Juniors Sign-Off for the Summer, Thank you to Graham and Paul, Yeovil Evening Open 2, NAL, Brean Banger, Forde Abbey 10K, Missed out on the London Ballot? Here is another chance + More!

Details: Written by: Alexander Coombs; Created: 23 July 2026; Last Updated: 23 July 2026; Hits: 289

Graham and Paul have both helped coach and develop hundreds of junior runners

It has been another busy and successful period for Wells City Harriers, with athletes competing across track and field, road, multi-terrain and triathlon events. Junior athletes impressed at the Yeovil Evening Open, while the Monday junior coaching programme celebrated another successful year of development. Special recognition goes to Graham Goldsmid and Paul Chadwick, who step back from coaching after more than 20 years of helping develop hundreds of young athletes. We take a look at some of their memories during this time.

There were standout performances across all levels, including Yeovil Olympiads moving to the top of the National Athletics League, victories for Sophie Nicholls and Tom Webb over 5000m, and championship success for Oskar Beck, Casper Rawbone and David Hall. Harriers also achieved strong results on the roads, with wins for Tim Ingle and Adam Gibson, alongside success for Kieran O’Connell at the English Riviera Triathlon.

Monday Training Round-Up

Report by Paul Chadwick

The Harrier coaches are pleased with how this past academic year’s coaching has gone. They took the decision last September to increase the number of juniors aged 8-15 attending the sessions at Millfield from 50 to 70 members. This was in the light of a number of new coaches stepping forward over the past two or three years.

This summer term the coaches have, as usual, been able to deliver coaching in a range of track and field events on Monday nights and have extended the sessions by 15 minutes to run 6.30-7.45. As a consequence a number of juniors have taken their first steps at track and field competition, with a number going to the end of the month Opens at Yeovil in order to gain valuable experience and to ‘have a go’.

On the penultimate night of this term's sessions, the coaches organised a mini ‘Olympics’ in a night, with all participants competing in four events in the time available. For the youngest group (age 8s) this meant. Turbo Javelin, Long Jump, 400m and 50m; The next group up (age 9s/10s) contested Triple Jump, Long Jump, 600m and 50m; the next group (age 10s/11s) contested Shot Put, Long Jump, 800m and 75m; and the oldest group (age 12+) had a go at Shot Put, Long Jump, 800m and 100m.

Overall girl and boy’s winners in these age groups were:

8: Georgie and Arthur

9/10: Talliah and Hugo

10/11: Sage and Noah

12+: Ruby and Alex

Coaches are always pleased to see the amount of effort that the youngsters put in, and are always keen to ensure that the youngsters enjoy their athletics. Monday 20th July will be the final session of the term before the volunteer coaches all take a well earned rest before starting again in September. The final session saw the traditional end of term team parlauf, and tug of war competition.

As Paul Chadwick and Graham Goldsmid step down from Monday coaching after a period in excess of 20 years, it leaves Al Thorner with over 10 years coaching as the elder statesman but augmented by a whole host of enthusiastic fellow coaches - Stuart Dowden, James Fisher, Christian Green, James Shaw, David Hirst, Gaby Rowe, and Jonathan Sawyer with Oli Frost in training.

We also say farewell and thanks to Sarah Massey who has coached on Mondays these past few years, and thank her daughter Gemma for enthusiastically assisting at sessions.

Any senior Harrier interested in helping out at the junior Monday sessions, or any parent looking to get involved to support the coaches should contact either Stuart Dowden or James Fisher. Stuart also manages the junior waiting list and James the register and parent What’s App group. See the Monday Training webpage for more details. If your child is interested in joining our training in September, we currently operate a waiting list. Click here to add your child's name to the list. We look forward to seeing the juniors return in September.

Graham Goldsmid and Paul Chadwick

Graham and Paul alongside long-time Harrier coach Al Thorner

Monday 20th July marked the final junior training session before the break for the summer holidays. It also marked the end of an era, as coaches Paul Chadwick and Graham Goldsmid step back from their junior coaching roles after more than 20 years of dedicated service.

