Dust off your Hi-Viz, charge your torch batteries and dig out the thermal base layers as Autumn is slowly setting in, but before you do, please take time to have a read of this month’s captains’ newsletter.
Interclub 10-Sunday 4th January
We start the year with our interclub 10 mile race against Harwich runners for the interclub trophy, which we need to claim back as they pipped us at the post at the interclub 5K relays earlier this year. It’s always a great morning and a chance to run on a pb potential course, or if your still a little to full of Turkey after Christmas then come along to marshal and cheer on your fellow Bentleys.
Great Bentley Half Marathon-Sunday 1st February
Next up we have our very own half marathon, this is an incredibly popular race in the running community and one which is essential to the club as it funds all the benefits we get as club members, such as the track at Northern gateway, hiring of the village hall and subsidised club trips. Please make a note of the date as we need as many of you to help as possible to ensure the race goes ahead. Entries go live on Saturday 18th of October please do not enter the race, but if you know someone who is keen to have a go then let them know the date as it always sells out very quickly.
Parkrun socials
Thank you to everyone who has been able to join us on the GBRC Parkrun socials this year, and if you haven’t been able to join us yet then do not worry we have three more to take us up to the end of the year.
18/10/2025– Christchurch Parkrun Ipswich this is a fairly newly reinstated Parkrun and at the time of writing this there had been only 13 runs held there, so it’s got to be worth checking out.
home | Christchurch Park parkrun | Christchurch Park parkrun
08/11/2025– This is the big one, we go to the home of Parkrun Bush Park, mens captain Charlie has arranged a coach to take us all there and back. Details of this have been posted on both the GBRC Facebook page and the clubs WhatsApp community page. There maybe a space or two left to find out please email Charlie.keitch@gmail.com
20/12/2025– Mersea Island Parkrun we are finally heading to Cudmore grove home of the Mersea Island Parkrun, nature has halted our attempts in the past but this time we will not be stopped (hopefully)
home | Mersea Island parkrun | Mersea Island parkrun
NESS Cross Country
Its time to get muddy again! Please find below the provisional fixtures for our main cross country league the (NESS) North Essex and South Suffolk
(please note that some dates and venues may change)
- Sunday 26th October 2025 – Ipswich JAFFA RC – Ipswich High School, Woolverstone, Suffolk IP9 1AZ
- Sunday 16th November 2025 – Springfield Striders – new venue this year to be confirmed
- Sunday 30th November 2025 – Great Bentley Running Club – Hilly Fields, Colchester – we will need runners and volunteers!
- Sunday 25th January 2026 – Braintree & District AC – new venue this year to be confirmed
- Sunday 15th February 2026 – Halstead – Gosfield School
- Sunday 22th February 2026 – Harwich Runners – Wix Equestrian Centre, Clay Hall/Clacton Road, CO11 2RU
These races are all about 5 miles long and all you need do is turn up on the day in your club kit if you want to run. These races are great team events and ones where every runner we field has an impact on the overall score, basically the more the merrier and muddier.
Essex Cross Country League
As well as our main league you can also compete in the Essex Cross Country league, these races are generally held on a Saturday, giving you Sunday to recover, the dates for these races are,
- Saturday 25th October 2025, One Tree Hill
- Saturday 8th November 2025, Hainault Forest
- Saturday 22nd November 2025, Hadleigh
- Saturday 10th January 2026, Hilly Fields, Colchester
- Saturday 7th February 2026, Gloucester Park, Basildon
If you want to register for an Essex League fixture, you need to register yourself online in advance, please see below how to do this,
- (If you don’t already have one) Create an account on the Roster Athletics website – https://www.rosterathletics.com/ – by clicking ‘Sign up’ and ‘Sign up with email’
- You’ll need to verify your email address
- Once you’re signed in, go to ‘Account’ and ‘Athletes & Registration’
- There you can add yourself by clicking ‘Add Athlete’ and as part of this process you will ‘Add club’ to select ‘Great Bentley Running Club’
- Once you’re set up as an athlete, go to ‘Competitions’ – search ‘Essex Cross Country League’ and select the correct race.
- Select ‘Registration’ (at this point it may ask you if you want to add contact details/phone number – you can choose to proceed without adding this).
- Your name should show under ‘Participant’ and you can ‘select events/edit records’. Tick next to the correct event and select ‘register’ (you do not have to enter a PB or SB!)
- Once you have registered, you can double check that you’re on the start list under ‘Schedule/Start lists’
Cross County other events
As well as having plenty of races to go at this cross country season there is also,
- Saturday 13th December 2025- Veterans (40+) Cross country Championship at Epping Forest.
- Saturday 3rd January- Essex County XC Championships at Glouster Park, Basildon.
Details of these races will be emailed nearer the time.
Club kit
Time to get your ‘blue on’ for all new members who wish to run in the XC events you will need to do so in a Great Bentley running top. You can find prices and order kit through the form on our website or use the new ‘Club Kit’ section on the WhatsApp community group.
Official Kit | Great Bentley Running Club
Awards night Saturday 17th January
Our annual awards night is moving date and venue and will be held at Colchester Rugby club on Saturday 17th January.
The cost will be about £23 per person but this will include a buffet and professional DJ, there is a bar to purchase drinks from. So get your glad rags on, celebrate the successes of your fellow runners and dance the night away.
