Sunday 6th December
Westbury Harriers – Weekly News
Editor’s Piece
Thankfully not long to Christmas. It’s not been an easy year and I’m especially looking forward to having a break from work and living in my flat, which in these odd times have merged.
No doubt I’ll be eating and drinking too much, but I also plan on getting in some long runs and cycle rides. Hopefully the two things will net off and with luck I may even be fitter once Christmas it over!
Are you obsessive about including your runs on Strava because if it isn’t on there it doesn’t exist, right? Well, if that’s the case the vaccine has ‘something extra’ you may appreciate.
George Blackburn – Profile
Peter Keogan, the WH Club Historian, has written a very comprehensive article on the life and times of George Blackburn, a true legend of Westbury Harriers. I’ve added this to the website so please do have a read using the link below.
Tamsin’s Strange Year
2020 has been a strange year and Westbury Harriers may not have had its usual level of activity with the lack of racing. However, behind the scenes Westbury has achieved a lot. A refurbished club house, a new website, a new membership system, an online booking system and moving to being a cashless club. Covid-19 has meant we have had to operate in smaller groups, at different times and in different ways. In order to help us look at what our club aims are for development in 2021 it would be great to gain members feedback. This could be what has changed that you like and would want to continue after the pandemic subsides, areas you think the club could improve or develop, feedback around coaching and sessions on offer. Please email any thoughts to manager.women@westburyharriers.co.uk
Christmas Special Treasure Hunt
It’s absolutely chucking it down out there at the moment so not the best day for starting your treasure hunt. Don’t fear though, you’ve plenty of time still as entries don’t close until Sunday 20th December.
You need to guess the Christmas song/carol and film and then find the following somethings, including: a nativity scene, a Xmas tree, Mistletoe, Holly, a robin, Christmas lights, Santa, a reindeer, snow flake and a seasonal selfie. Full rules were in last week’s newsletter.
Tom Gange, are you already hunting your Treasure Hunt ‘somethings’? A giant Santa photographed by Tom on a run in the direction of Cribb’s Causeway yesterday.
Thursday Club Intervals
With Christmas only around the corner Vicky’s going to be kind and have a slightly shorter session for Thursday. We’ll be doing 4 x 1min (30secs rec, 90secs after the 4th one) 4 x 2mins (1min recovery, 90secs after 4th one) 4 x 1min (30secs recovery). But because it’s the last session before Christmas we will have some fun at the end with a relay, moving the pods around a little to make it more ‘competitive’, with a prize for the winning team. Please feel free to wear festive attire for the session.
Runtogther app and Website
A number of group runs will be taking place again this week so do book using the app or link below. I think all the runs will be heading out to see the Brailsford Lights in Brentry and Christmas fancy dress is encouraged but not compulsory! https://groups.runtogether.co.uk/WestburyHarriersRunningClub/Runs
Strava Results of the Week
I’m going to plug the Strava segment created especially for us Harriers to run. The segment is called ‘WH Blaise Castle XC Trail’ a short, a muddy 3.5km loop starting from our club house. The crown is held by Josh Morland in an impressive 13:46 (average pace 4:06km!) with Tom Reed, only seconds behind in 13:50. Geraint Torrington is still on the podium with a third place time of 18:58, but for how long? Then in fourth and fifth we have Ewan Paton and Ian Gawinowski in times of 20:02 and 20:29, respectively.
No women on the leader board yet so even an easy recovery run will guarantee you a Strava crown! There’s also the nearly 4 miler to run. A link to that segment is below.
Diary Dates
Sunday 20th December. Last day to submit the WH Treasure Hunt.
January 2021 – Virtual Rollick Although we are disappointed not to be holding our typical Riverbank Rollick in January 2021, Thornbury Running Club are delighted to be holding the inaugural ‘Virtual Rollick’. To make sure that the spirit of the infamous ‘Rollick’ is not lost, we expect at least half of your run to be off-road and to involve an acceptable level of mud wind and water.
Entries are limited to 400 and will close when this limit is reached or at 13:00 on January 31st, whichever comes soonest.
Runs must be completed and evidence submitted before 23:59 on January 31st
“Over the past few years our medals have been shaped like a segment of pie (or cake for those with a sweet tooth!) so that by completing all three of our events it creates a whole large medal. As the Virtual Rollick is a one off we have, on this occasion, opted for a smaller version to keep costs down and donate more to our two charities. We hope you understand.”To enter please go to Race Nation:
https://race-nation.co.uk/register/thornbury-running-club/virtual-rollick-2021
Editor this Week
Ian Gawinowski is Westbury Harriers Communications Officer and can be contacted via communciation@westburyharriers.co.uk
