Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Hello,
I hope everyone is well, and recovered from the Bristol 10km and half. Some race reports to read, from the Ultra trail Snowdonia and the masters 10km at Bideford, as well as the great Bristol run. Volunteers are still needed for the Blaise Blaser, and club representatives to open the club house during park run (see club news). If you enjoyed reading about the Gravel and grit backyard ultra from Martin and Gareth last week, we have been given a 15% off code for Westbury harriers for 2027 (see upcoming races section).
Have a great week everyone,
Ben.
In this week’s newsletter:
- Club notices
- Training this week
- Race reports / results
- Upcoming races
1. CLUB NOTICES
KIT STOLEN.
At the Wednesday Hills session last week we had coats stolen from the start / finish point. Just be aware this is a rare occurrence but is a possibility and do not leave any valuables or items of clothing you would miss when out and about on any run.
REMINDER – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BLAISE BLAZER, MONDAY 1st JUNE
In order to put this event on, we need nearly 50 volunteers spread across marshalling the course, registration, setup etc.
Marshalls will be need to arrive at 18:30, and people on setup / registration 17:30.
All information regarding volunteer positions, timings and the information pack will be sent the week before the event.
Don’t forget, volunteers who have participated in at least one Club Championship race will receive 10 Club Championship Points for volunteering at each of the three events that we host each year!
If you are able to volunteer, please let Alastair know at volunteers@westburyharriers.co.uk
BLAISE BLAZER – ENTRIES OPEN
Entries are now open for this year’s Blaise Blazer. Entry only £10/£12. Monday 1st June 2026.
Scenic/hilly 6k through Blaise Estate. Friendly event, all abilities are welcome. Plenty of individual, team & spot prizes and lots of free cake after.
https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/blaise-blazer/
OPENING THE CLUBHOUSE DURING BLASE PARKRUN – WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER?
We would like to be able to open up the Clubhouse on a Saturday morning during the Blaise parkrun. This would allow us to offer an opportunity for those Club members who take part in parkrun to meet up over coffee and biscuits after their run. It is also a great opportunity to showcase the club as welcoming to runners of all abilities who would be welcome to join us after their run and see what the club has to offer.
The Club is run by volunteers and those currently involved simply don’t have the capacity to take on this task. So we are looking for a group of about 4 volunteers to form a team to take the project forward.
What does this involve?
People can bring their own ideas as to what is needed and what is achievable, but in simple terms, opening up the clubhouse, putting the kettle on and making some drinks, being welcoming to anyone who wants to pop in and making sure the clubhouse is tidy and locked up when you leave.
We did try this out a few years ago and found that people were keen to stop for a coffee and chat, but then had other things to get on with and we were finished before 10:30am. The club has a number of key holders already, we can add new people and explain the opening up and locking up procedures with you.
So, if you are a regular park runner this could be your opportunity to help in the operation and promotion of your club, whilst adding to the enjoyment of a parkrun at Blaise for yourself and others.
We are hoping to start with opening the Clubhouse once every three months but with a hope that a more regular schedule (monthly?) might be possible if we have sufficient volunteers and the events are successful. If you might be interested in becoming part of this new team please contact Mark Andrews and we can discuss things in more detail.
THERE’S STILL A CHANCE TO JOIN THE BOAT TRIP!
We are trying to organise an upriver boat trip on Saturday 20th June 19:00 – 22:00 on Bristol Packets ‘The Bagheera. We need to pay the deposit to secure the boat asap. We are asking for a non-refundable deposit of £10 per head. We need at least 22 people to make this work, but can go up to 50.
The approximate cost of the trip is about £24 ph + about £13:75 for onboard fish & chip. This cost of the trip will depend on numbers, could be under £20 + F&C if we get 50 people!
Please do think about signing up as we need more people and it’s great that there will be a club social event.
YATE AC – TRACK RACING
As the sun comes out and we move into the spring/summer you may fancy giving the track a go. As a Westbury Harrier member you can join our sister club Yate AC for free. As Westbury is registered for road and cross country disciplines only, for track we compete for Yate AC who are only registered for the track discipline.
- To do this join Yate as Westbury associate member.
- Complete the other discipline form. Attached to this email. This needs to be signed by a WH committee member/team manager and then sent to both Westbury and Yate membership secretaires (membership@westburyharriers.co.uk and yatemembership@outlook.com). You only need to complete this form once.
- Once registered you may want to check your power of 10 profile updates to show Westbury and Yate so your results show. Any issues email power of 10.
2. TRAINING THIS WEEK
MONDAY – Tempo Session:
Group runs from Blaise Castle Pavilion at 6.30pm. These are perfect sessions for a Tempo pace run. Equally there are plenty of groups available if you want a recovery or social run. Book via RunTogether.
WEDNESDAY – Hill Session:
Adults, all abilities. Meet every Wednesday at 12pm, corner of Saville Road by the Downs. Sign up on RunTogether App.
THURSDAY – Interval Session:
7pm at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex.
4 mins (2 min recovery)
4 x 1min (1 min recovery)
4 mins (2 min recovery)
4 x 1min (1 min recovery)
4 mins to finish.
10km pace on 4 mins, quicker than 5km pace 1 mins.
Option to drop 4 mins to 3 mins.
3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS
UTS (Ultra trail Snowdonia)
by Ben Wood
I ran the UTS 80km ultra marathon on a chilly Friday night. My running has been pretty sporadic of late (3 months off over winter with achilles, and then hospitalised with Appendicitis last month). However I have been helping a friend train for the UTS 50km race, so have done some weekends in Wales marching up and down hills of late. I did run the Butcombe 50km ultra 3 weeks ago, and had a great race… in the first half, not so much the second. However ‘I got the bug back’ and signed up for the UTS 80km race the next week. I was going to go up and support anyway so I thought, why not?
