Gwent League Returns, Herepath Half, Weston Super Half and Christmas Meal Tickets Available

Details: Written by: Alexander Coombs; Created: 25 October 2025; Last Updated: 30 October 2025; Hits: 552

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Herepath Half - Wigley Style

Father and daughter, Matthew and Evelyn Wigley

It was another busy and successful week for Wells City Harriers across road, trail, and cross-country events. The opening fixture of the Gwent Cross Country League saw a record turnout from the WCH women and strong performances throughout the age groups. Meanwhile, at the Herepath Half, Matt Lusby stormed to victory in just over 90 minutes in the Somerset Series race. Elsewhere, Julian McClean and Sean Honan took on the Weston Super Half’s iconic pier finish, while rising star Heath Hughes-Davies continued his winning streak in the Weston Prom junior mile. We are also excited to announce tickets are now available for our annual Christmas meal. Book yours now!

Gwent League

[Report by Jon James]

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YOAC Chairman Geoff Cole donning the WCH vest

A great benefit of our partnership with our sister club

The first fixture of the Gwent cross-country league was held on Saturday 11th October at Margam Park near Port Talbot on a balmy, autumnal day with relatively little mud in sight– a real change from the weather normally associated with this fixture as it tends to be held in February or March. Given that the Gwent League started in 1963, it inevitably has many traditions linked to it, including the often-lengthy wait, with bated breath, for the results to come out! However, this ritual might be on the way out as chip timing has been introduced and results could be available within minutes online – though the tradition managed one last outing for this fixture!

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Record number of WCH women at a Gwent League fixture

Let’s start with the great turnout from the WCH senior women’s team because that must be the largest number of women we have fielded in the Gwent League – 9 runners - and therefore we almost had two complete scoring teams! It was good to have University of Birmingham student, Hannah Blundy, running for us in the Gwent League and she led the team home in 10th place (out of 358 finishers on the 6.2K undulating course). You want close battles among your team members and so it turned out to be with our next finishers: newcomer Emma Rigby ran really well on her debut for the club to finish in 48th place, one second ahead of Victoria Ryan in 49th place (6th in the W45 age group), and then a bit further down the field Rosie Park finished in 84th place, 6 seconds ahead of Jo Tibbatts in 86th place (Jo being another making her Gwent League debut and coming 16th in the W45 age group). In between them was the continually improving Louisa White, finishing in 59th place. Not far behind in 99th place came Ellie Constable, and then her training partner, and another debutant, Amy Reakes, in 106th place – great running both. And finally, but still in the top third of the finishers came Justine Dumotier Khripounoff, also making her league debut, coming 120th. This meant that the A team won Division 3, coming 7th overall, and although incomplete, the B team came 7th in the reserve division.

Watch a video of our women racing here.

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Strong start from the U15 boys.

The club had less runners in the junior races, but the quality of performance made up for lack of quantity. The U15 boys race epitomised this with Joe Whelan coming 4th, Jamie Williams 7th and Oskar Beck 11th -out of 88 finishers. Unfortunately, 4 runners were needed to score a complete team, but the boys still finished as 5th team despite it being incomplete. Florence Tibbatts continued her good form in the U17 women’s race coming 7th and finishing only a minute behind the leader. And finally, in the U13 girls race, Harriet Scott put in one of the club performances of the day finishing 4th out of 115 finishers in this race; she was well-supported by Zoe Frost who came in 19th place. Hopefully more runners will turn out in this age group so that they can do well in the team competition.

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Another good turnout from the senior and masters men.

The final race of the day was the senior men’s and there was again a good turnout of runners to take part in the 9K race that had 467 finishers. Chris Green led the WCH contingent home in 12th place (2nd in the M35 age group), a really good run in a high-quality field, followed by the ever dependable Alex Coombs in 39th place and Matt Lusby in 49th. Pete Grist ran well to come 71st and not far behind was the ever-improving Tim Ingle in 78th- he was the important 5th scorer for the A team, meaning that they finished 7th team overall and 7th in division 1. After that came solid performances for the B team from Jon James in 115th (1st in the M55 age group), Laurence Badman in 184th, Stuart Nash in 188th, newcomer Adam Blencowe in 195th place, and Dan Williams in 215th – this resulted in the B team coming 9th in the reserve division. The remaining runners were in the M55 age group: Steve Nicholls coming 266th, Steve Masters 315th, Yeovil Olympiads chair, Geoff Cole, 391st and finally the irrepressible Mark Pople finishing in 434th place. As a result of these performances the WCH M55 scoring team of 3 finished in second place in that age group – they will have their work cut out though to catch the leaders Chepstow – good turnout needed at the next fixture!

Watch a video of our men racing here.

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Stuart Nash and debutant Adam Blencowe

The second league race is in Cardiff on Saturday 8th November. If you are interested in competing, then contact Jon James (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to be registered.

