A Big Shout Out To Our New Members

Blake, Nathan, Lauren, Charles, Abby, Josie, Amelia, Alex, Solomon, Ellie (Cross Country Race)
Iyla, Micha, Anders, Adie, Min (Nth Balgowlah group)
Jaxon, Brandon, Rocco (Chatswood group)
Zane, Kyah, Marley, Xavier, Jet (Frenchs Forest group)
Samuel, Victoria, William, Noah, Johnathan, Hayley, Jessica, Iyla, Allesandro (Lindfield group)
Lauren, Hugo, Riley, Rikke, Samuel, Vincent, Chico, Chloe, Iyla, Elliot (Saturday Cross Country Race Series)
Leigh, Samuel, Skye, Riley, Sam (Sunday group)

Junior Running Coaching

Junior Running Club: What We Do

Hooked on Running members compete in Cross Country, Track, and Road events

Our method and structure ensures our members

Receive the right level of training
Aim for suitable goals
Improve performance in running and all other sports played
We encourage participation in a wide range of sports to develop all-round movement skills, fitness capacities, social engagement and enjoyment

What We Do

H.R Athletics members compete in Cross Country, Track, and Road events

Our method and structure ensures our members

Receive the right level of training
Aim for suitable goals
Improve performance in running and all other sports played
We encourage participation in a wide range of sports to develop all-round movement skills, fitness capacities, social engagement and enjoyment

Training and Competition

Our coaching structure provides a model to develop athletes to their full potential

Seasonal plan – we follow a structured plan according to the time of year and adjust training accordingly
Session structure – training sessions are structured using sport science principles to maximise benefits
Events – we participate in a range of competitions over the year to provide variety to the running experience. we participate in a range of competitions over the year to provide variety to the running experience, including Athletic NSW events, Park Run, Fun Runs, and the Hooked on Running Cross Country Series.

Coaching Structure

Our coaching structure provides a model to develop athletes to their full potential

Seasonal plan – we follow a structured plan according to the time of year and adjust training accordingly
Session structure – training sessions are structured using sport science principles to maximise benefits
Events – we participate in a range of competitions over the year to provide variety to the running experience

Some Of Our Members

Liam O’Brien, 17

Liam started with us over 8 years ago after placing 12th in his first Zone Cross Country. He’s come a long way since then, competing in the last 4 National Cross Country Championships, and in the 2019 NSW 3000m Championship.

Sam Goldin, 15

Sam recently joined us with a long term goal to make the team for the Maccabiah Games, Israel, 2021. He’s also aiming to continue his cross country and distance track competition at national level.

Alex Harvey, 13

Alex represents his school in cross country and track events and is a regular Park Runner, with a PB of 19 minutes and 55 seconds. When he’s not setting his own Park Run PB, he’s pacing his mum to her next PB.

Owen Dalton, 12

Another long term member and regular competitor in Area Cross Country and Athletics, Park Run, and our own winter Cross Country Series, currently clocking in the 12 minute range for 3km.

Harriet Sweeting, 14

A very versatile athlete, Harriet competes in a range of events, including 1500m on the track, cross country races, and triathlon. In 2019 she placed 9th in the 2019 CSSA Triathlon

Will Carter, 12

Another versatile athlete in middle distance and sprints. Will raced the 200m at the NSW Championships in 2019, and was also just 1 place away from area cross country selection.

Jack Dalton, 12

Jack is a long term member and a regular competitor at Area Cross Country and Athletics. A step up in training and competition has seen his results improve dramatically, in particular in our winter cross country series, with a current pb of just under 13 min.

Max Bregozzo, 11

Max is a versatile runner with bundles of energy for sprints and distance. His highlights being selected in the NSW Merit Team for Cross Country 2020 and was the most consistent competitor at our Winter Cross Country Series in 2020. Just recently Max set a new PB of 11 min 14s for 3000m and 2 min 39s for 800m on the track

Lachie Sheather, 11

At just 10, Lachie really loves his running, and is showing real potential from our winter cross country series with his naturally powerful style, consistently recording the day’s best 3k time, currently at 11 min 42 sec.

