Great North Run, Welsh National Junior Road Running Champs, Uphill to Wells Relays, Weston Prom Run, South of England AA Fell Running Championships, Nation’s 5K and time to register for Cross Country!

Details: Written by: Alexander Coombs; Created: 20 September 2026; Last Updated: 20 September 2026; Hits: 416

Baton exchange on the Uphill to Wells Relay

It’s been a packed and inspiring couple of weeks for Wells City Harriers, with members racing everywhere from Newcastle to London, Wales, the Isle of Wight and beyond. The Great North Run brought determined efforts from Geoff Stubbs, Lynne Elstob and Sharon Bowles, while young Heath Hughes‑Davies impressed with a 4th‑place finish at the Welsh Junior Champs. The Uphill to Wells Relay team delivered one of the standout performances, clocking two age‑graded course records and securing 3rd overall. Juniors continued to shine at the Weston Prom and Chew Valley Reservoir Run, and Paul Chadwick completed his 24th South of England Fell Championships. Add in Kate Noel’s superb marathon podium at Badminton Estate and a buzzing turnout for Esmée Gummer’s Nation’s 5K, the club can now look forward to the upcoming country season.

Great North Run

Sunday 13th September 2026

Lynne and Sharon love making the annual trip to Newcastle

The Great North Run is one of the world’s largest and most famous half-marathons, held annually in North East England. The 13.1-mile race traditionally starts in Newcastle upon Tyne and finishes on the coast in South Shields, attracting tens of thousands of runners each year. It is known for its lively atmosphere, enthusiastic crowds, and strong links with charity fundraising.

Harrier Results:
21201 - Geoff Stubbs - 2:14:05

45742 - Lynne Elstob - 3:20:36

47210 - Sharon Bowles - 3:36:06

Full results here.

Plenty of tape for Sharon to ensure her MCL injury didn’t stop her finishing!

Welsh National Junior Road Running Champs

Saturday 12th September 2026

Heath racing in Wales

Heath Hughes-Davies took part in the Welsh National Junior Road Running Champs on Saturday. The three hour drive wasn’t the best preparation, however he still performed superbly finishing 4th in the U12 1700m race and was the first 10 year old to cross the line despite. Well done Heath!

The Big Half

Sunday 6th September 2026

The Big Half is a popular half-marathon held in London. The race starts near Tower Bridge and finishes at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, taking runners through some of London’s most famous landmarks and streets.

Harrier Results:
1220th - Stuart Nash - 1:31.07

Full results here.

Uphill to Wells Relays

Saturday 19th September 2026

[Report by Jonathan Williams]

Team Wells City Harriers at the finish

On Saturday 19th September a team from the Thursday Night Improvers took part in the annual Uphill to Wells relay. This well-organized event, run by the Mendip Hashers, follows the route of the West Mendip Way from Uphill Beach to Wells Cathedral Green. Teams can compete in Open, Mixed or whole route teams and this year the Thursday Nighter’s chose to field a Mixed Team. As usual for the Mendips the weather didn’t quite play ball. It was drizzly and humid as the first leg left Uphill, but by the start of Leg 3 the drizzle had become heavy rain, quickly turning the paths to mud and treacherous slippery rock.

After the first two legs, the team were 20 minutes up on our time last year with solid runs from Jonathan and Sean. Nick Stevens held onto the lead setting a new age graded record for Leg 3, before passing the baton onto Saffi Capel. In her first outing in a Harrier’s vest, Saffi added to the lead on last year in a great run, in very poor conditions. As the rain came down on Priddy Green Victoria Ryan set off for the final glory leg back into Wells, romping home in another age-graded course record for leg 5.

At the final tally our team were pipped to second place in the Mixed Relay, by just 4 mins by a much younger team from Clevedon AC, coming 3rd Place overall against all the teams. Nonetheless, a great day out was had by all. Thanks to Mike Rusca for acting as team driver and to the other friends and family who helped with logistics.

Results were as follows:

Jonathan Williams – Leg 1 – Uphill to Loxton 10.4km 253m 96.4% Age Grade– 51:57

Sean Honan – Leg 2 – Loxton to Shipham 8.8k 348m 81.6% Age Grade – 51:09

Nick Stevens – Leg 3 – Shipham to Cheddar 10.7 km 259m 103.0% Age Grade – 52:52

Saffi Capel – Leg 4 Cheddar to Priddy 9.0km 370m 83.1 Age Grade - 57:43

Victoria Ryan – Leg 5 Priddy to Cheddar 9.0km 168m 110.7% Age Grade - 42:28

Victoria in action

Dave Jones Weston Prom Run Series (Race 1)

Thursday 17th September 2026

Junior Harriers competing in the 1 Mile race

The Dave Jones Prom Runs are an annual series of nine five-mile races, covering two laps of the famous Weston-super-Mare promenade. As well as the five-mile race there is a one-mile series for children aged between four and sixteen (reception to year 11), run each month, just before the adult’s race.

