Graham questioning his choices to return to Cross Country
The 2025/26 Street 5K Series concluded with impressive results, including victories for Adam Gibson and Gill Pearson, multiple course records from Jonah Barrington, Ruby Shaw, and Jon James, and overall series titles for Oskar Beck and Gill Pearson. In cross country, the club enjoyed strong finishes at the Gwent League finale despite challenging conditions, with notable individual performances and the women’s team securing the Division 3 title. Juniors also dominated the Mendip Schools fixtures, winning all races across age groups, and several athletes represented the region at national-level competitions such as the Intercounties and ESAA Championships. Elsewhere, solid performances were recorded at the Bath Half Marathon and the Humdinger Half, where Thomas Addison Wood claimed victory. The club also celebrated success in endurance racing, with a team win at the Endure Relays in Birmingham, and participation in challenging events like the Okement Loop Fell Race. Overall, it was a highly successful and competitive period, highlighting the club’s depth and dedication across all age groups and disciplines.
Street 5K (Race 6 - March)
Course records, series titles, and podium battles were all on the line in the final race of the 2025/26 Street 5K Series.
In the junior races, two course records fell. In the 1K, Jonah Barrington broke his own record, set in December 2025, by five seconds, clocking 3:19 to take the win. In the 2K, both Heath Hughes-Davies and Ruby Shaw dipped under the seven-minute barrier, with Ruby becoming the fastest girl ever over the distance. She improved her own record, set in October 2025, by six seconds to 6:58.
Full junior results can be found here.
Milo Cook and Riley Westerman in the 2K
In the 5K, Harrier Adam Gibson made a strong return to racing with a convincing victory in the series finale. The race looked set to be a tightly contested battle, with the leading four runners still together as a pack on the fourth lap. However, Adam broke away on the final lap, opening up a decisive gap on the chasing group.
Further back, more headlines were being made. Jon James became the third athlete of the evening to set a course record, lowering the V60 5K mark to an impressive 17:21. He now holds the course records for both the V50 and V60 age categories.
In the women’s race, ever-present Gill Pearson made it two wins in a row, to finish in a time of 19:15.
Full race results can be found here.
Tom Addison Wood and Adam Fieldhouse in the 5K
Harrier Results:
1st — Adam Gibson — 00:16:04
2nd — Oskar Beck — 00:16:16
4th — Thomas Addison Wood — 00:16:33
6th — Tim Ingle — 00:16:47
7th — Addie Butcher — 00:16:47
8th — Jamie Williams — 00:16:47
11th — Owen Astington — 00:17:16
14th — Jon James — 00:17:21
15th — Jeremy Linter — 00:17:29
16th — Laurence Badman — 00:17:42
17th — Noah Chapman — 00:17:54
20th — Dan Bryant — 00:18:06
24th — David Hirst — 00:18:59
25th — Toby Hirst — 00:19:00
31st — Dan Williams — 00:19:38
33rd — James Shaw — 00:19:53
34th — Rachel Astington — 00:20:06
36th — Jack Barker — 00:20:19
38th — Sean Honan — 00:20:21
40th — Andrew Piper — 00:20:27
44th — Zoe Dale — 00:20:56
47th — Helen Allen — 00:21:00
49th — Mike Bosley — 00:21:21
50th — Eleanor Constable — 00:21:23
56th — Thomas Kenrick — 00:23:06
57th — Fergus Crawford — 00:23:09
59th — Robert Moore — 00:23:18
61st — Susan Williams — 00:23:24
63rd — Poppy Shaw — 00:23:38
64th — Mark Pople — 00:23:47
68th — Eva Dowden — 00:25:49
69th — Nikki Honan — 00:25:55
71st — Kim Clark — 00:27:25
Poppy Broughton ran in all six races
With all six races now complete, those who competed in at least five races were officially counted as series finishers.
In the 1K, we were delighted to see four juniors commit to the full series, with Jonah Barrington claiming the overall title after winning five of the six races. Well done also to Albie Simpson, Zac Dowden and Adam Jordan, who all successfully completed the series.
