October 2024
By: Rosie Clarke and Mark Watts
Welcome to October’s 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! This is 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 Spooky autumn edition, the leaves are starting to turn, and with it, we’re seeing an exciting new season of autumnal racing, and some additional exclusive, exciting (and elusive!) discounts for GWR members straight to your England Athletics account. We have opportunities to take ownership of writing the newsletter going forwards (yes that’s right, this newsletter!) and ever wanted to get involved in GWR Secretary fun behind the scenes? Now’s your time! Stay tuned…
Dates for the diary and Events:
October 2024
- Wednesday 2nd October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Saturday 5th October: Trail Escape Bristol to Bath marathon
- Wednesday 9th October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Saturday 12th October: Gwent XC League – Pembrey Park
- Sunday 13th October: Bristol Epic 10K trail run
- Wednesday 16th October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Wednesday 16th October: GWR AGM 20:30 Redland Green Club
- Sunday 20th October: Bristol & Bath Railway Races – 10KM, HM, 25KM, marathon, and 50K
- Wednesday 23rd October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Thursday 24th October: Weston Prom 5 mile – Race 2
- Sunday 27th October: Chepstow Steeplechase – 3KM, 5KM, 10KM
- Wednesday 30th October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
November 2024
- Wednesday 6th November: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Saturday 9th November:Gwent XC League – Llandaff Fields, Cardiff
- Sunday 10th November: Sodbury Slog 10 Mile, Chipping Sodbury
- Wednesday 13th November: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th November: Bath Skyline 5K and 10K Trail, Bath (night and day races)
- Wednesday 20th November: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Wednesday 27nd November: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
- Thursday 28th November: Weston Prom 5 Mile – Race 3
- Saturday 30th November: Gwent XC League – Blaise Castle, Bristol
September Race and Achievements Report
To kick this autumn edition off with a bang, Gary Hunt describes an incredible outing here… incredible endurance!
“Tor des Geants debrief (in brief)
By far and away the toughest, most beautiful, most amazing event I’ve ever been part of
Sector 1: 49km, 3 mountains, 13 hrs – mizzle and mountains, finished with beef stew and beer. 3hrs “sleep”
Sector 2: 55km, 3 mountains (2 * 3,000m+), 16hrs – sun finally came out, found the goats from all the ads, pasta and red wine. 3 hrs sleep
Sector 3: 46km, 1 mountain (easy!), 10.5hrs – stars, sunrise, sh!t getting hot (28c). 3hrs sleep
Sector 4: 54km, 4 mountains, 20hrs – sunset, more stars, bright city lights (way below us), feet hurt!!, foot witch craft performed by the massagiTors (thank you, saved my race!!!). Chief support arrived (Ali Hunt). 3hrs sleep
Sector 5: 33km, 2 mountains, 11hrs – made some friends (Brits abroad!). 4hrs sleep
Sector 6: 49km, 3 mountains, 17.5 hrs – more stew, more vino, sh!t getting cold = accidental cola slush. Support team got bigger (sadly a few folk I knew dropped from the race, happily they popped by the checkpoint to give me a little boost!). Power naps work! (Apparently 13mins sleep enough to power up for equivalent of Ben Nevis). 3hrs sleep
Sector 7: 49km, 2 mountains, 14.5hrs – snow, snow, snow (running in crampons in snow is soooo much fun!!!!!!!), sh!t got proper cold (minus 18c), garmin panic, finish line (WE DID IT). Beer and burger, who needs sleep
Totals: 335km, 29.5km vertical ascent (3*Everest!! ????️), 5.5days”
As always appears to be the case in events like this, everyone involved an absolute legend, but in this case in the craziest of places in the craziest of conditions. Thanks to everyone for support from near and far (especially the short one, for trapsing around after me at all times of day and night across the mountains of Italy. And to Spen for the motivational video messages)
Roz Glover also had a super long super jaunt as she ran her 7th time at the London Sri Chinmoy 24hour race in a soggy weekend which was her 20th 24-hour track event (that’s right, 24 whole hours! 20 times!). This was also the UK 24 hour championship too.
Roz finished in top half and came home with a UK Athletics Bronze… We’re all in awe over here!
At GWR it’s not just races here we celebrate. As most of us know, succumbing to a running injury is deeply frustrating, and no fun at all. It can feel like a long journey making it back to your prior running self after one of these. James Healey knows this first-hand as over August, he was in the final stage of recovery and couldn’t run for 6 weeks. He’s now come back after recovery and managed to not only run the final Towpath 5km race in 24 minutes, but he also managed to attend Wednesdays club-night sessions again, joining the 6 miler! We’re so happy to hear he can join us back
Also in September we had the return of the Western Prom…
And lots of ParkRun fun at the Blaise takeover, Fi’s 450th parkrun, Kelly’s 250th parkrun, and the coveted monthly parkrun Tourism event at Burnham and Highbridge
Tune into November’s newsletter to see our October’s race/run recap.
Misc. Updates
Health and Safety
Stay visible this winter!
With the darker evenings approaching, we kindly remind everyone to wear bright, reflective gear during runs. While we ensure our winter routes are well-lit, it’s a good idea to bring a head torch for extra visibility as the nights grow darker.
