May 2024
By Rosie Clarke
*** MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL NOW DUE ***
Welcome to the May edition of the GWR monthly newsletter!
This is the place where you can hear all about the latest club information including races, save-the-dates, ADMF good-news stories, kit updates, and more… all in one place! We hope that this can be a great way to keep you all updated on the exciting goings-on of the club, and to celebrate all we have accomplished.
In this edition, we have a marathon (pardon the pun) selecta of spring races, we have a brewery tour, we have Towpath countdown, we have valiant volunteering successes, and we have a poetry opportunity just for you…
Dates for your Diary – next 2 months:
May 2024
- Saturday 4th May: 09:00 Parkrun Tourism at Chipping Sodbury
- Saturday 4th May: GWR Social – Bristol Brewery tour
- Tuesday 7th May: Sri Chinmoy 2 mile
- Saturday 11th May: 09:00 Eastville Parkrun Takeover!
- Sunday 19th May: Great Run Bristol Half Marathon/10k – Club group photos pre-race to be arranged
- Friday 24th May: 1st Towpath series race (Mob Match)
June 2024
- Monday 3rd June: Blaise Blazer 4 mile
- Monday 3rd June: Hogweed Trot 10K
- Sunday 9th June: Bradley Stoke 10K
- Sunday 9th June: Chew Valley 10K
- Tuesday 11th June: Clevedon 10K
- Friday 28th June: Nailsea Beer and Banger 10K
Upcoming this spring/summer…
That’s right, the most anticipated race series possibly in the world (and certainly in Bristol) is approaching. Is it UTMB? Is it the World Majors? No… it’s the GWR Towpath series (of course)! Want to try your hand at a 10K PB? Want to simply finish strong? Want to just get out and soak in the inter-club atmosphere? Look no further – all four race dates are now live – sign up here!
- Friday 24th May: Race 1 (including MobMatch)
- Friday 21st June: Race 2
- Friday 26th July: Race 3
- Friday 23rd August: Race 4 (5K finale)
Please like, comment and share the Towpath Race Series page as it really helps to advertise the event and to gain the interest needed to make it the wonderful event it is.
OPPORTUNITY: With the series nearly upon us, your committee are looking for someone to coordinate the volunteers for each race. This person should be a regular attender to Wednesday clubs, and ideally at most of the race series. Could you be who we need?
There is a Facebook post up for the first race so please sign up there if you can attend, as this helps the understanding of capacity sign-ups. The WhatsApp group worked very well last year, and so the same will follow this year to keep everyone up to date.
GWR Social – the Brewery Trail! Saturday 4th May
Get your bank holiday weekend started with a relaxing stroll around Bristol’s local, independent breweries…
This Brewery Trail is centered around the start of the Bristol to Bath Cycle path.
We’ll meet at 3pm at Arbor Ales, which is a short walk from Lawrence Hill Station and finish at Little Martha, which is by Temple Meads. Each location will have a range of craft beers (including gluten free and alcohol free) as well as ciders and soft drinks. The event will also feature pop up food trucks, DJ’s , live music and brewery tours. A great way to get to know other club members and have a good time together – big thanks to Elena for coordinating this social.
Join us for some or all of the trail, regular updates will be posted along the way and running between breweries is… optional at best!
Cotswold Relay – Saturday 6th July 2024
We have two teams entered in this year’s relay extravaganza. All the spots for the teams have now been filled, but we could do with some reserves in case of unanticipated drop-outs or injury.
To participate, you must be a first-claim member of Great Western Runners, race entry is £5.
This promises to be a wonderful day out for inter-club running and getting to know our other members.
April Race and Achievements Report
As April hits, it means one thing for any runner (and their increasingly packed calendars…), it’s spring marathon season!!
This spring we’ve already had many of our own Great Western Runners competing far and wide in Manchester, Newport, Paris (ooh la la!), and London (with its ever increasingly elusive coveted ballot spots).
London saw 17 (yes, that’s 17!) club members take part with many wonderful performances that we should all be proud of. Incredible efforts to all who completed these races.
