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Swindon Harriers official, Foundation Park, County Ground Lane, Swindon (2026)

08/10/2026

DANIEL Griffiths smashed his personal best in the Cardiff half marathon on Sunday.

The 22-year-old finished 35th in a top class field in a time of 68ins 15secs, carving 1min 46secs off his previous PB set in Bath last year.

It was the first time Daniel has run inside 70 minutes and it puts him second in the club rankings for 2026 behind Ben Cole’s 66:21 in the Bath half earlier this year.

05/10/2026

THE club’s young athletes were out in force at the ERRA Autumn Road Relays fielding 14 full teams and three incomplete ones.

In terms of results the U14 girls achieved the highest finishing place with an excellent 11th.

Lyra Leach gave the squad a super start placing fifth on stage one recording one of the fastest times of the day. Molly McMeeking and Alice Averies gave great support.

For the boys the under 16s made the top 20 in 16th overall. Leo Kyson ran a very impressive time on the opening stage with solid back-up from Joey Burdekin and Jack Saunders.

The talented U18 mens team of Finley Byrne, James Mayneord and Jesse Bryant were just outside the top 20 but all three will be eligible for this age group again next year.

Likewise the U18 women’s trio of Elsie Scrase, Freya McMeeking and Ellie Charlesworth will have gained great experience from taking part in the event as will all of the young athletes who proudly represented the club in this competition.

Our excellent photo coverage is once again courtesy of Spencer Leak. Thanks Spencer.

ERRA Autumn Road Relays, Sutton Park, Birmingham

U18 men: 21 Swindon A 37:07 (Finley Byrne 12:34, James Mayneord 12:10, Jesse Bryant 12:23);
39 Swindon B 38:21 (Alex Leak 13:01, Joshua Jennings 12:37, Dylan Necrews 12:42);
50 Swindon C 40:01 (Daniel McCavera 13:18, Toby Wood 13:23, Ben Conway 13:19). Incomplete Swindon D (Olly Hughes 13:22, Noah Towers 14:15).

U16 boys: 16 Swindon A 38:58 (Leo Kyson 12:23, Joey Burdekin 13:48, Jack Saunders 12:46);
33 Swindon B 40:25 (Doug Kirby 13:10, Corey Cox 13:42, Peter Eccleston 13:32);
73 Swindon C 45:05 (Alfie Dennis 14:59, Sebastian Wright 14:21, Lewis Parker 15:44).

U14 boys: 23 Swindon 44:00 (Daniel Rose 14:19, Lincoln Blackmore 13:53, Atticus Craig 15:46).
54 Swindon B 50:59 (Tomek Vockings 17:10, Miles Parker 16:16, Zachary Fisher 17:32).
Incomplete: Swindon C (Ollie Davis 17:59, Evan Rowlatt 17:42).

U18 women: 26 Swindon A 46:18 (Elsie Scrase 15:11, Freya McMeeking 15:56, Ellie Charlesworth 15:10);
Incomplete: Swindon B (Izzie Moore 16:22, Sophie Collis 17:02).

U16 girls: 24 Swindon A 45:31 (Bethany Broen 15:09, Olivia Porton 14:55, Pippa Wall 15:26);
42 Swindon B 48:02 (Charissa Griffiths-Clack 16:02, Florence Jeffries 15:53; Ella Hayward-O’Neill 16:07);
58 Swindon C 51:17 (Sophia Kirk 15:17, Amy Harris 16:58, Lily Askwith 19:01).

U14 girls: 11 Swindon 45:51 (Lyra Leach 14:22, Molly McMeeking 16:09, Alice Averies 15:18);
45 Swindon B 52:38 (Matylda Krause 16:21, Lilly Pardon 19:28, Imogen Beard 16:48).

04/10/2026

TEAM manager Simon Dill has seen the senior men deliver some outstanding performances i in recent years but even he was left searching for the superlatives after the latest success in the ERRA Autumn Road Relay Championships at Sutton Park, Birmingham.

The team of Runner 1, Harry Edwards, Ben Cole, Alex Bampton, Ben Lines and Simon Byrne finished 12th, achieved the club’s best ever result in the event.

Every singe one of the A team ran quicker than at the Midlands two weeks ago, when they won silver behind Western Tempo, while the reserve squad also rose to the occasion with a performance of similar quality to finish sixth B team overall.

“I really feel like yesterday was our best ever result when you look at the quality of the other clubs around us,” said Simon.

“It was our best finish ever by 12 places and everyone ran quicker than at the Midlands. In fact, the overall time we ran on Saturday would have won us the Midlands title!

