Sunday 19th February
Westbury Harriers – Weekly News
Editors Piece
You may remember last week I put in a plea for some contributions, perhaps updates on your training, a recent race or even just a nice run you’ve been on. Well, I’m afraid all I received was a single race result.
I know many of you are training for marathons so perhaps you can let me know how you’re progressing? At what stage are you in your training plans, how many miles are you doing each week, are you mixing up your sessions with some intervals? What are your favourite routes, perhaps you have a traffic free circuit that you can recommend to our members?
I’ll give you an example by mentioning my session from this afternoon. I’m in training for the Lisbon half marathon and focusing on distance and some speed. Today I headed up to Aztec West , the plan was 3 x 5k intervals with a 1k jog recovery, the efforts a bit slower than my 10k pace.
Not every training session will be a success and I just didn’t have the legs for the 3rd rep. In this case it was tiredness rather than the monotony of the industrial estate that cut my training short! To be fair, although it might not be the most scenic route it’s perfect to practice pacing as each lap is about a mile long, it’s flat and very quiet on a Sunday. You can also leave drinks and gels behind a tree, should you need some energy mid session.
If you don’t enjoy laps perhaps an out and back along the Strawberry line, it’s traffic free and there’s even a cafe at Yatton Station for refreshments afterwards!
Pictured below, me after my training session at Aztec West. It’s not all office buildings and car parks, honest!
Tuesday Running at Yate Track and Thursday Intervals
The running session at Yate Track will be advertised on facebook nearer the time.
For the Thursday interval session we’re back on the field at Coombe Dingle for a pyramid session of 1min, 2 min, 3min, 4min, 5min (1 minute recover after each effort). 5 x 1 min (30 seconds recovery).
Option to drop the 5mins down to 4 mins and complete fewer of the 1 min intervals. Reduced effort for those with races coming up or running the Nationals.
Gwent League Race Reports by Mike Mewse and Tamsin Chick
Well done to everyone who ran in the Gwent Cross Country League at Margam Park on Sat 11th Feb – a great turnout from the ladies (27 runners !) and a smaller (but accomplished) team of 12 for the Men. Team Managers Tamsin Chick and Chris Palmer were in really good form themselves and must be proud of their teams.
Ben Rawlins made the top 10 in the high class Senior Men’s race won by GB international Dewi Griffiths. Greg Hayward travelled up from London for an excellent 33rd place with Alex Hamblin, Chris Palmer and Dan Ewing making up our A team which moved up to 6th in the rankings. As always there was a great team atmosphere – helped greatly by the free biscuit draw!
A great turnout for the senior ladies at the 4th fixture of the Gwent League at Margam Park. This course had not been run before in the league and whilst everyone found it hard going, it was enjoyable. It was tough underfoot and the course generally felt uphill. We all meant to look at the great view at the top of the hill but think most of us were looking where to put their feet! Great organisation from host club Swansea Harriers.
Bridget continued her in form season with a season best placing of 7th, Katie with a season best of 17th and then Anya 22nd, Vicky 24th and Becky 28th packing in well to bring home the A team.
Bridget Belfourd 7th, Katie Hughes 17th, Anya Erasmus 22nd, Vicky Tester 24th, Becky Lee 28th, Olivia Zeltner 29th, Tamsin Chick 34th, Emma Woodworth 44th, Rosie Quigley 59th, Marcie Bower 71st, Alison Rogers 75th, Hannah Batchelor 79th, Kate Hoffen 82nd, Liz Lovelock 86th, Sarah Thorne 90th, Antonia Gooder 98th, Lorna Miller 102nd, Sandy Masters 106th, Emma-Jane Orchard 121st, Anneke Bull 144th, Sarah Gould 178th, Helen Kershaw 180th, Carol Fee182nd, Marilyn Palmer 183rd, Eithne Noonan 189th, Kay Ridgwell 190th, Nicola Derrick 206th
It was lovely to welcome some new faces to the ladies’ squad and into their Westbury vests for the first time – Olivia, Antonia and Marcie. Olivia building back her speed and showing great downhill technique after not long having a baby. We have always had a strong master’s side to the team but it was good to see the younger end of the squad starting to develop in numbers and to have a full senior ladies age group team with Bridget, Anya, Olivia, Rosie, Marcie, Hannah and Lorna.
We also saw Emma back to fitness after injury, Sandy moving up to dominate her new V65 age category, Kate having a terrific performance, Carol showing that Thursday intervals are paying off in her new V50 category and nice to see Sarah.G back out racing.
What the ladies did well was to all pack in, and this makes a big difference in the team standings.
Senior team 3rd on the day, B Team 6th, C team 12th, D Team 18th, E Team 39th, F Team 56th – out of 66 teams. The A team managed to hold its 2nd position overall
Reserve Division – B team staying in 3rd in the reserve division, C team moved up from 5th to 4th, D team moving up from 10th to 8th, E team moving up from 13th to 12th, F team staying in 17th, G team 22nd, H team 25th, I team 33rd and J team 40th
Current Age groups team standings
- U23 – 4th (staying same)
- V35 – 2nd (moving up from 3rd)
- V45 – 1st (moving up from 2nd)
- V55 – 3rd (staying same)
- V65 – Holding on to 1st with the B team moving up from 3rd place to 2nd
Individual standings
- Bridget 2nd overall, Katie 6th and Vicky 7th in the senior ladies overall
- Katie, Vicky, Tamsin, Kate, Helen, Marilyn, Eithne all in top 10 of their age group standings.
