Westbury Harriers Weekly News

Evening all,

Aren’t you lucky to receive two back-to-back weekly newsletter updates from me 🙂

This weekend’s newsletter has plenty of race highlights to read from the weekend and a few I forgot to mention last week. Congratulations to everyone on all your achievements, it’s always great to see Westbury Harriers representing the club. Tomorrow is Move Up Monday, this is a great opportunity to run with the next level group and use it as a trial / progression.

It’s not long before the first XC fixture of the Gwent League kicks off – 10th October, add this to the calendar now. Let the mud madness begin! We would love to see as many Westbury Harriers take part.

We would also love one more volunteer to help at the club house on Sunday 11th October between 2-4pm, to support the Black To The Trails event.

Up & Running are also hosting two brand try-on events this week with Puma and Merrell, free to sign up. All details can be found below in the links.

What’s been happening in the world of running…well I was dot watching a few friends racing the Tor Des Geants, an extreme 330km (205-mile) single-stage ultra-marathon held annually in the Italian Alps / Aosta Valley. Insane mountainous terrain and views, considered to be one of the tougest footraces in the world.

Germany’s Katharina Hartmuth and China’s Jia-Ju Zhao won the 2026 Tor des Géants in new course records, with Hartmuth also becoming the first woman to ever land on the overall podium with her third-place overall finish, finishing 67:10:09, beating her own previous course record from 2024 by almost exactly 12 hours. She also recently set the new women’s record on the Bob Graham Round, 106km, 14hrs 11mins (22min faster, set in 2020)

Not sure if anyone knows about Athlos, I was certainly unaware it was taking place and making it’s first debut in London on Friday 18th September. Athlos is a professional, women-only track and field event series, founded in 2024 to spotlight elite female athletes. All eyes were on Keely Hodgkinson as she powered to victory winning the 800m race in a bespoke Nike black full-body speed suit, mixing fashion, speed and science together. A more aerodynamic approach to making you faster, first tested back in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games worn by Cathy Freeman. Could this be the future of track racing? Could this be Westbury Harriers new club kit?(in working progress)

In this week’s newsletter:

1. Club notices
2. Training this week
3. Race reports / results
4. Upcoming races

1. CLUB NOTICES

TOMORROW – MOVE UP MONDAY – 21ST SEPTEMBER

Monday 21st September will be a Move Up Monday for our Senior Groups.

We encourage all runners to book onto the Group that best matches the pace they currently run at. We understand that moving up to a quicker group can be a daunting prospect.

Move up Monday is a formal opportunity to try running with a quicker group. Our Leaders will be anticipating that they might have new people in the group and will plan the route and pace accordingly. If several runners move up together that should give runners additional reassurance and support.

So, if you are running towards the front of the group you usually run with then this is the ideal opportunity to see how you get on running with the group above.

REMINDER – DATE FOR THE DIARY – SATURDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2026 at Horspath Athletics Stadium, Horspath Rd, Oxford, OX4 2RR

Just want to draw your attention to the British Masters Cross Country Relays so you make a note of it.

https://bmaf.opentrack.run/ro/x/2026/GBR/bmaf-xcr/

Women: It is 4 in a team for V35, V45, V55 and 3 in a team for V65, V75 each running 3km. Race at midday.
Men: It is 5 in a team for for V35, V45, V55 and 3 in a team for V65 & V75 each running 3km. Race at 13.45 V35/45/55 and midday for V65/V75

Team managers will be in touch nearer the time to see if there is any interest. Entries close 10/10/26. This event used to be held up north, where as this venue is much easier for us to get to. Entries close 10/10/26 – so will check in with people nearer the time who is interested.

BLACK TO THE TRAILS – Sunday 11th October at Blaise Castle Estate – FINAL CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP

We are looking for another volunteer to cover the 2-4pm slot please.

This is to help the event team to safely use the space in the club house, whilst they are moving items in out/filling water. This will also be an opportunity to encourage participants of the race to try out Westbury Harriers.

If you are able to volunteer betwteen 2-4pm, please contact Seema Srivastava (WH Committee Joint EDI officer) on seema.the.doctor@gmail.com

We would also encourage WH members to sign up to the BTTT event – under 16s are free. SIGN UP HERE: https://www.blacktothetrails.co.uk/bristol

ACADEMY TRAINING UPDATE

Last Monday, welcomed both returning and new Academy athletes (aged 8–11) back for the first autumn training session following the summer break. With an incredible 51 children turning up, it was our biggest start to the season for a while!

For the first time in several seasons, we expanded from two training groups to three – and the new format proved a great success. Two groups enjoyed a mix of training activities and games at Coombe Dingle, while a third group headed to Great Brockridge to take on challenging hill sessions as preparations begin for the upcoming cross-country season.

We were also pleased to welcome several new athletes and parent volunteers to the Academy. A number parents have recently completed their DBS checks and are now able to support our sessions. A warm welcome to all our new starters – we’re delighted to have you on board.

Fundraising Success: Our sponsored summer running challenge in support of St Peter’s Hospice has now raised an impressive £571. A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who took part. Many of our Academy runners achieved outstanding personal milestones during the challenge, demonstrating tremendous commitment and determination. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of all participants in the coming weeks, so watch this space for further details.

UP & RUNNING DEMO EVENTS

PUMA – Tuesday 22nd September (Testing the Deviate Pure Nitro road shoe)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ur-bristol-x-puma-tickets-1999701129910

Merrell – Thursday 24th September (Testing the Agility Peak 6 trail shoe)
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ur-bristol-x-merrell-x-bristol-trail-runners-tickets-1999861899777

3. TRAINING THIS WEEK

MONDAY – Tempo Sessions:

Group runs from Coombe Dingle Sports Complex 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.

