While it’s sometimes easy to forget what the sun looks like amidst the near constant rain and drizzle at the moment, the dry mild weather today was a real treat and I’m sure lots of you will have been making the most of it running and racing on the local roads and trails. In fact, this newsletter is coming to you fairly late in the day because I’ve also been trying to spend as much time outside today as possible – apologies!
Buckle up for a Sunday long read as there’s lots of fantastic running news and updates to cover today. Best of luck to all those racing at the Midlands Road Relays next weekend and don’t forget that the Club Awards Evening is on next Saturday as well – full details below. All welcome!
This week’s news:
BATH HALF RESULTS
The conditions for the Bath Half today were pretty ideal and it looks like we had 12 Westbury Harriers taking part in this classic local race! There were some fantastic performances across the board – particular shout out to Nick Marshall who was 2nd M65 in 1:48:21 and to Anne Dockery who was 1st F70 in 1:56:33! Brilliant running everyone (and apologies if I’ve missed anyone here).
Matt Ellis – 1:14:06
Sean Lee – 1:21:28
Katie Hughes – 1:28:19
Jeremy Westwood – 1:30:17
Mark Tooski – 1:34:47
Christopher McCabe – 1:36:00
Judy Knights – 1:47:40
Nick Marshall – 1:48:21
Abigail Oliver – 1:48:32
Anne Dockery – 1:56:33
Paul Turner – 2:29:02
Jodie Pearce – 3:19:34
If you want to share any news, race stories or results, then please email: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk or you can post on the WH Facebook Group Page. We love to hear about everyone’s achievements and adventures.
MEMBER OF THE MONTH (March)
SENIOR:
Eithne Noonan has had a fantastic XC season winning the Gwent league V65 title and being part of the v65 winning team! Her dedication to turning up and giving it her all has been great to see.
JUNIOR:
Maeve Robinson has fought back from injury to secure 9th place in both Margam park and Pont-y-pwl XC races and finished 9th overall. A worthy member of the month.
THIS WEEK’S TRAINING (w/c 18th March):
MONDAY NIGHT TEMPO SESSION
Please remember all groups now leave Coombe Dingle promptly at 6:30pm, torches and bright/reflective clothing are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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. Sign up HERE.
This week the session is:
Goal: more distance @ slightly slower than 5k pace
3 x 400m @5k pace/100m recovery
3 x 1200m @ slightly slower than 5k pace/200m 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/
N.B No Tuesday Trails Session
After some great sessions running around Blaise’s finest and muddiest trails in the dark between January – March, we’ve decided to put these sessions on pause until September. Now the evenings are getting lighter and club training will be moving to Blaise after Easter, the night running sessions will hopefully make a return in Autumn/Winter. Thanks to everyone who came along this winter – it was really fun piloting a new session and exploring Blaise in the dark together. All suggestions welcome about the format & location of future Tuesday Trails sessions. Thanks! Harro, Hannah, Richard and Josh
WEDNESDAY HILLS SESSIONS
Fliss has been doing a fantastic job recently leading the weekly sessions. A few people are also qualifying for their LiRF course to help out too. These sessions are covered over the next few months (thanks Tamsin for covering last week) so please book on via RunTogether HERE.
Meet every Wednesday at 12pm at the traffic lights by Saville Road on the Downs.
THURSDAY INTERVALS
7PM AT COOMBE DINGLE SPORTS COMPLEX.
21st March – 3 sets of 4 x 90 seconds (45 sec recoveries, 2 mins between sets) @ slightly quicker than 5k effort
UPCOMING CLUB EVENTS/NOTICES:
RENEWAL OF SENIOR, JUNIOR, STUDENT, AND VOLUNTEER MEMBERSHIPS
(ACADEMY MEMBERSHIPS DO NOT REQUIRE RENEWAL)
The current membership year ends on 31st March and I know many of you are eager to renew your membership! You can now do so. Lizzy sent a detailed email with full instructions of how to renew on 16th March – please check your inboxes for that message and get renewing for another year of running with WH!
Awards’ Evening – Saturday 23rd March
A reminder that the Westbury Harriers awards evening is next weekend – Saturday 23rd March at St Peter’s The Drive, Henleaze, Bristol BS9 4LD. 6pm open for a 6.30pm start. Partners, children, family, friends all welcome. A buffet and soft drinks will be provided. It is Bring Your Own (BYO) alcoholic drinks.
Club Supper – Thursday 11th April
Sarah and Louise are organising the next Club Supper on 11th April at the Black Swan at 8.15pm – curry, £9.50 per person. If you’d like to go, please register your interest and pay by 8th April. All details on the Facebook page.
The Bristol Running Show – Sunday 28th April
The club has booked a stand at the Bristol Running Show again. This event is taking place at the BAWA Club on Southmead Road – a great local venue and an ideal opportunity to let the Bristol running community know more about the range of running activities that our wonderful club has to offer. The event features stands from local running clubs as well as local and national groups and retailers. It also has a series of interesting speakers throughout the day, plus yoga sessions, guided runs and even an orienteering course to try! https://bristolrunningshow.com/ Sign up for your FREE ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-running-show-2024-tickets-742275224177
We need volunteers to man the stand throughout the day. Ideally two people in three shifts:
9.00 – 11.00am
11.00am – 1.00pm
1.00pm – 3.00pm
In previous years, we have had a really good mix of volunteers, from longstanding members to more recent recruits. It’s a great opportunity to tell any new prospective members everything they need to know about the benefits of joining Westbury Harriers! Why not combine a visit to the show with an opportunity to help support the club! If you can help this year, please comment on the pinned Facebook post or speak to Mark Andrews – mark.andrews65@me.com
British Masters Road Relays, Saturday 25 May 2024: Mallory Park Leicestershire
The annual Masters road relays are taking place in May this year. The ladies had a really enjoyable and successful day out last year and we really hope that some men’s teams will join them this year. We can enter teams in V35, V45 and V55 age categories. This is a really good event with each leg being about 5k around the motor racing circuit. The club pays the entry fee, we can share lifts and the club will contribute towards travel costs.
Chris Palmer and Mark Andrews are getting the men’s teams together for this event. If you are interested please speak to one of us at training or email mark.andrews65@me.com If we have enough interest we can enter more than one team in each age group. We would like to put out some competitive teams but also give an opportunity to anyone who would like to enjoy taking part. Representing the club as part of a team is great fun, we hope to have a good day out as well as giving it our best in the race!
For the women, we are hoping to enter a V35 team of 4 and FV45, FV55 and FV65 teams of 3. If you would like to take part in this race, then please get in touch manager.vet.women@westburyharriers.co.uk
CHARITY OF THE YEAR –
Members are asked to put forward their suggestions for a charity of the year. They must be a registered charity. Send nominations to charity@westburyharriers.co.uk by Saturday 23rd March. Members can they vote on their chosen charity.
This week’s editor: Hannah Large
