Westbury Harriers Weekly Newsletter 19/08/24
Sending this newsletter into your inboxes on a late Monday evening. I hope everyone had a great time at the Annual Club Hash and Cake sale tonight and returned home with bellies full of yummy cake! I’ve been enjoying reading all the race updates, and getting slightly FOMO as I’m missing all the action. However, I’m pretty happy not rushing into any events just yet until i’m totally injury free post Lakeland 100. I’ll be back to sessions soon. As well as our members taking part in various events, we’ve also been busy supporting the local community and raising money for charity. Everyone’s input has been greatly appreciated.
RACE AND EVENT REPORTS
Brecon Beacon Fell race
by Hannah Large
Iain Large came third in the Brecon Beacons Fell race yesterday in 3.21 – a 20 mile loop taking in Cribyn, Pen y Fan, Corn Du and Tor y Foel. Damian Hall took 1st place with Mark Burley, former B&W runner, coming in second. Great to see George Griffiths too – coming in 13th place in 4.05. Brilliant racing both! I failed to get many pictures but would highly recommend this race if you like long hilly runs – and a bargain for only £10!
The Crooks Peak Cake Race
by Ben Wood
A fell race for the club champs!
It was a grey day, but the club championship committee must have had a word with someone as the sun came out over the Mendips for a stunning evening of running…. uphill. A good number of Harriers turned up to participate in the Crooks Peak Cake Race, so called as the winner gets a cake, to share!
The race starts on a steep hill, and you get a whopping 100 metres elevation in the first kilometre! It was straight up to Crook’s Peak, dodging sheep and trying to control some sort of breathing. Then a ridge line sprint to another accent! After this a long downhill stretch to the finish line, which like the start is situated on a steep hill. I decided to do a rolly polly on the last decent, some might say I fell, and yes I was bleeding and bruised….but it was mainly on purpose.
Congratulations to Anneke Bull for her 1st place FV60 finish! Jack Derrick seals his place at the top of the championship with a 6th place finish and I managed 11th place (I can taste those running vouchers). Also kudos to Rebecca Lee for a 7th place female finish!
After, we all enjoyed a drink in the white heart pub, lovely stuff.
Rose Inn 4 miler
by Judy Knights
A few of us went over the bridge to Redwick last night for the last in this series of the Rose Inn 4 mile races. The light rain was welcome on a humid evening. Some good performances as follows:
Mathew Graham 26:03, Alex Miller 26:24, Trevor Fitsall 29:02, Kate Hoffen 30:18 (3rd WV55), Judy Knights 30:31, Kate Goldie Graham 32:06 (3rd WV35), Felicity Russell 32:35 (2nd WV65), Emma-Jane Orchard 33:24, Alison White 33:45.
Thursday Evening 5k Time Trial
by Mark Andrews
For those of us that enjoyed running at Crook Peak on a glorious summer evening yesterday the wind and rain that greeted us on the Downs this evening was a bit of a shock! The 15 runners who braved the elements were set off around a 5k loop in reverse order so that we all finished at roughly the same time. The rain wasn’t as bad as feared and the fences put up for the forthcoming Massive Attack concert safety avoided!
Thank you Katie Hughes for organising the run and timekeeping and to Tamsin Elson Chick, Vicky Tester and Sophie for coming out to support the runners on the route. Well done to those that ran, there were some good runs in tricky conditions!
Ambition Lawrence Weston Community Day
by Seema Srivastava
Great to support Ambition Lawrence Weston Ridingleaze Community Day on Wednesday with Tamsin Elson Chick. We had conversations with families about the club, the joy of running and generally being outdoors and moving more.
Several families took our details, so hopefully they may have a go and come to some of our welcoming and friendly sessions 🙏🏽
It was also great to see the strong community spirit, with initiatives to improve the play park, surrounding green space, the main retail street 💜
Sustrans was there promoting the new cycle path, as well as Bristol Bike, doing repairs 😊
Please let us know of more ideas to support and engage our local communities and encourage new members to the club 👍🏽
Avon Masters Championship Gold Medals
by Mark Andrews
Great to be able to present some well deserved medals!
Congratulations to:
Richard Hughes: 100m MV60
Sandy Masters: 1500m FV65
Sarah Andrews: 1500m FV55
CLUB NEWS AND ADMIN
ANNUAL CLUB HASH AND CAKE SALE
The chosen charity for the annual hash run and cake sale was Penny Brohn. If you were unable to attend tonight (like me), you can still make donation online on the JustGiving page – https://www.justgiving.com/page/elizabeth-smith-1723495419272?newPage=true
Penny Brohn are very grateful for our support.
