Westbury Harriers – Weekly News
Hi everyone,
As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, cross country season is almost upon us! The first Gwent League fixture is next Saturday (11th October) at Margam Park in South Wales. This is a fantastic course and we’re hoping to have a fantastic club turnout to kick off the season. Do remember to sign up ASAP if you haven’t already.
In this week’s newsletter:
1. Club notices
2. Training this week
3. Race reports / results
4. Upcoming races
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CLUB NOTICES
Run and talk week
Get ready for #RunAndTalk 2025 – England Athletics
On Monday 6th October as part of national run and talk week, we will be hosting a run and talk event from Coombe dingle on the Monday night. Runners from outside of the club can sign up for a run and a chat. Also importantly (and the poster cuts this bit off), there will be drinks and snacks afterwards – tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits will be available in the upstairs meeting room at Coombe Dingle who anyone who want to stay and chat. This is all in aid of mental well being, so lets all get behind it!
Expenses
You can find our club expenses form here. A reminder that all claims should be submitted within 1 month of the expense being incurred, and for any claims made in December these should be submitted by 22nd December to enable year end accounts to be prepared. Please make our club treasurers role easier by keeping to this. Thanks.
Reminder for those who come to Yate Track Tuesday.
All participants should continue to book onto the session on RunTogether App. This will now show with no payment. We ask you to still sign up on RunTogether so we know who is attending, can manage numbers and have easy access to emergency contact details.
In addition can you must join Yate & District AC as a Westbury Associate Member. It’s FREE!
To do this log on to: https://yateac.co.uk/yate-and-district-athletic-club-homepage/
Select COME AND JOIN US.
Then click on big orange Join Us/Renew button and enter personal details. Join as Westbury Harrier Associate member.
Member of the Month
Seniors:
Paul Turner – Paul helps with the Juniors so we don’t see him at training, but it is always good to see him at races. Paul took part in the Towpath series this summer, on several occasions but particularly on the final race of this year, the 5k on 15 August, he brought a cool box full of chilled beers and home baked cakes, enough for every Westbury runner who wanted one! It was a warm evening and the last race of the series and it really helped bring everyone together and was such a kind and generous thing to do.
Juniors:
Sam Harvey – for recently completing the Leadership in Running and Fitness (LiRF) course. Inspirational to see one of our younger club members starting out on their coaching journey. Sam’s assessment demonstrated he is going to be a great leader. Sam was clear, confident and knowledgeable
Well done Paul and Sam!
Monday Night Training
*REMINDER: ALL GROUPS ARE NOW BACK AT COOMBE DINGLE ON A MONDAY NIGHT*
As the nights start to draw in, please do get your high-viz and head/body torches ready.
GWENT LEAGUE – Saturday, October 11th 2025 Margam Park
Keep signing up on RunTogether for the Gwent League. Teams are starting to shape up but we need full turn outs in all age groups. Anyone who is available please come and take part. Everybody counts and we need big numbers. Team managers will help coordinate lift shares.
Timing and fixture information has now been published and the correct timings are showing on RunTogether
Women and V65 Men – 13.15
Men – 14.50
Masters XC relays
An email has gone out to all Masters runners about the XC on Sat 25th Oct. Please do get in touch or talk to team mates to get a team together. It’s a great day out and the club pays the entry.
REMINDER: Junior Training Subs
As the new term starts, there remain a number of athletes whose training subs for this term remain outstanding. Every junior member has been sent an email requesting payment. Subs are payable via the online store (https://membermojo.co.uk/westburyharriers/store). You should select Autumn Term 1 2025/26 Junior member training fees. The subs remain £20 for the whole term, and covers all sessions (Mondays/Thursdays) at Coombe Dingle. Yate track sessions are payable separately as this is a fee charged by Yate and District AC. We will be monitoring attendance and confirming that subs have been paid. Thanks everyone!
Second hand vests needed (on behalf of Catherine Treble)
We have almost 20 Academy members signed up for the first Gwent which is fantastic but very few have their own vests and the club stash is a little low at the moment. Please get in touch if you can help and have spares club vests (preferably smaller sizes) – either here, one of the Academy volunteers, team managers or via Facebook, thank you!
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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, on grass at 7pm.
6 x 3 minutes (1min recoveries) – aim for 5k pace/effort
Option to reduce to 5 reps for those racing at the Gwent League.
3. RACE REPORTS
No specific reports this week – do send any to communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
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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. We have people running from groups 2-6 regularly. We do well as we turn out on mass. 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. If you think running around a field in a slightly soggy part of Wales is not fun, think again! It is fabulous fun! 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. The first event usually eases us in gently as the weather is usually kind. 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.
Gwent League dates 2025/2026 season
Saturday, October 11th 2025 Margam Park
Saturday, November 8th 2025 Cardiff in conjunction with Cross Challenge
Saturday, December 6th 2025 Blaise Castle
Saturday, February 7th 2026 Chepstow Race Course
Saturday, February 28th 2026 Parc Bryn Bach
Avon Cross Country Championships
Sunday 14th December 2025 Bath University
Held in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Cross Country league fixture. Suitable for all. Has age category prizes.
South West Cross Country Championships
Date not yet available – usually first weekend in January (2026)
More suitable for those who run in groups 1-3.
English National Cross Country Championships
Saturday 21st February 206 – East Park, Sedgefield, County Durham.
Suitable for all ages and abilities. It is a mass celebration of running – fantastic fun and always a true cross-country course (slightly challenging but totally doable!) The Club has in previous years organised coach transport for runners taking part but the distances involved means coach travel on the day is not a realistic option this time. This remains a prestigious National event and whilst recognising that the length of the journey and the lack of an organised travel option will put off some runners, we still hope that some of you will take part. The club will contribute towards the travel expenses of runners in accordance with our Expenses policy as set out on the Website.
Midland 6/12 stage Spring Road relays
March 2026, date not yet available
British Master Cross Country Relays
Saturday 25th October 2025
British Masters Road Relay Championships 2026
date not yet confirmed
Other local races;
Sunday 26th October – Mendip Muddle (Club Champs race) Mendip Muddle – Weston Athletic Club
Thursday 6th November – Severn Bridge night run. RogueRuns – Severn Bridge 5 Night Race
Saturday 29th November – Machen 21km & 42km trail races Machen Trail Races | Ridge Runners
Sunday 14th December – Weston AC Christmas Cracker
If there are any races or interesting events that you think should be added, please email: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Hannah Large
