Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Hi everyone,
It’s my first week back on newsletter duties for a while as I took a few months break after having our third baby. Thanks so much to Ben, Sophie and Yvette for covering for me while I was off – I really appreciate it!
It was great to see lots of people at Margam Park yesterday for the fourth Gwent League XC fixture of the season. A great turnout and brilliant performances across the board from both juniors and seniors. Luckily, the weather was relatively kind to us and the ground was so much drier compared to the mud bath of last year! Yvette has made a couple of videos of the men’s and women’s races so do check those out on the Facebook page if you haven’t already seen them. Provisional results are available here. The men’s and U11 reports are below, with the ladies’ report to follow next week. Huge congratulations to everyone who ran, and thanks so much to all the team managers for your hard work organising us all and supporting on the day. The final Gwent League is in Brecon on Sunday 2nd March so there is still time to run a Gwent XC this season even if you haven’t been able to make any of the previous fixtures – every runner scores for Westbury and everyone is very welcome!
Have a great week everyone,
Hannah
RACE REPORTS
Academy news from Margam Park XC – race report
by Nina
A great turnout at Margam Park for our novice boys and girls at the weekend! A fantastic effort from our young athletes, with the U11 girls’ team currently sitting in 4th place overall and the U11 boys in 10th.
Well done to our U11 boys: Seb G (Yate AC – 2nd), Rufus P (30), Max P (39), Seb E (45), Alex M (51) and Frederick H (56).
And to our U11 girls: Lottie D (10th), Imogen E (Yate AC – 11th), Sophie H (33), Amelia D (37), Autumn B (51), Ellie L (52), and Isobel M (56).
Senior men’s XC from Margam Park
by Geraint
On the club’s 101st birthday 18 men took to the green, green grass of Margam and absolutely smashed it!
The course was changed from previous years and thankfully didn’t feature the 300-metre-long mud pit from last year, but it had plenty of challenges with tufty grass, the odd bog and a couple of sapping hills.
We had some Gwent League debutants in Richard Finch, Michael Feltham and after years of gentle persuasion, Dom Hurford, and they all had smiles at the end which was good to see.
The first team was led home by Ben Rawlings in third, closely followed by Greg Hayward in fourth, Iain Large in 49th, Michael Feltham in 64th (nice debut!) and Chris Palmer in 72nd (9th vet 45). The team were 5th on the day which moved them up from 8th to 7th in division 1.
The B team was led home by Jack Derrick in 114th, Ben Wood 118th, Chris Treble 140th, Paul Stuart 147th (10th vet 55) and Martin Fielding in 178th. The B team were 4th on the day and are 8th in the B team division.
Men’s team captain Alastair Blackwood led the C team home in 184th, Richard Finch 196th, George Griffiths 200th , Ewan Kilgour 228th and Dom Hurford in 257th. The C team were second on the day in the Reserve Division moving up to 12th overall from 15th.
The final three runners home for the club and representing the D team were Geraint Torrington 262nd, Mark Munday 268th and Ian Derrick in 269th. The Geraint v Ian battle looked like going Ian’s way after he powered past Geraint on the first hill, but the tortoise caught the other tortoise on the second lap and managed to crawl at a slightly faster pace.
Thank you to everyone who turned out for the club. It was great to get 18 men racing and finishing the season strongly. Just one more race to go in Brecon on Sunday, March 2nd.
CLUB NOTICES
MEMBERS OF THE MONTH
SENIOR: Mike Mewse – For organising a fantastic final centenary event which was enjoyed by many.
JUNIOR: Katinka Bannister - For her efforts in getting to the South West Schools Cross Country Championships
Congratulations to both!
CLUB AGM – THURSDAY 24th APRIL
This year’s AGM will be held on Thursday 24th April at Coombe Dingle – 6.30pm for a 7pm start. A buffet will be provided. There will be no club training that evening for any groups to enable people to attend. Do come along if you can!
BLAISE BLAZER ENTRIES OPEN
Although it’s hard to imagine summer evening racing in the depths of February, the lighter evenings are coming and entries are now open for this year’s Blaise Blazer on Monday 2nd June! Entry only £8/£10. Scenic/hilly 4 mile course through Blaise Estate. Friendly event, all abilities are welcome. Plenty of individual, team & spot prizes and lots of free cake after. https://race-nation.co.uk/…/westbury…/blaise-blazer-2025
RACE PLACE AVAILABLE – Severn Bridge Twilight Race, 10 April 2025
At the centenary lunch, I was really fortunate to win a place in The Severn Bridge Twilight Race, on 10 April – but SADLY – I will be away. It looks like a beautiful event, and not far away. Mike Mewse says it’ll be fine to swap to someone else’s name. Would anyone like my place? I can pass on the details of who to contact and how to register. Please contact Wendy Tippett.
COACH BOOKED FOR THE NATIONALS!
We’ve booked a coach to take us to Parliament Hill for the most iconic race in British XC on Saturday 22nd February. We are getting picked up from Coombe Dingle, and will be picking up/dropping off from Yate as well. Entries for the XC have now closed but if you still need a place on the coach, do email Mike or Tamsin.
BRECON TRAINING WEEKEND
Just a reminder that Dan Summers is organising another Westbury Harriers weekend away on 26-28 September 2025 in the Brecon Beacons. We’re hoping to be able to keep the cost to around £250-265. That will include food, guiding, accommodation and yoga on Saturday afternoon. If you’re interested, please comment on Dan’s Facebook post from 21st Jan and he will be in touch with more information.
SNEYD PARK ORIENTEERING – 22nd February
If you fancy a run with a bit of a difference, Bristol Orienteering Klub are organising a night event in Sneyd Park on Saturday 22nd February. Essentially you get a map with lots of controls on and you have 1 hour to visit as many as you can, and get back to the start! You get points for each control visited. The start is up on the Downs at Sea Walls and then some controls are likely to be in the roads around Sneyd Park, with others in Bishops Knoll, Old Sneed Park Nature reserve etc. Headtorch and compass required. Full details here. Start window between 6.15-7.15pm. If you’re keen to give it a try but haven’t done an orienteering event before, or would like to borrow a compass, just email me (Hannah) on htwalsh17@gmail.com and I’d be happy to help answer any questions/source a compass!
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 mins (2 min recovery), 4 mins (90 secs recovery), 3 mins (1 min recovery), 2 mins (1 min recovery), 1 min (1 min recovery), 5 mins
All at 5-10k effort.
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/
Saturday 22nd February: Saucony English National Cross Country Championships
Sunday 23rd February. Ironwood Challenge: https://nailsea.fullonsport.com/…/ironwood…/profile (Club championship)
SUNDAY 2nd March: 5th and final Gwent League fixture at Brecon (Penlan) – (Club championship)
Sunday 6th April: The Big Cheese race. 15-mile fell race in Cheddar.
Sunday 11th May: The Bristol 10km and half marathon.
Editor: Hannah Large