Sam Whiting ran himself into a new PB at the Newport marathon despite the slight wardrobe malfunction…
Kate Matheson knocked another marathon out of the park and reminds us that re-hydration is important.
Andy Holiday completed the 34k Boka Bay Trail in Montenegro despite a tough day at the office… I’m sure the scenery certainly helped with that one!
At Great Western Runners, we love getting involved in giving back to the community via our local Parkruns. It’s a great atmosphere, great community, and a fantastic way to get involved. We wouldn’t be running anywhere very fast without our fantastic volunteers!
Fi, Gemma and Janine deserve special recognition for their efforts on receiving certificates at Ashton Court Parkrun… not only this, but Gemma got a PB, and Janine had her 100th Parkrun (yes, that’s 100! That’s two years’ worth of weekends! And 310 park miles!). A chokka parkrun indeed.
Bristol Running Show
GWR took part in the 3rd edition of the Bristol Running show held at the BAWA centre in Filton. We had a lot of fun chatting to members of the public and telling them about what we do and trying to flog some extra Towpath entries. So hopefully there might be some new recruits on Wednesday! We also spoke to a few local businesses so watch this space for some varied club nights over the summer!
We are always on the look out for blog content on the website. So, if you would like to review a recent race, training block, kit or anything else, please do let us know – it’s always much appreciated, and we love to celebrate individual members’ stories.
ADMF Good News
The Arthur Dagger Memorial Fund (ADMF) was created by Great Western Runners in memory of one of our most treasured club members Arthur Dagger. ADMF’s mission is to provide financial support for young, talented athletes.
Thank you to all those who continue to support this wonderful initiative – the wonderful success stories wouldn’t exist without you all! For more information about ADMF and what it’s all about, see more information here.
Please consider adding a donation alongside your membership renewal if you are able to. As we’ve seen at AGMs, this money really goes a long way!
Misc. Updates
Membership
Please don’t forget to renew your membership ASAP!
Membership renewals are now due – sign up to officially be a part of our wonderful club for less than £1 per week. With membership, you gain wonderful club benefits including being a part of England Athletics. Annual memberships are still £50 for single and £80 for joint household membership… all information is listed on the renewal forms.
Are you Wel fare?
As part of the recent drive to ensure Great Western Runners remain compliant with England Athletics we can now announce we have our first two Welfare officers! After passing the EA courses (Lead) David Honeywill and Karen Wills take up theseroles with immediate effect.
Official contact details for them coming very soon!
Can’t run? Volunteer!… Can run? Volunteer anyway!
With the Great run Bristol Half Marathon and 10K completely sold out, some of you might find yourselves distressed, upset and forlorn with nothing else to do on the 19th of May (we don’t blame you, it’s heartbreaking not to race, of course).
But if this is your dreaded predicament, you’re in luck! What better to do than to soak in the festivities and atmosphere by signing up as a Great Run volunteer!? There are many roles available on the portal for all over the country, you’ll receive a t-shirt, a packed lunch and GWR gets a small fee for your help as well! Click here to sign up now.
First Aiders!
As part of the club’s effort to ensure everyone has a safe run. GWR has kindly been given a first aid kit to be used for runners that need attention. If you are first aid trained and would be happy to be added as a point of contact on club nights for help that would be super! The likelihood of being needed is pretty small, but prevention is better than cure! See Mark Watts to get involved!
Got a story to tell?
Club member Suzannah Evans is looking for runners from the club to have an informal chat for a series of creative writing endeavours. Chats can be after a club run over a post-run drink. Please contact Suzannah or Mark Watts for further info.
Sportsshoes Code
Short on running gear? Fancy a discount at sportsshoes.com? You’re in luck! Email the committee get the code for 10% off the whole range on orders over £50, complete with free shipping, valid until June 2024.
Kit
For kit (including club branded running gear) enquiries, please see the website here.
Contact
If you would like to contact the committee about any club run business, suggestions, questions or otherwise, please do get in touch on committee@greatwesternrunners.org.uk
We’d love to hear from you!