The story began in 2002, when Clive Thomas and Paul Chadwick took responsibility for the club's Monday evening junior training sessions. In the same year, Paul gained his coaching qualification, further strengthening the club's coaching team.

In 2004, Graham Goldsmid achieved his Assistant Coach qualification after first becoming involved with the club by bringing his son, Anders, to training. From that point on, Graham became an integral part of the coaching team.

Since then, Paul and Graham have been a constant presence at our Monday junior sessions and Tuesday adult training, giving their time, enthusiasm, and expertise to generations of club members. Their commitment has helped countless young athletes develop their running, build confidence, and enjoy being part of the club, while also supporting our adult members week after week.

Their dedication and contribution over the past two decades have played a significant role in shaping the club into what it is today, and everyone at the club extends their sincere thanks to Paul and Graham for everything they have done.

Graham and Paul were formally thanked by the Harrier Chairman Ed Tickner and given a token of appreciation from the Club at last week’s training session.

Graham’s Memories:

Last Monday I took part in my final Wells Junior session as a coach at Millfield track bringing to an end 22 years of great fun and experiences. Clive Thomas was the person we all looked up to in the early days. He had so much experience and watching him coach was the way to learn, make it fun and enjoy it were Clive's main themes. I started to attend Juniors as a parent with my two sons in about 2002 and would help Clive do the high jump - raising the bar or rake the long jump pit etc. Then I did the assistant coaches course in 2004 followed by the level 2 coaches course in 2008.

Juniors had originally been on a Tuesday night before the senior session but was moved to Mondays to allow the Juniors more time on the track. Due to the hard work of Clive and Paul numbers increased helped by the other excellent coaches who gave their time every Monday. Over the years the Juniors have had great success and some have gone on to win International vests which was pleasing to see.

Looking at my coaches log kept over the years those who did well were always at the sessions and many started mid pack or at the back and worked their way through as the years went by through hard work and determination. I looked up one session in my log - 11th Jan 2010 : Heavy snow and ice on track : 12 showed up, session was warm up then we did 2 sets of 5 x 1 minute circuits on top field followed by a cool down (?). I will always remember this session as it snowed throughout but the Juniors kept going and when we finished in a blizzard we found the school was closed due to the weather and they were going to lock the old car park! But it just showed how committed the coaches and juniors were and still are as numbers have increased over the years and we now have a waiting list.

To finish off I would like to thank Paul for all his encouragement and support over the years planning sessions, attending races, organising the two day summer camps we used to run plus all the other coaches I have worked with we have had some fun along the way! Also the parents who each week made sure the juniors were there on time and lastly and most importantly all the juniors who came along and gave their best and hopefully enjoyed themselves which is what Clive always said to me what all this coaching was all about!

Paul’s Memories:

Those 24 years of coaching have gone so quickly and I would have missed it if I’d not done it. We always advise the youngsters to do their best and have a go so obviously that’s what I tried to do coaching!

I was so fortunate to have Clive Thomas advising me in the early years - he taught me to laugh and learn from the things we got wrong and enjoy all the ups and downs, the bad weather, the times in the early days when hardly any youngsters turned up - once in really bad weather just two youngsters were there and both Clive and myself, so a pretty amazing coach:athlete ratio!

Along the way I’ve worked with some fantastic fellow coaches - Graham started a few years after me and has been a real rock over his 20+ years - really helpful of course when either work or other commitments came along, we would cover for each other. Kaye Watts, Jeremy DeQuidt, Tom Dukes, Isaac Whitcombe and Lawrence Whitehead, amongst others, all from many years ago, did sterling service.

It’s great that following the Covid pandemic year of no training that a new cohort of enthusiastic coaches has arrived to join with elder-coach Al Thorner. I’ve learnt a lot from Al and the new coaches as they come back from their training with fresh ideas, and maybe a new way of doing things.

I’m sure both Graham and I will miss our Monday coaching, especially working with the youngsters, but also the interaction with the parents who play an important part in supporting their kids to be the best they can be.