I drove up to Snowdonia Friday morning, registered and got my kit checked and number in the afternoon. Then I had a nap and at 8pm I was stood inside Caernarfon castle with 400 other runners waiting to race. The race started with 12km along a railway line, and I stuck to a very easy pace. By the first check point I was in 93rd. Then we headed up into the mountains and it was time to put our headtorches on as night descended. The race was ‘pretty’ flat for the first third, then we headed up a mountain, I climbed 800m in 5km and then descended 900m in the next 5km! I came down the mountain in 46th. The last third was racing along river tracks and forest roads. I felt really strong throughout and was in a good place as the sun came up and I descended towards Llanberis and the finish line, by this point I had climbed up to 38th. I only had 2km to go and I could see a runner behind me. I tried to speed up as best I could. Bit of tragedy struck as I missed the final turn and carried straight on following previous race markers, thinking I was on the right track I ran on until the runner behind me shouted we had missed a turn! We both back tracked and ran in together. It had cost me over 20 minutes and 10 places. I finished in 50th. Despite the disappointment at the end I really enjoyed the race, and just felt very grateful throughout.
Bideford 10k – Masters representative race
by Lyn Jenkins
I was lucky this year to have qualified to represent England in the Bideford 10k race, competing against Wales, Northern Ireland and UKAF. This was the first time that this race had been hosted by an amateur athletic club, and at only 1,100 runners felt very different to 2025 when the race was the Great North 10k with 10,000 runners. As usual the race was open to all runners, but with almost 20% being Masters representative athletes it was always going to be extremely competitive.
Starting on the quay we headed across Bideford Long Bridge and out to Instow on the road, before returning back along the Tarka trail. The road section was not completely closed to traffic, and the trail was still open to walkers and cyclists, so runners had to be aware of other users. The weather was cool and blustery to start but soon the sun came out, and we were wishing for shade. Finishing the race on the town quay was a final push into a headwind but the crowd were very supportive.
I was content to finish in 4th place in my age group, as the first 3 ladies all ran under 50 minutes. My time of 50.55 was over 2 minutes faster than my England representative 10k last year, so a win for me. Congratulations to Anthony Glover who represented Northern Ireland in the V50 age group and finished in 35.03.
Junior Great Bristol Run
by Dylan
Dylan took part in the junior great Bristol run on Saturday 09th May. He had a great time, pushed hard at the start (as got caught up in the excitement), and took on the second half with confidence.
He achieved a fantastic time of 12.48.
Well done Dylan!
Great Bristol run
by Reiko Lukes
Weather was perfect for running, and I loved that the course was reversed. It was much easier to run pretty much in a straight line until the end (for the last third of the race).
It was lovely to see so many Westbury Harriers supporters cheering us on.
I was pleased to get a 1:38 PB and to be 10th in my age category.
Reiko Lukes (with fellow harriers Helen and Emma).
4. UPCOMING RACES / CLUB CHAMPS
A reminder that we have an events calendar on our website where you can keep track of dates for training, events and races. https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/events-calendar/
And club champ races here: Club Championship – Westbury Harriers
Other club races:
Monday 1st June – Blaise Blazer
Other local races:
Friday 29th May: Towpath 10k Mob Match – club champs – Towpath Series – Great Western Runners
Wednesday 3rd June: Bitton 5k – club champs – Bitton Road Runners – RaceNation
Tuesday 9th June: Clevedon Midsummer 10k – club champs – https://clevedonac.co.uk/our-races/midsummer-10k-race/
Thursday 18th June: Thornbury 10k – club champs Thornbury Running Club
Friday 26th June: Beer and Banger 10k – https://www.stuweb.co.uk/race/3yS
Wednesday 8th July: Brean Banger – club champs Brean Banger | Burnham on Sea Harriers
Thursday 16th July: Purdown Pursuit (TACH) – club champs https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?event_id=17733
Sunday 30th August: Wyedean Relay Race (Please see Gary Dicken’s post on Facebook) – https://sites.google.com/site/roguerunsevents/home/our-events/wyedean-relay
“This is a race I have taken part in for the last few years and members have said they’re interested in taking part. I have put a post on the Facebook page with all the details.
The Wyedean relay race is a race split over 7 legs from Ross on Wye to Chepstow approximately 38 miles long. It’s an off road race mainly following the river Wye of various distances and elevation.
Teams of 7 with a minimum of 2 ladies per team. If there is enough interest we will enter up to 2 teams. It is not an affiliated team therefore anyone can run, so if you know someone who isn’t a member of Westbury they can still compete. Legs are self navigated and cost £12 per runner. The same as the Cotswold way each leg has its own start time and times are accumulated at the end”.
You can speak to Gary if you are interested.
15% discount for Westbury harriers at the Gravel & Grit Backyard Ultra 2027 .
After a successful event, G&G will return next year at Blaise Estate on Saturday 1st May. It was an awesome weekend despite the downpour, but it was so good to see the runners battle it out together aiming to get another loop done and go the distance. It has gained a lot of interest for next year, they already have 103 entries confirmed. We even have 5 of our Westbury Harriers that have registered and keen to give it a try. Fantastic!
If you’re up for the challenge and fancy trying a backyard event, then G&G have kindly offered us 15% off the entry ticket.
https://www.gravelandgritevents.com/
Don’t take too long to decide, as tickets are selling out fast.
We would also love to see more female representation, I am certainly looking to do it, so don’t hesitate to sign up. If you have any questions about it, then message me.
Yvette Casallas.
Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Ben Wood