In the 2K, there were five series finishers, with Heath Hughes-Davies taking the overall win after claiming victory in four of the six races. Zoe Frost, Emily Dockerty, Lottie Knight, Hope Styles and Poppy Broughton also completed the series — a fantastic show of commitment from our junior runners. Congratulations to them all!
In the 5K, Oskar Beck and Gill Pearson claimed the overall series titles. A total of 27 runners completed the series, while nearly 300 different athletes took part in at least one of the six races, a fantastic turnout.
Thank you to everyone for your support throughout the series. We look forward to welcoming you back in October for the 2026/27 season.
Series Winners:
Junior Male: Oskar Beck (Overall Winner)
Junior Female: Maisie Godden
Senior Male: Adam Fieldhouse
Senior Female: Amy Hallett
VM40: Alexander Fisher
VM50: Christopher Walker
VM60: Andy Hillman
VM70: Barrie Knight
VF35: Hazel Shears
VF45: Gill Pearson (Overall Winner)
VF65: Kim Clark
Overall series results can be found here.
A big thank you to everyone involved in organising and supporting the series. Click here to see some of our volunteers in action. If you would like to help or volunteer next year - get in touch.
A group of volunteer marshalls
Gwent League - Race 5 (Parc Bryn Bach)
[Report by Jon James]
Phoebe Aspinall racing at Parc Bryn Bach
Back in 2018 a few of us travelled for a Gwent League fixture to Parc Bryn Bach (near Tredegar in the Welsh Valleys) and experienced such a horrendous course that we vowed never to return. However, that vow was broken as we returned there last Saturday for the final fixture of the 2025-26 season – we’d been led to believe that the race would be held on a different location to the one we’d experienced 8 years ago-and so it was, but the course rivalled the 2018 one for its degree of muddiness and treachery-as the accompanying pictures testify-and we embarked on what seemed more like a ploughing competition!
Jamie and Harry getting ready to race
One of the star performances of the day came from Zoe Frost in the U13 girls’ race-she clearly relished the mud as this was by far and away her best performance of the season finishing 4th in a field of 72 runners. Jamie Williams was another junior who did really well, finishing 6th in the U15 boys race where 62 runners finished – he came just outside the top 3 for the whole series in that unlucky 4th place. Harry Willmott also ran in this race coming 54th – his first Gwent League race for the club -what an introduction- not all courses are like this Harry! Also running was Harry’s brother, Oliver, in the U20 race, and he did well coming 5th out of 13 finishers. Florence Tibbatt’s running has really developed and she capped a great Gwent League season by finishing 5th in the U17 women’s race and so came 3rd overall for the series-a great achievement.
Jo Tibbatts navigating the mud
The senior women had a bit of a dip in fortunes at the last fixture, but came back strongly at this final race having the required 5 runners for a team and finishing 4th team overall on the day, coming top of division 3. This ensured that they won division 3 overall and in fact their accumulated points score would have won division 2 and seen them come 5th in division 1! Pick of the individual performances came from Phoebe Aspinall, as she attained her highest Gwent League finish in 6th place (out of 195 finishers) and was second in the U23 competition – she actually came 5th overall in that latter competition for the season even though she only ran 3 fixtures. Next in was Victoria Ryan in 20th place, coming 4th in the W45 competition, closely followed by Louisa Saunders in 25th (her highest league finish); the other three of the scoring five packed well with Ellie Constable running strongly to finish in 67th, followed by Jo Tibbatts in 75th and Amy Reakes in 88th.
Stephen Nicholls trying to find the only bit of grass on the course
The men’s team consolidated a good season finishing 5th in division 1 on the day, and 6th overall for the season. There was a great performance from Chris Green in finishing 4th out of the 273 finishers and this meant that he won two series awards! - winning the M35 age group competition and finishing second in the senior men’s competition – you can only claim one though and that will be the former. The beneficiary of that and a few other senior men winning series awards was Alex Coombs, and he will get the series award for 3rd senior man; he again ran well on the day finishing in 13th position. Adam Gibson made a welcome return to racing and performed well coming 30th, as did Tim Ingle finishing in 62nd; the scoring 5 was completed by Jon James, who came 85th (4th in the M55 competition). Our scoring 5 were well-supported by Laurence Badman running well to finish 86th, Adam Blencowe in 109th (a heroic run in bare feet as his shoes had been sucked off!) Henry Sage in 115th, Stuart Nash in 120th, Andrew Deamer in 123rd (a great return to racing after suffering a bad achilles injury a year ago), Josh White in 173rd, Nick Stevens in 178th (3rd M60), Dan Williams in 204th, Steve Masters in 217th, Graham Goldsmid in 223rd, and Steve Nicholls in 250th. This all meant that we finished second in the series M55 competition, 4th on the day in the B team competition (6th for the series) and such was our strength in depth that we finished a C team! – coming 5th in the reserve division.
