Year: 2020

In a welcomed return to racing Charlie Jones, of Western Tempo & Donna Morris, of Builth and District Running Club showed they were top of the tree by clinching victories in the 10-kilometre Christmas race, hosted by Hereford Couriers.

The race, at a reduced capacity for 2021 due to coronavirus saw 167 runners take part in the event around the rolling country lanes of Breinton on Monday 28th December.

Jones had an impressive run leading from start to finish crossed the line to set a winning time of 33 minutes and 08 seconds, over a minute ahead of teammate David Aubrey, who finished in a time of 34 mins and 14 with Malvern Buzzard youngster Malachi Cashmore close behind to finish in 3rd place crossing the line in 34 minutes and 52 seconds. 

In the females race Builth Runner Morris, straight off the back of a night shift won in a fantastic time of 38 minutes and 44 seconds, ahead of Croft Ambrey duo Kelly Bowen and Alice Godding who both performed well to finish in 41 minutes and 05 seconds and 41 minutes and 18 seconds respectively. 

The Couriers took the Men’s team prize after fine personal bests performances by Ryan Knight, Will Maul and Darren Broady who took a clear victory in the men’s team competition, with the impressive Croft Ambrey female team of Kelly Bowen, Alice Godding and Roxane Woodfield help the team in blue clinch the women’s team award.

There was also a host of category prizes for the veteran and junior sections.

Jon Edwards, Couriers Club Secretary said “During these tough times it was great to give the runners of Herefordshire something to smile about, we were delighted to host this event & with all the tier changes and restrictions it really become a celebration of running in the county, a big thankyou to our team of volunteers, our race partners & Hereford Rugby Club who all played their part in making this event a success. 

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Jon went on to say “If you raced on Monday or just looking to join a friendly bunch of runners come along to our ever popular socially distanced club sessions every Tuesday & Thursday 6:30pm at Hereford Leisure Centre”

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Congratulations to everyone who took part in our Christmas 10k today, please find the provisional results listed below.

HC Xmas 10k 2020 Overall<——

HC Xmas 10k 2020 Age Group Results<——

The results are currently provisional, if you do have any queries please get in touch via email herefordcouriersrunningclub@hotmail.com

A big thanks to our fantastic duo of Jon Edwards & Ben Skinner who have worked around the clock with all the behind the scenes background work to get another race during 2020 under our belts & to our awesome army of volunteers, not just those who helped on the day but all the people who have helped out and supported to make today happen, without all of your work we would not be able to host these events.

A special mention to our race partners Hereford Rugby Club for being hosts for the race, Andrew Vickerman Race Timing and Bluewood Creative for all of your support to host this race!

Western Tempo duo Dominic James and Jemma Cooper took the men’s and women’s victories respectively.

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It was the first time runners returned to competitive race action since lockdown with the event having a host of Covid-19 safety measures in place.

After the opening lap a group of front runners were still together which the leaders completed in seven minutes and 36 seconds.

James made his winning move on the second lap and pulled out a winning margin of five seconds- completing the course in 15-03.

Western Tempo took the top three men’s podium places with Ben Price second (15-08) and Rhys Park finishing third (15-13).

In the women’s event the leaders were also together completing their opening of two laps in 8-51.

Cooper made her winning move on the finishing lap completing the course in 17-33 to win by 11 seconds.

A sprint finish for second saw Katie Synge-Curtis (Hereford Couriers) edge out Natalie Hackett (Hallamshire Harriers) with both runners finishing on 17-44.

The full race results can be found here: https://my.raceresult.com/158800/results?lang=en

The event is set to raise £3,000 to support the Samaritans in the work they do, you can still donate to our just giving page by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jonwardhereford5k

LOCAL RUNNERS Eliot Taylor and Katie Synge-Curtis came out on top in the 3-race Couriers Virtual 5k Series.

The race was a first for the Hereford Couriers who had to change their plans due to Covid-19 and change their popular 5k-series to a virtual run with races taking part in July, August & September. 

