Westbury Harriers Weekly News
Evening everyone,
It was great to see so many club members out racing laps in Cardiff yesterday for the second Gwent League of the season, combined with the Cross Challenge. We were cheering the men’s race on the finishing straight and saw an absolutely amazing sprint finish by Matthew Kipsang to take the win (although it wasn’t enough to impress my 4 year old!) It’s always such a fun opportunity to run in the same race as top elite runners. The next Gwent fixture is on home ground at Blaise so do consider volunteering if you can. It’s also the club supper on Monday 17th November and it’s great that so many people have signed up – thanks to Sarah for organising.
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
REMINDER – NEXT XC RACE COMING UP – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The next Gwent League race is at Blaise Castle on Saturday 6th December. Sign up will be on Run Together soon but Alastair is looking for volunteers to help make the event a success.
“I know a lot of our members will be running; but we would greatly appreciate your help, as there are multiple volunteering slots throughout the day (see below). We need 20 Marshals out on the course at any one point, with some floating volunteers able to respond where / if needed. Approximate volunteering times are noted below, based on last year (full schedule for the Gwent League has not be released yet); but may change closer to the time.”
Volunteering Slots:
- Early Setup: 09:00 ~11:00
- Early Marshall: ~11:00 ~13:45
- Late Marshall: ~13:45 ~16:00
- Late Cleardown: ~16:00 onwards
- Club House: time to be agreed on at a later date, but expected to be the following day / week.
As usual, all timings will be thought out such that you won’t miss your race and have time to warmup and cooldown. There are also 10 Club Championship Points available for every volunteer. If you are able to help, please email Alastair at: volunteers@westburyharriers.co.uk
CHRISTMAS TRAINING SCHEDULE
There will no formal training in the weeks commencing 22 and 29 December 2025.
Our last Monday session of the year on 15 December will be the annual Brailsford Lights run. Meeting and running in our usual groups the route will take in the lights display in Brentry. Fancy dress is encouraged but optional. We will be holding another Club Supper in the pavilion afterwards, further information will be circulated in due course.
Training will resume on Monday 8 January 2026.
MOVE UP MONDAY: 17 November 2025
Many of our Monday runners will have thought about moving up to the group above them. We understand that this can be a daunting prospect: how quick are they, will I be able to keep up?!
We always encourage people to give other groups a try, our Leaders and other runners will always welcome you and look after you.
Move up Monday creates a formal opportunity to give it a try. Leaders will be aware and plan the route and pace accordingly. If a few of you move up together you will have some additional support and reassurance.
Why not give it a try on Monday 17 November! Just book onto the Group using Run Together in the usual way.
CLUB SUPPER:
It’s too late to sign up now but just a reminder for those who have booked that the club supper will be happening in the Coombe Dingle Pavilion after Monday training. Over 45 people have signed up so it should be a great evening.
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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, meet at 7pm.
Hills – location to be decided closer to the time depending on numbers.
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RACE REPORTS/RESULTS
Cardiff Gwent League & Cross Challenge
Full race reports to follow but provisional results are available here for the Gwent League and here for the Cross Challenge. Well done everyone – brilliant team performances from WH across all races!
Sodbury Slog
Well done to Ben Rawlins for taking the win at the Sodbury Slog today, with Matthew Cant in 3rd. Trish Robson also won 1st V60. Great running from all 12 WH members who took on the mud today, particularly as many also raced at Cardiff on Saturday!
New York Marathon
Further afield, Emma Bailey had a brilliant run at the New York Marathon last weekend, finishing in 3:18:46 – Emma says “perfect weather and great crowds!”
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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
See race listings at the bottom of the newsletter for a new Club championship race 🙂
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, 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
Midland 6 / 12 stage road relays – 28th March 2026, Nationals 11th April 2026
2026 British Masters Road Relay championships – date not yet confirmed
Other local races;
Sunday 16th November: Bath Skyline 10km at 11am (Club Champs Race) – https://www.relishrunningraces.com/bath-skyline-10km.php
Best to try to enter wave 2 if you wish to run with other Westburys… as this still has lots of spaces…
Saturday 29th November: Machen 21km & 42km trail races, Ridge Runners – https://www.ridgerunners.co.uk/machen-races
Saturday 6th December: Limitless Trails, Secret Santa Series – https://www.limitlesstrails.co.uk/secret-santa-12k-half
Saturday 13th December: The 12k’s of Xmas at 9:30am (Club Champs Race) – https://www.gertlushevents.co.uk/12ks-of-christmas
Sunday 14th December: Weston AC Christmas Cracker – https://westonac.co.uk/races-2/christmas-cracker/
Sunday 18th January 2026: Riverbank Rollick (Club Champs race) – Riverbank Rollick – Thornbury Running Club
If there are any races or interesting events that you think should be added, please email: communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
Editor: Hannah Large
