Sunday 30th April
Westbury Harriers – Weekly News
Editors Piece
I’m looking forward to the Bristol Half and 10k which is now only two weeks away. As it’s our local race I’m hoping to see quite a few Westbury runners taking part, and I’ve already spoken to a few of you who’ve entered the 10k or half. If you’re running the half you’ll also be able to tot up some club championship points.
With luck it will be bright and sunny on race day (although not too hot) and I’m already looking forward to my post-race pint of cider at the finish.
I’ve had a few suggestions about changing the title of the Weekly News but the majority of replies have actually asked me to keep it the same. I’m therefore going to adopt the philosophy that if it ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and stick with Westbury Harriers – Weekly news.
Avon County Track and Field Championship Saturday 13th May
A reminder that the closing date for the County Track Champs is Sunday 7th May. You enter this yourself using the entry central web link below. https://tinyurl.com/2yy88mf6
Also a lot of seniors and juniors indicated they wanted to compete on the track and yet there are still very few who have joined Yate and even fewer who have returned the other discipline form.
If you do intend to race on the track please send the other discipline form to Lizzy at membership@westburyharriers.co.uk please.
The link to join Yate (which is has a link to the form) is https://yateac.co.uk/membership/
Tuesday Running Session at Yate Track and Thursday Intervals
The running session at Yate will be posted on facebook neared the time.
We’re still on the grass at Coombe Dingle next week for the following session, 4mins (2mins recovery), 4 x 1mins (1mins recovery), 4 mins (2mins recovery), 4 x 1mins (1mins recovery), 4 mins. Option to drop the 4mins to 3 mins.
Aim for 10k pace/effort on the 4 mins and quicker than 5k pace/effort on the 1 mins. Aim to maintain effort/pace on each on the 4mins
Beer and Banger 10k Friday 30th June 7pm
One of my favourite races by Nailsea Running Club and as an added bonus you get a tasty banger and pint (gluten-free/vegan options available) as part of the entry fee. Every year I’ve competed in the event the weather has been warm and sunny so hopefully this trend will continue into June!
Club T-shirts
Katie Hughes is putting in an order for “official” club T shirts with Ronhill Specials. These are white with a blue hoop and unlike the blue ones purchased from the website can be worn at events where you are representing the club eg Gwent League, Midland Road Relays etc They are a nice alternative if you don’t like wearing a vest or if its a bit chilly!! Sizes are Men S,M,L, and women XS,S,M,L. Price should be around £22 based on last order.
Please comment to Katie’s facebook post, dated 29th, or message her if you would like one and let her know what size!
Bitton 5k Series
The first race in the series is next week! They appear to have changed the registration this year and it is now sign up on the night with no online registration beforehand.
I enjoy these races, a relaxed event but on a fairly flat course that gives you the opportunity to really see where you are with your 5k pace!
- Race 1 – Wednesday 3rd May 2023
- Race 2 – Wednesday 7th June 2023
- Race 3 – Wednesday 5th July 2023
- Race 4 – Wednesday 2nd August 2023
The race starts at 7.30pm from Bitton Railway Station. Registration from 6.45pm on the night at the station car park – cash or card payments. £8 per race affiliated £10 per race unaffiliated. Register for the full series at a discounted rate of £28 affiliated, £35 unaffiliated. Jelly snakes* for all runners!
Pictured below, Mark enjoying the delights of a tasty treat, a Jelly Snake!
*Editors Note. Sorry Mark, I could not help myself and just had to include the picture.
Postponed – Couch to 5k
With regret we have decided to postpone the couch to 5k course – due to the planning required and impact of spring bank holidays and other events this spring/summer. Watch this space though – for possible autumn or spring course being planned in the future – thank you to everyone who had offered to help support with this.