Yeovil Evening Open 2

Thursday 2nd July 2026

Rescheduled due to the extreme heat the week before, many Harriers headed to the Bill Whilstlecroft Arena for another great evening of running.

800m race

Harrier/YOAC Middle Distance Results:

U10 Triathlon (50m, Long Jump, Howler Throw)

Boys:
1st Hugo Pearse – 325 points

2nd Freddy Hysted-Edwards – 305 points

3rd Alfie Roberts – 295 points

4th Henry Dockerty – 250 points

5th Harry Brimble – 230 points

Girls:

1st Tyra Masters - 291 points

5th Serena Cook - 149 points

800m (Race A)

1st Oliver Bradford-Peck – 2:03.27

2nd Oskar Adrian Beck – 2:05.14

3rd Heath Worledge – 2:06.13

4th Jack French – 2:06.39

5th Robbie Hawkins – 2:07.20

6th Tim Ingle – 2:12.18

7th Kitt Sullivan – 2:13.13

800m (Race B)

1st – Jamie Dawson – 2:15.43

3rd – Ruby Shaw – 2:21.34

6th – Jonah Charles Barrington – 2:30.03

7th – Mia Shore – 2:30.58

800m (Race C)

2nd – Isla Grace Hayes – 2:33.74

3rd – Ronnie Christopher Legge – 2:34.58

4th – Olivia Fall – 2:35.73

6th – Glennie Rose Thorman – 2:38.51

8th – Eleanor McFarlane – 2:44.00

9th – Lily Nutland – 2:45.00

800m (Race D)

1st – Leo Paul Elkington – 2:34.18

2nd – Benjamin Hutchings – 2:39.92

3rd – Jack Gary Ledger – 2:42.48

4th – Dominic Cook – 2:43.36

6th – Edward Bower – 2:49.83

8th – Milo Cook – 3:06.49

800m (Race E)

1st – Elizabeth Doggrell – 2:43.21

2nd – Grace Godley – 2:48.52

3rd – Grace Meryl Speyers – 2:50.24

7th – Alice Green – 2:59.22

8th – Julia McFarlane – 3:03.47

1200m Steeplechase (U14)

3rd – Zoe Frost – 4:37.05

4th – Emily Dockerty – 4:39.00

3000m

1st – Jamie Williams – 9:11.61

2nd – Alexander Coombs – 9:12.42

3rd – Christian Green – 9:23.97

4th – Harry Dawson – 9:28.91

6th – Tim Ingle – 9:44.72

8th – William Packer – 10:03.50

Full results including sprints and field events can be found here.

More photos can be found here.

The next Yeovil Evening Open will take place on Thursday 30th July. Enter here.

Chris Green in the 3000m

National Athletics League - Bournemouth

Saturday 11th July 2026

The second fixture of the National Athletics League took place in Bournemouth. With Yeovil Olympiads finishing third after the first fixture, there was work to be done to close the gap on the top two teams. Again, the heat had a big impact on the fixture, however there were some standout performances from Adam Gibson in the 3000m, a huge PB for Jack French in the 800m and a superb turnout in the women’s team that ultimately made all the difference to the point scoring on the day.

Team Harriers representing YOAC

Fixture 2 Standings:

1st Yeovil Olympiads 598

2nd Bournemouth AC 525

3rd Cardiff Athletics 494

4th Swindon Harriers 421

5th Winchester & District AC 277

6th Yate & District 196

Harrier Results:

Men’s 800m
5th Jack French - 2:02.92

8th Robbie Hawkins - 2:04. 66

Women’s 800m

1st Sophie Nicholls - 2:17.28

8th Justine Dumotier Khripounoff - 2:49. 97

Men’s 2000m Steeplechase

3rd Christian Green - 6:39. 34

4th Alexander Coombs - 6:45.52

Women’s 1500m Steeplechase

2nd Eleanor Constable - 6:29.63

3rd Justine Dumotier Khripounoff - 6:37.86

Men’s 400m (Race A)

4th Matthew Lusby - 55.80

Men’s 400m (Race B)

