ask to join our club page. Everyone can then see your runs and there is a weekly club report based on everyone’s efforts as recorded on Strava.
Other notes
Club shirts @ our club house, Costello
You will need to visit the club house if you want to buy club vests and t-shirts, soft drinks and the occasional bun. Just go into Costello Stadium, tell them on the desk that you are just visiting the club house (so you don’t need to pay) then continue down the corridor to the exit out on to the track. Turn left and walk towards the car park – the club house is on the left before you reach the fence. Once you have your shirt in the club colours (£15), you have the option of spending another £8.50 and having your name added – this guarantees you some shout-outs when you are on the run-in at your next 10K (or, as in the photo of Jo below, taking part in her first London marathon). Our Ladies’ Captain, Claire Smith, always lets you know online when she is taking a batch of shirts to be personalised.
Special offers!
We get a special discount offer from an online company, Sportshoes.com, where they send us a code every month that gives 10% off their whole range on orders over £50 and free standard shipping, worth £4.99. To get the current code, just message Paul Clarke.
Any problems?
KUHAC is a friendly and welcoming club. If you do have any problems or issues you can have a chat with the Men’s or Ladies’ Captains (Tom Aitchison and Claire Smith) or the vice captains, Steve Sole and Cheryl Sayer. In addition, our welfare support officer is Mike Gill who will always be ready to offer help, on a confidential basis if necessary. If you have anything that you think the club should be doing or thinking about then please contact one of the committee members – Andy Dickerson, Lisa Webb, Laura Aitchison or Paul Clarke, plus Tom, Claire, Steve or Cheryl.