Club Championship Bristol Half Sunday 14th May
The next race in the club championship series is the Bristol Half and the good news is, as of today, you can still enter. https://tinyurl.com/6mn7fbj4
London Marathon
We had some fantastic results from last Sunday’s Marathon. I’m especially glad I can share some stories from all three of our club members who were lucky enough to be selected and win the club entries. Now over to Rachel Liston, Adrian Alamo and Jonathan Riley.
I ran the London marathon on Sunday with a club ballot place, thank you so much to the club for the opportunity, this was a bucket list experience and what an amazing day!
Race day started early, getting to the start early was definitely the right call, nerves instantly started to abate, this was happening! I’d like to say a huge thank you to Sandy Masters for accompanying me in that hour leading up to the start, inspirational, and the nerves definitely disappeared knowing I was with someone who knew what they were doing!
Having been poorly in the 2 weeks leading up to the race there was a bit of an unknown about how it would good, so I made sure I stuck to a plan. Get to a comfortable pace and stay there, if that is target race pace brilliant, if it’s not that’s ok too.
Thankfully target race pace was comfortable and I began ticking off the miles exactly according to plan! The pace checker wrist band I had was invaluable for me to check elapsed time against the mile markers and make sure I was on track!
Very quickly I realised the mile markers seemed to be getting further apart, i.e. I was snaking and doing more distance! I had to speed up to stay on track!
Everyone says it but it’s true, the atmosphere was amazing, snaking through packed streets then, wow, Cutty Sark! Tower bridge was amazing, so many people and amazing to run right in the middle of the road under the towers! Lifted by seeing friends and family along the route the music, dancing, choirs, bands were insane!
If it would’ve been a training run I probably would’ve stopped around mile 13 with a twinging IT band, but I wasn’t training, so I carried on! Around mile 23 it really got hard, but at that point the support was mental. I didn’t need to tell myself to keep going, the crowd did that for me!
It seemed to finish all of a sudden, there was the Eye, Westminster, then Buckingham Palace! I thought they would string out the finish and make me run along the mall, so was relived the finish was right at the top of the mall! I had aimed for sub 3.50, I achieved 3.48, officially good for age, I’m delighted! Placed 617 in my category, 3372nd female to finish, I came 13901st super pleased. That all said, stairs are a challenge today and I suspect they might present a challenge for the days to come! But I’m already planning my next challenge (open to suggestions!)
By Rachel Liston
I’m Adrian, usually running with Group 2. I got one of the spots for the London Marathon this year from the club, and I can say it went great! So happy! It was my first ever marathon, so quite a scenario to start my journey, with a Major!
I finished in 3h 35 mins 58 seconds, which is around 5:07/km or 8:14/mile. My target time was around 3h 30 minutes, so really pleased with it. My bib number was 9035, in case you want to check my stats any further.
My race summary! Tough day, rainy for most part of the race, although I don’t think it would have made much difference had the weather been better… my main rival were my own legs.
The week of the marathon I hadn’t been feeling well. My legs felt really heavy, and I though my left hamstring wasn’t going to allow me to even start, let alone able to hold for the whole race. I believe the the amount of effort I had put into training and the adrenaline of the day carried me on Sunday. My mind wasn’t letting everything go to waste!
First half of the race felt comfortable. I thought to myself, well, it seems like I can make it to the finish line after all. That was just the beginning…
From 20k onwards, just passing Tower Bridge, I started feeling my left hamstring tight. I tried to improve it by increasing my cadence so as to use my hamstrings less, and reduce a bit my pace to around 5:10/km or 8:19/mile, what by body felt “ok” with.
Then it was all mental games. Focus and distracting myself while taking gels/electrolytes. I pushed myself to 30k, and then I said again, well, now that I’ve reached 30k, I might just finish it hahaha easier said than done.
My last trick was to focus on my gels. I planned my last one for the 3h mark, and once I had no gels left, I know I can power through to the end, just running. No more gels, no more drinking. I just wanted get to the finish line.