Over 290 runners took part in the Virtual series from all across the UK, competing virtually by creating their own course and tracking their run while maintaining the government’s social distancing guidelines.

In the men’s race, Cheltenham Harrier member Taylor was the fastest recording a times of 15:58, 16:05 & 15:53 to take the series win

He was chased virtually all the way by Presetigne Pacers Runner Sam Butler who recorded 3 consecutive Personal Best performances to take 2nd place, with Hereford Ghost Runners’ youngster Henry White picking up 3rd place.

Quickest female over the 3 races was Hereford Couriers’ own Synge-Curtis who finished in first position in all 3 races recording times of 18:35, 18:27 & 17:57.

Hot on Katie’s tail was Ludlow Runners’ Claire Thomas who recorded 3 second place finishes closely followed by Samantha Harris of Forest of Dean AC who took 3rd place overall. 

The age categories were hotly contested with a number of runners going into the final race in contention, it was great to see so many runners involved representing a whole host of clubs from across the county and beyond

Men’s first placed category winners: 

Senior Eliot Taylor Cheltenham and County Harriers; Junior Henry White, Hereford Ghost Runners; V40 James Rose, Severn AC; V45 David Bannister, Ledbury & District Harriers ; V50 Paul Mammatt, Hereford Triathlon Club; V55 Martin Carter, Hay Hotfooters; V60 Alan Whitby, Tewkesbury Running Club; V65 Alan Robertson, Forest of Dean AC; V70 Steve Herington , Hereford Couriers; V80 Bryan Markham, Croft Ambrey RC.

Female first placed category winners: 

Senior Katie Synge-Curtis, Hereford Couriers; Junior Charlotte Broadhurst, Kidderminster and Stourport; FV35 Claire Thomas, Ludlow Runners; V40 Samantha Harris, Forest of Dean AC; V45 Bronwen Tyler-Jones, Hereford Couriers; V50 Linda White; V55 Suzanne Powell, Croft Ambrey RC; V60 Kathy Ratcliffe; V70 Margaret Crosswell, Worcester AC, Wheelchair Julie Lawrenson.

In the team events both the male and female prizes headed to the Couriers, The Couriers men’s team of Ryan Knight, Andy Tyler, Darren Broady, Will Maul & Ben Skinner helped the Couriers take first place ahead of Hereford Couriers B team (2nd) and Forest of Dean AC (3rd).  

The female Couriers team of Katie Synge-Curtis, Izzy Axford, Clare Mallender, Amy Smith & Kate Morris held off the challenge of Croft Ambrey AC (2nd) and Wye Valley Runners (3rd)

Next up for the Couriers is a welcomed return to racing with the Jon Ward 5k on the 4th October, entries are going fast so don’t delay sign up today, full details can be found here: https://herefordcouriers.com/club-races/jonward5k/

This October Hereford Couriers are proud to be hosting the first Jon Ward Hereford 5k in memory of ex-Courier Jon Ward who sadly passed away in June 2020.

Jon was a decorated runner, competing across every distance from 5k to Ultra Running. He was a proud member of the 100 Marathon Club and many locally knew him well, Jon was a Courier from 2010 – 2017

With running being such a huge part of his life, on Sunday 4th October the Couriers are proud to host the Jon Ward Hereford 5k with the aim to raise as much funds with all proceeds going to the Samaritans.  

The race will start and finish at Hereford Racecourse on Roman Road & will consist of 2 laps of the Bobblestock flat and fast course. The race will be chip-timed which will allow the potential of waves of runners to make sure everyone is as safe as possible. All participants will receive a finishers medal. The club is also offering runners who finish quicker than Jon’s 5k PB of 17:44 the option to win back their entry fee. The race will follow UK & England Athletics strict guidelines in relation to covid-19.  

Hereford Couriers Club Secretary Jon Edwards said ‘The club are incredibly proud to host this event in memory of Jon. He was a fantastic runner, who inspired so many others. Due to the current lack of races due to the covid-19 everyone at the club is looking forward to competing once again, and we hope to raise a lot of money for a fantastic cause’

For full details, terms and conditions & to enter visit https://herefordcouriers.com/club-races/jonward5k/ the club have also set up a Just Giving Page for the event so please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jonwardhereford5k any donations would be gratefully received. 

