The Senior Committee are responsible for the management and day-to-day running of Tyne Bridge Harriers. The committee meet regularly to organise how the club is run and ensure the aims and objectives of the club are achieved. Club members are welcome to attend committee meetings, details of which are included in the weekly members email.
The committee are all volunteers and give their time freely to support this club. This page details the roles and responsibility of each committee member, and how they can be contacted.
Chair
Name: Ian Pickett
What does your role involve: As Chair I am responsible for ensuring that the club (juniors and seniors) is run in line with our constitution and the expectations of England Athletics, the body we’re affiliated to. In practice this means chairing committee meetings, organising votes on key topics and chairing the AGM. By the nature of the role, I get involved in lots of different activities and provide support and guidance where I can.
Contact: chair@tynebridgeharriers.com
Vice Chair
Name: Matt Walker
What does your role involve: The role of the vice chair is to assist and support the Chair, and to help long term development of the club.
Contact: vicechair@tynebridgeharriers.com
Secretary
Name: Claire Norman
What does your role involve: My role is to provide administrative support to the Chair. In practice, this includes taking and distributing the meeting minutes, organising committee meetings, and handling club communications. The last of these of course includes the weekly email.
Contact: secretary@tynebridgeharriers.com
Membership Secretary
Name: Jess Hamilton
What does your role involve: I receive emails from people who want to try a session with TBH or want to join as a member, and guide them through the process. I am also responsible for organising the membership renewals each year and chasing people up for their subs!
Contact: membership@tynebridgeharriers.com
Treasurer
Name: Jessica Anderson
What does your role involve: My role involves dealing with financial aspects of running the club, paying invoices, receiving subscriptions and preparing annual accounts.
Contact: treasurer@tynebridgeharriers.com
Lead Welfare Officer
Name: Chris Huitson
What does your role involve: I am here to ensure everyone has a safe and positive experience with the club! Behind the scenes, I am responsible for writing and implementing the club’s safeguarding policies and procedures, as well as ensuring our leaders and coaches are fully qualified and equipped to deliver safe sessions.
My role involves managing and reporting welfare and safeguarding concerns, and ensuring we are taking all possible measures to create a positive environment.
Contact: welfare@tynebridgeharriers.com
Senior’s Head Coach
Name: Yamuna Thiru
What does your role involve: I have been involved in club athletics for more than 20 years and with TBH since 2014. I’ve benefited from great coaching advice over the years myself and wanted to share my knowledge and experience with others.
I completed my Leader in Running Fitness in 2020 and Coach in Running Fitness in 2023, and more recently have completed my event group endurance qualification. I’ve enjoyed putting the theory into practice and it’s been rewarding to see athletes achieve their goals. It brings me great joy to see our members enjoying training and improving fitness and performance whilst doing so.
One of my roles is to set quality training sessions which work on speed, strength, and endurance but not necessarily all at the same time! I am also here to support leaders and coaches to deliver the sessions and develop their roles.
Contact: coach@tynebridgeharriers.com
Men’s Captain
Name: Tom Charlton
What does your role involve: I captain the TBH men’s team, coordinating entries for various races (from road relays to cross country). I focus on boosting participation across all training groups and keeping us at the front of local events, while also encouraging racing at regional and national level.
Contact: menscaptain@tynebridgeharriers.com
Women’s Captain
Name: Becky Blain
What does your role involve: I captain the women’s team for the club, and work with Tom (Men’s Captain) to coordinate races. The women have great success, with members competing in Northern and National team competitions. We have also previously been crowned winners of the North East Cross Country Harrier League! It is my aim to continue with these great successes and increase participation at team events across all groups of the club. Let’s support one another in our running and ensure that everyone feels they can take part. If there’s anything I can do to help you then don’t hesitate to get in touch for a chat.
Contact: womenscaptain@tynebridgeharriers.com
Men’s Vice Captain
Name: Jacob Turner
What does your role involve: Hey! I’m Jacob. I joined the club in February 2023, became a Run Leader in September 2023 (for Groups 3, 4 & 5), and joined the committee in April 2025. I’m also known as the quiz host who once wore a duck outfit, so yes, I take fun just as seriously as running!
My focus is on helping members feel welcome and included, especially in the main club activities. I work closely with Tom (Men’s Captain), supporting his efforts by encouraging participation and being a listening ear for any concerns, particularly around Relays and Cross Country events, for members in Groups 3, 4 & 5.
Women’s Vice Captain
Name: Rachel Turnbell
What does your role involve: Hi, I’m Rachel and I’ve been a member of TBH for more than 10 years now. My role as Women’s Vice Captain is to support Becky in organising teams for relays and getting people out for cross country. I’ve always really enjoyed getting involved in these events so I’m keen to encourage everyone to give them a go. We have a fantastic lasses team and have seen some great success over the years, but I’m sure there’s much more to come.
Social Secretary
Name: Justine Carrion Weiss
What does your role involve: Hello! I am Justine, I am French and have been living in Newcastle since 2014, when I first came through a student exchange programme. I joined Tyne Bridge Harriers in October 2018 (yes, I am one of the post-Great North Run recruits!) and I have been the social secretary since April 2023.
My role is to coordinate and organise events for our club members. As a large club, we hope to offer members from all group levels an opportunity to meet, get to know each other and have fun! So if you ever have an event idea, or some thoughts you’d like to share, please, just get in touch!
Contact: social@tynebridgeharriers.com
Non-Executive Roles
Several club members have non-executive roles which contribute to the organisation and running of Tyne Bridge Harriers.
Welfare team: https://www.tynebridgeharriers.com/2025/03/26/meet-the-welfare-team/
Hannah Stewart: Bridges of the Tyne Race Director
Matthew Fair: Website Assistant
Alasdair Blain: Club Archivist (archivist@tynebridgeharriers.com)
Adam Scott-Jones: Results Coordinator
