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Kent’s Sporting Memories Oral History Summary
Interviewee: Sam Miller
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 19 July, 2019
Location: Sam’s home in Hawkinge, Kent
0:00 Name, place and date of birth (Sam Miller; Dover, Kent; 4 November, 1974); Sam’s itinerant upbringing, in and around Kent, due to her father’s work (fire officer); moving to south Wales when she was fourteen before returning to Kent when she was nineteen; the experience of changing schools regularly, and how her social nature helped her to fit in.
1:37 Sam’s parents are both from Whitstable; neither Sam’s family nor Sam were particularly interested in sport, although she did enjoy horse-riding and being outside; growing up, Sam would work at various stables in order to get a chance to ride; Sam was given her first horse when the family moved to south Wales.
3:19 Sam’s memories of running at school – ‘I remember hating running at school – and the reasons behind her early dislike of the sport; moving back to Kent – to Densole- aged nineteen, where she worked in a pub run by her father, before joining the ambulance service; Sam’s mum worked full time in a doctor’s surgery, first as a receptionist and then as a practice manager – ‘my mum and my dad were always at work, giving us the things we had like horses and supporting my brothers but, yeah, everybody just sort of pulled together.’
5:30 Sam’s parents still live in Hawkinge; her lack of interest in non-horse-related sport after leaving school – ‘no running even crossed my mind. It was work, home and horses and that’s all I did’; her family’s involvement in sport; changes to the ambulance service since Sam started working twenty-five years ago, including the extra strain on the service and the increasing pressures and responsibilities of her job.
9:30 Sam explains the circumstances behind her first foray into running in 2011 – ‘I kind of got pushed into it’; Sam’s decision, following her first Race for Life, to train for the Royal Parks half marathon in London – ‘It was brilliant. And that was it, no turning back’; Sam’s continued dedication to training and competing, and her love of collecting medals.
10:50 From Sam’s dislike of running as a schoolgirl, to her newfound appreciation of the sport – ‘maybe it was the fact that I was doing it for me…it was my choice to do it’; Sam describes her approach to running, and its social and meditative benefits; Sam explains how running gave her goals to aim for, how it made her a ‘nicer mum’, and how she became fitter, healthier and more active because of it.
14:30 Sam’s research and training regime in preparation for her first half marathon; the social side of running – ‘I’ve made some lifelong friends through running’; running habits and routines with different partners, and listening to music when running alone; how Sam progressed after the initial half marathon, including joining a running club in Canterbury.
19:00 Sam’s decision to set up her own running club while recovering from (non-running-related) knee surgery; her desire to make her club all-ability, and all-inclusive, and thus distinct from more exclusive athletics clubs; the diversity of ability that exists within her club, the Hawkinge Hurricanes, and how they all mix together – ‘you can be who you wanna be’.
22:20 Gaining a Leaders Qualification through England Athletics, and then embarking on a coaching qualification (also England Athletics) to better serve the club; Sam lists various training courses and qualifications that she and her team have taken part in.
25:30 The origins of Hawkinge Hurricanes, the reasons behind its affiliation with England Athletics, and the genesis of the club’s name; how Sam’s friends helped with the club’s logo and design; advertising and growing the club with posters and word of mouth, and becoming known around the village; where the club trains - in and around the village, in the countryside, on the beach and at the running track at the Duke of York School in Dover.
29:20 Expanding the club to include a group in Aylesham; the Hurricanes was founded in February 2016, with a membership of five – membership now stands at 227; more on the social side of the Hurricanes – get togethers, pub lunches, cycle rides, kayaking etc.; Sam and the club’s success at the Shepway Sports Trust Awards – in 2018 Sam was awarded Volunteer of the Year; Sam talks about the support the club has received from the Shepway Sports Trust and the feeling of being recognized at its awards;
35:35 Sam describes what it was like winning three awards – Sport Project of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Club of the Year – at the 2019 Shepway Sports Trust Awards; the Hurricanes work with Deaf UK to support a deaf athlete (now a Club Leader) in the club; the Hurricanes 2019 runnability project, which now supports fifteen athletes with Down’s syndrome, making it the only club in Kent to do so.
42:05 The stress on positive mental health at the club, and the training in mental health that some of its leaders and coaches have undertaken; the club’s initiatives in mental health, such as a ‘dog jog’, and its plans to work in schools on issues around mental health; Sam describes how running has helped her deal with stress, and how she ‘juggles’ work with her obligations to the club – ‘I like to keep busy’.
45:45 Sam’s own running achievements, including running in three ‘ultra-marathon’ 100km events; her determination to finish every event/race she started; Sam explains her approach to long distance events – ‘I’m more like a tortoise. I’ll get there when I’m good and ready’ – and the training she does now; Sam’s completed fifteen full marathons in total (two London marathons) and says the Jersey marathon – the only marathon she’s run on her own – was her favourite; her hypothetical retirement from marathon running – ‘never say never’ – and her desire to run ‘as long as my body lets me’
51:55 The importance of running to Sam – ‘It’s part of who I am now, and the club is part of who I am now’; Sam’s plans for the future of the Hurricanes, including growing the Down’s syndrome group and launching a ‘plogging’ group – an initiative to pick up litter while jogging.
55:00 The ethos of the club – ‘Fun, Fit and Friendly’; how the club feels like a family to Sam; her fondest memories and proudest achievements with the club, and the joy in doing so well at the Shepway Sports Trust awards.