Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Hi everyone,
What a day of Bristol running! Well done to everyone who took part in the Bristol 10k and Half today, plus the juniors who ran in the Mini/Junior races on Saturday. We had so many Westbury Harriers in all the races this weekend and there were some fantastic results across the board. There’s always such a great atmosphere for this race and it’s great to spot so many blue and white vests out on the city’s roads. There are a few Great Bristol Run race reports included in this week’s edition but if you ran this weekend and would like to share any photos or thoughts, do send them over to communications@westburyharriers.co.uk for us to include next week. Also check out the WH instagram and Facebook for more photos and videos from today’s event taken by members of the WH Cheer Squad. We’ve also got some reports from Martin and Gareth who ran the inaugural Bristol Backyard Ultra last weekend – fantastic running from both!
A quick reminder that Senior training will be returning to Blaise this Monday (11th May) – woohoo! Big thanks to the committee members and all who have worked hard to get the pavilion back up and running after the recent break in. Junior boys will also be back at Blaise, along with some other the other junior/academy groups (but your leaders will have told you where to go!)
There’s also our next Club Champs race – the Rose Inn 4 miler – happening this Tuesday. Entries are open until midnight on Monday if you still want to enter!
Have a great week everyone
In this week’s newsletter:
- Club notices
- Training this week
- Race reports / results
- Upcoming races
1. CLUB NOTICES
REMINDER – MONDAY SENIOR TRAINING LOCATION – RETURNS TO BLAISE TOMORROW (11 May)
This applies to all groups who would have expected to return to Blaise Castle.
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
MAKING TRACKS
Three members (Olivia, Yvette and Hannah) are in the process of trying to create an informal Bristol-based mentoring community that aims to empower women and other marginalised genders to run more off-road – we’re really hoping to bring together experienced trail, fell and ultra runners of all ages and abilities with those who are keen to try trail running for the first time or who would like to develop their confidence. We certainly do not want to create a running club or to replicate anything that WH already does, but we’re just hoping to build a specific trail community where people can share ideas, experiences and learn new skills. As active members of WH, we will of course be signposting people to join WH if they are looking for a great Bristol club! Despite an increase in participation in recent years, women and other marginalised genders are still underrepresented in trail running, and even more so when you look at fell and ultra running. Our rough plan is to organise monthly or bi-monthly workshops/sessions that focus on different topics – e.g. finding local routes, navigation, kit, juggling training for longer races with families/work/life commitments, intro to fell races etc. We also envisage having a WhatsApp community group where people can connect and share knowledge/experiences. It’s all very early days at the moment but it would be wonderful if any WH members are interested in getting involved in any way. At the moment, we’re asking anyone interested to fill out a very quick survey that we’ll use to help us shape the kinds of things we offer: https://forms.gle/iuuA9rA1t43Re6Sn6 We’re also @makingtracksbristol on Instagram, and you can email us on makingtracksbristol@gmail.com. Please do share with anyone you think may be interested. Thank you!
2. TRAINING THIS WEEK
MONDAY – Tempo Runs:
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.
Out and back session. Pairs of:
30 secs out (30 sec recovery), 30 secs back (1 min recovery)
40 secs out (30 sec recovery), 40 secs back (1 min recovery)
50 secs out (30 sec recovery), 50 secs back (1 min recovery)
60 secs out (30 sec recovery), 60 secs back (1 min recovery)
90 secs out (30 sec recovery), 90 secs back (1 min recovery)
90 secs out (30 sec recovery), 90 secs back (1 min recovery)
60 secs out (30 sec recovery), 60 secs back (1 min recovery)
50 secs out (30 sec recovery), 50 secs back (1 min recovery)
40 secs out (30 sec recovery), 40 secs back (1 min recovery)
30 secs out (30 sec recovery), 30 secs back (1 min recovery)
3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS
Bristol 10k
According to the official results, there were an amazing 45 Westbury Harriers running the 10K today – what a fantastic turnout! It’s wonderful to see that two of our runners got podium finishes today. Huge congratulations to Greg Hayward for taking 1st overall in the 10K in a time of 30:55, beating 2nd and 3rd by 2 seconds in a very tight race, and to Katie Hughes who finished 3rd female (and 1st V50) in a brilliant time of 38:00!
