Last weekend 299 runners took on HARP24 and completed a staggering 1,299 laps in total in Essex’s very own 24-hour running festival, organised by Southend’s homeless charity, HARP.

Runners undertook the continuous 5-mile course around the beautiful Cherry Orchard Country Park over a 24-hour period, taking on the race solo or as part of a team to complete the most laps for a coveted HARP24 trophy.

An incredible 6,495 miles were covered by the runners, which is the distance from the race base at Westcliff Rugby Club to Selangor, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The event raised over an impressive £21,400 for HARP’s work supporting people to overcome homelessness in Southend.

Dina Jobson, HARP’s Head of Fundraising said: “It is always amazing to see runners and volunteers come together every year to make HARP24 a success. The positivity and energy from participants over the course of the 24-hour challenge is inspiring. For the second year in a row, stormy conditions overnight meant the race was briefly stopped, but the runners handled it extremely well. The 10th year of HARP24 was a huge success and we hope to continue to grow the support and momentum for the event in the future.”

HARP24 is a unique event welcoming all abilities from ultra-marathoners to fun runners, with winners in a range of categories.

The full list of 2023’s HARP24 Champions is as follows:

• Male Solo – Gabriel Flores, 17 laps in 20:45:33
• Female Solo – Sam Keenan – 14 laps in 16:16:58
• Female Duo – H2GO – 19 laps in 19:24:05
• Mixed Due – Two Cats Out Running – 8 laps in 11:09:54
• Male 3-5 – Group Runs – 24 laps in 20:06:04
• Mixed 3-5 – Kelly’s Heroes – 28 laps in 21:07:12
• Male 6-8 – The Rat Pack – 31 laps in 20:36:37
• Mixed 6-8 – Bunch of Lyres – 25 laps in 20:39:06
• Female 6-8 – Maleficent – 24 laps in 20:45:55
• Male 9-12 – 5AMRC – 34 laps in 20:58:45
• Mixed 9-12 – The Barksons – 18 laps in 21:22:11

HARP plans to launch registrations for 2024’s event soon.

Photo credit – Kim Tobin Photography

HARP is a registered charity no: 1098126
Website: www.harpsouthend.org.uk
Head Office: 4th Floor, Dencora Court, Tylers Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS1 2BB

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