From parkrun to pubs: 2025 highlights and annual awards

Fulham Running Club
35 minutes ago
7 min read

A year in stripes: Looking back at 2025

It’s been another brilliant year for Fulham Running Club, filled with milestones, achievements, and incredible community spirit. To cap off the year, we hosted the annual FRC Christmas Party and Awards on Thursday 04 December at The Railway in Putney.

In this annual review, the FRC Executive Committee (ExCo) is proud to celebrate everything that makes the club special. We look back on an exceptional 2025 of racing, volunteering, and camaraderie before diving into the night’s highly anticipated Annual Awards.

This year, FRC turned 21—and what an amazing 2025 it’s been! From club runs and intervals to road races, cross-country, ultra-marathons, or even simply your local parkrun, this incredible community club truly has something for everyone.

🏆 FRC everywhere

We continue to proudly see the FRC stripes represented at countless events, including the Stagger races, Wimbledon Trail Series, Sri Chimnoy events, the Surrey Road League, Second Sunday 5s, and the Last Friday of the Month races, and so many more.

There is so much more to celebrate with this club, which is precisely what the annual awards are for.

🌟 Some 2025 club highlights

The commitment across all aspects of FRC has been outstanding. Below are a handful of the many MANY highlights:

Cross-Country (XC): We saw fantastic numbers in the Surrey League and Wimbledon Trail Series (WTS). We even co-hosted the recent men’s event at Hurst Green, which was a huge success. A massive thank you must go to Trev and the team for organising that mammoth effort!
Track & Intervals: Track keeps going from strength to strength. Despite the dark evenings, the level of commitment from our runners remains high, mainly driven by Bob and Claire. Stevenage Road / Bishop's Park has also continued to grow this year - possibly due to the Summer start and finish at Fulham Pier(?). Thank you to all the session hosts who do a wonderful job keeping you all honest and pushing your pace.
Battersea relays: The Battersea Relays had a huge turnout this year—with 29 teams representing FRC! It was a brilliant showing of our club depth and spirit and well organised by Denny and Louise.
Volunteering: Emilyn and Lauren successfully launched a volunteer group for members to help at races. The positive feedback FRC receives from race organisers (and runners) about our support is incredible.
Cross-training: Denny launched the monthly Hyrox sessions, which have been a real insight into his mental resilience—and everyone who attends!
Community outreach: We relaunched the Couch to 5km group and a 10km squad, bringing many new runners right into the heart of FRC.

🙏 A note of thanks

Before we dive into the much-anticipated Annual Awards, I want to run through a few important thank yous.

I want to acknowledge the immense contribution of three ExCo members who have recently stepped down: Alexis Cannon, Bob Empson, and Trev Ingram. A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to keep this club running smoothly, and we want to take a moment to acknowledge their dedication tonight.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who is on the ExCo, part of the Leadership Teams, or has volunteered this year as a session host, marshal, or in any other capacity.

Thank you to you all. You are what makes this club what it is. All of you are what makes this community stronger, faster, and more supportive every single year.

Now, let's get into the awards!

New Bandit of the Year (Male)

2024 winner: Denny Giuggioloni

Nominees included: Alhan Kandrikar, Ben Newton, Christy Owen, Duc Ninh, George Dobbie, Keenan Reynhardt, Mike D, Nick Coombes

This year’s winner was selected because:

Great runner, great energy, pushing everyone harder at Bishops Park intervals and winning the handicap race. He’s also bloody fast at cross country (even with a stop to walk).

The 2025 winner is Christy Owen

New Bandit of the Year (Female)

2024 winner(s): Harriet Spelman and Caroline Morton

Nominees included: Alice Pierce, Anna Lindt, Charlotte brown, Clare Flatters, Evie Kim Sing, Katie Light, Laura Owens, P (Purvi) Patel, Regan Drennan, Sarah Crockett, Steph Sen

This year’s winner was selected because:

She is bubbly and a lovely addition to the bandits. She is such a joy to be around and her presence at the cross countries and 10@10 is so warming.

The 2025 winners is Regan Drennan

Modest Achiever of the Year

2024 winner: Emma Less

Nominees included: Alice Heath, Alice Malin, Alice Riddell-Webster, Clare Cummings, Dylan Williams, Ed Bruce, Emma Less, Eve Chan, Florencia Guerra, Fredrick Levy, Imogen Shapland, Josh Hinh, Laura Richards, Lauren Feltham, Maddie (and Tim), Maddie Barrow, Michael Dennis, Sarah Hill, Temi Annan-Bepo, Will Thompson

This year’s winner was selected because:

Before a race, he always says something to the effect of he's "not feeling it today" but will then go out and deliver a personal best performance whatever the conditions. And this year he has achieved PBs in the mile, 5km, 10km AND half marathon.

The 2025 winner is Will Thompson

Most improved runner (male)

2024 winner: Joshua Hinh

Nominees included: Ash Broom, Dan Mahoney, Denny Giuggioloni, Graham Pattle, James McKenzie, Jit Patel, Josh Hinh, Michael Dennis, Simon Clayton, Will Thompson

This year’s winner was selected because:

He has improved leaps and bounds this year, it seems he gets a new PB at parkrun every week and smashes every race he does! He's also gone from zero to half marathon in a year!

