Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Hello,
I hope this email finds you well. We have a great Race report from the indoor masters 3000m by Lynn Jenkins in the email. Looking forward to reading some race reports from the three Westbury harriers who tackled the Arc of Attrition Ultra marathon on the weekend. I cant imagine running on the Cornish coastline this time of year (through a storm) makes for an easy race. Thursday intervals are on the road this week and I am told we have some of our brethren from Yate travelling to join in the session. The bar will be open after the session for drinks (plus lasagna for those who have booked the club meal). Be great to see you there!
In this week’s newsletter:
- Club notices
- Training this week
- Race reports / results
- Upcoming races
1. CLUB NOTICES
THURSDAY INTERVAL SESSION
Our session this Thursday will be on the roads again.
With several of the Clubs Yate training group joining us for the session and Club Supper afterwards, it is a great opportunity for some of our quicker runners to meet and train with some of the clubs quickest athletes.
We will meet at Coombe Dingle as usual and head off to the Bell Barn Road/ Coombe Bridge Avenue loop. Any latecomers can join us at Briercliffe Road where we will do some drills before starting the main session.
Interval training is an important part of a weekly schedule for runners of all ages and abilities, it has been really good to see more runners from Group 5 joining the sessions in recent weeks.
Whilst it is now too late to book food for Club Supper afterwards the bar at Coombe Dingle will be open if anyone wants to join us for a drink.
If you haven’t joined us on a Thursday before this would be a great opportunity to give it a try!
NEXT GWENT LEAGUE
The next Gwent League is 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.
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.
MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPIONS
The club has two mental health champions, Seema Srivastava and Tamsin Chick. Mental health champions are part of the England Athletics #Runandtalk programme which is a network of volunteers across affiliated running clubs. The role of a Mental Health Champion is to support people to access the mental wellbeing benefits of running, remove stigma and get people talking about mental health. We are here as a point of contact and to link in with #RunAndTalk initiatives.
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.
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.
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.
Road work, Bell Barn road/Coombe bridge avenue loop.*
*Please think of night running safety. Wear bright/reflective clothing and bring head torches etc.
3. RACE RESULTS/REPORTS
Saturday 24th January – British Masters Indoor 3k Championships
by Lyn Jenkins
On Saturday I attended the BMAF indoor championships in Cardiff – my first ever indoor track event. I had previously run 3000m on outdoor track, so with some encouragement from Ann and Tamsin I decided to give this a go. All the other Masters athletes were very friendly and helpful, even explaining where to start and how to run on the banked curves. I was pleased to come away with a silver medal and a PB of 14.11.36. A new experience for me and there were others running indoors for the first time so I would encourage anyone to give it a go. It was certainly drier and warmer than running outdoors at this time of year!
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
Please send anything you might want to see in the newsletter to: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Ben Wood
