September 2024

By: Rosie Clarke and Mark Watts

Welcome to September’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 edition, the leaves are starting to turn, and with it, we’re seeing an exciting new season of autumnal racing (including the well awaited return of the Weston Prom series), and some additional exclusive, exciting (and elusive!) discounts for GWR members straight to your England Athletics account. Stay tuned!

Dates for the diary and Events:

September 2024

• Wednesday 4th September: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
• Wednesday 11th September: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
• Thursday 12th September: Weston Prom 5 miler – Race 1
• Saturday 14th September: Parkrun Tourism (Gavin and Stacey edition!) to Barry Island
• Wednesday 18th September: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
• Saturday 21st September: X Race: Blaise Castle – multi-terrain and functional fitness 4K, 8K and 16K
• Wednesday 25th September: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)
• Saturday 28th September: Blaise Castle Parkrun GWR Takeover! (Please see Ian to volunteer)

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)
• Sunday 27th October: Chepstow Steeplechase – 3KM, 5KM, 10KM
• Wednesday 30th October: Club run at 19:00 (4, 6, 8 and 10 mile groups)

GWR Towpath

We’ve now completed the coveted series – where did all that time go?

Thank you so much to everyone that has contributed to the event being a success whether you’ve volunteered, raced, or shared the social media posts – the effect you’ve had on the event has not gone unnoticed, and we’re very grateful for your contributions.

August Race and Achievements Report

We kicked off the summer by celebrating GWR’s (very happy) 40th birthday featuring visits from members old and new, a tasty BBQ, and a wonderful flashy cake (two of them, in fact!) from Elena…

GWR had a great evening of racing at Odd Down…

We finished out GWR Towpath series in its final 5K event of 2024…

Mark writes, “And just like that, the 2024 Towpath series draws to a close after another season of top running action! Race 4, the 5K, half the distance but just as fun and still the last minute course obstructions to remove…” tune into the GWR blog to read the full post here.

Saturday 25th August saw the Severn Bridge 10K with GWR repping the event not only in photos but in placements too, with Callum Moore passing the finish line first, Kelly Dicks was 1st Lady, Laurence Caird was 1st V40, Marcus Kropacsy 1st V50, John Cox 9th, Will Hillier 2nd V50 and 1st V55,and John Hargreaves 1st V70… I’m a little out of breath just keeping up with noting those down, let alone running those strong impressive runs. A wonderful (and windy) event!

Tune into October’s newsletter to see our September recap.

Misc. Updates

Health and Safety

As the darker evenings close in, please remember to wear bright and reflective gear. Whilst we take care to ensure our winter routes are as lit as possible, you may want to bring a supplementary head-torch with you when the nights get darker too.

Committee Roles 24/25

With the AGM fast approaching in October and some inevitable shifting of priorities, we anticipate a couple of committee roles becoming available. Joining the committee is a wonderful way to represent us all, give back, and help shape our club as it grows and evolves.

If you’ve ever considered joining the committee or would like to know more about what we do on a week-to-week basis, then please do reach out to any of the Committee members. Take the opportunity to think about whether you’d like to submit your name before the AGM in October – we’d love for you to get involved.

We anticipate that we are likely to need 2-3 Non-exec positions filled along with a new club secretary.

If anyone would like to review last year’s AGM minutes then please let one of the committee know. There will soon be an official invitation sent to all members, including an opportunity to submit any agenda points to be reviewed during the AGM.

Welfare

Dave and Karen are available to contact regarding any welfare questions or concerns on the below email address:

welfare@greatwesternrunners.org.uk

GWR run leaders calling notice

Do you love being a member of our club, and are looking for a way to develop your skills and give back?

We are on the hunt for our next cohort of run leaders to train up to be England Athletics qualified running leaders to help lead our Wednesday club night sessions. Please speak to the committee for more information, or to put your name forward.

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.

Weston Prom returns…!

The Weston Prom series is back for another year (I know, where did the time go?!).

There are nine races along the prom for just £50 (£52 if unaffiliated). The series starts on September 12th 2024 and runs one race per month until May 2025. This is a great way of benchmarking your progress every month, plus there’s usually fish and chips and the end (not that you all needed any more incentive).

This is usually a very well supported race series by the club and is a great way to meet members from other clubs too. If you haven’t raced it before and would like to know more, speak to any of your club mates who no doubt will have raced it (or will know someone who has!). We normally submit several teams, so keep an eye out for the roll-call in the coming weeks.

If someone would like to put themselves forward for helping coordinate the teams that would be fab also!

Does that smell like mud, or cow mud?

Yes, it’s that time of year where the Doynton Hard Half opens its books for entry. As the opening lines suggest, it’s a half marathon, it’s quite hilly and it’s a trail terrain with (just a little bit) of mud to contend with. It’s a great morning out and a lovely way to socialise with other clubs. Go check it out here and get a race in the calendar for 2025!

New Local Running Shop – Kinisi

There is a new running shop called Kinisi Run Hub that has recently opened on East Street, Bedminster in South Bristol. They have an online shop, offer running analysis, and are building a wide range of stock. Founder Jamie recently won Race 4 at the Towpath and will be dropping in for a run in the coming weeks to answer questions. In the meantime they are hosting a Karhu running show demo evening on Thursday 5th September from 18:00 for an 18:30 5K run from the store.

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!