Latest News

From left to right, top to bottom: Romsey Archway u3a member Nigel, Rickmansworth u3a member Frances, Chorleywood u3a member Rik, Lymm & Thelwall u3a member Duncan, Haslemere u3a and Guildford u3a member Elizabeth.

We are delighted to introduce the five runners taking part in The Great North Run to raise money for The Third Age Trust.

These members are Romsey Archway u3a member Nigel, Rickmansworth u3a member Frances, Chorleywood u3a member Rik, Lymm & Thelwall u3a member Duncan and Haslemere u3a and Guildford u3a member Elizabeth. They will be taking their marks on Sunday 7 September to run the iconic half marathon.

Romsey Archway member Nigel is a relative newcomer to u3a. He joined in the last year, due to a desire to practice his Spanish and has now set up a second wine appreciaton group. Talking about the importance of u3a, Nigel says, "u3a means access to ongoing learning and fun activities, plus an opportunity to meet other local learners." For Nigel, the opportunity to take part in the Great North Run ticks an item off his bucket list.

 Rickmansworth u3a member Frances discovered her love for running in her 50s. She says, "I hadn’t done anything active in years, and running seemed an easy option in that it was cheap, I didn’t have to join anything and I didn’t need to co-ordinate with another person. I could just open the front door and go. My first run was 100 yards to the end of the road, where I had to stop because I was too out of breath. But I did it again the next day. Small beginnings….." A member of the Book group and Creative Writing group at Rickmansworth u3a, Frances describes u3a as "new friendships, interest, laughs, learning, community."

Chorleywood u3a member Rik is an experienced runner. He has run seventeen marathons, including two "ultra-marathons" (each 43 miles) since retiring. He shares, "In retirement I've been trying to maintain my fitness as far as possible - I just hope my legs still know what to do!" Rik is heavily involved in Chorleywood u3a, belonging to various walking and music appreciation groups in addition to being Vice Chair. Talking about the impact u3a has had on his life, Rik says, "I enjoy the sociability and friendliness of u3a and the opportunity to learn new things. When I retired I didn’t know many people in my village, but since joining u3a I have made many good friends locally."

Lymm & Thelwall member Duncan enjoys cycling and walking with his u3a groups. His interest in running started at secondary school. He says, "I was the weird kid who enjoyed cross country, was fast and would run the school cross country course twice rather than stand in the cold and rain waiting for the other kids to begrudgingly complete the course. At Med School and as a junior doctor I took up road running but only ran occasionally to de-stress after a tough day." After a gap of 30 years, he rediscovered running in 2011; since then, he has run 17 half marathons, including the 2023 Great North Run.

The final runner, Elizabeth, is a member of not one but two u3as - Haslemere u3a and Guildford u3a. Talking of how she got involved with u3a, Elizabeth says, "When I retired, I wanted to exercise my brain as well as my body, so I joined Guildford u3a as they had spaces in French, Italian and Tennis and this strange thing called Target Shooting, which sounded challenging. I soon realised that there was appetite amongst Haslemereians to go target shooting too, so I volunteered to set up a group for them. I then volunteered to run both the Guildford Italian and Target Shooting groups when their leaders moved on." 

Each runner is raising £375 for The Third Age Trust. This money will go towards supporting The Third Age Trust to create more learning opportunities for members and support the creation of u3as in areas that currently don't have one. When members join u3a, they become part of a community - and through sharing their interests with each other, they create friendships. Find out more and support our runners.