“Likewise everyone in the B team ran quicker as well.”

The first leg runner gave the team a terrific start finishing 14th on a red-hot opening stage, improving his time by 13 second with 16mins 07secs, the fastest of the day for the team.

Harry Edwards (+5secs) and Ben (+16secs) guided the team into 15th at halfway before a super run by Alex (+13secs) lifted us into 11th.

Then Ben Lines, who was promoted into the team in place of Matt Woodward, stepped forward to show the spirit of the team.

“I have never seen anyone hang in like Linesy did and he was in a right state at the finish when he came back to the club tent,” added Simon.

“He gave it everything and he really loves relays.”

Ben slashed 17 seconds off the time he ran for the B team at the Midlands and set up Simon (+16secs) for a strong finish and a final time of 1hr 39mins 28secs, compared to 1:40.30 two weeks earlier.

“It was a really fantastic day and everyone outperformed themselves,” said Simon.

“Everyone upped their game and to me it just felt like it was the first time we attacked the National properly.”

A final word to Ben Cole, who has run the event numerous times and 12 months ago helped his old club Tonbridge win the silver medals.

“I thought finishing top 15 would be an excellent result for us but to get 12th was incredible,” said Ben.

ERRA Autumn Road Relays, Sutton Park, Birmingham

Senior men (6x5.1k): 12 Swindon A 1:39.28 (Leg 1 Runner 16:07, Harry Edwards 16:55, Ben Cole 16:25, Alex Bampton 16:30, Ben Lines 16:47, Simon Byrne 16:40).

54 Swindon B (6th B team) 1:50.14 (Luke Byrne, 17:37, James McGough 18:28, Sebastian Reynolds 20:02, Fletcher Hart 17:52, Oliver Lewis 18:13, Isaac McAdam 18:00).

Once again a big thanks to Spencer Leak for his photo coverage.

03/10/2026

THERE is just one change in the line-up for the club’s senior men’s team at the English National Autumn Road Relay Championships today.

Matt Woodward, who ran the second leg for the team (pictured) that won brilliant silver medals at the Midlands two weeks ago, is out with Ben Lines promoted from the B team.

Otherwise the A team is the same with Alex Bampton, Simon Byrne, Ben Cole, Harry Edwards and Harry Woods all back in action.

After their brilliant performance around the Sutton Park course last month team manager Simon Dill is hoping that they can now force their way into the top 20 on the national stage for the first time.

Twelve months ago the team of Ben Lines, Harry Edwards, Simon, Harry Woods, Fletcher Hart and Matt finished 24th.

In 2024 it was 32nd, 30th in 2023, 34th in 2022 and back in 2019 - there were no championships in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid - the senior men placed 37th.

Simon Byrne is the only survivor from the team that finished back then who is racing for the A team today and for the record he finished 40th on the opening stage clocking 18:14.

It is also good to see the club field a strong B team comprising Luke Byrne, Fletcher Hart, Ollie Lewis, Isaac McAdam, James McGough and Seb Reynolds. Interestingly both Luke and Isaac also ran for the the A team seven years ago.

02/10/2026

IT was exciting to see a new event held at the club’s headquarters recently with the first in-house combined events competition.

Members of the combined events group got together to compete in a pentathlon, which included sprint hurdles, high jump, shot putt, long jump and 800m.

“It was an opportunity for the group to compete in pentathlon and for many it was their first time doing so,” said coach Kat Silto.

The athletes who took park included Amelie Dodgson, Jack Fawkes, Jack Saunders, Sam Lyne, Sophie Woolford, Matylda Krause, Annabel Reichert and Darcey Silto-Baker.

“I wanted to say well done to all the athletes for putting all their hard work from training into practice,” added Kat.

30/09/2026

LUCY Morrison has quickly shrugged off the below-par result at the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sunday.

Going into the race in the best shape of her life Lucy and coach Bryan Clinton were optimistic that she could challenger her personal best of 2hrs 43mins 35secs which she set in London earlier this year.

But the marathon is notoriously difficult to predict and on the day Lucy had to settle for 2:51.16.

“The run was obviously not what I was going for and that is a bit frustrating,” said Lucy, who was part of the Puma Project 3 team.

“Everything was good leading up to the race and on the morning I felt fine. But as soon as I started I did not feel my best and by 10k I knew it was not going to be my day.

“I did nothing differently from what I did before London but the legs just felt a bit flat. But sometimes you have an off-day and these things happen.”