From 35k onwards it was one of the toughest challenges I have ever faced. 39k to the end… I thought, as far as I was moving, I was alright.
Now it’s the following day, I cannot walk up/down stairs or walk properly, but I feel very proud of myself. The best part? My support crew. I had friends coming from Derby and Bristol. My parents came from Spain, and my brother from Paris, where he lives. An amazing feeling having that many people there just to support you.
By Adrian Alamo
The London Marathon was great today, it’s an amazing race with enthusiastic supporters all the way. I’m very pleased with my 3h09 and I think I could run a bit faster with more training. A big thank you to the club for the place!
By Jonathan Riley
And pictured below, some of our club London marathoners at the club supper.
Horton Bull Run and Club Championship Race 2- Sunday 23rd April
Not quite such a long course as the London Marathon but a beautiful setting and full of interest – comedy bike falls, horses and dogs on the course, cattle grids, mud and manure, – but some super fast running from our Westbury athletes – and some great trophies.
Well done to all our Westbury runners with Freddie Cooper the race winner and category winners Mark Andrews (MV55) , Tamsin Chick (FV40) , Kate Hoffen (FV55), Thomas Darton (Boys U16) with former Westbury runner Jimmy Deane winner of MV40.
Thank you to the organisers, marshals and helpers from Horton Village Hall Committee . It’s a great event and well worthy of a place in the Westbury Harriers Club Championship.
Report and photos by Mike Mewse
Richard Bloss Personality of the Year Award
Thank you to everyone who nominated a club member for the Richard Bloss Personality of the Year. The following people have been nominated and it’s now up to you to vote for your personality of the year.
- Carol Fee
- Marilyn Palmer
- Mark Andrews
- Mike Mewse
- Sarah Andrews
- Tamsin Chick
Votes must be received by midnight on Sunday, April 30th, that’s today! and you must be a fully paid-up member for your vote to count. Any votes received after this time will not be counted. Only ONE vote per person allowed.
Send your votes to bloss@westburyharriers.co.uk
Strava Segment of the Week
Well done to Myck Mawson on her morning running around Bradley Stoke achieving a PB on Strava segment Brook Way Climb in a time of 2:17
Diary Dates
Monday 1st May Bluebell Social Run
Wednesday 3rd May Bitton 5k Race 1
Tuesday 9th May Race 1 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Sunday 14th May AJ Bell Great Bristol Run 10k and HM (Club Championship)
Friday 19th May GWR Towpath Race 1 (incl. Mob Match) (Club Championship)
Saturday 20th May Club Awards Evening at Shirehampton Golf Club
Monday 22nd May 10k Hogweed Trot and Avon County Championships
Thursday 25th May Weston Prom
Monday 5th June Blaise Blazer Trail Race
Wednesday 7th June Bitton 5k Race 2
Saturday 10th June Man V Horse
Tuesday 13th June Race 2 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Tuesday 13th June Clevedon Mid summer 10k (Club Championship)
Friday 16th June GWR Towpath Race 2
Tuesday 27th June Sri Chimnoy 2 mile (Club Championship)
Thursday 29th June 19:30 Thornbury 10k Road Race, Thornbury Running Club
Friday 30th June 19:00 Beer and Banger 10K, Nailsea Running Club
Wednesday 5th July Bitton 5k Race 3
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
Friday 14th July GWR Towpath Race 3
Sunday 23rd July 5 mile Age Grader road race, Rogueruns
Saturday 29th July Magor 10k Road Race massive PB potential on a mega flat route
Wednesday 2nd August Bitton 5k Race 4
Tuesday 8th August Race 4 Rose Inn Series, Chepstow Harriers
Friday 18th August GWR towpath race 4
Saturday 19th August Race the Train, trail event and you chase the choo choo
Monday 21st August Club Charity Hash and Cake Sale
Sunday 27th August Severn Bridge Half Marathon and 10k
Saturday 16th September Relish Running Cheddar Road Race
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