Skye Blair, 11

Skye recently competed in her first Athletics NSW event, the NSW Short Course Cross Country Champs, placing 26th in the U/12 2km. She’s been a consistent performer at our 2020 Winter Cross Country Series, and always puts in 100% at training.

Will Hadfield, 10

Another versatile athlete at sprints and distance, Will came 7th in the 100m final of Area Athletics 2019, and competed in Zone Cross Country 2019. He is another of our athletes who has benefited from Online Coaching.

Arabella Handley, 12

Arabella has a competitive nature which she combines with a fun loving attitude. She loves competing in sprints, distance, and surf events.

Our Team

Richard Sarkies

Head Coach

Richard has been running and coaching in the sport he loves for over 30 years. He has a wealth of experience coaching, having conducted junior running coaching for the last 7 years, including regular stints in primary and secondary schools

Whilst he’s trained several state and national level athletes, Richard believes it’s important that all juniors, whatever their level, develop a love of exercise

Richard's qualification and roles

Bachelor of Human Movement, University of Wollongong
Level III Middle/Long Distance Track, Athletics Australia
Level II Strength & Conditioning, Australian Strength & Conditioning Association
Level II Sprints/Hurdles/Relays, Athletics Australia
Roseville College Athletics Coach
Lectured for 7 years at TAFE NSW, Certificate III and IV in Fitness

Richard also continues to enjoy competing on the road, track, and cross country in events ranging from 1500m to the marathon. He completed the 2019 Sydney Marathon as part of a fundraising campaign for The Indigenous Marathon Foundation, raising $10000

Kirsten Todd

Head Coach, Adults

Kirsten has a real flair for zeroing in on exactly what our clients need and want, and providing that in a simple and seamless fashion

She’s on a mission to have more women be astounded by their own achievements. She loves sharing her 18 + years of coaching experience with runners of all abilities.

Kirsten quit corporate life early this century after returning from a stint in Hong Kong. Since then Kirsten has gained extensive experience in personal training, massage therapy, nutrition and running coaching. She has lectured in health and fitness at Nature Care College.

She came to age group running after the birth of her second son Saxon, 13 years ago, and her focus has been on running coaching ever since.

She’s competed at a high level in a number of sports including rugby union, beach sprinting and surfboat rowing. So, running has not always been the main event, but an integral part of her training.

When she’s not helping others with their running, you’ll find her in local fun runs, at the beach, or on the soccer pitch with the mighty Wakehurst Over 40’s!

Evan Hamele

Photography/Video, Admin, Race Assistant

Evan displays creativity and style to our video and photo shoots and editing, and is meticulous when it comes to any data work that we require. He also assists with conducting our winter cross country series

A super keen soccer player with a aptitude for hard work and dedication, he goes beyond the minimum by regularly practising his goalie drills outside of team training

What some of our members say

Sam, 15 yrs,St Ives…….

”I recently came on board with HR Athletics, with one of my main aims to qualify for the Maccabiah Games, Israel. By attending the face2face sessions, I know exactly what certain drills and interval sets are in the written program, having seen Richard explain and demonstrate at our training venue”

Harriet, 14, Belrose…..

”this is my 4th year with the club, having started in the young beginners group and progressing to the older advanced one now. I really enjoy the group atmosphere, finding it motivating to push myself more than I would by myself. My overall fitness, times, and consistency in training keep improving as a result”

Liam, 17yrs, Frenchs Forest…..

”I have been with HR Athletics for the last six years and my running has improved tremendously. I have been able to achieve much more than I ever expected with Richard as my running coach. Before I joined I could only make it to Zone cross country and Zone athletics. Richard’s running sessions have improved my fitness and made me a better runner. My most memorable experience was making it to National Cross Country in 2016, and have repeated this for the past 4 years .
The reason I first joined this athletics club was because I came second at my school cross country and I was determined to win it the following year. Richard has always been prepared to give me extra one on one running sessions in preparation for a race. I value Richard not only as a running coach, but a friend as well. I highly recommend Richard as a running coach to anyone”