But to put things into perspective it is worth recalling that barely two years ago Lucy was running a PB of 3:18.31 in Chicago. Then after joining the Harriers and linking up with Bryan she has run 3:01.30 (Manchester) and 2:48.32 (Amsterdam) in 2025 and this year smashed her PB in London before Sunday’s race.

“Things don’t always go to plan and this is just a slight back-step but you can’t run personal bests all the time,” added Lucy.

“The fitness is still there and I just need to re-set now and give it another real go in the Spring.”

But in the meantime Lucy revealed she already has an entry for the New York marathon on November 1st but hasn’t targeted that for a fast time.

“I am just going to New York to enjoy the event and soak up the atmosphere,” said Lucy.

“But first I need to recover from Sunday.”

29/09/2026

BEN Cole retained his Swindon half marathon in style on Sunday.

Ben gave his support to the race when it was re-launched 12 months ago and was happy to be back on the start line even though it falls in a busy period between the Midlands and National Six-Stage Road Relays.

“I was quite keen to do it because it is good to have a local race back in the town,” said Ben.

“I think we all want local races and it would be a shame not to support it when it is being organised.

“I knew it wouldn’t be a PB attempt and I was just looking for a good effort between the relays.”

Ben said he had Harriers clubmates encouraging him along the route but also reminding him not to ‘cook my legs too much!’ With the Nationals coming up on Saturday.

Ben didn’t have to dig too deep to win, finishing over four minutes clear of clubmate Michael Passmore as the pair clocked 70:20 and 74:51 respectively. Twelve months ago Ben won in 69:56.

His big target for the end of the year will be the Valencia marathon in December.

James McGough, who will be running the Amsterdam marathon on October 18th, also made the top 10 in ninth (80:50) with David Sirrelle just two places behind clocking 81:31.

Simon Dill, who has his sights set on the Frankfurt marathon on October 25th, was 34th (86:41)

David Kowalski opted to make his half marathon debut and the 17-year-old was rewarded with a time of 87.09 to finish second in the U20 age group.

Also on his half debut fellow junior Ben Charlesworth recorded 88:54 and another young athlete stepping well out of his comfort zone was 400m specialist Al Virgilio, who clocked 2:02.09 on his first attempt at the distance.

Leading female from the club was Katie New (2:13.00) while middle distance coach Kevin Buttle finished 2:10.02 and 14th in the over 65s masters age group.

Other Harriers: 49 Kurt Clarence (M35 8th) 1:28.37; 62 Dean Firth (M40 13th) 1:30.02; 77 Ian Spencer (M50 6th) 1:31.22; 86 Richard Newman (M45 10th) 1:32.14; 202 Matt Parfitt (M45 20th) 1:40.44; 374 James Mclaughlin (M40) 1:47.50; 419 Rob New (M50) 1:49.52; 450 Oliver Cooke 1:49.56; 631 Matthew Prosser (M50) 1:55.40.

Full results: www.results.runthrough.co.uk

Photos from our own Spencer Leak.

23/09/2026

THE club is delighted that our own Ray Bell has been recognised for his contribution to the sport at the recent England Athletics South West Regional Volunteer Awards.
The awards ceremony was held at the Devon Hotel, Exeter, at the weekend and Ray was declared a winner in the Unsung Heroes category.
Club chairman Howard Moscrop said Ray fully deserved this recognition for his contribution to Swindon Harriers.
“I have been with club since moving to Swindon nearly 40 year ago and Ray was already established, having brought his own children to the club,” said Howard.
“My first recollection was him timekeeping at league matches and open meetings.
“Since then, there is hardly any aspect of running the club that he has not been involved in.
“Most of these are unseen, which is very unfortunate, however as Chairman I can very openly say, that the club would not survive or have developed in the way it has without his time, energy, enthusiasm, reliability and dedication.”
Ray currently serves as the club’s treasurer but his contribution extends into almost every aspect of club life, including facility management, competition administration, membership systems and event organisation.
Ray’s knowledge and reliability make him the person members turn to whenever help is needed.
Through his dedication and selfless service, Ray has become an irreplaceable figure within Swindon athletics. Thank you for your service Ray and congratulations on this award.

