Member of the Month, July 2026
Catey Bowles
Anyone who has spent time around Maidstone Harriers will know that Catey Bowles brings something special to the club.
Catey’s been chosen as our July Member of the Month for her positivity, motivation and all-round commitment to the Harriers. She has given so much to the club over the years and is always willing to help where she is needed.
That could mean coaching, volunteering, supporting members, helping at events, encouraging others at races or doing one of the many less visible jobs that keep club life moving. Including, of course, plenty of stints managing the bar on club nights.
Catey is one of those people who helps make Maidstone Harriers feel friendly, supportive and full of life.
Meet Catey
A Harrier Who Gets Stuck In
Catey’s contribution to the Harriers is broad, practical and always accompanied with a beaming smile.
Alongside the many ways she supports the club and its members, Catey has helped keep things moving behind the scenes as part of the committee and now plays an important role in the club’s triathlon programme as Head Tri Coach.
Clubs need people who will step forward, take responsibility and make things happen. Catey does that with warmth, humour and a genuine desire to help others enjoy being part of the club.
Parkrun, Volunteering and Community
Catey’s route into the Harriers began through parkrun, where she found the kind of supportive community that made running and triathlon feel more accessible.
Her parkrun profile shows just how much that community has become part of her story. To date she’s completed 247 parkruns, most often at Maidstone River Park, and has volunteered over 400 times, across a huge range of roles.
That includes 118 credits as Run Director, along with marshalling, timekeeping, results processing, first timers welcome, tail walking, barcode scanning and plenty more. It is a brilliant snapshot of someone who does not just take part in a community, but helps make it happen.
Her parkrun contribution doesn’t stop there, as she’s also volunteered many times for junior parkrun. She was part of the Run Director team at Park Wood junior parkrun and was one of the volunteers at the very first Mote Park junior parkrun.
The Tri Side of Life
Triathlon has become a big part of Catey’s Harriers story.
Through the club, she got back into swimming and cycling, found a supportive group of people and discovered how much she enjoys helping others feel included. Swimming, especially open water, is her thing, and that enthusiasm comes through in the way she talks about the sport.
As Head Tri Coach, Catey now helps others build confidence across swimming, cycling and running. That role feels like a natural fit. She understands that not everyone arrives feeling sporty, confident or ready-made for racing, and that makes her encouragement all the more valuable.
This year has also seen Catey back taking on events after missing out for many months with sciatica. Her return at the Tonbridge Sprint Triathlon, was a meaningful moment after a difficult spell out of action. She then followed it up with the East Grinstead Triathlon the following week.
Catey’s Tonbridge Sprint TriCatey’s East Grinstead Tri
David Thornby 10K and Spin Classes
Catey also took part in this year’s David Thornby 10K, the club’s own multi-terrain 10K – check out the results on NE Timing. This was a hot one, but she managed it and, as always, crossed the line with a smile on her face.
Alongside getting back into events, Catey is still leading Harriers spin classes and getting as much time on the bike as she can. Those sessions are another part of what she brings to the club: steady encouragement, good humour and a familiar face at the front while putting everyone through their paces.
Q&A with Catey
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
Maidstone, and Maidstone!
Haven’t gone far have I!
What’s your occupation outside of the club?
I am a Business Intelligence Analyst in NHS Mental Health.
Sounds fancy. I guess it kind of is. I write code to pull data out of the patient record system and use the information to write reports for informing service delivery and improvements, internal and national performance measures and all that gubbins.
What do you love most about running?
Well, I don’t really like running!
Cycling is OK, apart from hills. It’s better than running!
Swimming is my happy place, especially at the lake. The freedom of not having to swim up and down a lane, it’s magic.
I have always struggled with physical activity. It is not something that comes naturally to me and I was not particularly encouraged to do sports when I was young.
But on the approach to my 40th, I decided I wanted to be fitter not fatter at forty and started doing parkrun. I met some wonderful people there who got me interested in triathlon and got me to join the Harriers, and through both found a community that was supportive and encouraging to people of all abilities.
With the Harriers I got back into swimming and cycling, and have loved it ever since. None of it comes easy, even after a decade, but I am a determined bugger and I’ll keep trying.
So, I guess you could say the community is what I love most about it all. Feeling that I am part of something.
What’s the best thing about being a part of the Harriers?
It’s a family. I have made so many amazing friends at the Harriers and had so many amazing experiences. The volunteering we do, the races we attend, the socials, the coaching, our own races. I love it all!
And I especially love it that our team will stay until the last one of us has crossed the finish line.
I remember Larkfield 10K a couple of years ago. I was heading in to the finish funnel and the awards were already being announced. The Harriers saw me coming and disrupted the whole thing cheering me in. Absolutely bloody brilliant!
What’s your best sporting moment?
The obvious answer is not going to be the one I pick. Because although London is iconic, and I did it and I am proud of the fact I did it, I did not really enjoy the experience on the day. A blog for another time perhaps.
I would say instead that I am most proud of myself this year for turning up and completing Tonbridge Sprint Triathlon.
For coming back after eight months of injury, a herniated disc, sciatica and unimaginable pain. For not giving up and jacking it all in, even though there were times I thought about it.
I was not fit. I had barely begun running again, let alone swimming or cycling. But I did it, and proved to myself that I am stronger than I felt.
And then I promptly signed up to another event the following week.
It’s addictive, this triathlon malarkey!
What song do you play when going for a personal best?
I actually don’t listen to much music when I’m running.
I do sometimes, and it’s usually a random playlist these days, but I generally just prefer to hear what’s going on around me, to be able to encourage the people overtaking me or the people trying to keep up with me. Not that there are many of them!
What’s your post-race treat?
Cake.
Always cake.
It’s what I run for!
Thank You, Catey
Congratulations to Catey Bowles, our July 2026 Member of the Month.
Catey brings positivity, humour and real commitment to Maidstone Harriers. From committee work and tri coaching to parkrun volunteering, club nights, bar duties, races and socials, she gives so much to the people around her.
Thank you, Catey, for helping make the Harriers feel like a club where people are welcomed, encouraged and cheered all the way home.
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