Plenty more photos here.
A great season – particularly for the WCH women; we look forward to good turnouts and quality runs in the 2026-27 season!
Take a look back over the 2025/26 season here.
Mud doesn’t stop Laurence Badman’s running form.
Mendip Schools XC
3rd March 2026
Alfie won the Year 3&4 Boys Race
Well done to the Wells City Harriers juniors who put on fantastic performances at the Mendip Schools Cross Country fixture at Downside School. In great conditions, although still a little muddy in places, Wells Harriers athletes managed to secure first place in all four races!!
There were particularly strong efforts across the board. Here are a few of the results:
Year 3&4 Girls
Sage 1st
Maddie 2nd
Year 3&4 Boys
Alfie 1st
Arlo 4th
Thomas 6th
Adam 42nd
Year 5&6 Girls
Bella 1st
Year 5&6 Boys
Heath 1st
Jonah 2nd
Oliver 4th
Maison 22nd
Zac 38th
Special mention to Wells City Harrier Hugo for his second place finish at the South Somerset Cross country at Alton on Monday 2nd March.
More photos can be found on our Instagram page.
All smiles from Zac
Tuesday 17th March 2026
Well done to all the Wells City Harriers juniors that took part in the final Mendip Schools Cross Country fixture at Millfield Prep school. With the inspiring backdrop of Glastonbury Tor, once again, Wells City Harriers juniors dominated the top spots across the board securing 1st place in all age categories.
Well done to all Harriers juniors that took part and special mentions to the following for superb performances;
Yr 3&4 Boys
Alfie 1st
Arlo 2nd
Hunter 3rd
Thomas 14th
Adam 30th
Harry (TBC)
Yr 3&4 Girls
Sage 1st
Goldie 5th
Yr 5&6 Boys
Heath 1st
Jonah 2nd
Albie 6th
Maison 23rd
Zac 42nd
Yr 5&6 Girls
Bella 1st
Watch a reel of the races here.
Intercounties National XC Final
Sunday 8th March 2026
Well done to the group of Harriers who made the journey to Nottingham to participate in the Intercounties National XC to represent Avon and Somerset.
Harrier Results:
U13 Girls
18th Ruby Shaw
92nd Harriet Scott
206th Zoe Frost
U15 Boys
66th Joseph Whelan
110th Jamie Williams
151st Oskar Beck
U17 Women
68th Florence Tibbatts
U20 Men
140th Fred Rawbone
Full Avon and Somerset results here.
Bath Half
Tim Sanders
The Bath Half Marathon is always a popular fixture for the Harriers. Set against the backdrop of the historic Roman city of Bath, the course is fast and flat, making it ideal for both competitive racing and personal bests.
With strong crowds lining much of the route and a high-quality field, the atmosphere is consistently electric. The race finishes with a testing uphill stretch, a sting in the tail that rewards those who have paced themselves well and still have something left to give.
It’s a standout event in the calendar, offering a great balance of performance, atmosphere and scenic running, and it continues to attract a strong turnout from the Harriers year after year.
Harrier Results:
173rd — Curtis Stevens — 01:18:23
830th — Benjamin Thomas — 01:29:31
2123rd — Tim Sanders — 01:40:28
2906th — Susan Williams — 1:44:35
3581st — Amy Reakes — 01:48:38
4418th — Mark Pople — 01:52:44
8428th — Alex Williams — 02:12:25
9673rd — Mike Ommanney — 02:20:12
10146th — Geoff Stubbs — 02:23:56
Mark Pople
ESAA Cross Country Championships
Saturday 14th March 2026
Harrier Boys prerace
The ESAA National Cross-Country Championship is the most eagerly anticipated event of the winter for young athletes. It brings together the best athletes in each of the 46 Counties in England to compete for the honour of being the best in the Country. Held in Sefton Park, Liverpool, many Harriers participated representing Somerset at the event.