TUESDAY – Track Session:

Track at Yate

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.

5mins (2min recovery) – 6 x 90secs (1min recovery) 5min

*option drop 5 mins down to 4mins

5mins @10k pace/effort, 90secs @5k pace/effort or quicker

3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS

Oldbury 10-miler, Sunday 20th September

by Felicity Russell

11 Harriers ran today and we managed to get ten of them into a photo (cats…herding…). This race is also the AAA’s 10-mile championships which garnered medals for Mark Tooski (MV60), Anne Dockery (FV75), and Judy Knights (FV60, who almost missed the presentation because she was chatting away in the massage queue).

Sadly, this is the last time that the Oldbury 10 will be run in its present format, because the power station site that serves as Race HQ will no longer be available in the future. Thornbury RC are currently considering how they might replace it going forward.

Anyway, well done all!

Midland Road Relays: Senior Men – Saturday 19th September

by Scott Campbell

A great event as always but one that can be a bit difficult to get a team out with injuries and illness so a desperate call from Chris Palmer to me on Thursday meant I found my way up to Sutton Park!

We drove out of the rain to get to a sunny Sutton Park, although traffic meant we got there 10 mins before the race start but luckily leg 1 and 2 runners were already there (and therefore no team photo unfortunately!)

So Olly Shepard led us off on the undulating 5.4k route with a great run to put us in 34th position and was backed up by Tom Reed on leg 2, although running without a watch meant he might have gone a bit hard in the first half! Alastair Blackwood then stepped up having originally expected to be in the B team and had another strong run before more good performances from Joshua Adler and Jack Derrick. I then went on the last leg and tried not to lose too many places to bring us home in 44th place out of 111 complete teams and managing to beat the 2 hour mark to finish in 1:57:54.

Not quite enough to qualify for the nationals but a great day out and solid performances all round!

Results:

Olly Sheppard 17:57
Tom Reed 18:42
Alastair Blackwood 20:59
Joshua Adler 19:18
Jack Derrick 20:16
Scott Campbell 20:39

Man V Horse Quantocks – Saturday 19th September

by Heidi Andrews

As a regular participant and huge fan of the established Welsh version I was not sure where to set my expectations for the event yesterday. Whilst the same distance (23 miles trail running) it is much more low key.  Pre race communication had been rather sketchy, so it was a relief when we rocked on up to a field with about 18 horses and 80 ish runners, it was actually happening. The route was glorious, there were most certainly gradients to contend with, but what views. Throughout the event the camaraderie between all competitors on 2/ 4 legs was amazing. Thank you to my fellow runners and riders from Westbury Harriers for a great day out, huge kudos to Helen and Tim for taking on the full distance, the relay legs were demanding enough. A horse won on this occasion, and as with the Welsh event this one has certainly  won my approval.

Copenhagen Half Marathon 2026 – Sunday 20th September

by Mark Andrews (Full race report to follow)

Today a group of Westbury Harriers took part in the Copenhagen Half Marathon. The race is not only part of the Super Halfs series, but also the World Athletics Road Running championship.

For several of us this will be the completion of the Super Half Series, an adventure that has already taken us to Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Valencia and Cardiff as well as a bonus trip to Naples! Others still have races to complete.

Over 30,000 steps of sightseeing yesterday wasn’t ideal preparation for the race, but Copenhagen is a lovely city, the course is flat and takes in some of the sights so we are all looking forward to it!

With lots of events taking place this weekend, good luck to everyone wherever you are racing!

Congratulations to Sophie

Sophie has recently won QuadKids in Yeovil with an impressive 600m in 1:49:38 which she run in her Westbury Harriers vest!

British Masters T&F Championships – Friday 11th September

by Tamsin Chick

🥈🥉Congratulations to our Westbury masters competing in Derby on Friday. Lyn Jenkins (v70) 3rd 1500m, 3rd 400m, Anne Dockery (v75) 3rd 1500m, 2nd 400m, 2nd 3000m, Tamsin (v45) 3rd 1500m, 2nd 3000m. Very inspiring to watch masters athletes perform at such a high level. Not sure I’ll be able to get around a track aged 85! Please note – in masters competitions on the track you have to compete for an area masters club – we have not just ditched our WH or Yate vests!

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

Upcoming club relays

Saturday 24^th October – British Masters Cross Country Relays – Oxford

Provisional Gwent League Dates 2026/27 season 

Saturday October 10^th Pembrey County Park
Sunday November 8^th Cardiff (rugby fixture on the 7th)
Saturday December 5^th Blaise Castle
Saturday/Sunday February 13^th/14th (date and venue TBC)
Saturday/Sunday March 6^th /7th (date and venue TBC)

Other local races:

Sunday 27th September 2026: Forest of Dean Autumn Half Marathon (CLUB CHAMPS) – https://www.forestofdean-halfmarathon.co.uk/autumn/
Sunday 27th September 2026: Black Nore 10k – https://www.fullonsport.com/event/black-nore-10km-2026/profile
Sunday 25th October 2026: The Clock Change Challenge (CLUB CHAMPS) – AUTUMN – Clock Change Challenge – Course Maps
Sunday 1st November 2026: Nightingale Nightmare (CLUB CHAMPS) – Nightingale Nightmare 2026  (This sells out quickly!!)
Thursday 19th November 2026: Weston Prom #3 – (CLUB CHAMPS)
Thursday 17th December 2026: Severn Bridge Night Race – (CLUB CHAMPS) RogueRuns – Severn Bridge 5 Night Race (This also sells out quickly)

Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA

WESTBURY HARRIERS FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/westburyharriers/
WESTBURY HARRIERS INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/westbury_harriers/

If anyone is on Instagram, we would love for you to tag us, so we can share your posts/stories taking part in club events or other races!

Editor: Yvette Casallas