Bristol Half Marathon
19 Westbury runners took part in the half marathon this morning. Damien Holcombe was first WH back in 1:17:50. Rachel Liston, who led home the WH women in 1:34:40 says “Bristol half, without the hot sun for once! Finally, a year where the sunshine didn’t steal the show on a Bristol half day! A bit of wind aside, it felt like perfect conditions! I can officially declare that the half route works perfectly upside down. The amount of people who had made the effort to get out and support before 9am on a Sunday morning was unbelievable! I loved seeing so many people on the route both running and supporting, it felt like a very special community, thankyou to everyone who came out to cheer! I had a great run, very happy my legs held up after London 2 weeks ago, it was definitely a fastest ever Bristol half time and only 1 minute off my pb! Super happy for an age cat 4th position, although my daughter ran a 3rd place yesterday in the junior race, so it’s failed to impress at home!😅” Huge well done to Rachel (and Ellie)!
Junior & Mini Great Bristol Run
The Academy set the bar high at the Great Bristol Run. No pressure grown ups but we have some pretty high standards to match for the 10k/half on Sunday!
It was brilliant to see so many of our Academy and Junior runners out running the Great Bristol runs today, especially so many flying the Westbury flag in their blue tops! Results suggest we had 14 runners but I’m sure I counted more. The course weaves around the old town, offering a mix of gentle hills, with a stonkingly sharp hill – those doing the mini race got it once, juniors had the joy of tackling it twice!
It was pretty special to have the encouragement of Diamond and Dynamite, real life gladiators starting all the races, the goodie bag offered some decent treats too…plus a fancy t-shirt AND a medal, there was something for everyone!
I loved hearing the commentator saying over the tannoy “a great sprint finish from Westbury Harriers there, showing us how it’s done!” Of course!!
Well done to Sophie (1st u11 girls), and Ellie (3rd u11 girls) for the podium finish. In the u15s girls category well done to Ffion (1st) and Dily’s (3rd), and u15 boys Sam (1st).
BRISTOL BACKYARD ULTRA – Gravel and Grit
by Martin Fielding:
“This was my first time doing a running event like this. As it was being held at Blaise castle I thought I’ll give it ago. My aim was 6-10 laps. Laps 1-5 felt good getting back with plenty time spare, lap 6 was ok a little stiff in my legs but back in good time. Lap 7 my final lap – my legs were not happy with me and did not want to work, managed to jog/walk my way round the course getting back as lap 8 was starting so rang the bell to end my day. 28 miles in total covered. I enjoyed the challenge and will be trying again next year and would recommend for others to give it ago.”
by Gareth David:
“So having only completed a 10K fun run in my adult life, the next logical event to sign up to was an ultra marathon! A spur of the moment decision, after a friendly Irish chap (also a member of Westbury Harriers) suggested it, thanks George… The event was a ‘back yard’ ultra at Blaise, a 6.7km loop on the hour, every hour until you drop. It’s actually a really inclusive format, as in our group of friends we had people that had just entered for a bit of fun, with the intention of only doing 4 or so loops and others that wanted to go for 24 hours, to reach the 100 mile mark.
Having had shin splints in training, my aim was to do 8 or 12 loops and importantly not to injure myself further. In short, I did my 8 loops with one of my mates and we decided to ring the bell, as is the custom in back yard events. I was more than happy with 8, over the 50K mark, climbing well over 1000m and by far the furthest I’ve ever run. The support crew are so important for these types of events and my wife Alison and son Ben were amazing and kept me fed and watered back at base camp. My mum, friends and other members (of Westbury Harriers) also popped by to support. So, a big thanks to everyone from me.
Will I do it again? Well, the heavens opened on loop 6, which made the end very wet and cold. At the time I said never again… However, I returned to Blaise on the Sunday morning in drier conditions, to support one of our friends – Sam, who was still going! Watching him come 2nd and reach the 100 mile mark was pretty inspiring, so I will be entering again! Finally, a little plea from Ewan and his team at Gravel and Grit who put on the event, for next year they’d really like to see more women enter.”
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:
Tuesday 12th May: Rose Inn 4 mile – club champs – Chepstow Harriers
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.
Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Hannah Large