Harrier Results:
Junior Girls
32nd - Ruby Shaw
Intermediate Girls
317th - Jemima Tibbatts
Intermediate Boys
133rd - Jamie Williams
233rd - Stellan Corp
255th - Oskar Beck
266th - Casper Rawbone
Senior Girls
63rd - Florence Tibbatts
233rd - Isobel Stacey
Senior Boys
20th - Tom Webb
Full results can be found here.
Ruby Shaw
Okement Loop Fell Race
Saturday 21st March
[Report by Paul Chadwick]
There are a host of fell races on Dartmoor throughout the year
This was the first running of this fell race on Dartmoor and it attracted a hardy band of toughened runners. As it was also a trial race for those eligible for the Devon County team to contest May’s inter-Counties fell race there were also some fast runners up at the front.
Covering just short of 15km with 750m of ascent it wasn’t for the faint hearted as it included wading three streams and going to the tops of a succession of tors. There was no way-marking so competitors had to keep their wits about them to avoid getting lost.
Alice Knight
Harriers Alice Knight and Paul Chadwick completed the race in 2.20 and 2.09 respectively with Alice’s daughter Jess running with her, after completing the previous weekend’s Barcelona marathon. The next Dartmoor challenge is Marilyn’s Meldon Madness on May 16th - a slightly shorter race of 8km to the highest point in the South of England.
Paul Chadwick
Endure Relays Birmingham
Saturday 21st March 2026
A Podium Finish for Zak, Chris, Curtis and Alex
This was the second four-hour relay event organised by Endure24, following a successful debut in London, with a third event scheduled to take place in Manchester on May 2nd. Two teams from Wells City Harriers travelled to Sutton Park in Birmingham to take on the endurance challenge.
Competing in teams of two or four, participants tackled a 2.5 km loop through Sutton Park, featuring a varied mix of hills, trails, and tarmac. Categories included pairs and teams of four, alongside open, mixed, and female divisions. The objective was simple: complete as many laps as possible within the four-hour time limit.
Team Wells City Harriers
The first Harriers team; Zak Hurrell, Christian Green, Alex Coombs, and Curtis Stevens, put in a dominant performance. The second team, the Wednesday Night Recovery Club, consisted of Stuart Nash, Henry Sage, Dan Williams, and Steven Nicholls who also performed well.
Both teams delivered outstanding results. Team Wells City Harriers completed an impressive 29 laps, one more than the winning total at the London event, and secured first place by a margin of two laps. Meanwhile, the Wednesday Night Recovery Club were locked in a tight contest for fourth place, but a strong final lap from Henry Sage created enough separation to hold off the competition, finishing with 25 laps.
Team Wednesday Night Recovery Club
The event was superbly organised and had a fantastic atmosphere throughout. Sponsors were on hand offering free samples and nutritional support, and runners even had the chance to try out different shoes during the race.
Watch a reel of the event here.
Full results can be found here.
Henry Sage enjoying the Tenzing free sample
Humdinger Half
All smiles before the race
Race 3 in the Somerset Series, the Humdinger Half starts at Fyne Court on the Quantocks. It offers a very scenic route and is a really good tester with some gradients.
Harrier Results:
1st Thomas Addison Wood - 1:23:04
19th Andrew Piper - 1:54:22 (2nd MV50)
25th Eleanor Constable - 2:02:05 (3rd Female / 2nd FV35)
41st Kim Clark - 2:25:23 (2nd FV65)
44th Chris Clark - 2:52:47 (2nd MV70)
Full results can be found here.
Club Welfare
Wells City Harriers has two club welfare officers, Sarah Massey and Jon James. They are available to support any concerns athletes, parents or coaches raise or would like to discuss in relation to safety and wellbeing, and to help the club implement welfare policies and procedures. All officials and coaches have DBS clearance and have received training related to safeguarding and health and safety.