Club champs
Every year at the awards night awards are given to the fastest male and female in each age group for officially measured distances from 5K all the way up to marathon as well as the highest finishing place in cross country. In order to qualify you must have run the race in club colours and have submitted your time within 30 days of the race
Performance standards
The club also has performance standards based on National Running standards and are rated 1-5 stars. I find these fantastic for motivation and can be used as a guide to how your training is going by achieving a higher star rating as your times improve. Similar to the club champs you need to submit your time and full race details to gbrcstandards@gmail.com
The committee will be re-introducing printed certificates for the performance standards in the near future, these will be given out on Wednesday club nights.
Training
The Autumn training schedule is now in full swing with plenty of sessions to choose from, you can book onto these sessions through the WhatsApp community. All you need to do is join in the groups of the sessions you are likely to attend, then each week once a new session has been created by the session leader simply click “going”
Club night is on a Wednesday held at Great Bentley village hall and from Wednesday 8th October every two weeks lovely Lou Balfour is putting on a bootcamp to keep you motivated through the cold winter months, although you might not think her so lovely after attending one. Jokes aside Lou has put herself through several courses to ensure she is correctly trained to host these camps and invested in some great new equipment for you to use. So please give Lou plenty of support on these nights, I guarantee the alternative training will really help with your running and you’ll have a good time doing it!
September, What the men did……….
Starting with the Big half in London several of us returned to have another crack at the London Marathons little brother and soak up the atmosphere of the big city, those that did were,
Paul Davison: 1:29:50
Rob Dyer: 1:39:53
James Eyre: 1:31:21
Luke Falconer: 1:34:22
Charlie Keitch: 1:30:41
Chris Smith 1:42:42
Flynn Eyre: 1:24:38 (PB)
Jon Mann: 1:29:42
Slightly more local was the inaugural St Helena hospice half marathon a race the hospice is planning on making an annual event. So, if you missed this year then keep an eye out for next years date, the blues that stood at the first ever start line were,
Richard Hudd: 1:36:58
Paul Hughes: 1:40:47
Steffan Hoggan Steele: 1:55:01
Paul Arnold: 1:58:11
Martin Cotton: 2:12:43
Dave Jones: 2:32:21
Tim Clifton 2:16:32
Another local half marathon but one that is slightly more established is the Pleshey half, only a couple of Bentley men took on this rural race this race but both managed to dip under that magical 1hr 30min mark,
Charlie Keitch 1:28:49
Steve Bullen 1:27:15 (pb)
Were not done with half marathons yet as we now head to Suffolk for the Ipswich half marathon the boys that stood in the shadow of Portman road stadium before heading round the Suffolk streets were,
Jon Mann 1:25:50
Gerry Gladden 1:31:48 (pb)
Paul Davidson 1:38:52
Stefan Hogan-Steele 1:43:03
Rob Dyer 1:55:34
Not a half marathon this but a relay race where new member Richard Allen took on this event for the second time in two years. This comprised a swim around the lake, a hilly bike ride and then then five laps running around the lake. Richard managed a seven minute improvement on his time last year.
Steve Bullen was in action again at the Ingatestone 5 earning himself a trophy for coming first in his age category and earning a little cash whilst doing so.
Runner of the Month (ROM)
So, we have finally come to the bit you all eagerly scroll down to ignoring all the news and updates, we should put this bit at the top and save your fingers the work.
This runner has really focused on their running since joining Great Bentley and is a regular at many of our training sessions. All this effort has paid off as he managed to bag two pb’s in one week. The first was at the Ipswich half marathon with a time of 1hr 31mins 48secs and the other was at Felixstowe Parkrun with a time of 19mins 27secs, those are some fantastic times which is why Gerry Gladden you are this months runner of the month!
WHAT THE LADIES DID
Once again, the GBRC ladies have been busy in September. The month started with two half marathons on the same day: the Big Half and the Harwich Half. At the first of these we were represented by Sarah Davison and Caroline Dyer and more locally in Harwich we had Louise Balfour, Yolande Arnold, Magdalena Komorowska, Andrea James, and Mary Ann Taylor.
That same weekend we also had the Essex Way Relay, where GBRC entered two mixed teams and the female representation in those included Vicky Presland, Helen Carey, Claudia Keitch, Milly Presland, Meera Rajoo-Oakley, Donna Harris, and Debs Hollidge. Of course, we also must salute our organiser, Lisa Briggs.
Moving further into September there were even more half marathons:
· At the Great North Run were Donna Evans and Rachel Rodgers;
· At Pleshy Half were Mary Ann Taylor and Rosie Youngs;
· Helen Coe took on the challenge of Keswick Half; and
· Ealing Half was conquered by Donna Harris.
Preferring a trip to the seaside was Lisa Briggs who took on the Felixstowe Coastal 10; and preferring a trip into the sea was Lorna who did the swim leg of the Aldeburgh Triathlon as part of a family team.
Also swimming this month was Vicky Presland, who completed her London Classics with the Swim Serpentine; and Katie Collin completed the Maldon Triathlon
Rodger’s trail series came to a close, well done to all the ladies who took part in that, I hope it was enjoyed by all.
Parkrun was also well attended in September with our ladies visiting Maldon, Haughmond Hill, Prudhoe, Warszawa-praga, and Llangollen.
Finally, hats’ off to the ladies who took on a September Marathon:
· Magdalena Komorowska ran the Warsaw course in a time very close to a PB.
· And even further from home, Donna Harris took on the Vilnius marathon, Donna finished her race in a PB time despite it being NOT FLAT.
RUNNER OF THE MONTH
Lisa and my Runner of the Month for September is someone who has clearly been training hard. She showed up for the GBRC team at the Essex Way relay, smashing leg nine. She also went on to set PB times in both half marathon and marathon this month. So very well done to Donna Harris!
Great Bentley Running Club 