Harrier Results:

1 Mile:
4 — Jonah Barrington — 05:22

11 — Heath Hughes-Davies — 05:33 (1st Primary)

23 — Hunter Hawkins — 06:01 (2nd Primary)

28 — Isla Ferguson — 06:11

55 — Arthur Ferguson — 06:53

114 — Serena Cook — 08:18

152 — Poppy Broughton — 09:17

Full results here.

Heath and Hunter sharing the podium post race.

South of England AA Fell Running Championships

Isle of Wight - Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September 2026

[Report by Paul Chadwick]

Great conditions on the hills

These Championships were once again well hosted by Ryde Harriers and consisted of three tough races over the weekend. Each race takes in some spectacular views.

For me, it was my 24th time competing in these Championships having first taken part back in 1995. I’ve missed a few over the years due to injury or other commitments but it’s one to pencil in for those who like the hills and a real challenge. In the early years I used to do these Championships and then the Southern Road Relays at Aldershot, often on back to back weekends.

Saturday

Race 1 St Boniface Fell 3.8km - 235m ascent

Paul Chadwick 64th 27.36

Race 2 Ventnor Horseshoe 12km -434m ascent

Paul Chadwick 64th 1.29.11

Sunday

Race 3 Wroxall Round 21km - 487m ascent

Paul Chadwick 65th 2.21.21

Series: 52nd overall, 8th V60, (some competitors don’t complete in all 3 races).

Pete Wright was also due to compete but was hospitalised the week before with a blood clot and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The next ‘local’ registered fell races are the Mendip Muddle on October 25th and the Drogo 10 on November 14th.

A steep descent

Nation’s 5K

Tuesday 15th September 2026

Harriers and more join in the Nation’s 5K

This summer, Esmée Gummer is running 5,000km across 77 UK cities in 99 days. In every city, she's hosting a free 5K, open to everyone, no matter your pace. On Tuesday she visited Wells and many Harriers joined her as she ran the streets of England’s smallest city.

Watch a video of the event here.

Badminton Estate Marathon

Sunday 20th September 2026

The next event on the Relish Running Races calendar was the Badminton Estate series of races including a 2K, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon. It was the Marathon option that Kate Noel opted for, finishing in an impressive 3:58.07 and claiming second female and first FV50. Well done Kate!

Full results here.

Chew Valley Reservoir Run

Sunday 20th September 2026

The Chew Valley Reservoir Run is a family-friendly charity running event hosted by Bristol Water at the scenic Chew Valley Lake. This year was the second running of the event, with participants able to choose between 2.5km, 5km and 10km routes.

A Grand Day Out for Heath

Harrier Results:
5K

2nd Heath Hughes-Davies

6th Hunter Hawkins

10th Hope Styles

Full results here.

Hunter in action

Register for Cross Country Season

With track season over, our focus turns to the upcoming cross country season.

Like recent years, as a club we will be entering both the Gwent League and Wessex League competitions.

Dates for your diary:

Gwent League

Saturday 10th October

Sunday 8th November

Saturday 5th December

Saturday 14th February

Saturday 6th March

https://www.gwent-league.org.uk/fixtures.html

Wessex League

Sunday 1st November

Sunday 29th November

Sunday 13th December

https://www.dorsetathletics.org/cross-country

Quad Counties

Sunday 13th December

If you are interested in running in the Gwent League please get in touch so we can register you. We also need to know if you're planning on participating in the first race on Saturday 10th October 2026 at Pembrey Country Park so we can allocate a number.

Currently registration for the Wessex League is not open. We will let you know when this becomes available.

The club will cover entry costs for league cross country competitions. Please get in contact if you would like more information or wish to register for the Gwent League. We will send a reminder out nearer the time.

Junior Kit Order Evenings

We’re excited to be holding two training kit order evenings for our juniors on Monday 5th and Monday 12th October. The evenings will follow a similar setup to last year.

Although you can order kit directly through O’Neills throughout the year, our dedicated kit evenings give us the opportunity to place a bulk order directly from their warehouse, allowing us to access some additional discounts.

With the new season now underway and lots of new junior members joining us, these evenings are a great opportunity to get your child kitted out. They’re also ideal if your child has grown rapidly over the past year and has outgrown their existing kit!

And, with Christmas not too far away, it’s also a great chance to get some early Christmas presents sorted.

Club Welfare

Wells City Harriers has two club welfare officers, Zoe Dale 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)

September 2026

Sunday 20th September 2026 - Swansea Bay 10K

[SS] Sunday 20th September 2026 - The Mells Mashup

Saturday 26th September 2026 - SEAA Road Relays

Sunday 27th September 2026 - Redcar Running Festival

Sunday 27th September 2025 - The Black Nore 10K

October 2026

Saturday 3rd October 2026 - Midsomer Norton Town Park Community Run

Saturday 10th October 2026 - Gwent League Fixture 1 (Pembrey Country Park)

Wednesday 14th October 2026 - Street 5K (Race 1)

Thursday 22nd October 2026 - Weston Prom Series (Race 2)

[SS] Sunday 25th October 2026 - Herepath Half