Further details can be found on the WCH website safeguarding page: Safeguarding: including links to forms where incidents and concerns can be logged.
Please do contact us if you have questions:
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
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)
March 2026
Sunday 29th March 2026 - SWAA Spring Open (and officials development day)
Sunday 29th March 2026 - 12/6 Stage Road Relays
Sunday 29th March 2026 - Fleet Half Marathon
April 2026
Wednesday 1st April 2026 - Couch to 5K course starts
Saturday 4th April 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Saturday 4th April 2026 - YOAC Spring Open (Day 1)
Monday 6th April 2026 - YOAC Spring Open (Day 2)
Monday 6th April 2026 - Shapwick Bunny Hop
Monday 6th April 2026 - The Track is Back - Team Interval Run
Wednesday 8th April 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 1)
Thursday 9th April 2026 - Dave Jones Weston Prom Series (Race 8)
Sunday 12th April 2026 - Exe to Axe
Sunday 12th April 2026 - Dartmoor Marathon
Sunday 12th April 2026 - Pen Selwood 10K (+5K & 2K)
[SS] Sunday 12th April 2026 - The Big Cheese
Saturday 18th April 2026 - Bristol Track Club 5K (& Junior 3K)
[SS] Sunday 19th April 2026 - Ilminster 10K
Sunday 26th April 2026 - TCS London Marathon
May 2026
Saturday 2nd May 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Sunday 3rd May 2026 - Senior Inter-Counties Mountain Race
Sunday 3rd May 2026 - Runaway Train
Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May 2026 - Somerset County AA T&F Championship
Sunday 10th May 2026 - Great Bristol Run (Half Marathon and 10K)
Wednesday 13th May 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 2)
Saturday 16th May 2026 - Compton Challenge (Marathon & 16 Mile)
Saturday 16th May 2026 - The Bolt at Badminton (5K & 10K)
[SS] Sunday 17th May 2026 - The Badrat Bolt
Wednesday 20th May 2026 - South West PB 5K Series (Race 1)
Thursday 21st May 2026 - Dave Jones Weston Prom Series (Race 9)
[SS] [SRC] Sunday 24th May 2026 - Wells Festival of Running
Thursday 28th May - YOAC Evening Open 1
June 2026
Saturday 6th June 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th June 2026 - U20/Senior Track & Field Outdoor Championships (Bedford)
Wednesday 10th June 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 3)
Wednesday 10th June 2026 - South West PB 5K Series (Race 2)
[SS] Saturday 13th June 2026 - Neroche 10K
[SS] Wednesday 24th June 2026 - The Forde Abbey 10K
Thursday 25th June 2026 - YOAC Evening Open 2
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June 2026 - U14/U16/U18 Track & Field Outdoor Championships (Chelmsford)
Sunday 28th June 2026 - The Heron Half-Marathon
July 2026
Saturday 4th July 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 8th July 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 4)
Wednesday 8th July 2026 - South West PB 5K Series (Race 3)
Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th July 2026 - Combined Events Track & Field Outdoor Championships (Horspath)
Thursday 30th July 2026 - YOAC Evening Open 3
August 2026
Saturday 1st August 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 12th August 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 5)
Thursday 27th August 2026 - YOAC Evening Open 4
[SS] [SRC] Monday 31st August 2026 - Baltonsborough 5 Mile
September 2026
Saturday 5th September 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 9th September 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 6)
Saturday 12th September 2026 - U20/Senior Inter Counties Track & Field Outdoor Championships (Kingston)
Sunday 13th September 2026 - U16/U18 Inter Counties Track & Field Outdoor Championships
[SS] [SRC] Sunday 13th September 2026 - Burnham Half Marathon
Sunday 20th September 2026 - Swansea Bay 10K
October 2026
Saturday 3rd October 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 14th October 2026 - Street 5K (Race 1)
[SS] Sunday 25th October 2026 - Herepath Half
November 2026
Saturday 7th November 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 11th November 2026 - Street 5K (Race 2)
[SS] Sunday 22nd November 2026 - Brent Knoll MT
December 2026
Saturday 5th December 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run
Wednesday 9th December 2026 - Street 5K (Race 3)