ACADEMY NOTICES
As we are entering the third week of August, we are rapidly heading towards the Academy resuming training on 9th September.
It is now possible to renew your child’s membership for the Academy Term 1. The cost has remained static at £20. To rejoin, please use this link https://westburyharriers.co.uk/membership/how-to-join/ . You will then need to select Academy 24/25 – Term 1. As an existing Academy athlete, your child has priority membership for the coming year. Further places have been released on Friday 16th August. So if you have not signed your child up for the new term by Thursday 15th August, we will not be able to guarantee that a place will be available for them.
Secondly, the Academy is entirely reliant upon volunteers and parents to continue. Unless we have more volunteers, the future of the Academy could be at risk. We very much want to be able to continue nurturing the next generation of Olympians. This means that we need everyone to help where they can. You are not being asked to help every week, or even every fortnight. However we do need a core group of adult helpers who are enthusiastic and can support the running of the Academy on a fairly regular basis (say, twice or three times a term). Please – can you help?
If you can offer support, please email me with your phone number (and name) and I will call you to have a chat! (Lizzy)
THIS WEEK’S TRAINING
Monday: Tempo runs
Group tempo runs from Blaise at 6.30pm, with Wellbeing run at 7.15pm
Tuesday: Track session at Yate 7pm –
Seniors book on via RunTogether. Check the FB page for session details.
Wednesday: Hill Session
Adults, all abilities. Meet every Wednesday at 12pm at the traffic lights by Saville Road on the Downs. Book on via RunTogether. Coffee in the Downs Café at 1pm for anyone that wants to come along.
Thursday: Intervals
Back at Coombe Dingle at 7pm.
30 secs out (30 secs recovery) 30secs back (1min recovery)
40 secs out (30 secs recovery) 40secs back (1min recovery)
50 secs out (30 secs recovery) 50secs back (1min recovery)
60 secs out (30 secs recovery) 60secs back (1min recovery)
90 secs out (30 secs recovery) 90secs back (1min recovery)
90 secs out (30 secs recovery) 90secs back (1min recovery)
60 secs out (30 secs recovery) 60secs back (1min recovery)
50 secs out (30 secs recovery) 50secs back (1min recovery)
40 secs out (30 secs recovery) 40secs back (1min recovery)
30 secs out (30 secs recovery) 30secs back (1min recovery
Aim for consistent pacing on the out and back. 60/90secs @5k pace, 30/40/50secs @ 3-5k pace. Option to drop the second set of 90secs out and back.
UPCOMING RACES AND TRACK FIXTURES
A reminder that we have an events calendar on our website where you can keep track of dates for training, events and races. (Thanks, Vicky, for keeping this updated). https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/events-calendar/
Club Championship info and rules on this link: https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/club-championship/
RACES
Sunday 25th August: Avon 5km Road Relay Championships: Cleeve Cricket Club
Saturday 14th September: The rearranged English National Cross Country Championships. Weston Park, Staffordshire.
Team managers have sent out details via email. Club pays entry fee. Target team race.
Saturday 21st September: Midland 6/4 stage Road Relays – Sutton Park. Target team race.
Sunday 29th September: Forest of Dean Autumn Half Marathon, Club Championship #12
Saturday 12th October: Pembrey Park, Gwent League XC
Saturday 9th November: Cardiff Cross Challenge, including second Gwent League XC fixture
Saturday 30th November: Blaise Castle, Gwent League XC
8th or 9th February: Margam Park (TBC), Gwent League XC
Saturday 1st March: Venue TBC, Gwent League XC
TRACK FIXTURES
August 21st: Bristol Track Night – Whitehall Athletics Track, Bristol, BS5 9AZ – 800m and 3k available, open to all:
https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2024/GBR/bristol-track-nights-24/fbclid=IwY2xjawEn8NdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHf587JmTfZZ78WPPtQOuHHxKLrqvGYBHZ9DpCg6HJhbD1Sx9sryyX0Z7DA_aem_1PZX9goBchTxF_MpXD0woA
August 27th: Avon AA Open Meeting – Filton – Avon AA Open Meetings
Midland League at Yate – Endurance runners needed.
Check out Yate Midland League FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/735921887780553
This week’s editor:
Yvette Casallas
