News

Report by Richard Pickering As you know you were recently asked to complete a questionnaire about the possibility of bringing in another endurance group and about your coaching experience.  The overwhelming response (85%) was that a new group would be a good thing.  Also, that 72% would prefer to have a lead coach who took overall control of their group.  The endurance committee had a meeting to decide what to do, followed by a coaches’ meeting  to see how we could best resource our suggestions. The resourcing aspect of the meeting proved challenging and the... read more

Colchester Harriers confirmed their place amongst the top echelon of the county’s running clubs in the latest virtually staged event - the Essex 6/12 Virtual Relay Competition.    Teams of twelve men and six women from the top running clubs across the county ran a series of legs of 5K and 5 miles either on their own or in small groups and then submitted evidence of their times to the organisers.  Whilst running races in this way is far from ideal, athletes relished to chance to compete in a safe and responsible way and the battle for the top places was extremely... read more

Copy also sent by email to members and posted on Facebook, 11am 6th July We hope that you are continuing to stay safe and well during this time. As we attempt to move forward as a club, the coaches that are available are aiming to either coach in person whilst following current guidelines, or where applicable set sessions virtually that may be followed either on your own or in socially distanced groups. We have therefore set up a new 'service' within the WebCollect membership system, Training Fees and Donations, and would request that you consider at the end of each month... read more

Please find below a copy of the email that has been sent (at 8:14am) to any members that have not currently renewed. Any questions or if you have not received the email (if hotmail then it is likely in the spam folder!), then email me on [email protected] We appreciate it was only at the weekend that we emailed out regarding membership renewal options, but we just wanted to send a quick reminder, especially for any athletes that have not yet renewed, as the renewals are not as straight forward as on previous occasions, and it is the end of the month in just five days. Please... read more

Colchester Harriers Athletics Club mixed it with some of the biggest athletics clubs in the country as they recorded a string of impressive performances in the British Masters Virtual 5K championships. The event, usually held annually at Sutton Park in Birmingham, but organised on a virtual basis this year with competitors completing 5K runs on their own (or in small groups), attracted a top quality national field of over 4,000 runners, raising over £12,000 for charity in the process. Harriers entered 10 teams across different categories with their M55 A team leading the way – the... read more

Emails relating to club renewals till 30th September were sent out this morning, 21st June. If you did not receive yours then please email me, so I can check your account email address is up to date. Some providers, especially hotmail and aol have a habit of placing mailing list contacts into their spam/junk folders, so please check there first. There is quite a lot to read, so bear with it. This is a very unique time, and so we are trying to accommodate as many as possible where we can, and make the correct decisions, but some things are out of our control currently. Stay... read more

Please find below links to a (pdf and Word) letter from Lance Williams, in relation to possible track availability, and club memberships, that needs the attention of all members. Pdf Letter Word... read more

Colchester Harriers athletes put up a strong showing in the latest virtual competition, The Essex Running Clubs Virtual Mile Challenge.  Organised by Chlemsford Athletics Club and attracting runners from 24 clubs across the county, the event entailed athletes submitting times, together with supporting evidence, for a run of at least one mile over a flat course (less than 15m net downhill). Harriers’ ladies lead the way with the senior team of Heidi Steele (6th overall in 5:27), Jennifer Lovelock (5:52), Victoria Rae (5:58), Nicola Martell-Smith (5:59) and Samantha Hart (6:12)... read more

Although training has been continuing during lockdown on a solo basis, with running events in limbo Colchester Harriers’ athletes are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the sharpness required for racing. With this in mind, various virtual competitions including a 100km relay, an Easter marathon competition, and an Ekiden Marathon 6 stage relay have  been organised by the club during lockdown, and in the latest of them at the current crop of runners took on a legendary Harriers team from yesteryear. In 1993  the club recorded its fastest ever time in the in the... read more

by Rob Earle As a boredom breaker in these challenging times and to create a focal point for Shot Putters, the Valhalla Academy, based in York, organised an online Shot competition for Saturday 2nd May 2020. Although not official, itprovided the throwing community an opportunity for 200 athletes from around the globe whilst raising money for NHS charities. Those entered were asked to be creative in their facilitation of throwing “circles” if they had no access to specific competition areas or specific equipment. The highlight of the day was a screened competition on the Vinco... read more