3rd Jack French - 55.36

Women’s 400m

6th Eleanor Constable - 1:13.76

Men’s 1500m

7th Alexander Coombs - 4:28.13

8th Matthew Lusby - 4:43.00

Men’s 3000m

1st Adam Gibson - 8:40.73

6th Christian Green - 9:45.14

Women’s 3000m

1st Sophie Nicholls - 9:55.15

6th Eleanor Constable - 12:22.49

Mixed 4x 400m Relay

3rd Jack French, Robbie Hawkins, Sophie Nicholls, Isabelle Whittle - 4:02.37

6th Eleanor Constable, Alexander Coombs, Andrew Faulkner, Justine Dumotier Khripounoff - 4:30.15

Special mention to Emma Greenaway, who trains hard at Millfield School on Tuesday evenings while the rest of us run around her, carefully dodging her hammer throws! She went on to win the women’s hammer competition with an impressive throw of 47.06m.

Full results can be found here.

Justine and Ellie before their steeplechase debut

Table standings after the second fixture:
1st – Yeovil Olympiads – League Points: 10 – Match Points: 1032

2nd – Swindon Harriers – League Points: 9 – Match Points: 1003

3rd – Cardiff AAC – League Points: 9 – Match Points: 954.5

4th – Bournemouth AC – League Points: 7 – Match Points: 852

5th – Yate & District AC – League Points: 4 – Match Points: 615

6th – Winchester & District AC – League Points: 3 – Match Points: 473.5

Yeovil Olympiads have moved to the top of the table with just one fixture remaining. The top two teams at the end of the final match will progress to the promotion playoff, where they will compete against the leading two teams from the North, East and South divisions for the chance to earn promotion to the National Premier Division.

A strong turnout for our final home fixture at the Bill Whistlecroft Arena in Yeovil on Saturday 22nd August could help secure a top-two finish. If you’re interested in racing and being part of the team, please get in touch.

Harriers found time after the event to take a dip in the sea

England Athletics U20/Senior Track and Field Championships

Saturday 3rd July 2026

5000m winners, Sophie and Tom

A huge congratulations to Sophie Nicholls and Tom Webb, who both claimed victory in their respective 5000m races in Bedford. Sophie won the Senior Women’s race in an impressive time of 16:49.11, while Tom was crowned U20 champion after crossing the line in 14:53.31, outsprinting his competitors in the final 200m.

South West Inter-County Track and Field Championships

Sunday 19th July 2026

Harrier Results:

800m U18W

3rd - Lucy Bickerton - 2:20.67

800m U14W (Race 2)

2nd - Olivia Fall - 2:31.59

6th - Glennie Thorman - 2:39.32

1500m Senior

2nd Harry Dawson - 4:24.23

8th Isabelle Whittle - 4:51.07

1500m U14M

8th Noah Chapman - 4:56.66

1500m U16W

6th Freya Dencher - 5:15.47

1500m U14W

4th Harriet Scott - 5:11.53

7th Elodie Burdett - 5:22. 85

13th Zoe Frost - 5:36.20

3000m U16M

5th Jamie Williams - 9:29.04

1500m Steeplechase U16

1st Oskar Beck - 4:42.31

3rd Mia Shore - 7:02.52

2000m Steeplechase U18M

1st Casper Rawbone 6:36.55

2000m Steeplechase W

2nd Eleanor Constable - 8:43.02

Full results here.

Brean Banger

Wednesday 8th July 2026

Harriers on the beach post race.

Race 12 in the Somerset Series.

Harrier Results:

1st – Tim Ingle – 00:42:49

20th – Jonathan Williams – 00:49:54 (1st MV50)

26th – Andrew Piper – 00:50:51

62nd – James Gadd – 00:55:58

132nd – Robert Moore – 01:03:39

167th – Paul Chadwick – 01:08:03

185th – Kim Clark – 01:10:10

249th – Christopher Clark – 01:20:43

Full results here.

Tim Ingle claimed 1st place.

