Every now and then, someone wanders, knowingly or otherwise, into the peculiar orbit of Hoof Hearted. This time, it’s Pete!

Now, Pete doesn’t look like a man prone to poor decision-making. Quite the opposite. By all accounts, he’s an intelligent bloke. A Cambridge maths graduate, no less. A former IBM software engineer. The sort of person who plans things….properly. His Friday and Sunday runs for the Winchester running community are mapped out with the kind of meticulous precision that suggests he knows exactly what he’s doing at all times.

Which makes his decision to join Hoof Hearted all the more baffling. We suspect there may have been a moment, perhaps fleeting inattention! A missed sign. A wrong turn. A click too many. And suddenly… he’s in!

To be fair, Pete does show early signs of understanding what he’s let himself in for, after all he runs regularly with Malc and Marc so he has an inkling of what comes next.

A true gentleman, Pete is rarely seen without quietly helping others along the way. Many will be familiar with the sight of him carrying Michaela gracefully across sodden ground, ensuring she arrives with dignity intact. This admirable habit now faces escalation: we fully expect him to be carrying Malc across most terrain in the near future: dry, wet, uphill, downhill, and possibly metaphorical!

Most importantly Pete is a grandad, bringing wisdom, patience, and, crucially, the ability to carry things (see above) to the Hoof Hearted team. At present, he’s learning Welsh via Duolingo, which may prove useful when attempting to interpret certain Hoof Hearted route briefings.

So welcome, Pete. A bright bloke, normally, a generous soul, always, and now officially a member of a very elite team. We bet he cant wait to be welcomed over the finish line, announced to the crowd as Team Hoof Hearted! A rare honour.