Couriers hosted the 2nd of its 3-race virtal 5k series this week with many scorching performances on a very hot week.

The race had 260 runners taking part from all across the UK completing virtually while maintaining the government’s social distancing guidelines.

In the men’s race, the series now has a new leader in Cheltenham Harriers runner Eliot Taylor who was the fastest in race 2, recorded a time of 16 minutes and 05 seconds, ahead of second place James Rodgers of Clapham Chasers’ in a time of 16:11 with Sam Butler of Presteigne Pacers in third, clocking another personal best of 16:15.

Quickest female was Couriers’ own Katie Synge-Curtis who made it 2 wins on the bounce to remain in first place in the overall series finishing in 18 minutes and 27 seconds, second was Ludlow Runners Claire Thomas who had a superb run going sub-19 minutes in 18:56, In third place Kidderminster and Stourport runner Charlotte Broadhurst who picked up a new personal best of 19:38.

The final race of the series is in September, plenty still up for grabs for overall series prizes for all age categories & team prizes with all participants receiving a medal for completing the series. 

See the full results & current series standings after 2 races below:

Runners Charlie Jones & Katie Synge-Curtis came out on top in the first of 3 races of the Hereford Couriers Virtual 5k Series which happened last week.

Local running club Couriers organised the 3-race virtual series this July, August & September to replace the cancelled 5k series with over 270 runners taking part from all across the UK completing virtually over while maintaining the government’s social distancing guidelines.

In the men’s race, in-form Cheltenham Harrier Jones was the fastest recorded a time of 15 minutes and 27 seconds, ahead of Harriers’ teammate Eliot Taylor 15.58 with Sam Butler of Presteigne Pacers in third, clocking a personal best of 16:27.

Quickest female was Couriers’ own Katie Synge-Curtis who finished in 18 minutes and 35 seconds, second was Ludlow Runners Claire Thomas 19.22 closely followed by Samantha Harris of Forest of Dean AC in 19:30.

The race series continues in August and September, plenty still up for grabs for overall series prizes for all age categories & team prizes with all participants receiving a medal for completing the series. 

See the full results below:

Hereford Couriers took on runners from 58 clubs across the country in the Cardiff Gait 15 Hour Challenge last weekend, The event was organised by neighbors Builth and District Running Club with aim to see how far clubs could run between 5am- 8pm on Sunday. 

The Couriers fielded 2 strong teams in the event, with each runner taking an hour slot. The club’s A team finished in 5th place overall with an overall mileage of 130.51, which was helped by a fantastic performance from Barry Reynolds who covered 9.98 miles his hour slot, Barry was joined by Ryan Knight, Andy Tyler, Dean Jones, Darren Broady and Ben Skinner who all recorded over 9 miles on their legs of the event, 

Paul Jones, Graeme Walker, Izzy Axford, Kyle Dovey, Sheryl Evans, Ryan Lawrence, Mark Hookins & Jake Cullum-Hollins all put in some great miles to help the team to snatch a 5th place finish. 

The Clubs B Team finished in an impressive 36th place overall & 4th out of all the B Teams in the competition, Naomi Prosser headed up the B Team by covering 7.93 miles,  Naomi was joined by Paul Jones, Ailsing Freeth, Rob Connell, Clare Mallender, Paul Davies, Chris Smart & Nigel Reade who all had superb runs in recording over 7 miles, with Ally Ballantyne, Gitta Ferguson, Bryrony Dean, Paul Gilbert, Bev Tyler, Kirsty Jenkins & Steve Hobson who put in some great mileage to support the team past the finishing line. 

The Couriers had some tough competition against some great performances by a number of local clubs here is how they all fared,

• 5th Hereford Couriers (A) 130.51 miles:
• 7th Monross Trailblazers 128.5;
• 12th Croft Ambrey (A) 123.28;
• 22nd Hay Hotfooters 114.76;
• 36th Hereford Couriers (B) 104.65;
• 37th Presteigne Pacers 103.92;
• 39th Croft Ambrey (B) 103.06
• 41st Wye Valley Runners 102.39.