Forde Abbey 10K

15th July 2026 (Rescheduled)

Ellie, Tim and Tom post race

Race 11 in the Somerset Series

Harrier Results:

3rd – Tom Addison-Wood – 42:38

4th – Tim Ingle – 42:52

17th – Jonathan Williams – 50:29

19th – Matt Rawlingson Plant – 50:42

34th – Eleanor Constable – 54:03

110th – Kim Clark – 1:07:57

171st – Chris Clark – 1:24:07

Full results here.

More photos here.

Yeovilton 5K (Race 4)

Wednesday 8th July 2026

Noah Chapman

Hot, hot, hot!

Harrier Results:
1st – Adam Gibson – 15:15

5th – Benjamin Tickner – 15:43 (1st Male 40)

9th – Jamie Williams – 16:07 (1st Junior Male)

10th – Alexander Coombs – 16:12

14th – Harry Dawson – 16:32

18th – Heath Worledge – 16:47

23rd – Fred Rawbone – 17:18

24th – Will Packer – 17:19

29th – Oliver Willmott – 17:30

33rd – Noah Chapman – 17:35

46th – Laurence Badman – 18:34

52nd – David Hirst – 18:51

54th – Toby Hirst – 19:01

62nd – Jamie Dawson – 19:31

63rd – Harry Crosse – 19:37

66th – Neil Biss – 19:41

67th – Ray Rawbone – 19:45

70th – Jack French – 19:56

72nd – Zoe Dale – 20:07 (1st Female 35)

73rd – Charlie Cowley – 20:22

78th – Helen Allen – 21:04

83rd – Tim Sanders – 21:24

85th – Emily Dockerty – 21:40 (1st Junior Female)

88th – Ronnie Legge – 22:17

90th – Harry Willmott – 22:27

92nd – Rachel Hamblin – 22:35

104th – Susan Williams – 24:17

109th – Lottie Knight – 25:40

119th – Karen Shears – 30:16 (1st Female 65)

Full results here.

More photos here.

Zoe Dale

English Riviera Triathlon

Sunday 5th July 2026

Kieran O’Connell competed in the English Riviera Triathlon in Torquay and won silver in his age group (11-12 years old). It comprised a 300m open water sea swim, 5km bike and 2km run, it was his fifth triathlon this year. Super achievement Kieran - Well done!

Kieran (left) on the podium

British Masters Multi-Terrain Championships

Sunday 28th June 2026

David on the podium

David Hall produced an impressive performance at the North Downs Run, which also incorporated the British Masters Multi-Terrain Championships. Competing in the V60 age category, David claimed the silver medal with an excellent time of 2:23:34.

Just a few weeks earlier, David had also been in outstanding form at the Swansea Half Marathon, where he completed the course in a superb 1:24:34.

Westbury 5K

14th July 2026

Harrier Results:

12th Peter Grist - 16:25

The next race in the series takes place on Tuesday 11th August. Enter here.

London Marathon Ballot

You will now have received an email confirming whether you have received a place for next year's special two day London Marathon if you applied through the main ballot. If you were successful, congratulations!

If you were unsuccessful but would still like a place, don't worry - you have another chance!

London Marathon Club place(s):

We receive 1 guaranteed Club place each year for the London Marathon and most years we have a 2nd place due to our partnership with Yeovil Olympiads. The Club place(s) are allocated in a Club Ballot - most often held at the Club's Annual Dinner at the end of November/beginning of December.

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. with confirmation of your rejection ballot email.

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: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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)

July 2026

Monday 20th July 2026 - Final Monday Junior training session

Thursday 23rd July 2026 - Commonwealth Games begin

Thursday 30th July 2026 - YOAC Evening Open 3

August 2026

Saturday 1st August 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run

Saturday 1st August 2026 - Shave Cross Mini Marathon

Tuesday 11th August 2026 - Westbury 5K

Wednesday 12th August 2026 - Yeovilton 5K (Race 5)

Saturday 22nd August 2026 - National Athletics League Division 1 West (Fixture 3 - Yeovil)

Thursday 27th August 2026 - YOAC Evening Open 4

[SS] [SRC] Monday 31st August 2026 - Baltonsborough 5 Mile