Everything's rosy in the gardens for new runners Andy and Tony

New HY Runners Andy Mullen and Tony Suckling took to the trails around Doddington Place Gardens in Kent for their first-ever race.

It’s a 10k not for the faint-hearted, with 650ft of elevation and rough ground to cover, and they blazed the trail in times of 57 minutes for Suckling and 1hr 2mins for Mullen.

Alongside their mentor and coach Alex Corbett the duo are from an organisation called Primal Roots – a social enterprise offering outdoor fitness and running as a thrilling alternative to drug and alcohol addiction.

HY runners head coach Terry Skelton told us: “These lads have certainly turned their lives around and we welcome them with open arms. It was a fantastic debut event for them and we are thrilled they have chosen to represent HY Runners.”

At the same event, mum and daughter Shannon Hopkins Parry and Carly Hopkins both ran superbly in the 5k. Shannon, 17, crossed the line in this hilly multi-terrain course in 21:52, while Carly finished in 24:58.

Skelton said: “It really is truly amazing how well the club has grown over the last year and now that competitive events are back in full flow the interest in running has been better than ever. And the improvement in the fitness levels in both existing and new members is significant.”

Club training times are Mondays 5pm; Wednesdays, 5:30pm kids and parents, and 6:30pm everyone else. Both these training days are at William Parker School running track.

There are training sessions every day on the road or cross country – at 6.15pm during the week and 8am meets on Saturday and Sunday.

For information on meet up points please contact Terry Skelton on 07711 777363.