Rocky road for runners as they prepare for virtual marathons

It’s still a rocky road for many athletes as races were first run “live” and then, were either postponed, or converted into virtual events, as Covid-19 still retains its grip across the UK.

This latest spate of reversals forced the last-minute cancellation of the Farndon 10k in Cheshire last Sunday due to revised government guidelines and restrictions, with several North Wales Road Runners forced to complete their task on virtual courses around Llandudno.

Steve Bozier switched from the hills to the road but struggled with injury, saying he started well but found his hamstring pain too much, so had to slow right down.

Despite all this, Steve still recorded a highly credible 44 mins 03 secs, virtual Farndon time.

Rachel Morris was another injury victim but battled on to finish in 1 hr 13 mins. Kelly Alford ran well in 56.25, and her partner Cai Roberts managed 57.01.

And in another problematic weekend for the runners, who are currently hard in training for next Sunday’s virtual London Marathon, and the re-organised Snowdonia virtual marathon between 24-31st October, Mandy Owen braved illness to run just over 5k in 31.47.

Meanwhile, Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her husband Ben have been training hard over the hills in readiness for the forthcoming Snowdonia challenge with Sarah completing 18-hard miles, and Ben just topping that, by adding another two to his tally.

*Sara Tuck and Josie Davies received their well-deserved GNR Solo (Great North Run) medals after completing their virtual challenge last week. Sara ran a total of 278 miles in 78 days over 40 separate runs; and Josie ran 313.5 miles in 58 days over the same 40 runs.

Plaudits to the GOGs with Triathlon successes

A brief shout-out and well-done to our friendly rivals at GOG’s Triathlon club, who just about managed to fit in a few live and highly competitive events this month.

Last weekend marked the final race of the season with the Alderford Sprint Triathlon, with Mared Dafydd coming 8th overall and 3rd in her age group.

Her colleagues Paul Algieri and Malcolm Harrison also competed well in cool and windy conditions, with Paul winning his age category and 8th overall.

A couple of weeks before, several GOG athletes competed at the Shropshire Triathlon with a team of eight taking part. There was good camaraderie and support around the course, with Stu Goldsack recording an off-the-bike 5k PB, and Grant Falconer enjoying a great bike and run performance.

Plaudits too for Helena Hughes, and Angie Hughes, who finished 2nd in her age group. Mared Dafydd also competed well and was 2nd in her age group and 7th overall, whilst Rhian Roxburgh won the standard distance overall, and Iwan Davies smashed the middle-distance course in 4.45 hours to claim a massive new PB!

And unlucky Simon Roxburgh, who was flying on the bike, spent most of the race playing seesaw with his bike saddle, but still finished in a highly respectable time.