Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Today was a special date in the calendar as we had our Centenary Lunch at the BAWA Club. From midday the room quickly filled with former members and present members, friends and families reunited again to mark the end of our Centenary year. A wonderful afternoon eating, drinking, sharing memories and experiences with the club. A MASSIVE THANKS to Mike Mewse who planned and organised the entire event, a successful and enjoyable day. Also, thanks to everyone who sorted out the cakes, buffet, video presentations, prizes and to all who brought photographs and memorabilia. A detailed report will go out next week, but if you took any photos, please share on the facebook page.
And to highlight such a successful year, here’s a recent article from the Bristol Post – 15/01/25
RACE REPORTS
KYMIN WINTER HILL RACE BY IAN LARGE
Off to Monmouth for the Kymin Winter Hill Race on Sunday afternoon. My first time but I knew to expect steep hills (1200ft over 4 miles) and, possibly, a little mud. Watching the ‘Kymin2016′ YouTube video of a wet descent with the Benny Hill theme running in the background had been entertaining pre-race prep. As it was, the course seems to have been drier and faster than usual. Two mean climbs interspersed with sharp, sometimes technical, but still speedy descents meant that running with less than fully physical and mental effort was never really an option. Sausage and chips in the pub afterwards and those friendly post-fell race vibes made it a race to remember.
Not a bad showing from Westbury overall:
– Iain Large (3rd overall: 32:00)
– Jonathan Riley (3rd MV40: 36:20) – inexcusable running under TACH colours
– Chris Treble (39:12)
– Catherine Treble (1st FV40 and 4th female: 39:34)
– Michael Harris (56:02)
– Tim Carr (57:35)
LLISWERRY 8 RACE – BY FELICITY RUSSELL
Chatting to people at the Centenary Lunch today, I was surprised at how many runners had never heard of the Lliswerry 8 (as I know runners elsewhere who are always keen to enter it). As the name suggests it’s an 8-miler which starts and ends in Lliswerry, which is on the edge of Newport, and goes from there onto a loop of the nearby country lanes. It calls itself “the flattest race on the planet” and, whilst this might be a very slight exaggeration, it ain’t much of one. It’s the same sort of territory as the nearby Magor 10k or the Rose Inn series.
It’s also very popular: on sale from midnight (on the chosen date), it has for the last two years sold out by 9am. So if you are interested for next year, make sure you’re awake! I’m not sure of the maximum number for entries, but there were a little under 800 finishers. Organised by a local running club (Lliswerry Runners), it’s a lovely friendly event and usually has a charity cake sale afterwards.
Anyway I went over today and earned my cake and lunch – from the provisional results, it looks like I managed 1st FV65, which I’m surprised about. Anne D was due to join me but his currently recovering from a lurgy.
I know how much some club members like mud and hills, but if a flat road race is also ystour thing and you want a new year tune-up, recommended!
AVON SCHOOLS XC CHAMPS BY JAMES MICHAEL
Well done to all our girls and boys selected to run for their respective regions, at the Avon Schools XC Champs in Bath on Saturday 18th January.
An extra special well done to our winners:
Junior Girls – Elizabeth 1st
Inter Girls – Lillia 1st
Senior Girls – Freya 1st
Senior Boys – Thomas 1st
CLUB NOTICES
CALLING ALL U23’S / SENIORS / MASTERS – PLEASE READ
The SportsShoes English National Cross Country Championships takes place on Saturday 22nd February 2025 at the iconic Parliament Hill Fields in London.
We had teams there in 2022 when the men came 67th and the women 31st. But the men return as English National Minor Clubs Champions* after coming 9th last year.
* This is like winning the Championship in football and we are now promoted and will remain a “Premier League” club for at least five years.
The National XC should be on any runners bucket list. A fantastic festival of running, with all levels of club athletes competing against some of the best in the country. Spectating the races is also amazing, the sight and sound of that many runners is great to watch.
If you want to run you need to enter the race yourself now – and let you team manager (Mike.M or Tamsin know) – PLEASE NOTE THE CLOSING DATE FOR ENTIRES IS 31ST JANUARY 2025
Entry – https://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2025/natxc25e.php
You can claim back the race entry fee after the competition following Westbury expenses procedure. The club also contributes towards travel costs.
Here’s the links with information on date / time etc and the booking link.
Information: https://www.londonheathside.org.uk/young-athletes-fixtures/national-cross-country-championships-1-xd23e
https://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/the-national-parliament-hill-2025-frequently-asked-questions/ – please note U20s must run in their age group.
Any questions please get in touch. with Tamsin or Mike.
AGM DATE CONFIRMED – THURSDAY 24TH APRIL
AGM is confirmed for Thursday 24th April at Coombe Dingle. Arriving at 18.30 for a 19.00 start. There will be a buffet available so people will get a chance to eat/catch up before the AGM starts. This also means there will be no training for any groups on this night, so it would be great to see as many members attend please.
ARE YOU HANDY ON A MOUNTAIN BIKE?
Blaise Blazer – Monday 2nd June 2025
We are looking for 2 volunteers to trial having lead bikes for the Blaise Blazer race in June. Idea to cycle ahead of the runners to ensure the path is clear of members of the public and marshals know the race is approaching. Would need to be people confident on off road bikes. Due to the nature of the course, it would be sensible to have 2 people as parts of the course are not cyclable, so would need switching over to a 2nd person.
If you are interested please contact Tamsin Chick: manager.women@westburyharriers.co.uk (or via FB messenger, WhatsApp or text).
THIS WEEK’S TRAINING
MONDAY – Tempo Run
Group runs from Coombe Dingle 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. There is also a Wellbeing run at 7:15pm. Bring running lights and reflective clothing if you have them.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 4mins (80 secs recovery) @5k-10k pace/effort
Option to drop down to 3mins
Bring running lights and reflective clothing if you have them.
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 26th Jan: Chepstow Festival of running – https://www.runthrough.co.uk/event/chepstow-running-festival-5k-10k-half-marathon-january-2025
Saturday 8th: Margam Park, Gwent League XC
Saturday 22nd February: Saucony English National Cross Country Championships
Sunday 23rd February. Ironwood Challenge: https://nailsea.fullonsport.com/…/ironwood…/profile
Sunday 2nd March: Venue TBC, Gwent League XC
Sunday 6th April: The big Cheese race. 15-mile fell race in Cheddar.
Editor: Yvette Casallas
