Who is Tom Hogshead?
Extracted from: "Serpentine Running Club: The First Ten Years"
by Hazel Paterson
In the early days (1982/83), many Saturday lunchtimes were frittered away – or well spent – in the Churchill Arms (a pub in Kensington Church Street which has yet to display a blue plaque that says "Serpentine runners drink here").
One Saturday, James Godber, (former Hon Sec and Honorary Life Member No 3) found himself chatting to a chap who had an apartment in New York from which he watched the marathon every year. After some idle chatter, James introduced the man to Wendy (Wood, that is, – former Hon Treasurer and Honorary Life Member No 4), and twenty minutes later, James was sent to fetch a club t-shirt and an application form from the car. As you may have guessed, this person was Tom.
James and Wendy pestered the poor man about his continued non-appearance in Hyde Park until one Saturday, he came and ran the handicap. He subsequently ran the 1983 Sunday Times Fun Run. When James learnt that Tom was returning to the States, he asked if he would like to put up a trophy for one of the club championships, and without hesitation, Tom offered one for the handicap series, it being the only race in which he had participated. So early in 1984, the Tom Hogshead Trophy for the 1983 series was presented to Bobbie Randall.