Hi Harriers
As I stood in the slightly chilly autumn breeze coming across the fields at the XC relays in Wolverhampton, it struck me that this is very much the changeover in seasons. Outdoor track & field rounded up a couple of weeks ago; the MCAA Road Relays and now cross-country relays have taken place, and the first Gloucestershire League xc has been run at Nympsfield.
We do a review of the year at the AGM in March, but it struck me as I was talking to people from England Athletics that it would be a good time to summarise some of the things that we have achieved as a Club over the past months and years.
The Club has continued to grow, with membership currently at 587. Numbers have been building steadily over the past few years, and our popularity and draw for young athletes is particularly strong. Of our 587 members, 420 are under 18. As I often remind people, this is a very social club but has no purely social members; every one of those members is actively training and in most cases, also competing, for the Club.
There is a waiting list for athletes to join our Nu Starz groups, our 365 groups, and even for some of our older event groups. This is a huge compliment to the Club, Coaches and the other many volunteers who keep it going. We have athletes from every secondary school in the Cheltenham area. We often joke that we could run a minibus from the Cotswold school there are so many from there. Our catchment also includes Gloucester, Stroud, Bristol, Swindon, Chipping Campden, Cirencester, Evesham, and further afield. Still counting, but we seem to cover 95% of local primary schools too.
We have a team of dedicated coaches at all levels and across all events, some who have coached for many years. Supporting our ongoing capability, it is fantastic to see that we currently have three additional coaches going through their accreditation.
We are supported by a close group of Officials who turn out regularly to support the Club. It is also great to see that over the past 18 months, we have had an additional eleven parents qualify as track and/ or field officials. This is a huge help, especially as the Club gain valuable points for providing qualified officials in League matches. We have more parents taking this on over the coming months, putting us in an enviable position compared to some Clubs.
The junior section has had outstanding success over the past few years. Proving that qualifying for the UK YDL National Final in 2022 was not a fluke, the under 13s and under 15s have then qualified for the National Finals in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This year, Harriers won 25 medals at the Finals, including 6 A string Golds. Just being at those Finals and speaking to other Clubs, it is being noticed. We are performing way above what might be expected for a ‘non-city’ Club.
The under 17s and under 20s in the Upper YDL have taken the fight to a regional Composite Team over the past few years, and very nearly overhauled them in 2025. Huge credit to all involved.
The under 15s are also current County Cup Champions for Gloucestershire xc, having held on to it after winning it in the year it was reintroduced in 2024. At the MCAA xc relays last weekend, the u13 boys and u15 girls came away with silver medals; u13 girls bronze; and the Masters Women – Gold.
There are so many medals and successes, across SW Championships, County, and even National level, I can only cherry pick some of the achievements.
There was huge success at the English Schools National Championships, where Harriers had nine athletes qualifying across all age groups. Cheltenham based athletes came away with two gold medals (and a Championship Record) and two bronze. Two more medals at England age group champs, and another Championship Record. Two under 17/ 20 athletes selected for SIAB international vests, and one for Team GB under 20s. Two Masters women awarded England vests. An u17 selected for upcoming Indoor Internationals.
One of our under 13 boys completing the ‘full house ‘ in Counties xc – winning County, SW Region and National Champs – and subsequently awarded Gloucestershire Young Athlete of the Year, and South West Region Young Athlete of the Year.
Four of our Combined eventers reached the Schools’ National Finals, coming away with two individual medals – Inter Boys Bronze and Senior Girls Silver.
In the seniors – one of our senior women was top 50 in the London Marathon setting a new Club record, and 17th in the Great North Run (8th GB). One of our senior men – sub 2:30 London Marathon and in line for an England Masters vest. The senior endurance group have continued to attract joiners, and has gone from strength to strength.Â
On a general front, we rejoined the Avon league two years ago. Low key compared to the Upper and Lower YDLs and Senior League, it has allowed more athletes at all ages to compete for the first time alongside their more experienced Club teammates. Further afield, we have three Harriers on sports scholarships studying in the USA.
Away from competitions – we have revamped the website, making it cleaner and quicker to update. With regard to Club overheads, we are covering costs whilst aiming to keep membership and training fees at a reasonable level for all.
We are changing the structure of the Club – to become a CIO – a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The aim is to have this ratified by members in time for the AGM. This will allow us more opportunities to seek funding and enable us to enter into lease hire agreements.
Over the past year, we have also secured grants for equipment from- Renishaw; the Cheltenham Gold Cup Community Fund; and Redbridge and Sons. Thank you to them for their support.
The Club has featured in an ITV news bulletin re the track; and in a special feature on the England Athletics website, which prompted other Clubs to make contact to find out what we were doing right. We were able to share a number of ideas.
We recently held our annual celebration evening, with over 140 members and families reliving some of the highlights from the past year. We have seen a number of very long term records broken over the past two years – some from 38+ years ago. We have an u20 athlete ranked 8th in UK senior women’s high jump (and number 1 u20). An u15 javelin thrower UK number 1, and 2nd on the all -time age group ranking.
On a different note, there is of course the ongoing issue with the track surface. The Council own the facility, and it is managed on their behalf by Cheltenham Trust. They have failed to make any provision over the past years for any funding to replace the track surface.
We have been unable to host licenced matches at POW for three years. However, hiring a different facility, we once again hosted the very successful Midsummer Opens and Brewer Games (and two league matches) over at Blackbridge
As a Club, we are now moving to the next phase of addressing this, so more to follow. We are not going to let this hold us back.
Looking to the immediate next few weeks, we see the first indoor competitions, and the next rounds of the Gloucestershire cross-country, with Harriers already well placed across all ages.
We are obviously doing a number of things right.
On a wider basis, I am frequently told by parents that the Club and the sport are a fantastic outlet, offering a friendly and supportive environment. It is always great to see so many young athletes getting on in their training groups – a complete mix of schools and even year groups.
This write up has been slightly longer than planned, and still covers just a few highlights. Further updates to follow over the coming weeks.
Thank you once again to all coaches, officials, volunteers, and supportive parents and families who help the Club flourish.
The future continues to look very bright!
(If you have any thoughts, comments or stories you would like to share – please send to [email protected])
Best wishes
Crispian
