Over the course of summer 2025, I had the amazing privilege of organising our first year of the GWR Club Championship! This was very successful, with a total of 21 men and 18 women taking part.
Our first race was a very sunny May evening at the Sri-Chinmoy 2-mile race, with a total of 20 athletes. Our second was an equally beautiful evening at the Blaise Blaser. The 25 people who attended all agreed that it was worth the steep hills for the cake that was provided at the end!
Our third race was a very muggy evening at the Nailsea Beer and Banger. It was a tough race, but we all persevered up the hills. It was worth it for the for the complementary pint and hot dog after, providing a great to celebrate reaching the halfway point of the championship!
We had an equally enjoyable morning at the Chepstow Racecourse for our fourth race of the Championship. Again, this was a tough course, but we thoroughly enjoyed the lovely warm August day and the views across the Wye Valley!
Our fifth race of the Championship was at the Wotton 10K. The cooler weather that September had to offer certainly helped whilst running the 10k trail, which included a run through the Sir David McMurty House, co-founder of Renishaw PLC.
We also really enjoyed a morning out at the Five Arches parkrun for our sixth and final race of the championship, with 10 athletes competing to maximise their score in the championship!
I can confirm that the winners for the Club Championship are as follows:
- 1st Place (Men): Will Purcell
- Joint 2nd Place (Men): John Cox and James Healey
- 4th Place (Men): John Hargreaves
- 1st Place (Women): Katy Sutcliffe
- 2nd Place (Women): Kelly Dicks
- 3rd Place (Women): Elena Holmes
We also had some amazing individual results, including Emma Preston who was the first woman to complete the Chepstow Half Marathon course, and Rita Davis who came first place in the V70+ Category at the Nailsea Beer and Banger.
It has been a pleasure organising the Club Championship this year and it has been amazing to have so many people compete. Keep your eyes peeled in the new year for details of the 2026 Club Championship and how you can get involved!
See you in 2026
James
