WESTBURY HARRIERS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 17/11/24

Hello, I hope this email finds you well. Two big race reports from Cardiff to kick off this week’s newsletter from the Cardiff Cross challenge. Was great to see more Harriers taking to the field and representing their club. Talking of cross-country I hope you are going to join us for the Blaise fixture on the 30th of November. We are organizing a special ‘centenary challenge’ to mark our 100th birthday. Every Westbury runner who signs up for the Blaise cross country will be automatically entered into the challenge at no extra cost…and there are prizes to be won! For full details see club notices in this e-mail. Let’s make this Blaise cross-country one to remember.

Ben Wood

RACE REPORTS

Cardiff Cross Challenge/Gwent League, Saturday 9th November – Westbury Men’s race

Perfect conditions greeted the Westbury men for the second fixture of the Gwent league. The Cardiff Cross challenge always draws some of the best runners from the UK and internationally. It’s a great atmosphere and a top race.
The Westbury men’s A team have been languishing at the bottom of the league since Pembury, but Cardiff saw some of our top runners making an appearance to race. The likes of Greg Hayward, Ben Rawlins and Tom Reed.

The ground was dry and this led to a quick pace. First Westbury man home was Greg Hayward in 14th!! (Greg you qualified for a free XC t-shirt from the Gwent league) Next home and very close together were Ben Rawlins 73rd and Tom Reed 76th. Both inside the top 100! Making up the A team was Jack Derrick 159th, and Ben Strone 181st, both having fantastic races.

The B team was led by a strong and determined Joe Addison 192nd, and a feisty Rob Poole in 204th, Ben Wood 245th, Ian Gawinowski 285th and Chris treble in 322nd. Great performance and great to see a solid B team fielded on the day.

We even fielded a C and a D team which is great for the club, and really shows great commitment and team spirit.

We had a C team of Fergal Cummins 330th, Alastair Blackwood 345th, Paul Stuart 356th, Martin Clayton 425th, and Paul Turner 450th. Great work!
And putting the D in ‘Digging-deep’ we had Mark Andrews 474th, George Pickering 556th and finally the man. the myth. the legend, Geraint Torrington closing the gate in 586th

This was a great day for Westbury, our A team jumped from 12th to 10th in the league. Our B team went from 24th to 10th in the B league, and C and D teams came in at 21st and 42nd in the reserve league.

This is only the second fixture however and we need our men to be keeping those diary dates open for Blaise, Margam park and TBC (will it be the mountainous Pontypridd?)

Well done to all the men who laced up.
Ben Wood

Cardiff Cross Challenge/Gwent League, Saturday 9th November – Westbury Womens race

The 2nd Gwent League fixture at Cardiff, incorporating the Cardiff Cross Challenge had perfect race conditions. Good temperature and good ground underfoot. The standard of runners was top notch and the popularity showed with 31 more ladies competing than last year in what is probably the largest ever ladies Gwent field of 418 ladies. The amount of people taking part meant results have been a bit delayed as there were a few issues at the finish line.
We had a fabulous turnout of 25 ladies, thank-you all so much. 😊 After a solid start at Pembrey having ladies throughout the field was certainly a boost for our teams and much needed with such a huge field. Les Croupiers fielded 9 teams!
Catherine led the A team home. Great to see her back on form after a challenging season last year with illness and injury. Bridget was back after baby number 2 and has moved into the V35 age group. Lovely to have her back. Katie had another great run as did Becky Lee as 4th scorer. Vicky was back after various injuries running well to complete the A team.
We welcomed our junior athletes Maeve and Meg into the senior race for the first time. It’s a big step up distance wise from U17/20s to seniors. But with their experience and strength they both had tremendous runs and it was great to have them as part of the squad. We also welcomed Helen.K and Lyn to the Gwent team for the first time. Well run both. A special mention to Monica, who got back up after a slide. Hope the mud came out your vest. Monica is currently well placed in the V55 overall standings in her first season of cross country. It was lovely to have our ladies team captain, Olivia cheering the team on after having her 2nd child last month.
A huge well done to everyone who took part, it very much is a team effort.
We missed our V65 team at Pembrey, but they were back in force at Cardiff. With the V65 team finishing 1st on the day and the B team 2nd. Hopefully we can work our way back to the V65 title.
Congratulations to Catherine, Bridget, Katie, Sarah.A and Sandy who were in top the 10% of their age groups (see the * next to your name in the results). Don’t forget to pick up your complimentary T-Shirt at the next Gwent, only 1 per season. To point out Sandy was in the top 10% of the V55 age group as well as topping the V65 leaderboard. In addition, Katie was in the top 10 of the V35’s, not bad going when you are 50!
The 3rd fixture is Saturday 30th November at Blaise – ladies I expect you all there. There was 41 of us last year, with 50 being our team Blaise record. How many can we get out this year? Not only do we have the ‘prestigious’ inter club trophy (men vs ladies who has the biggest team) but also this year it incorporates the Westbury Harriers Centenary Challenge. Thank you to Mike Mewse for organising this.
Results
A team (Catherine Treble 27, Katie Hughes 30, Bridget Belford 33, Becky Lee 78, Vicky Tester 84), B team (Maeve Robinson 86, Rachel Liston 107, Hannah Bachelor 117, Megan Orriss 122, Debbie Cleary 132), C team (Sarah Andrews 137, Sandy Masters 151, Monica Warnock 179, Kate Hoffen 194, Alison Osborne 208), D team (Judy Knight 212, Debbie Hunt 216, Emma-Jane Orchard 231, Sarah Thorne 239, Helen Kirkwood 250), E team (Anne Dockery 299, Anneke Bull 307, Kath Rothwell 323, Lyn Jenkins 329, Eithne Noonan 391)
Senior team 7th on the day, B Team 18th, C team 31st, D team 44th, E team 68th. 105 teams in total
The A team have stayed in 6th place overall in the 1st division.
Reserve Division – B team are 5th overall (we won this division last year). C team 10th, D team 19th, (B and C team in exactly the same positions this time last year), E team 32rd
Current Age groups team standings
U23 – 10th (no team at first fixture)
V35 – 2nd (staying the same)
V45 – 2nd (staying the same)
V55 – 2nd (moving down from 1st)
V65 – 2nd (no team at first fixture)
Individual standings after 2 fixtures
V35s – Catherine 3rd, V45s – Katie Hughes 1st, V55s – Monica Warnock 8th

