Nothing can beat that feeling of lacing up your shoes, heading out the door and hitting the trails

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 My name is Hélène and I’m a second-year medic on the graduate-entry course here at Lucy. I’m also a runner, with the Cambridge University Hare and Hounds (CUH&H). I’ve loved being outdoors and running for as long as I can remember, and I’m completely obsessed with everything about the sport, especially cross-country.

I got my first proper taste of cross-country aged ten, when I joined my primary school’s running club. My dad has always been a keen runner and watching him compete in numerous races, including several marathons, inspired me to take up the sport. I kept running throughout secondary school, going for regular runs with my Dad at the weekends, whilst representing my school in local cross-country races in the winter and track races in the summer. Although I really enjoyed running, I was never particularly fast (and still am not, compared to many of my incredibly talented university running friends). That said, I did see a big improvement in my running upon joining a local running club in Sixth Form, and then again when I went to university and joined the cross-country club there. Following a more structured training programme, consisting of weekly interval sessions with other club members combined with regular weekend races, allowed me to make some good progress in the sport, which was very satisfying.

Being part of the Oxford University Cross Country Club was undoubtedly the highlight of my undergraduate years. The proudest achievement of my running career thus far has to be when I ran on the Women’s Blues team in the 2016 Varsity Cross Country Match on Wimbledon Common, and the Oxford Women brought home the win after five years of Cambridge victories. It was such a special race for many reasons. I had a great race personally, but the best part was that the team won, and celebrating together made it so memorable. Sadly, I’ve had fewer opportunities to race with CUH&H here at Cambridge, what with all the race cancellations over the past year. However, my Light Blue running highlight would have to be winning the College League in my first year. The College League is a fantastic, low-key series of cross-country races organised by the club. From Cuppers on the Gog Magog Downs, where I gained selection for the Cambridge Women’s Blues team, to the Coldham ’s Common event, where I earned my first outright win in a cross-country race, I was very happy with how I ran throughout the race series.

Nothing can beat that feeling of lacing up your shoes, heading out the door and hitting the trails. Whether first thing in the morning or in the evening after a full-on day of lectures, going for a run never fails to lift my mood. Running has helped me to maintain a sense of balance when it comes to my academic studies too. I find that I work a lot more efficiently when I have a run or training session to look forward to. Reflecting on this past year of lockdowns in particular, there is no doubt that running significantly contributed towards both my physical and mental wellbeing. As a medic, I’m well aware of the importance of doing regular exercise in order to stay physically healthy, but I think that sport is also crucial in looking after one’s mental health.

Although I look up to many professional and elite-level runners, it’s my fellow clubmates who inspire me the most. Witnessing their dedication to training whilst simultaneously balancing the strenuous demands of an academic degree is nothing short of inspirational. A sizeable number of my cross-country teammates from both Oxford and Cambridge have represented GB or Ireland in international cross-country championships, highlighting the extremely high calibre of running talent that both universities boast. As with anything in life, you get out what you put in with running. It is both satisfying and motivating to complete a solid block of training and then see your efforts be rewarded with a good performance in a race. I hope to continue improving as an athlete over the coming years and to lower my personal best times across a range of distances. I’ve really missed racing during the past year, but am hopeful that we’ll see a return to competitive races soon.

In the immediate future, I’m hoping to qualify as a doctor in two years time when I finish my degree at Lucy. I am not too sure what speciality I’ll end up doing as of yet, but it’s very important to me that I’m able to continue running competitively when working. I don’t know how easy this will be working as a doctor, but I’ve always managed to fit in training around my studies up until now, so I’m confident I’ll be able to maintain a good work-running life balance. Looking slightly further ahead, I’d like to do some more mountain and fell running, as I’ve run in a couple of mountain races whilst on holiday in the Alps. A large part of the appeal that running holds for me is in being outside in nature, and this is all the more true of trail running, which takes you through some stunning landscapes. There’s this crazy race held every year in August in Chamonix in the French Alps, called the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), in which runners cover 170 km on trails surrounding the Mont Blanc Massif. I’ve watched the race on several occasions and the event atmosphere is incredible. Of course, it’s an extremely challenging event, which requires many months of carefully tailored preparation, not only because of the sheer distance of the race itself, but also since the route encompasses over 10,000m of cumulative elevation gain. Nevertheless, it’s something I’d love to do one day, and definitely tops my running bucket list.

Sport and exercise have always been a huge part of my life, but I am a firm believer that it should be enjoyable and fun. Perhaps the main attraction of running as a sport lies in its simplicity and it remains one of the most accessible sports available to everyone, regardless of their background. I love running and always have done, and it’s an awesome sport. I’m glad that a sizeable number of people have gotten into running over the recent lockdowns, which is great to see! Here at Cambridge, the Hare and Hounds is a friendly, welcoming, and all-round brilliant club to be a part of, with members of varying standards from the development squad runners right through to international athletes. So, I’d encourage any students keen to get more involved in running and racing to come along to one of the many runs or sessions organised by the club. Having said this, I know that running isn’t for everyone, but I do believe that there’s a sport out there for everyone. And no matter what it is, from sailing to hockey, there’s a university sports club here at Cambridge to cater for it.  Joining a university sports club is not only the perfect way to make progress in your sport, but also to meet like minded people within the wider Cambridge environment, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

 

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