Striders Spotlight: The Hobson's

Today we have our second 'Mr and Mrs' edition of Striders Spotlight with the Hobson's. Claire joined Striders in 2012 followed the following year by Doug. They celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary two weeks ago. 🍻

Claire & Doug Hobson

Age

61

Occupation

Claire - Alongside being a full-time mummy to Sebastian, I swim teach part-time. I have taught for over 11 years and swimming is my second sport. Whilst on maternity leave with Sebi I thought it would be a great time to gain new skills and qualified as a PT. I am also a nanny which, like the other jobs, fits in well around childcare.

Doug - Trainee Clinical Psychologist/Associate Lecturer. In 2015 I was managing the Graduate Programmes at Tesco but had no enthusiasm for either Graduate programmes or Tesco and decided to take the plunge and re-train to work in mental health. I’d been doing a part-time psychology conversion in the background and managed to get some relevant experience during a short career-break. Although it was a big salary cut, I’ve not regretted it. Over the last 5 years I have had a great experience qualifying as a psychological wellbeing practitioner and working as a university lecturer. I started clinical training in September 2018 and will finish in 2021, and still do some marking and teaching alongside this.

Reason you started running?

Claire - As a child I grew up in Holland and as a family we were very active. We cycled everywhere and I swam competitively too. When we moved back to the UK, I continued swimming at my local club, Verulam. They encouraged me to start Biathlons (swim/run) so I thought I would give one a go and managed to win the Nationals for my age-group and complete in the World Championships when I was 10 and 12. I’d also joined Verlea Athletics club and was age group County X-country and 1500m champion for several years, and I have been running ever since. It’s fair to say I have not quite reached the heights of my younger years but I joined Striders in 2012 to continue running socially, after doing a running scholarship at St Mary’s university. I have met a lot of great friends through the club – including Doug!

Doug - I moved to Hertfordshire in September 2011 to join the Tesco HR Gad scheme after finishing university. I went from playing football at university 5 times a week, to sitting in an office and eating lots. My dad was always a keen runner so I took his advice and decided to try and get into it a bit more and started doing races with him whenever I was back in Suffolk. I initially joined WGC runners, and although they were very welcoming, they did not have the social aspect I was looking for. I moved with friends to St Albans in 2012 and joined the Striders that summer. I met Claire at Striders in 2013 and, after nearly reversing into her in the carpark, all was soon forgiven.

Favourite race distance?

Claire - As X-Countries were my first races as a child I have a soft spot for them, even though they are all very random distances.

Doug - 10 miles - I find this the perfect balance of speed and length and really enjoy running the Buntingford 10 miler in-between Christmas and New Year.

Favourite running route and race?

Claire - I love running on trail and finding new routes on random public footpaths. I don’t have a favourite race but have always enjoyed competing on the track.

Doug - We are very lucky to live in Markyate and we are surrounded by woods and farmland. I love exploring trail routes and I am still discovering new ones having lived here for over 3 years.

My favourite race is the Woodbridge 10k. This is my hometown race and my Dad was event director for many years. It is hard to describe the race if you haven’t run it, but the atmosphere reminds me of a ‘mini London marathon’. The whole town comes out and lines the streets for the race and it goes through the town centre twice. The race starts at 12 and then everyone flocks to the pub with live bands after. To give you an idea of its popularity 650 places sold out in 10 minutes last year.

Running goals?

Claire - My only goal currently is to try and keep running throughout my pregnancy as I didn’t do any whilst pregnant with Sebi as it seemed like a great excuse to do nothing.

Doug - I currently don’t really have any which probably isn’t a bad thing as I don’t think anyone will be on a start line anytime soon.

How often do you train?

Claire - Finding time for training has become harder since I became a mum but I try to run 2-3 times a week on top of swimming 1-2 times a week. Recently, being given a Watt bike that lives in our kitchen has also made it much easier to have a quick workout.

Doug - Usually 5 times a week. Due to work and family commitments I do most my training on my own and have been run-commuting with a backpack twice a week since 2018. Therefore, I have always tried to make parkrun and do all the club races/socials in order to stay connected. This changed at the start of the year when I made a commitment to myself to attend Strider’s every Thursday due to my new role as Welfare rep/Mental Health Champion, and it has been great attending the club more regularly.

What motivates you?

Claire - I feel like my competitive days are now in the past but I really enjoyed getting post-pregnancy PBs after having Sebi and building my fitness back up, a journey that I will be on again after September. I also enjoy the social side of races, especially seeing some of the people I used to train and compete with continuing to do so well.

Doug - I’ve now been running fairly regularly for 8 years and every time I think I’ve plateaued I’ve managed to kick-on and race faster, so continuing to improve is a big part of the motivation for me. I also really enjoy the social side of racing and the midweek league races are a great excuse to get together and chat after. More recently it has been great scoping out the Mental Health Champion role within the club and myself and Rose will be continuing to plan new events throughout the year.

Most memorable run/race?

Claire - Running London (twice) has been a highlight and it meant a lot raising money for a child epilepsy charity when I did it in 2018. However, I was gutted not to go sub 4 after training on target through the snow and then being exposed to the hottest day of the year on race day. This means I still have unfinished business and will definitely get sub 4 one day…

Doug - This might by the recency effect but I was absolutely buzzing after completing the Big Half in March. It was a beautiful day and I got to run some of the London Marathon course without the pain of the marathon. It was topped off by us all going straight to the pub after and I never thought I’d be able to run an 82 minute half!

Injuries?

Claire - I’ve been very lucky (touch wood) and I think swimming alongside running has helped me to avoid injury. Either that, or generally being lazy and not training that much might also help! Although not an injury as such I would encourage all women to keep up their pelvic floor exercises, something I wish I’d be on top of after having Sebi as I now can’t go on a run without stopping in the bushes for a wee! 😁

Doug - I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries over the last few years. Rather than anything major I tend to pick up ‘niggles’ and my spells out of action have been the two times I have increased my distances and trained for marathons which always seem to bring up gait/SI joint related issues. This was the reason I decided back in 2016 to never run or train for a marathon again and the only time I briefly regret this is on London marathon day! Currently I have power issues in my left leg that only seem to come up when I am racing hard over 5 or 10k and I’ve decided I can live with this! However, I’m careful with my training and run off-road whenever I can, and try and do some strengthening exercises 2-3 times per week.

Other hobbies?

Claire – I enjoy my food, therefore love experimenting with cooking different dishes. As already mentioned I enjoy swimming, knitting and watching Netflix once Sebi is in bed.

Doug - Family time now takes priority but I still always make time for watching football. I am now living vicariously through Sebastian and kicking a football with him whenever possible.

Guilty pleasures?

Claire - Knitting and reality television – and I am currently able to combine the two by knitting the new baby a blanket whilst watching Sam Faiers Mummy diaries😂

Doug - Ipswich Town FC, Ale, Gunning for segment crowns on strava, and any punk-pop from the late 90s (Blink 182, Green Day, Yellowcard etc.)