English Nation XC Championships 25th February
It’s just over a week now to the English National Cross Country Championships at Bolesworth Castle, near Chester (25th Feb). We have teams in the Senior and U20 Men’s and Women’s races and a number of junior racers. We wish them every success.
Gwent League Pontypool (Pont y Pwl) Saturday 4th March
We hope you will make every effort to run in the final Gwent League race of the season on Saturday 4th March. The venue is Pontypool (Pont y Pwl), a challenging, hilly course but a great chance to enjoy the camaraderie of running with your club mates.Everyone can make a difference in these races and we have opportunities to win awards in many of the categories. It would be great to get a big team out for the final race and your run could make a real difference.
Club Championship – Severn Bridge Twilight Race
I can’t provide you with the latest standings but I can inform you the very last event in the series will take place on the evening of Friday 31st March. This final event is the Severn Bridge Twilight 5, the last of their series of 3 night races on the bridge. This one is timed to see the setting sun just after the start of the race. Hopefully you will have good weather and a great sunset over the estuary. Details provided by RogueRuns are on the Fabian website.
https://sites.google.com/site/roguerunsevents/home/our-events/sb-night-runs
Wednesday Evening Social Run – Bristol Eye
I’m not sure how Sarah did it but she managed top blag a free ride on the Bristol Eye last Wednesday evening. I wonder if she’s become their official brand ambassador?
Winter Warmer 10k
Well done to Dan Davies who was first in his age cat (V50) and 8th overall, at the Fix Events Winter Warmer 10K at Ashton Court last Sunday.
Trail Running Weekend 29th Sept – 1st Oct, Peak District, by Dean and Dan Summers
Hi all, you may have seen that the next trail running weekend will take place on 29 Sept to 1 Oct 2023 in the Peak District. It will almost certainly be based out of Edale (we are just finalising the accommodation). The weekend is £250 and this will include accommodation for the whole weekend (including a late check out on Sunday); all food for the weekend except for a meal out on Saturday evening (breakfasts, lunches, lots of cakes, tea and an evening meal on arrival); two days of guided running by fully qualified leaders around the glorious Peak District trails.
This is the third time we’ve run one of these events for the club. The first two have been really popular and a great way to see people for a longer time and more relaxed environment that you know from the club.
The weekends are genuinely for all speeds and abilities, whether you’re totally new to trail running or you are an experienced (faster or slower) trail runner. For the runs we split into groups based on speed and distance so that everyone can be comfortable with what they are doing.
In order to reserve your space, please either Direct Message me, send me a text (07776130707) or drop me an email (dan_summers@hotmail.com). I’ll then send you details of how to reserve your space. Please also do get in touch with any questions you might have!
Strava Segment of the Week
Well done to Liz Lovelock who was enjoying some spring sunshine this morning with a 10k run in Redcliffe. On route Liz achieved a PR on Strava segment Feeder Road to Railway Bridge in 1:21 and Dog Apple Hole in 2:09
Diary Dates
Saturday 25th February English National Cross Country
Sunday 26th February Ironwood Challenge
Sunday 2nd April FoD Trail Half Marathon
Sunday 23rd April Offa’s Orror 10k and 10k trail run, Chepstow Harriers
Saturday 4th March Pont-y-pŵl Park Gwent League
Sunday 12th March Lisbon Half Marathon, part of the Super Half Series
Thursday 16th March Weston Prom
Saturday 18th March 20 and 1/2 Fission. Road event, good tester for an upcoming marathon
Sunday 26th March Club AGM via Zoom
Friday 31st March Severn Bridge Twilight 5 (and Club Championship event)
Sunday 2nd April Forest of Dean Spring Half Marathon
Friday 7th April Bristol Track Club 5 km
Sunday 16th April Frenchay 10k, it’s hilly!
Sunday 23rd April Offa’s Orror trail race including both the 20k and 10k options
Thursday 27th April Weston Prom
Saturday 29th April Butcombe Trail Ultramarathon 50 or 56 miler
Tuesday 9th May Race 1 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Sunday 14th May AJ Bell Great Bristol Run 10k and HM
Thursday 25th May Weston Prom
Saturday 10th June Man V Horse
Tuesday 13th June Race 2 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Thursday 29th June 19:30 Thornbury 10k Road Race, Thornbury Running Club
Thursday 6th July Tintern Trot Trail Race, Chepstow Harriers
Saturday 8th to Sunday 9th July Brecon Fans Race Weekend. Horseshoe 10 miler and Pen y Fan
Tuesday 11th July Race 3 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Saturday 29th July Magor 10k Road Race massive PB potential on a mega flat route
Tuesday 8th August Race 4 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Saturday 19th August Race the Train, trail event and you chase the choo choo
Sunday 27th August Severn Bridge Half Marathon and 10k
Friday 29th September – Sunday 1st October. Trail running weekend, Peak District.
Saturday 30 September – Sunday 1st October World Athletics Road Running Champs Riga 1 mile, 5km and half marathon
Sunday 17th September Copenhagen Half Marathon (part of the Super Half Series)
Sunday 17th September Oldbury 10 miler Thornbury Running Club
Sunday 24th September Forest of Dean Autumn Half Marathon
Sunday 1st October Cardiff Half Marathon (part of the Super Half Series)
Editor this Week
Ian Gawinowski is Westbury Harriers Communications Officer and can be contacted via communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
