East Cornwall Harriers
Welcome to East Cornwall Harriers (ECH)
We are the club for everyone in the Liskeard area who wants to run.
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We were founded in 1986, and have been going from strength to strength ever since.
Our philosophy is simple; To provide to anyone of any ability from new joggers right up to experienced marathon and ultra-runners, a safe, friendly, inclusive and above all friendly and welcoming club.
Some people may be put off by the ‘Harriers’ tag, thinking it represents a club that only caters for serious runners interested only in ‘PBs’ and racing. Nothing could be further from the truth. While we do support those things we are also proud of being fully inclusive and welcoming to all abilities and many members may choose only to run gently in the social setting of our club sessions and this is perfectly fine.
ECH is however a fully active member of the Cornwall Road Running and Racing Group (CRRRG). This is the group which brings together all the various running clubs in Cornwall, and so simultaneously makes every member of ECH a member of the fantastic wider running community throughout the County.
CRRRG operates two race series annually; the Cornish Grand Prix, which is essentially road races and the Multi-terrain Race Series, which as the name suggests is more off-road in nature. Every club puts on races as part of these series, and ECH’s contribution are the Cornish Marathon and the Trepolpen Seythin. There is more on each of these elsewhere on this website. The thing to remember about all the ‘races’ is that they are really ‘events’ at which every member of all the CRRRG clubs is welcome and can participate, meet with old and new friends and really expand their running experience in a sociable way.
If you are considering running as a way to meet new friends, improve your physical and mental well-being and become part of a huge friendly community, come and join us – you won’t regret it !!
Chairman’s note
Welcome to the all new East Cornwall Harriers website.
After the very difficult past couple of years for everyone it’s great that we now are seeing a lot of old and especially new members at our training sessions.
We are going from strength to strength and now offer runs every day of the week except Friday.
As always, we cater for and welcome, every ability from joggers to seriously quick marathon and ultra-runners, but what we all have in common is a love for running in a safe, friendly, and inclusive environment – which is exactly what ECH provides !
I have been asked as Chair of the club to give a brief bit of history of my own running journey – goodness knows why !
I spent 30 odd years playing football, but had to pack up when I tore all the ligaments in my ankle, and immediately went skiing on it for 2 weeks… I found that although I couldn’t twist and turn any more, I could just about run in a straight line, so took that up. I ended up doing my first half marathon in 1987, and have since clocked up lots of events, both on and off road, from 5 mile, 10k, 10 mile, halves, marathons, including 13 Londons, some ultras, and triathlons including a couple of Ironman. I have been member of ECH since 1994 and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, particularly the club camaraderie at events such as the Cornish Grand Prix and Multi-Terrain race series. Having said that it’s not all about racing, and really it is the weekly sessions with the clubmates who soon become friends that makes it so good. Latterly I have been somewhat hindered by worn out knees and hips, but still try to hobble around at least once a week, and discuss past glories in the bar afterwards !
So, whether you are a new runner, experienced, or somewhere in between, look up the training schedule to see where and when we are going out and come and give us a try – you’ll get a warm welcome and all the help you need. See you soon !
Rob
Head Coach’s note
Hi fellow runners,
I’m Revis and currently Head Coach of the East Cornwall Harriers and have been for around 16yrs!
I don’t claim to have a wealth of knowledge for all those years but I do have a wealth of experience……
I actually started running in 1994 as part of the warm up for a fitness class. A previous ECH member also attended the class and noticed I was able to run along effortlessly at the front of the group (as she struggled behind) talking constantly (surely not, can’t be me 😄). She pressurised me into going along to a training session with the ECH one Tuesday evening so eventually I gave in and went along in July 1994……the rest is history.
At the time I was a very keen horse rider and had been since a child so running was very much a secondary interest. But gradually, as my fitness and running ability improved, so did my interest in training and racing.
To cut a long story short, race times and pb’s improved year by year over all distances from track to marathon, finally peaking in 2005. This particular April I lined up at 9am again (behind Paula Radcliff again) for the ‘pinnacle of my running career’ London Marathon, finishing in 2hrs 53mins and 2nd overall in my age group (40-44).
Age and niggling injuries have hindered me since but 16 yrs later I’m still running regularly and loving the freedom, fitness and sociability it brings. This is such a great club, I have many friends within (I think ☺️) and really can’t imagine life without.
Happy running everyone!
Revis