Athens Marathon

Well done to Alec Sampson who ran the Athens marathon in a crazy 2 hrs 49 mins in hot conditions.

CLUB NOTICES

“Westbury Harriers Centenary Challenge”

The Gwent League Cross Country fixture at Blaise Castle is less than two weeks away now – on Saturday 30th November.
This is our home fixture and comes 100 years after we first hosted a race at Blaise Castle.
To honor the occasion, we are staging our own “Westbury Harriers Centenary Challenge” in conjunction with the Gwent League and the sponsor Start Fitness.
There will be prizes and medals in all categories for Westbury Harriers members only and a separate prize schedule for all Gwent League runners.
So ….. please sign up to celebrate the occasion by running, volunteering and supporting.
There is no additional cost – entry to the Gwent League (Sign up as usual) gives entry into the Centenary Challenge as well.
Remember … Westbury runners have two chances to pick up prizes and medals !!
This is your chance to become a “Once in a Hundred Years” winner !!

UPCOMING CENTENARY EVENTS – SAVE THE DATES & BOOK NOW!!

What a great start we had to our Centenary Year, with the brilliant Centenary Supper at the White Lion on the 8th February and the ITV West Country feature.

Those events kick-started a great year for the club with success – at local, regional, national and international level.

As we move towards the last few months of our Centenary Year, the club has organised two further events which we hope all club members will support and enjoy. Full details will be emailed out to members but here is the basic information.

We’ve hired BAWA Club, Filton for The Westbury Harriers Centenary Lunch.

This informal social event will bring together current and former members, partners, families and friends to celebrate 100 years of Westbury Harriers.

The Westbury Harriers Centenary Challenge is an event that will run in conjunction with the Gwent League Cross Country on Saturday 30th November. It offers a chance to become a “once in a hundred years” winner – with prizes for all categories in the overall competition and there’s a Westbury Harriers club competition as well (with separate prizes for club members only).

Full details have been sent out to all members.
Our brilliant Communications Team will be updating information on these events regularly so look out for emails and Facebook posts.

And finally congratulations to our own run leader, Ultra marathon legend and cross country warrior Hannah Large and Ian Large (another speedy Westbury man) on the birth of their daughter Nina!

THIS WEEK’S TRAINING

MONDAY – TEMPO:

Group tempo runs from Coombe Dingle at 6.30pm, with Wellbeing run at 7.15pm

TUESDAY – TRACK:

Track session at Yate 7pm – Seniors book on via RunTogether.

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:

Coombe Dingle at 7pm.

5 x (1 min @3k pace, 30s recovery, 3 mins @5k pace)

On grass.

UPCOMING RACES

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/

– Sunday 24th November: Brent Knoll Race – Club Championship
– Saturday 30th November: Blaise Castle, Gwent League XC
– Sunday 8th December: Gloucester Cross Country League Bath (incorporating the Tri-Counties Cross Country Championships)
– Saturday 14th December: The 12ks’ of Xmas – Club Championship
– Sunday 15th December: Weston Christmas cracker 10k
– Thursday 19th December: Weston Prom Race #4 – Club Championship
– Saturday 4^th January: South West XC http://www.avon-aa.org.uk/
– Sunday 19th January 2025: Kymin Winter Fell Race – Entry price of £8 includes sausage and chips in the pub afterwards! Plenty of parking at the Monmouth Prep School. A few Westbury Harriers have already signed up. https://sites.google.com/site/welshfellrace/individual-races/kymin-winter-race
– Saturday 8th or Sunday 9th February: Margam Park (TBC), Gwent League XC
– Saturday 1st March: Venue TBC, Gwent League XC

Have a great week,
Ben Wood