21/09/2026

TEAM manager John Dill has praised the contribution of all the club’s young athletes as they showed up in force at the Midland Counties Young Athletes Road Relays at Sutton Park.
Two medals - silver for the U18 men and bronze for the U18 women - plus two fourth places and another two top 10 finishes was a handsome return for the A teams.
But it wasn’t just the A teams that impressed. Three of our B teams came out on top along with two C teams and two D teams while three of our B teams finished second and one C team was second and another third.
“Medals were the bonus but it was all about the performance,” said John.
“It was absolutely brilliant and it shows the progress we are making in the club and the investment that we have put into the junior section with the amount of coaches and the dedication and enthusiasm of the young athletes and their parents.
“The enthusiasm of our athletes is at an all-time high. It is all about the team and it is delivering in spades.”
For the U18 men James Mayneord got the team off to a flier finishing fourth on the opening stage with a super time of 12mins 09secs.
Such was the quality of that opening stage that the top four fastest times of the day overall were recorded on it.
Finley Byrne took over and lifted the team into third with 12:41 and Jesse Bryant maintained the momentum to move into second with 12:36.
What a great team effort by the club’s under 18 women as well to finish on the podium.
Beth Humphrey got the team off to a flier by winning stage one in a scorching time of 13:43, which ultimately was the third fastest time of the day overall.
Elsie Scrase handled the pressure of taking over in front really well dropping just one place, to eventual winners Stoke, as she clocked a time of 14:58.
Ellie Charlesworth was on the final leg and she too ran excellently, losing just one place to Mansfield before bringing the girls home to a well-deserved place on the podium over a minute clear of their nearest rivals
The second squad of Freya McMeeking, Molly Lyne and Izzie Moore finished second B team in 12th overall.
Jack Saunders got the U16s boys team off to a terrific start clocking 12:52 for fifth place on stage one.
Douglas Kirby maintained that place with 13:51 and then Leo Kyson clawed back one place with a batting 13:11 on the final stage though the gap to Wolverhampton & Bilston of 45 seconds was too big to bridge.
Such is the strength of the club in this age group that the trio of Joey Burdekin (13:33), Peter Eccleston (13:42) and Corey Cox (14:05) finished ninth and top B team.
Not only that but Lewis Parker, Sebastian Wright and Ryan Pocock were first C team in 22nd overall and we were the only club to finish a D team so congratulations to Max Necrews, Alfie Dennis and Reuben Kane.
To finish off a great showing of the male teams the U14 boys trio of Daniel Rose (14:26), with the 16th fastest time overall on the day, Lincoln Blackmore (15;11) and Atticus Craig (15:47) ran solidly to finish seventh.
Tomek Vockings, Miles Parker and Finley Garrett were fifth B team in 26th overall while the trio of Zachary Fisher, Ollie Davis and Theo Cox did really well to finish third C team in 30th overall.
The U16s girls race saw the club’s B team finish ahead of the A team. Bethany Brien (15:14), with the 13th fastest time overall and Olivia Porton (15:19) had a great battle on stage one to finish close together while Pippa Wall (15:45) ensured the A team stayed just ahead of B runner Florence Jeffries (15:50) on stage two.
But the 10 seconds advantage held by the A team didn’t deter Charissa Griffiths-Clack as she tore round in 15:46 to secure seventh overall with Sophia Kirk (16:25) just behind in eighth.
Some great personal battles but overall what a testimony to the depth of talent in this age group as well
Furthermore the trio of Amy Harris, Lily Askwith and Amelia Smith were second C team while Lilly Paddon, Issy Goodyear and Ella Hayward were first D team. Terrific stuff.
The U14 girls gave it everything but suffered the frustration of just missing out on the podium.
Lyra Leach made a terrific start clocking 14:42 for third place on the opening stage. It was also the third fastest time of the day overall for Lyra.
Molly McMeeking ran a solid 16:25 and Alice Averie was only five seconds slower with 16:30.
The trio of Matylda Krause, Imogen Beard and Sophie Woolford finished a creditable 10th overall and second B team, just nine seconds behind Rugby.

U18 men (3x3.88k): 1 Mansfield Harriers 36:21; 2 Swindon Harriers 37:27; 3 Charnwood AC 37:44.
B teams: 1 Swindon 38:56 (Ben Conway, Dylan Necrews, Josh Jennings).
C teams: 1 Swindon 40:45 (Daniel McCavera, Olly Hughes, Toby Wood).

U16 boys (3x3.88k): 1 Solihull& Small Heath AC 38:04; 2 Rugby & Northampton 39:09; 3 Wolverhampton & Bilston 39:10; 4 Swindon Harriers 39:55.
B teams: 1 Swindon 41:22. C teams: 1 Swindon 44:53. D teams: 1 Swindon 47:05.

U14 boys (3x3.88k): City of Stoke 42:03.
7 Swindon 45:25
B teams: 5 Swindon 50:33. C teams: 3 Swindon 54:11.