Hereford Couriers are proud to launch the Virtual 5k Series starting in July.

After the cancellation of the 2020 5k series due to the uncertainty around COVID-19, the club are pleased to announce the launch of the Virtual 5k Series 2020

• Race 1: W/C 6th July
• Race 2: W/C 3rd August
• Race 3: W/C 7th September

We have an awesome bespoke finishers medal for all participants along with full results and overall series prizes.

£10 for all 3 races

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

We are inviting runners from across the country to take part, you can race anywhere you like on the selected weeks above.

We’ve tried to make it as simple as possible for runners to submit your activity so we have 2 options is to follow Hereford Couriers on Strava along with tagging us on the activity or you can send us a screenshot/ copy of your activity to Herefordcouriersrunningclub@hotmail.com, please see the T&C’s below for information about elevation, race days and cut off’s etc.

Full race results will be published on our club website and we’ve even got a bespoke series medal for all finishers, which will be posted to your home address before the September races, ready for those post race photos! 

Everyone is welcome.

• Race Dates: 
  • w/c 6th July 2020 
  • w/c 3rd August 2020  
  • w/c 7th September 2020
• Starting Time: whatever suits you, just complete one 5k each week 
• Entries: Entry Fees: £10, Race Limit 400, Minimum age 12. 
• Venue: Anywhere you like 
• Distance/ Terrain: 5k & Any terrain you want
• Prizes: Trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd placed Male & Female finishers for overall series, please see our website for more information.  
• Medals: We have a bespoke medal for all runners who complete all 3 races. 
• Submitting your run: We have made 2 easy ways for you to submit your time, you can either follow ’Hereford Couriers’ on strava and tag us in the comment part or you can send us a screenshot or link to your strava/ garmin and email it to hereforcouriersrunningclub@hotmail.com
• Results: Will be uploaded on the clubs website https://herefordcouriers.com/club-races/couriers-virtual-5k-series/

Terms And Conditions

• The entrant must agree to the following terms and conditions.
• Social distancing any and all government rules must be adheared to at the time of your race. 
• Runs must be 5km (3.1miles) in length (reasonable GPS margin of error).
• Races must be run between 00:00am on Monday and 19:00 on Sunday of the weeks listed above. 1 attempt per person.
• Each individual runner must upload their Strava/Garmin performance and either tag Hereford Couriers or email us your result – fallure to do this will mean your result will not be recorded. 
• Runs should be named as ‘Couriers Virtual 5k (Race 1/2/3) on Strava.
• Results will be based on “time elapsed” rather than “moving time” – try not to stop your watch during your run!
• Routes with significant negative elevation will not be counted (not all downhill routes)

Important Race Announcement

Hereford Couriers have been closely monitoring the situation surrounding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, and we are saddened to announce that The Hereford Couriers 5k Series scheduled for July, August and September has been postponed until 2021.

This has been an extremely difficult decision for us here at the club, however the health of our runners, volunteers, event staff and the local community is our main priority at this time.  We know that many of our runners have been training hard during lockdown, and we understand and share the disappointment with this outcome.

This would have been the first race on our new course and like everyone we were looking forward to hosting this race. 

We are looking to run the race in the spring 2021 with the provisional dates of Weds 7th April, Weds 5th May & Weds 2nd June & for everyone who has signed up to the 2020 event we will automatically defer these entries to the 2021 series. 

However, we are pleased to announce today that we are hosting our very own virtual 5k series during July, Aug and September, the virtual series will be £10 for the 3 races and we will have full results, a bespoke medal for every finisher and prizes for all of the overall series winners!

We are offering a free place to everyone who had signed up for the inital series (please keep an eye out for an email confirmation from Entry Central in the next 24 hours) don’t forget to check out the full details of this event here: https://herefordcouriers.com/club-races/couriers-virtual-5k-series/

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us. 
Stay safe and keep on running. 
Hereford Couriers.