Due to the popularity of the yellow tops in previous years, the club is planning to order more in collaboration with Proviz. These tops feature reflective strips on the arms and the club name on the front and back for maximum visibility—perfect for those Portway runs! Pricing details will be shared soon.
Additionally, we have one last ladies’ long-sleeved yellow top available for purchase. It’s a small size, so if anyone would like to try it on before a club run, please see Chris Taylor or Mark Watts to arrange it. The price is £20.
AGM 24/25
With the AGM coming up in October, a few committee roles are opening up, including an urgent need for:
- Club Secretary
- Newsletter Writer
- Two non-exec roles
Could this be you? Joining the committee is a fantastic way to give back and shape the future of the club.
If you’re interested, please email committee@greatwesternrunners.org.uk with the role you’d like to apply for, along with the names of two club members to propose and second your application. In case of multiple candidates, we will hold a vote.
For more details on the Secretary role, outgoing Secretary Callum Moore and previous post-holder John Cox are happy to help.
If attending the AGM in person, please mark yourself as “going” on the club’s Facebook event. Can’t make it? Send your apologies to the same email.
See you there!
ADMF
An update from Mike Campbell:
ADMF AT THE AGM
Our AGM is just around the corner. This is the annual opportunity to hear how grants from the Arthur Dagger Memorial Fund (ADMF) have helped young athletes in their track and field achievements.
Most GWR members will not know who Arthur was. As well as a long-standing member and one of the founders of GWR, he was a tireless committee member and club secretary.
He was also a strong voice supporting young people getting involved in athletics and encouraging their development. ADMF was set up following his untimely death in 2008. Since then, GWR has lost other members and in some way, we can view ADMF as a way of honouring their various contributions to the club and the running community, and leaving a legacy for young people.
ADMF has become GWR’s own charity, registered with HMRC for gift aid purposes and run by a group of trustees. Mike Campbell, Paul Marshall, Keith Bonham and Hilary Coe have been involved from the start and were joined by Kelly Dicks and John Cox a number of years ago. Katy Sutcliffe and Sam Mumford became trustees last year while Chris Taylor ‘represents’ the GWR Committee. Simon Richards is our valued treasurer. Many thanks to all!
We are a small fund. We give out small grants. We have been awarding grants since 2010. This year we supported eight athletes all belonging to local clubs with amounts from £50 to £300. That money is raised through fundraising events, like our Christmas Quiz and Raffle evening, and club member donations, supplemented by hiring out GWR equipment to local races, and this year through a race sponsorship. We’re looking at other opportunities to raise funds with extra events in the Spring – a fun event incorporating a 1 mile Easter Egg Race challenge – and in the Summer, building on the success of our recent BBQ day. We’re also linking an optional donation to ADMF in the Towpath series entries.
We’d appreciate members’ ideas for fundraising. Do give us some feedback either to one of the trustees on a Wednesday evening, at the AGM or email admf@greatwesternrunners.org.uk.
Please come to the AGM to hear how your donations have had a hugely positive impact on the lives of these potential future Olympians!
From ADMF Trustees.
We can now reveal the first ADMF fundraiser scheduled for the 20th November to be held at the Redland Green club will be a Bingo Night! A £10 entry will get you 3 bingo cards with all profit going direct to ADMF. This event will be open to non-members as well, so please do invite friends. Further information on this event will be released in due course.
This is event number 1 of many so get your ‘legs eleven’ there!
Welfare
The welfare of our members is important
It’s important that every member feels respected, included and safe at club activities. GWR has 2 welfare officers who’ve had training in safeguarding and are here to listen to your concerns. They will take your concern seriously and hear about what you want to happen next.
If a club member shares a concern with you please listen without investigating and let a Welfare Officer know at the earliest opportunity. If you feel there is immediate risk of harm, dial 999 immediately.
As Welfare Officers, Dave Honeywill (Lead) and Karen Wills, are responsible for:
- Promoting safeguarding
- Responding to safeguarding concerns
- Maintaining records of club coaches and offers’ licences, CRBs and safeguarding training
- Ensuring club members are aware of how to contact the Welfare Officer, codes of conduct and how to respond to safeguarding concerns.
Here’s more info from England Athletics about Welfare
Here’s a link to England Athletics’ codes of conduct which clarify the behaviours expected of club officers and club members.
Chat to us at the club, Karen usually runs with the 4 or 6 mile group and Dave with the 8 mile group. Or email welfare@greatwesternrunners.org.uk
Sources of support
England Athletics has a list of sources of support
Bristol keeping Bristol safe partnership
GWR 40th anniversary merch
To celebrate the club’s 40th anniversary, there will be an exclusive limited-edition unisex T-shirt produced to celebrate! You can order yours on the website here for £10. Orders will only be open until the committee meets on 7th October and then we will order what has been paid for. If you know anyone who may not receive this email then please let them know.
Sportsshoes Code
We have an exciting new discount to offer members of England Athletics affiliated clubs!
You can now link your England Athletics membership with your (free) SportsShoes ULTRA account to receive a discount automatically at checkout. This prevents the need to enter a code at checkout, making receiving a discount from us a lot quicker and easier. You can find out more here.
The discount on offer has been increased to 15% off in season products. Some exclusions apply to this promotion, including Coros, Garmin, Shokz, Maurten products and a few shoes.
Please note the old system of sportsshoes supplying a code for discount will cease in the coming months in exchange for the new one.
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!