U18 women (3x3.88k): 1 City of Stoke 41:29; 2 Mansfield Harriers 43:46; 3 Swindon Harriers 44:04.
B teams: 2 Swindon 50:51.

U16 girls: 1 Nuneaton Harriers 44:20
8 Swindon A 47:25
B teams: 1 (7th overall) Swindon B 46:55
C teams: 2 Swindon 56:03
D teams: 1 Swindon 57:47.

U14 girls: 1 Wolverhampton & Bilston 45:16; 2 Solihull & Small Heath 47:04; 3 Rugby & Northampton 47:14; 4 Swindon 47:38.
B teams: 2 Swindon 51:43

Once again photos kindly supplied by Spencer Leak.
Full results: www.results.frsys.uk

20/09/2026

TEAM manager Simon Dill summed it up succinctly: “It was a brilliant day.”

Simon was reflecting on the silver medals won by the senior men at the Midland Counties Autumn Road Relays at Sutton Park, Birmingham.

“Everyone ran so well and it was definitely one of my proudest moments as the team manager,” added Simon.

“Obviously the bronze in the Midlands 12-Stage in the Spring is something we will always look back to as our first medal in the Midlands but that seemed to have much more drama.

“Yesterday felt more comfortable.”

It is the first time the club’s men have made the podium in the six-stage format having finished 24th, ninth, eighth, fifth twice in succession and then fourth last year since tackling the competition.

Make no mistake, this represents a huge stride forward as they didn’t just edge their way onto the podium but finished a very safe second and were challenging Western Tempo the whole way.

“I think Western Tempo were saying that they were coasting but from what I saw that certainly wasn’t the case,” added Simon.

“It all adds a bit more to our rivalry!”

Simon opted for Harry Edwards instead of Ben Lines on leg one and he ran a solid 17:00 to leave the club in 15th.

“Toe be fair Harry was furious as he was 30 seconds down on the last time he ran this leg but it was a good start,” said Simon.

“Woody then took us up to ninth and then we had Harry Woods, Ben Cole and Alex Bampton, which is as good a three runners as you can get for this race.

“Harry was one second quicker than he ran in the 12-stage and it was another brilliant time.”

Indeed, Harry’s time of 16mins 20secs lifted the club from ninth to third and such was the quality of his run that it earned him seventh fastest time overall of the day, only six seconds off the top three.

“Harry blasted through the field and then Ben hammered that advantage home and opened up the gap even further,” explained Simon.

“Alex had a lonely run but managed to make the gap bigger again and handed over to Simon.

“He tore off as he said he was running scared and at one stage he had closed to the gap on Western Tempo’s Dom James to 18 seconds but the gap was to big and their lead opened up again towards the end.”

There is certainly no disputing this is one of the finest results ever by the club’s senior men on the road or country and reflects the enormous progress made in the club over recent years.

“It puts our name out there and we heard other clubs talking about us now which is really good,” added Simon.

The second team also enjoyed a terrific day finishing 15th overall and second B team, coincidentally behind Western Tempo again.

The squad of Daniel Giles, James McGough, Ben Lines, who was unlucky to miss out on selection for the A team, Daniel Griffiths, Isaac McAdam and Fletcher Hart all ran strongly.

The C team comprised Theo Cinnamond, Oliver Lewis, Ben McIntyre, Kurt Clarence, Ian Spencer and Kieran Golding and they ensured another second place, behind Western Tempo again, placing 53rd overall.

The senior women’s team of Linda Charlesworth, Rachel Oram, Lucy Spencer and Freya Davidse finished 44th, with Freya delivering the quickest time of 21:58 on the final leg to claw back 10 places.

Senior men (6x5.43k): 1 Western Tempo 1:39.53; 2 Swindon Harriers 1:40.30; 3 Team Bath AC 1:42.43.

B teams: 1 Western Tempo 2 Swindon Harriers 1:47.30; 3 Team Bath AC 1:48.29.

C teams: 1 Western Tempo; Swindon Harriers 2:03.42

Senior women (4x5.43k): 1 Western Tempo 1:18.19; 2 Team Bath AC 1:19.00; 3 City of Stoke 1:20.17; 4 Charnwood AC 1:21.24; 5 Bristol & West AC 1:22.59

44th Swindon Harriers 1:40.42.

Thanks, as always, to Spencer leak for his photos.

Swindon Harriers official

08/10/2026

05/10/2026

04/10/2026

03/10/2026

02/10/2026

30/09/2026

29/09/2026

23/09/2026

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20/09/2026

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