By Sarah Needleman
I have fond memories of the Aldbury 5: the beautiful course, home trails, and the tea and homemade cake at the end. When I first ran the Aldbury 5 in 2008 aged 12, there were concerns that I might not make it round the course! Accompanied by my Dad, I successfully made it over the hills and was delighted to be given a mug at the finish. This marked the start of my Aldbury 5 mug collection…
When my grandparents moved to Tring a few years later, they enjoyed coming to the Aldbury 5 to cheer on the runners. My Grandma would chat to the ladies serving tea and my Grandpa would inevitably help himself to a piece of cake or two. After a few years of missing the Aldbury 5, I was pleased to see that the event continues to be a family affair with lots of little ones enjoying the sunshine.
TRC had an impressive showing with 29 runners and a solid wall of zebra vests on the start line. The lead TRC runners set off impossibly fast up the first hill, much to the surprise of a DofE group who started their descent at the worst possible time!
Out on the course I was relieved to see that the particularly tall stile at the edge of the golf course had been replaced with a gate. I always used to get stuck on the stile when I was younger as my short legs couldn’t reach over it!
It was great watching the TRC runners fly downhill at the end, with a number of exciting sprint finishes.
TRC made up the men’s podium of Matt Wade, Ross Langley, and Josh Frewin, and Sarah Needleman was first woman.
I would like to say thank you to the marshals and local supporters for their wonderful encouragement and to the organisers for another brilliant Aldbury 5.
Full results here:
2025 Results