Karen Hoskin, winner of the 2018 London Marathon Club place drawn at the 2017 Turkey Trot
The Turkey Trot is a handicapped race open to all Hailsham Harriers. It takes place on the run up to Christmas (usually mid-December) on a Tuesday night. The evening combines a handicapped run, spot prizes and the draw for the clubs London Marathon ballot place (although this year we still wait for confirmation from London Marathon events)
THE 2024 TURKEY TROT AND CHICKEN RUN WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY 10TH DECEMBER
Running
The run has a £2 entry fee (free for our juniors). Registration is at Summerheath Hall, Hailsham (normal winter training HQ) at 6.45pm.
This event is open to all Harriers, with a Christmas Gift card 🎁as first prize.
To ensure everyone has a fair chance, your current club captains, assisted by other committee members and marshals, review the ability of each of the entrants and give each person a time handicap based on their best 5K time within the current year. This will generally range from the start time at zero up to 12 minutes or more for the more experienced runners. In this way the speed demons need to work extremely hard to stand a chance of coming first and winning the Turkey.
The runner who crosses the line first wins the Turkey. This really could be any one of the runners because of the way the race is organised. So that’s all the more reason to give it a go!
In the past two years Cross Country Hannah has won twice whilst events planner, Felicity, scooped the win last year (2023).
There are prizes for fastest male and female along with Christmassy spot prizes selected on the night for other participants. The course is roughly 5km with marshals stationed along the route. A map before the event will be available.
The evening is a fun social occasion for all where we end with mince pies (provided by the club) and in recent years we have encouraged members to bring along items required by the Hailsham Foodbank.
If not running we would kindly ask our members to marshal either at the Chicken Run (our juniors version) or The Turkey Trot, to still be a part of this fantastic evening.
London Marathon Draw
As a running club we are allocated one entry to the London Marathon (still to be confirmed for 2024). The place we are allocated also forms part of the Turkey Trot festivities, with the winner of the London Marathon place decided by a draw on the night. Ahead of the Turkey Trot, the club requests that those people who wish to be included in the draw contact the club secretaries.
To qualify for the draw you must:
a. Provide your official rejection evidence from the entry into the London Marathon that was received for the following year.
b. Have never run the London Marathon before.
c. Be a current member of Hailsham Harriers (first claim) and have been with the club for at minimum of 12 months.
As long as the three criteria are met and your request is received ahead of the deadline set by the captains for entry, you will be included in the draw, regardless of whether you can attend the Turkey Trot event.
In summary the Turkey Trot is a fun event, with a chance to get festive, enjoy a mince pie or two, help a great cause, and wish your fellow Hailsham Harriers a “Merry Christmas”.
Hailsham Foodbank
As a way of giving back something to our town, and the initiative of coach Julie Lewis-Clements & Tinks, we now set up a collection corner on the night for our local foodbank. Suggested items that are currently in short supply (as of 9th December 2024) are listed below:
