Westbury Harriers – Weekly News
Evening everyone,
We’re now officially halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, so despite all the rain, the evenings are slowly getting lighter and spring is getting closer! This Saturday, it’s the first Gwent League of 2026 at Chepstow Racecourse. All teams have been doing so well this season but it’s really important that we have a good turn out for the last two fixtures. The Gwent hasn’t been held at Chepstow for several years but it’s very quick and easy for us to get to, with lots of parking and toilets, so what’s not to love! Dig out the spikes, don your club vest, and enjoy running a few loops of a muddy field with your fellow Westbury Harriers! Remember to sign up on Run Together ASAP.
In this week’s newsletter:
- Club notices
- Training this week
- Race reports / results
- Upcoming races
1. Club Notices
NEXT GWENT LEAGUE
The next Gwent League is this coming Saturday 7th February at Chepstow racecourse. Details on the Gwent website.
Academy/Juniors – look out for correspondence from your team managers about how to sign up to race.
Seniors, please sign up on RunTogether. If you haven’t run in the Gwent League yet this season, please sign up on RunTogether by 4th February as we have to register new number with the chip timing company by this date.
Women and V65 Men– 13.25pm, 6.75km
Men– 14.15pm, 9.7km
RUNNING CLOTHING – Important safety reminder
Please remember when out on road sessions to wear light/reflective clothing so you are visible.
BOAT TRIP
We are trying to organise an upriver boat trip on Saturday 20th June 19:00 – 22:00 on Bristol Packets ‘The Bagheera. We need to pay the deposit to secure the boat asap. I am asking for a non-refundable deposit of £10 per head. We need at least 22 people to make this work, but can go up to 50.
The approximate cost of the trip is about £24 ph + about £13:75 for onboard fish & chip. This cost of the trip will depend on numbers, could be under £20 + F&C if we get 50 people!
DATES FOR THE DIARY
AGM: Thursday 23rd April at 6:30pm for 7pm start at Coombe Dingle.
Awards Night: Saturday 21st March at St Peter’s Church, Henleaze.
CLUB KIT
Membermojo store is now updated with new vest stock. Junior sizes now available.
Westbury Harriers at membermojo (XL club hoodies at discounted rate. £13)
Club training kit available via our online store:
Westbury Harriers RC
2026 ENGLISH NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The championships is being held this year in Sedgefield, Co Durham on Saturday 21st February 2026. You can enter yourself here. Entries close on 6th Feb 2026. No late entries are accepted. Some team managers may do a club entry – await details from your specific team manager around entry and arrangements.
Please let your team manager know if you are planning on running.
Junior Girls – Jason Michael
Junior Boys – Neil Miller
Senior/Master Men – Mike Mewse
Senior/Master Women – Tamsin Chick
This is a championship event and you can claim back the race entry fee and some monies towards travel expenses from the club here.
The National XC rotates location around the country each year. Due to the location of this year’s event we do need to plan ahead in terms of logistics. So please contact your team manager as soon as practical to assist them in the organisation. This event is suitable for all club runners.
Blaise Blazer
Entries are now open for this year’s Blaise Blazer. Entry only £10/£12. Monday 1st June 2026.
Scenic/hilly 6k through Blaise Estate. Friendly event, all abilities are welcome. Plenty of individual, team & spot prizes and lots of free cake after.
https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/blaise-blazer/
2. TRAINING THIS WEEK
MONDAY – Tempo Session:
Group runs from Coombe Dingle sports complex 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.
– Well Being Run:
7.15pm at Coombe Dingle – a slower pace, sociable run – open to all.
TUESDAY – Track Session:
Track session at Yate 7pm – Seniors book on via RunTogether App.
WEDNESDAY – Hill Session:
Adults, all abilities. Meet every Wednesday at 12pm, corner of Saville Road by the Downs. Sign up on RunTogether App.
THURSDAY – Interval Session:
Coombe Dingle Sports Complex, meet at 7pm.
4 x 3 mins (1 min recovery) @ 5-10k effort
4 x 90 secs (1 min recovery) @ 5k effort
4 x 45 secs (1 min recovery) @ quicker than 5k effort
[Feel free to reduce number of reps or effort for those doing Gwent on Saturday].
3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS
Arc of Attrition by UTMB – 50 miles
by Olivia Zeltner
I want to begin by expressing deep admiration for Yvette and Hannah, who both tackled the ARC 100 this past weekend. Their grit and determination have truly inspired me, and sharing the training and race preparation journey with such committed and kind clubmates has been incredibly rewarding.
Now onto the race… The ARC of Attrition 50 miler was my A race for the season- I built a strong foundation during spring 2025, focusing on regaining fitness after my second son, and followed it up with an excellent training block in the autumn. My preparation paid off, I felt confident, especially after winning the Broadway marathon in the Cotswolds in November and nearly breaking the course record, which gave me hope of being competitive.
Despite feeling some nerves before the race, (especially after storm Ingrid hit the night before, leaving me drenched while supporting Yvette and Hannah), I was relieved that race day brought less severe weather. We still faced strong winds, rain, and extremely muddy and waterlogged trails, but training in the Southwest had prepared me for these tough conditions.
