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When the Godiva Harriers was formed in 1879, there were many athletic events in the summer months, usually forming part of a village fete or a Philanthropic Event. The winter activity consisted of Hare and Hound Chases. The harrier clubs existed from October until March, the athletes being left to their own devices in the summer months. The reason for the cessation of country running being the impossibility of trying to negotiate the fields when the crops were growing, making the routes impassable …. besides upsetting the farmers. A chase consisted of two designated runners (the ‘hares’) who set off with a shoulder bag full of shredded paper and laid a trail (or ‘scent’) across the country for the rest of the athletes (the ‘hounds’) to follow after a lapse of a few minutes …. in other words, it was a working class mimic of a fox hunt!! When the ‘hounds’ got lost, or the scent was lost by the hinds, or the scent got mixed up with another Harrier Club holding a similar event in the same area, the whipper-in used a bugle to get the pack back together.