Herepath Half

Matt Herepath

Matt Lusby leading the way

Despite its name, the Herepath Half is slightly longer than a traditional half marathon. Run mostly on trails, it offers a challenging yet enjoyable experience thanks to the varied terrain. The route broadly follows the Staple Fitzpaine Herepath Trail in the Blackdown Hills, covering approximately 13.7 miles. Along the way, runners reach the highest point in the Blackdowns, rewarded with spectacular views across the countryside. The race forms part of the Somerset Series, which is now nearing its conclusion.

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Eleanor Constable descending with speed.

Matt Lusby built on his second-place finish from last year to take the win in just over 90 minutes. Eleanor Constable and Evelyn Wigley also completed the event, bringing their totals to six of the eight races required to finish the series. Matthew Wigley took part as well, marking his seventh race of the season. With only two events remaining — the Mendip Muddle and the finale at the Brent Knoll Race — the series is heading toward an exciting close.

Matt Prize

First place Matt Lusby with his prize money.

Harrier Results:

1st Matthew Lusby - 1:30:05

50th Eleanor Constable - 2:00:55

124th Eveyln Wigley - 2:41:03

125th Matthew Wigley - 2:41:03

Full results here.

Below are the current Somerset Series standings.

SS Women

Current standings - Women

SS Men

Current standings - Men

Weston Super Half

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Sean Honan running the Weston Super Half

Sunday 19th October was the Albert Goodman Weston Super Half. The Weston Super Half route is one of the most unique in the UK. With everything from closed roads, a beach section, a nature reserve and a show-stopping finish on The Grand Pier. Two Harriers made their way to North Somerset to experience the unique race.

Harrier Results:
111th Julian McClean - 1:35:14

33st Sean Honan - 1:46:18

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Julian McClean finished in 93:14

Dave Jones Weston Prom Series

On Thursday, 16th October, the second race of the Weston Prom Series took place.

Young athlete Heath Hughes-Davies continued his fine form from the opening race, securing his second consecutive victory, this time with a personal best of 5:42 over the junior mile course.

Well done, Heath!

Wells City Harriers’ Christmas Meal

Wells City Harriers Christmas Meal 2025

Join us for our annual Christmas celebration at Wells Golf Club on Saturday, 6th December. This year’s festivities will include the club’s Christmas meal, a lively ceilidh dance, a raffle, the presentation of the annual Bog Seat Award, and the draw for the club’s London Marathon place.*

Please refer to the poster above for full details and menu options.

Partners are warmly invited to join in the celebration. The club has subsidised the cost for members, although we’re unable to extend this subsidy to non-members.

Tickets are available online via our SumUp shop. When purchasing, please select the appropriate option for member, junior, or non-member (each is listed separately in the shop). If you have any special requirements, please include these in the “Your message for the merchant” box at checkout.

We look forward to celebrating the season with as many of you as possible.

*London Marathon Club Draw

We are still waiting for confirmation from the organisers to see how many places we have been allocated at the club for the 2026 London Marathon. If you would like to be entered into the club ballot you must meet the following criteria:

To be eligible for the Club place(s) you need to

(a) Have been a Club member when you applied in the main London ballot;

(b) Have an England Athletics registration;

(d) not to have had a Club place in the previous 3 years.

If you think you're eligible please contact the Secretary This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be included in the draw.

EA Update - Membership Fee 2026 and New Age Groups

Please note the England Athletics have agreed to increase their membership fee to £23 from next season (April 2026). You can read more about this decision here.

In addition, from 1st April 2026, the age groups in which young athletes compete will change from U13, U15, U17 and U20, as is currently the case, to U12, U14, U16, U18 and U20. These changes are grounded in a desire to support athletes with their progression through the sport, to help grow participant numbers and to retain more young participants in the sport. You can read more about it here.

News Reports

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this week’s report. If you’ve raced recently, please remember that we can only include your results if you send us a race report or photos to let us know about it. Send your race details and photos to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be featured in the next report.

Dates For Your Diary

Here is a list of upcoming races, including WCH supported races, Somerset Series races, road relays, athletics league fixtures and other notable events. Contact club secretary Alexander Coombs if there is an event you would like adding. (SS = Somerset Series race, SRC = Somerset Road Championships)

October 2025

(SS) Sunday 26th October 2025 - Mendip Muddle

Sunday 26th October 2025 - Wessex League XC (Race 1 - Learoyd Road)

November 2025

Saturday 1st November 2025 - English ‘National’ Cross Country Relay Championships

Sunday 2nd November 2025 - Wessex League XC (Race 2 - Bryanston School)

Saturday 8th November 2025 - Gwent League XC (Fixture 2 - Llandaff Fields, Cardiff)

Saturday 8th November 2025 - YOAC Awards Evening

Wednesday 12th November 2025 - Street 5K (Race 2)

Sunday 16th November 2025 - The Drogo 10

(SS) Sunday 23rd November 2025 - Brent Knoll

Thursday 27th November 2025 - Dave Jones Weston Prom Series (Race 3)