Rather than detailing every moment, I’ll simply say the day was unforgettable. The course was beautiful, the volunteers were fantastic, and the challenging conditions played to my strengths on the technical, muddy terrain. I struggled between 50K and 65K with stomach issues and muscle cramps, but managed to push through and finish the last 15km strongly.
I was very proud to finish as the 6th woman (38th overall) in quite a competitive field, not too far behind a few sponsored/ professional athletes! You can currently find me with my feet up, enjoying a few drinks, but soon I will have the bit between my teeth again and will be starting preparations for the CCC (100K UTMB world series finals) in Chamonix at the end of August.
Editor’s note: Amazing running Olivia!! Such a fantastic performance and so well-deserved after putting in so many hours of hard training. Super excited to see what’s next for you at CCC!
Arc of Attrition 100 miles
by Hannah Large
Unfortunately the Arc100 ended for me with a DNF at mile 82. It was a wild experience from the start – crashing waves, roaring winds and lashing rain throughout, with so much mud everywhere! I went through a full range of emotions out there but there are moments that will stick in my mind forever like getting caught in a shower of spray on Penzance sea front as huge waves crashed against the wall or running along Loe Bar in the dark with the raging sea just metres away.
After slogging through the infamous Pendeen to St Ives stretch in the early hours of the morning, I was looking forward to the more runnable final section. I’d managed to keep moving well throughout the night and was in a top 10 position for the women. Unfortunately, my right calf had become so sore that I’d been reduced to a painfully slow hobble and I was struggling to contemplate another 18 miles of hobbling to the end – I’ve done that before in another 100 miler and it’s pretty joyless. When I came into the Lelant checkpoint, I was greeted by Iain with our littlest daughter who’d experienced her first night away from me ever, after a brief chaotic feed at the Porthleven checkpoint at 6pm the previous evening – I fed her and she promptly fell asleep on me. This ended up being the final nail in the coffin for my hopes of finishing as the desire just to stay and cuddle her outweighed my desire to hobble on painfully for another 18-20 miles of coast path! So we headed back to see the older kids who immediately wanted to show me their new tricks in the swimming pool where we were staying. Life goes on and kids don’t care if you ran 82 miles or 100, or if you’ve not slept for 36 hours! 🙃
I’ve definitely regretted that decision over the course of this week but I did what felt right at the time. Having initially vowed that I’d never want to do that again, I’m now already thinking that another trip to Cornwall may be on the cards next year as I’m keen to finish what I started and make it to the end. Trying to run 100 miles (and have fun doing so!) feels like a frustrating puzzle at times but I’m going to keep trying to figure it out. Lots of positives to take from the race and lots of things to work on for next time.
Huge well done to Olivia and Yvette – it was so fun to have other Westbury ladies to share the journey with. Would highly recommend the Arc (12,25,50,100 mile races on offer) to anyone thinking of a winter challenge next year. Also only 9% of entries to the 100 were female (and still only 24% female entries across all 4 races) so it would be great to see more women on the start line. Happy to chat to anyone who might be tempted!
4. UPCOMING RACES / CLUB CHAMPS
A reminder that we have an events calendar on our website where you can keep track of dates for training, events and races. https://westburyharriers.co.uk/events/events-calendar/
And club champ races here: Club Championship – Westbury Harriers
REMINDER OF GWENT LEAGUE DATES
This is our main cross-country team event. Suitable for all club members, all ages, all abilities. Everyone scores for the team, individually and for their age group. We want FULL teams in each age group. Cost is £5 + admin fee per race, payable via RunTogether. Running can be quite an individual sport, but this is really where it comes together as a team and a club with a great atmosphere. Do come and give a Gwent League a go, whether you can do one race in the season, or all five, whatever your contribution, it really does help.
Saturday, February 7th – Gwent league, Chepstow Race Course
Saturday, February 28th – Gwent League, Parc Bryn Bach
Other club races:
Saturday 21st February – English National Cross Country Championships
Saturday 14th March. The Frampton Globe Trot 8ish miles (Club Champs race) Frampton Globe Trot
Monday 1st June – Blaise Blazer
Other local races:
Saturday 14th February. The Bristol 5k and 10k Winter Warmer Run: The Bristol 5k and 10k Winter Warmer Run | The Fix Events
Sunday 15th February: Caerphilly Trail 5k and 10k. Caerphilly Trail 5k and 10k | Ridge Runners
Sunday 22nd February: Two Tunnels 5km, 10km, Half, Marathon & 50km. Relish Running Races
Saturday 14 March: Brechfa Trail Races, Half marathon and marathon. Brechfa Trail Races | Ridge Runners
Sunday 15th March 2026. 20 mile & 21km Fission. Berkeley Power Station. RogueRuns – 20 & 1/2 Fission
Sunday 12th April. 5 miler. Penallta Pony Trek: Penallta Pony Trek 2026 – CAERPHILLY RUNNERS
Saturday 7th March. Green Man ultra marathon. Could You Conquer The Green Man? – The Green Man Ultra
Saturday 25th April: Butcombe Trail Ultra (50 mile and 50k options) Highly recommended local races TACH BTU
Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Hannah Large
