Essex Hare and Tortoise events welcome plodders and pacesetters

The tale is commonly associated with the old saying ‘slow and steady wins the race’, where the tortoise, in taking his time after being challenged to a race by the hare, wins the encounter whilst his supposedly niftier opponent takes a nap before the finish line.

Jumping for joy – Simon Heard shows off his moves in Great Notley Country Park

Pete and Beverley Jones, who live in Birch, decided the tale was a perfect metaphor for the running events they started organising in 2018 – where both plodders and pacesetters were welcome to participate in running events with a twist.

Windswept – Apryl Hammett strides on at an event at Holland-on-Sea in 2020

Mr Jones said the idea was born out of a dearth of running events in Essex, as well as a need for meetings where everyone felt they had a sense of belonging.

He said: “Back in 2018, there was a lack of local events on a regular basis people could engage with, and what we also wanted was access to events for people who thought they weren’t good enough to be at an organised running event.

Still standing – two runners grind out the Remembrance run

“We’re trying to break down the concern that people have about organised running events – we set up the business and tried to make it as inclusive as we could.”

The events, scattered around Essex and the south-east, do not feature the traditional races you may expect.

Many allow you to enter as teams, or run races for distance, rather than a particular time – alleviating the pressure many feel to enter a marathon or half-marathon.

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“We start the journey off for many people, but it’s they who carry it on,” Mr Jones said.

“It’s become a real community – these events provide people with support, and it sometimes feels like a charity in itself.”

Indeed, around £10,500 has been raised for charities since the events started in 2018.

Remembrance – an event last November raised money for the Airborne Gunner Trust

With one event running each month, the next will take place in Brightlingsea with a six-hour timed event on Sunday, March 20.

Entries can be made via: www.hareandtortoiserunning.co.uk/race-events.

All smiles – runners at Layer Marney Tower grin and bare it