WESTBURY HARRIERS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER – 28 / 05 / 24
A slightly late Bank holiday edition of the newsletter this week! Hope you all had a lovely extended weekend. Lots going on last week and over the weekend so read on for a bumper edition.
Sophie
RACE REPORTS
The Lightning Bolt 10k
Summary from Tamsin Chick:
A great choice by the club championship committee for last nights Lightening Bolt 10km in Chippenham. A well organised, friendly race on a pancake flat course, with great PB potential which showed in the club results.
Westbury members enjoyed a much cooler race than those had experienced in the recent Bristol 10km/half. There was ample parking and a walk to the start of the course. The race was not expensive to enter and we also got a discount as it was part of our club champs (thanks CC committee). The race had a number of pacers throughout the field which we all utilised. They were great at keeping you running consistently and were really encouraging.
Freya Bradley led the club home and the ladies field in a outstanding PB of 35.26. Jack Derrick led the men home 11th place, 6th male, in a PB of 36.05. Then we had Ben Woods 38.03, Katie Hughes 38.54, Tamsin Chick 41.06, Alistair Blackwood 41.17, Becky Lee 41.39 PB, Paul Stuart 41.42, Trevor Fitsall 45.21, Olivia Zeltner 46.38 (@19 weeks pregnant!), Mark Canwell 49.11. Heather Griffin 1.00.25 – well done all.
They have 2 more races in the series
Towpath Mob match 10k
Well done to everyone who ran the mob match on Friday evening. Great conditions for the run out and back along the Towpath which was a little soggy in places but not quite as bad as expected.
Great support as always from chief photographer Sarah Andrews 🙂
We were 4th team, with yours truly managing to win a bottle of wine for the 1st vet 40 prize, a good start to the bank holiday weekend.
Manchester Half marathon:
Congratulations to Paul Gardiner, an impressive1:13:47 in Manchester today.
British Masters Road Relays.
We only had one team in this year, in the FV65 category, and we knew we were not up for Gold because of a very strong Y&SS team, but the fight for silver was still plenty of work, with Steel City and Datchet presenting quite a threat. Fliss went off first and managed to maintain a second position in the field, then Eithne took over and did the same, coming in neck-and-neck with Datchet at the handover. Anne‘s task was to finish the job, which she did in some style (of course) by knocking a minute of Y&SS’s lead and somehow managing to run 30 seconds faster than she did the same race last year, beating the closest FV75’s time by a minute. (Honestly, just how does she do it? )
Silver: job done!
It would be lovely to see more WH teams back next year – it’s a fun event and the peak of the British Masters calendar. And special thanks to Eithne for being the team manager, and for dealing with the internet gremlins during the entries process.
Watch this space for news on future Masters events!
CLUB NOTICES
Be aware of ticks!
Now that the weather is warming up, it’s a good idea to check yourself for ticks after running off-road in areas like Blaise. More guidance available here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/
Academy Notices:
One of the junior girls picked up a tick in Blaise last night. Please can you check your children after they run in Blaise. Thanks
And – Monday 3rd June all groups will run from Coombe Dingle sports centre at the usual time because there is a big running event happening at Blaise (the Blaise Blazer).
After that Gold and silver groups will return to Blaise for 10th/17th/24th June and 8th July. On these dates the children will have the chance to run in the river – and so will return wet – you may want to think about a change of clothes/towel. If you do not want your child to get wet – please let them and me know – they do not have to do this. Thanks
Monday 15th July will be our last session and will be at Stoke Lodge from 6.30-8pm for all groups. (If you can’t get there for 6.30 – come when you can)
Monday 1st July there will be no training. It’s the Westbury wipeout – a running race for children in Blaise organised by Westbury Harriers. A lot of the children enter this event. Sign up details to follow.
I think that is all the information at the moment. No running next week. See you at Coombe Dingle sports centre on the 3rd.
Thanks everyone
Carrie
Rick Wallis retirement
You may have seen on Facebook that this coming Friday, May 31st, marks the end of an era for running in Bristol – Rick Wallis is retiring from Up & Running!
Over the years he’s handed out so much advice and guidance to so many club members and we thank him for his time and expertise.
On his final Saturday shift he was presented with a bottle of fizz and a card from the club.
Enjoy your retirement Rick!
CLUB TRAINING THIS WEEK
MONDAY TEMPO RUN
No run this week due to the bank holiday
TUESDAY TRACK SESSION
This week the session is as follows;
5 sets of – 600m @ 5k pace (100m jog), 300m @ faster than 5k pace (200m jog)
If you run regularly at Yate or plan to give track races a go this season. Do make sure you have taken advantage of our partnership with Yate AC and join Yate for free as an associate Westbury Harriers member: https://westburyharriers.co.uk/membership/yate-partnership/
WEDNESDAY HILLS SESSIONS
Meet every Wednesday at 12pm at the traffic lights by Saville Road on the Downs. Book on via RunTogether HERE.
THURSDAY INTERVALS 7pm at Coombe Dingle
6 sets of:
2 mins, 30 secs recovery – 30 secs fast – 1 min recovery
Aim for 5k pace on the 2 mins, quicker than 1 mile pace on the 30 secs. Keep jogging on the 30 secs recovery
EVENTS CALENDER
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/.
Race Diary
Monday 3rd June – Blaise Blazer
Tuesday 4th June – Sri Chinmoy 2 Mile Club Championship #5
Friday 28th June – Beer n Banger 10k Club Championship #6
Thursday 4th July – Tintern Trot Club Championship #7
Saturday 6th July – Cotswold way relay (Eithne Noonan)
Saturday 13th July – Maverick/Adidas Cotswolds 7/15/23km
Thursday 18th July – Purdown Pursuit Club Championship #8
Friday 26th July – Towpath Series 10k Race 3 Club Championship #9
TRACK RACES:
June 1st
National Athletics League (Regional West Division)
Swansea
Yate National League Facebook page & National League website
June 9th
Avon track and field League
Yate
Avon Track & Field League website
June 22nd
National Athletics League (Regional West Division)
Yate
Yate National League Facebook page & National League website
June 25th
Avon AA Open Meeting
Filton
Yate National Athletics League match availability:
Below is an email from Graham Howell, the team manager for the National Athletics League. He’s looking for people’s availability for the season, you can get in contact with Graham directly here gratimhow@aol.com or join the facebook group below
Any questions please get in touch.
Athletes,
I’m now calling for your availability for the first 3 matches (Swansea Sat 1st June, Yate Sat 22nd June, Basingstoke Sun 7th July). Give me your preferred event(s) and events you may be prepared to do. A Yes/No/Not sure availability response is useful. The event timetable is attached. Responses by Sunday 5th May please.
If you haven’t yet renewed your 2024 membership I won’t be able to select you for NAL competition.
Team admin is mostly handled through the Yate NAL Facebook group, if you are not connected yet you can request to join here Yate Athletic Club National Athletic League Facebook Group
Graham
If we have missed any race events that you think should be listed, please contact – communication@westburyharriers.co.uk
This week’s editor: Sophie Voller
