HUGH AGGLETON 28/9/84 – 14/8/22 by John Aggleton

HUGH AGGLETON

28/9/84 – 14/8/22

by JOHN AGGLETON

Hugh epitomised fell running. He loved the hills, he loved the physical and mental challenges with their highs and lows, and he loved the camaraderie. Hugh began running regularly to stay fit when rowing at Oxford University. This meant tackling the hills of South Wales with Mynyddwyr De Cymru. At first it was more toil than pleasure but one club night, high in the hills above Ogmore Vale, he took off into the distance with the fastest runners and had what he later described as an epiphany. From that moment he never looked back.
In 2005 he began entering races, starting at the back as he imagined he would be last. As he discovered his love and aptitude for fell
running his performances went from strength to strength. Almost anyone racing in Wales between 2006 – 2018 would recognise
Hugh, mainly from behind. During that period, he won numerous races and set course records. He was South Wales Series WFRA
champion twice. In 2015 he was the WFRA and Welsh Athletics Men’s Open Fell Running Champion. In recognition of his ability,
Hugh repeatedly represented Wales at fell running.

Among other notable achievements, he twice won the world-famous Man versus Horse race (2013, 2105), but never quite beat the first horse. He was King of the Mountains (with Chris Jones) in the 2014 Three Peaks Yacht Race. He also won fell and trail races in Shropshire, Northumberland, Hampshire, Wiltshire, and the Isle of Wight. He won races that ranged from 3 to 50 miles and completed the South Wales Traverse in under 18 hours at an early stage of his career. He ran various marathons, for example being the first GBR man home (out of 477) in the 2016 Athens Authentic Marathon.
For his road running, Hugh also represented the RAF.
Hugh was always incredibly modest of his achievements. On hearing of his death, a past President of Mynyddwyr De Cymru wrote ‘trying to get him to admit that he’d actually won something, was a great effort in itself!’ In 2019 Hugh knew his fell running was over after being diagnosed with an incurable, aggressive brain tumour. Like his running, he showed quite extraordinary fortitude and inner strength over the time he had left. His absence on the hills and mountains will be sorely missed.