Every year, RSE supports the Hope Trail Festival in Plympton, where proceeds go towards the Dartmoor Search & Rescue team. This fantastic event involves relay teams or solo runners completing laps of a 5 mile (hilly) course over a 24 hour period – from 12 noon Saturday to 12 noon Sunday. There’s also a mini run for kids, which covers 2.4km. Hope 24 have announced that they will be going ahead in July 2021, virtually and on site! For information on their roadmap for 2021, click here.
Since the event’s formation in 2014, RSE has entered some competitive… and some less serious runners! The goal is always to have fun, no matter what your motivation is.
The solo event is always a highlight, with previous club members Laura Butler and Jackie Day completing the challenge, and current club members, Caroline Terry, Gareth Roberts (2nd in the men’s solo event) and Richard “Ryo” Taylor reaching incredible mileage! When the event went virtual in 2020, Elaine Chapman, Gareth Roberts, Nadine Brown, Ellie Taylor and David Witnall also challenged themselves to run the miles around Cirencester!
Elaine and Ben Chapman have competed in the event, one way or another, every year since it’s beginning:
Hope 24 is one of the highlights of my running year. We just love it as a family, and when we arrive at the campsite, we get a feeling of home. There is just something about it – a warm, friendly, supportive atmosphere, everyone there is happy to be there. I’ll always remember our first Hope – rocking up in the dark and the rain with a 5 year old and a 2 year old, we must have been mad 😂. I had never run an event like this before, but we took to it quickly and soon loved it. Preparing for my first night run, I remember being a bit terrified, but also exhilarated. My first thought was that my mum would go mad if she knew what I was about to do.
Elaine Chapman, Club Captain
It’s such a wonderful event, brings together all types of runners and there is something for everyone.
It’s safe to say that RSE members who have run at Hope 24 always return with lots of anecdotes – who could forget the competitive 5 person men’s team, which finished with only 1 runner (Animal) and a hopping Dave Witnall… or Sallie Clatworthy breaking records for how many photos could be taken in a 5 mile run… or the RSE members who had a little too much to drink before a 24 hour running event!
If you would like to join the RSE team in 2021, contact Elaine Chapman for more information.
