| This year’s Awards Evening was a special one as, in addition to celebrating the outstanding performances by HHH athletes over the previous season, we used the occasion to commemorate fifty years of female membership. It was fitting that three Olympians were in the house, Lorna Boothe, and two of the Club’s finest athletes, Jade Johnson and Katie Snowden, as well as our first ever National Cross Country Champion on 21st February, Lucy Jones, together with the four U13 Boys who won the National Cross Country team title. Four current English Schools’ champions were also present, all female, including individual gold medallists Jamine Nkoso and Ella Rennie, underlining the ongoing strength of our girls and women’s squads.
Life Membership of the Club ‘may be bestowed upon any individual who has been a member for at least 5 years and who has rendered exceptional and meritorious service to the Club’. It was extremely fitting that our MC for the night, Steve Knight, was bestowed Life Membership for his outstanding contribution to the Club over many decades. Steve joined HHH in the early 1980s, and, under the guidance of Stan Allen, quickly established himself as a member of the Club’s strong middle and long distance squad. His competitive years progressed from Young Athlete to Senior, and then a very successful Master. As a Senior and very good engine room runner, Steve dipped under 15 minutes for 5000m and similarly was just under 2hrs 30 for the Marathon. He continued to compete well into his 70s, whilst juggling officiating as a licenced starter and coaching over the last decades. Indeed, the coaching really took off following the sad passing of Stan Allen, and a number of coaches got together to work through how best we could cater for our distance athletes going forward. It took at least four of us to replace the great man, with Geoff Jerwood and Keith Newton establishing a sharp end mixed men’s and women’s group, and Steve working with Glen Keegan and others to ensure we could accommodate the growing numbers who were attracted to HHH and Tooting, including some Young Athletes. Steve’s group typically attracts up to around 70 athletes on a Tuesday night, covering a wide range of abilities. Steve’s technical knowledge and enthusiasm are widely appreciated by his athletes, which extends beyond training nights to competitions, email and WhatsApp communications and other support channels. Having benefitted from the coaching advice and input of others when he was competing, Steve often refers to ‘giving back’ to the sport in what can be seen as a virtuous circle. As noted above, Steve is a very active organiser and official, helping ensure that many events, including the Awards Evening, run smoothly. His exceptional and meritorious service to the Club, has been appropriately rewarded through the conferral of Life Membership. Honours Membership ‘may be bestowed upon any individual who has been a member for at least three years and who has contributed to the good reputation of the Club through outstanding athletic achievement by senior representation of their country or winning a senior national championship’. In recognition of their outstanding performances over the last year, Honours Membership was conferred on Phoebe Anderson and Lucy Jones. Phoebe has had a superb athletics ‘career’ through the age groups, representing GB at U20 and U23 level, and then SW. One of Phoebe’s finest hours so far came when she stormed to victory in the European U23 Cross Country Championships in December 2024, and she has combined this with championship successes on the track. The challenge is to then transition into the SW age group, and Phoebe has done this with aplomb. After her 4th place finish at the European Cross Country trials, Phoebe was then second GB finisher at the European Cross Country Championships, December 2025, 16th, and third British finisher at the World Cross Country Championships, January 2026, 35th. Award Winners |
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