The 2025 winner is Michael Dennis

Most improved runner (female)

2024 winner: Lauren Feltham

Nominees included: Alice Malin, Alice Riddell-Webster, Caroline Morton, Charlotte Brown, Claire Bracher, Ellie Proudlove, Evie Kim Sing, Harriet Spelman, Imogen Shapland, Maya Nikituk, Sarah Hill, Sarah Jackson

This year’s winner was selected because:

After a lot of time off fighting injuries, she has shown such fortitude and resilience to bounce back. She has come back from injury in a STRONG way, and has unreal form.

The 2025 winner is Claire Bracher

Volunteer of the Year

2024 winner: Martin Milward

Nominees included: Ash Broom, Bob Empson, Bob Lynam, Chris Shaw, Denny Giuggioloni, Dylan Williams, Ed Bruce, Ellie Drage, Emilyn Hutchinson, Emma Less, Jonty Bennett, Laure Selle Gazzola, Lauren Feltham, Maddie (and Tim), Rick Cannon, Tim Haughton, Trevor Ingram

This year’s winner was selected because:

He’s always out there running – whether training for ultras, marathons or cross country. And when not running, he is always there pushing all of us with his passion, bringing all of us together as Captain, Leader and Legend.

The 2025 winner is Trevor Ingram

Outstanding Achievement

2024 winner(s): Joe Houlton and Alice Riddell-Webster

Nominees included: Alice Malin, Alice Riddell-Webster, Ben Cameron, Dan Mahoney, Ed Bruce, Harriet Spelman, Josh Hinh, Maddie Barrow, Sarah Hill, Sophie McKeenan, Tim Haughton

This year’s winner was selected because:

She is incredible and inspiring to everyone in the club. When you think it's hard to improve on perfection, she goes and does it. She is Number 1 in the club (RunBritain rankings) and this year achieved her post-partum PB at Abingdon Marathon with 2:56.

The 2025 winner is Alice Riddell-Webster (for the SECOND YEAR IN A ROW)

Male XC Runner of the Year

2024 winner: Tom Sherry

This year’s winner was selected because:

He brings great energy and is a consistent attendee at XC and WTS races. This commitment is perfectly matched only by his legendary social stamina.

The 2025 winner is James McKenzie

Female XC Runner of the Year

2024 winner: Kathryn White

This year’s winner was selected because:

She is a brilliant and consistently happy face at XC and SS5, and secretly smashed the Kullamannen UTMB 50k—her first ultra—shortly before running a PB.

The 2025 winner is Maddie Barrow

Male Runner of the Year

2024 winner: Nick Bell

Nominees included: Alex Vanstone, Ash Broom, Chris Shaw, Christy Owen, Dan Mahoney, Denny Giuggioloni, Ed Bruce, Graham Pattle, Joe Houlton, Josh Hinh, Tom Mackay, Trevor Ingram, Will Thompson

This year’s winner was selected because:

He came into the club hot, immediately making a massive contribution. His consistency on Strava and impressive race results this year culminated in the incredible achievement of three Majors and a PB! He brings huge energy to FRC: if he’s not running, he’s volunteering, cheering, and being the first into (and usually last out of) the pub, making him essential FRC furniture.

The 2025 winner is Edward Bruce

Female Runner of the Year

2024 winner: Alice Malin

Nominees included: Alice Malin, Alice Riddell-Webster, Clare Cummings, Emma Less, Imogen Shapland, Laura Richards, Maddie Barrow, Mia Gomez, Rachel Giancola, Reka Kormendi, Sarah Crockett, Sophie Denman

This year’s winner was selected because:

Her running achievements this year have been nothing short of amazing. She has made huge, rapid improvements, getting stuck into countless events both on the track and in the field. The best part? She doesn't have Strava or even own a watch, so she has no idea how fast she's running! Yet, she progressed from a 1:41 first half marathon to a staggering 1:36 just a few months later.!

The 2025 winner is Imogen Shapland

Bandit of the Year

2024 winner: Christopher Shaw

Nominees included: Alice Riddell-Webster, Bob Lynam, Clare Cummings, Denny Giuggioloni, Dylan Williams, Ed Bruce, Emma Less, Eve Chan, Gareth Hopkins, Josh Hinh, Katherine Elmore Jones, Lauren Feltham, Maddie Barrow, Martin Milwall, Rick Cannon, Trevor Ingram

This year’s winner was selected because:

He has made a HUGE contribution to the club this year, leading sessions and motivating others. Rain or shine, he's there, putting in 110% to push others along with him. He captures the true spirit of FRC—consistent with his own goals while celebrating everyone else's progress. His journey from 'New Bandit in 2024' to 'Bandit of the Year in 2025' is remarkable, culminating in the fantastic achievement of finally completing a full half marathon (not a few metres short!).

The 2025 winner is Denny Giuggioloni