Welcome to my first newsletter!
I feel privileged to be part of such a fantastic club, so thought the least I could do was help to keep everyone up to date with how brilliant Westbury and its members are! I’ll be doing this with my trusty sidekicks Ben, Hannah & Yvette; so please do help out by posting your race stories, news and results on FB. People like hearing what others have been up to, so don’t be shy. Alternatively, you can always email or speak to one of us with any items or ideas for the newsletter.
Enjoy this week’s edition!
Sophie
4th Gwent League Fixture
All our teams (seniors/juniors) are doing really well in the league so far. We need you all for the next fixture, at Margam Park on Saturday 10th February.
https://www.gwent-league.org.uk
Juniors, please let your team managers know if you are available.
Seniors, please sign up on RunTogether.
Information on some of this week’s senior club sessions.
Please ensure sessions are booked in advance through RunTogether for seniors. It makes it easier for our planning if you sign up earlier rather than later as we keep[ to a safe ratio of leaders to runners. If RunTogether doesn’t refund you automatically, please message Tamsin and she’ll process it manually, as said before RunTogether is unfortunately a bit ad hoc on this front.
Club Centenary: Training this week.
The Club was established on the 8th February 1924 in the White Lion pub in Westbury village, so our centenary celebrations start this week. There will be some slight changes to training arrangements, see below for details for Monday and Thursday:
Monday night’s session
Please remember all groups now leave Coombe Dingle promptly at 18:30. This week, Leaders will plan a route that takes their group past the White Lion, where groups will stop for a quick photo opportunity. Again, please wear Club kit if you can!
Tuesday nights’ session
The next session will be on the 13th February. Please do come along and join us, we adapt the sessions to the group and run at a pace that everybody is comfortable with. The session will be on RunTogether in due time. Head or chest torch is mandatory.
Hannah, Richard, Harro & Josh.
Tuesday track session
From February track session fees (+admin fee) will be taken through RunTogether like other sessions, so there will be no need to pay Yate directly, as the club will do this. Please do cancel if you can’t make the session as the track sessions are popular and there has been a waiting list in recent weeks.
As before, if RunTogether doesn’t refund you automatically please message Tamsin.
This week the session is: More distance with 5k pace or quicker:
1k @ slower than 5k pace / 200m jog recovery
3 x 800m @ 5k pace/ 200m jog recovery
3x400m faster than 5k pace/100m jog recovery
If you run regularly at Yate or plan to give track races a go this season. Do make sure you have taken advantage of our partnership with Yate AC and joined Yate for free as an associate Westbury Harriers member.
https://westburyharriers.co.uk/membership/yate-partnership/
Wednesday hill session
Many thanks to Fliss who is supporting coaching these sessions since Richard stepped back. We also are grateful for others who are completing their LiRF course to help out too. These sessions are covered over the next few months, so please book on via RunTogether.
Thursday interval session
Interval training will start at 18:30 so that we are finished in time for the Centenary Club Supper afterwards at the White Lion (supper fully booked, but Tamsin has a waiting list!). We would like to take a photo of the training group, so please can everybody try and wear club kit this week!
This weeks, the session is due to be a road session, using the Elmlea loop.
Member News
Congratulations to Rosie Hamilton-James,
who came a fantastic 2nd place in yesterdays British Universities Cross Country Championships on the short course. The event was held at Temple Newsam Park in Leeds, and looked tough going. Well done Rosie!
Written by Tamsin Chick.
Well Done Ann Dockery,
who ran the British Masters 10k Championships today in Chichester in a chip time of 49:04, which is faster than she ran Magor last summer when that looked like an FV75 UK record at the time.
Written by Fliss Russell.
Race Report – Doynton Hard Half Marathon
Doynton Hard Half Marathon – billed as a “horrible cross-country race”
If you like an event where you have to hose yourself and your kit down before you go indoors and you still leave mud around the edge of the bath this is for you. It certainly lives up to its name but via such a glorious smorgasbord of experiences. Eight WH’s headed over to the impossibly pretty village of Doynton to take on the challenge today.
The route has a little bit of everything, I am struggling to think what terrain was not included. There were steep ups, steep downs, rocky trails, slippery paths on the camber, boggy fields, wooded trails, country lanes, stream wades all with lots of mud and a rather strong breeze thrown in. The stunning countryside views were worth it and no encounters with real life cows – those who I regularly run with know this was a relief!
The event was magnificently organised by Emersons Green Running Club, with so much attention to detail, almost too many to list but I will give a special mention to the marshals (several dressed as cows) and the goody bags – which are more than good.
Bravo on all results, it is not a walk in the park. Special mention to Becky who won her category and was rewarded with an amazing best in show rosette!
RESULTS
27th Alan Uren 1:49
56th Becky Lee 1:58 – 1st F40
80th Olivia Zeltner 2:03 – 7th FSen
129th Maggie Salter 2:13 – 2nd F60
142nd Heidi Andrews 2:15 – 2nd F50
155th Juliet Milne 2:18 – 7th V40
352nd Tim Carr 2:57
426th Carolyn Dent 3:34
Special award:
1st Spectator / Cheerleader / Photographer – All categories Mike Clarke
I absolutely loved taking part and I had the feeling that most entrants had reached the same conclusion.
Written by Heidi Andrews (any errors all authors own!).
Diary Dates
Key; Red = key club team races, Green = club championship race
Saturday 10th February 2024 Gwent Cross Country League Margam Park
Sunday 18th February Dursley Dozen Trail Race (Club Championship). https://tinyurl.com/2p8sn7eu
Saturday 24th February National Cross Country Championship, Weston Park.
Sunday 25th February 2024 Bath Two Tunnels Railway Race
Saturday 2nd March 5th Gwent League Pont-y-pŵl (Club Championship)
Sunday 3rd March Newport Half Marathon fullonsport
Saturday 16th March 2024 – Masters Open Cross Country Championships. Corwen, Wales. (Men/Women masters V35, V45, V55, V65 plus)
Saturday 26th March – Midland 12/6 stage road relays – Sutton Park (any questions please sepak to your Team manager)
Saturday 27th April Butcombe Trail Ultra Marathon 50 or 56 mile options
Saturday 25th May – Masters road relays – Leicester
Club Centenary Dates
Thursday 8th February 2024 club supper – White Lion in Westbury-on-Trym (now fully booked but Tamsin has a waiting list or just come along for a drink)
Saturday 23rd March 2024 Awards evening, venue TBC
Thursday 25th April 2024, AGM after training at Coombe Dingle (senior training will be at 6.30pm that evening)
Saturday 18th May 2024, formal centenary celebration, venue TBC
Saturday 22nd/Sunday 23rd June 2024, all club event. Activities for juniors and seniors followed by a BBQ/Hog Roast/some sort of food.
