News

Some fantastic news from last week as Lizzie Wellsted has been called up to the Great Britain and Northern Ireland senior squad to race over her favorite distance in the European 10,000m Cup, taking place in La Spezia, Italy on Saturday 23 May (this weekend). This is Lizzie’s first senior Great Britain call up after three appearances in the junior ranks at the European Cross Country Championships (winning a team gold medal on each occasion) and a single appearance in the World Athletics Under Twenty Championships on the track. Lizzie 'ready to go' before the 5,000 metres at the World... read more

Wednesday evening saw a trip straight from school to London for River Reeve and Hayden Preston at the Battersea Park 5km Chase the Moon night race, and from College for Caleb Lee for the 10km race. The evening didn't start too well with several problems on the trains causing delays of almost an hour and not being able to get to the race venue until 20 minutes before the start time. A quick change, limited warm up, and ready to go. The 5km starts first at 7pm, followed by the 10km a few minutes later, and with almost 800 runners it can get congested after the first lap, so being aware... read more

It was complete dominance for Colchester Harriers in the Essex Road Running Grand Prix series with the men’s and women’s teams both earning league victories. It was especially sweet for the men who overturned a six-point deficit in the final round at the Southend 10K to overhaul Braintree and take the title! A hugely significant victory for the men with it being our first league win in ten years in this event. With so many of the women’s team involved in the later stages of Autumn marathon training or tapering, it was a case of hanging onto their lead which they did with a threadbare... read more

Lyla and Dave went up to Leamington Spa to the British Athletics Supporters Club Annual Meeting to collect the award of Young Athlete of the Year.  It was a great weekend, where Lyla was asked to speak to the BASC members on a panel with other young athletes hosted by David Moorcroft. This comes off the back of Lyla’s selection by UK Athletics for the Olympic Futures Programme, which forms part of the pathway towards the World Class Programme.  Lyla will be mentored by retired British 800m athlete Jenny Meadows, to help her on her... read more

It was so nice, Lyla did it twice! - Lyla Belshaw, Colchester Harriers seventeen-year-old middle-distance star, backed up her European Under-18 1,500m gold medal from last year with a brilliantly executed pair of races in the European Under-20 Championship in Tampere, Finland to strike 1,500m gold again. Thus, reinforcing her ranking as the number one under-20 1,500 metre female athlete in Europe. The Heat As with all championships, it is not just a case of running one race as fast as you can, a heat is needed to be successfully navigated first with race tactics being tested as... read more

Lyla Belshaw won the final of the women's 1500m race at the European under 20 championships in Tampere, Finland on Saturday just over a year after winning the under 18 championship final in Banská Bystrica. Here is a video of the race... read more

Lyla Belshaw, Colchester Harriers individually sponsored Nike athlete and reigning under 18 1,500m European Champion continues to make impressive strides in 2025. Although it was a slower build into her season – a pair of new trainers caused a low-grade shin splint issue in December last year (an injury which is notorious for requiring patience to shift!). Lyla’s coach, Dave Smith had to think on his feet and designed sessions on the anti-gravity treadmill which was very much venturing into the unknown and led to not really knowing what sort of shape Lyla would come back in. Initial time... read more

On Sunday 13th July we hosted the inaugural Arthur Whiston 5 mile race, in memory of our dear friend who passed away a year ago. On a beautiful morning, a field of over 200 runners took to the roads and footpaths around Abbey Field, with a large representation from the Harriers, Running Colchester and Boxted Runners. Dean Williamson took the win (as a part of his long run!) in a time of 26:17, while Laura Shewbridge was the first lady home in 33:40. Full results can be found here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7343221369704098048 Photos from the event are now available to... read more

Two Essex Road Running Grand Prix races within six days did not faze the Colchester Harriers women’s team as they showed their strength in depth to maintain their perfect start to the series with three wins in three races. Starting off with the Ten Mile Championships held in Witham on a cool and windy May Day Bank Holiday, the green trio of Heidi Hogan-Steele, Victoria Primmer and Lucy Davies swept the opposition aside to finish first, second and third in the race. With Heidi clocking 1:02:58, Victoria 1:04:25 (PB) and Lucy 1:04:40. Other females donning the green vest were Tarynn Macleod... read more

Colchester Harriers are proud to announce our donation to five local parkrun events, reinforcing our commitment to supporting charitable causes and fostering a thriving running community in Colchester. We recognise the immense value parkrun brings - encouraging participation in free, inclusive weekly runs that welcome everyone, from beginners to seasoned athletes. Many Harriers members regularly run and volunteer at parkrun events, making this a natural way for us to support grassroots running initiatives. The five events we have donated to are: Colchester Castle Colchester... read more