Six gold medals for North Wales Road Runners at Caernarfon 10k championships
Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery
There was another great turnout of talented runners at the midweek Caernarfon 10k last Wednesday night, which attracted nearly 200 entrants for the main race, and inclusive North Wales Championships.
Run on a bright, sunny, and humid evening, and heading out towards the harbour and the magnificent ancient castle, a large number of elite and top club runners soon battled for glory on this undulating course.
Eventual winner was Adam Jones (Eryri Harriers) in 33 minutes 19 seconds, and just 20 seconds ahead of rival Scott Nixon (Cardiff AC) in 33.39, with James Yarwood (Abergele Harriers) in close pursuit, and only another seven seconds adrift in 33.46.
The Road Runners turned out in force again for this second major NW championship race within a few days, this time with 22 members competing for honours.
And quite incredibly, they were able to collect another magnificent haul of 11 prestigious championship medals and recorded several course PB’s, with an amazing 6 gold medals, 4 silver and 1 bronze.
It was female members of NWRRC who took the deserved plaudits after winning four podium places in the main race, in addition to claiming four championship gold medals, and subsequent age category wins, plus one bronze medal.
The men also celebrated with seven podium places in the main race, and a further six championship medals, including 2 gold, and 4 silver at another record-breaking awards ceremony.
Steve Forsyth led the team home in 10th place overall and 2nd in his M40 age cat in 36.19, with Jonathan Kettle hot on his heels, 11th and 2nd M45 cat in 36.25. Richard Eccles displayed some fine form again to win his M55 cat in 16th place in 37.54, and Will Williams was 19th in 38.47.
Iwan Evans came 3rd M40 in 39.44 in 22nd place, and Stuart Culverhouse 2nd M50 cat with a great effort finishing 27th overall in 41.46.
Ben Hudson made a welcome return to the road in 33rd place in 42.45, and the same applied to fellow endurance runner Karl Morris, an excellent 34th in 42.50.
Meanwhile, Steve Roberts continued with his consistent form to finish 36th in 43.04, with Gethin Wyn Jones 38th spot in 43.16.
Sarah Ferguson Hudson led the ladies team home as the 7th female runner and 2nd F40 in 44.30, knocking about two minutes off her previous PB.
Adam Lamelle enjoyed another great club outing to finish 60th in 46.40, with Nicola Wylie winning her F50 cat in 48.15 as the 14th female.
Cai Roberts placed 67th in 48.50, whilst veteran Rob Fryer won his M65 cat in 75th spot in 50.25, whilst Kelly-Marie Alford claimed 3rd F35 as the 20th female in 51.30.
Kevin Higgins made a late entry but seemed pleased with his 87th place finish in 52.35, and Vicky Taylor seems to go from strength to strength with another amazing run after celebrating her work promotion to claim 1st F45 as the 28th female in 54.50.
Master vet Don Hale however, unfortunately aggravated his knee injury again in the first mile or so and struggled around this challenging course, but still finished 3rd in his new M70 age cat in 56.50.
Susan and Mike Smith both put in determined efforts, with Sue coming home as the 51st female in 1.02.23, and Mike in 107th place in 1.11.38, whilst Rachel Morris knocked some more time off her previous 10k PB, to finish in-between the Smith duo as the 55th female in 1.07.48.
The North Wales 10k Championship results
* The NWRRC male team results: M40 Steve Forsyth 2nd place (Silver): M45 Jonathan Kettle 2nd place (Silver): M50 Stuart Culverhouse 2nd place (Silver): M55 Richard Eccles 1st place (Gold): M65 Rob Fryer 1st place (Gold): M70 Don Hale 2nd place (Silver):
*The NWRRC female team results: F35 Kelly-Marie Alford 1st place (Gold): F40 Sarah-Ferguson Hudson 1st place (Gold): F45 Vicky Taylor 1st (Gold): F50 Nicola Wylie 1st place (Gold): F55 Sue Smith 3rd place (Bronze).
*These are the provisional results from RunWales for the Caernarfon 10k race:
https://www.runwales.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Caernarfon-10k-2022.pdf
Other race results
Scotland
John Dalzell took part in the Devil O the Highlands footrace and was the 2nd Welsh finisher, plus 146th out of 274 runners who eventually completed this tough 68k plus ultra-event in an amazing time of 9 hours 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
After the race, John confirmed: “West Highland Way done in two shifts. Today’s effort was an easy 21-miles in the rain, the second 21 starting with the Devil’s staircase, which I’m sure was steeper and longer than last time, followed by the undulating military road. The legs weren’t impressed, but I kept smiling.”
Anglesey
Two NWRRC endurance athletes took part in the Cybi Coastal Marathon on Saturday, but both later struggled with injuries.
Steve Bozier battled with a hip problem after 15 miles but still finished well in 18th place in 4.29.25, whilst Steve Poupart suffered with cramp and struggled home in 94th in 5.57.19.
Cheshire
Kelly Marie Alford and Cai Roberts ran together in the Oulton Park 16-mile race last Sunday, with Kelly winning her F35 age cat in 2.37.57 in 18th place, with Cai 19th, and sharing the same time. Mandy Owen ran in the half-marathon at the same venue and finished 129th in 2.18.40.
Gravesend
Mark Jessett ran in the Shorne Woods Parkrun at Gravesend, where he won the event and his MV35 age cat in 17.37. Mark was more than a minute and a half ahead of his nearest rival.
Ruthin
Road Runners Steve Mason and Gethin Wyn Jones travelled to the Ruthin Parkrun last Saturday with Steve winning his MV45 age cat in 18.46 in 3rd place overall, and Gethin finishing 7th, and the winner of his MV35 cat in 19.33.
Three age cat wins for Road Runners at bright and breezy Conwy Parkrun
Report by Don Hale. Photos Steve Jeffery
It was bright and breezy at Conwy Parkrun last Saturday where an increased number of top club and social runners enjoyed the excellent weather to record some fast times and PBs.
Adam Jones was the first man home over this picturesque 5k course in just 16 minutes 59 seconds, with Tom Carter just 3 seconds behind, despite a new PB time of 17.02, with Osian Griffiths 3rd in 18.59. The first lady was the speedy Alice Johnson (Les Croupiers), who finished 7th overall in 19.27.
The parkrun attracted another bumper turnout of 234 runners from across the UK, and it also welcomed back a couple of remarkable ‘super’ veterans in Sandy Johnston (Les Croupiers), a highly respected MV70 runner – and the father of the ladies’ event winner – Alice Johnston, who finished in 32nd place overall, and he too was the victor of his age cat in a very fast time of 22.37.
And it was also good to see another remarkable local athlete in action, with Roger Harrison Jones (Prestatyn RC), returning to Conwy for the first time this year to celebrate his 50th parkrun, and enjoy a good run in 157th place in 30.12.
Road Runners entered 12 members and two juniors, but there were a few tired NWRRC legs at parkrun after two tough championship races this week, yet despite some times being slightly down, they still celebrated six age category wins, including three 1st place finishes.
Stuart Culverhouse led the team home in 12th overall in 20.21, with Will Williams 20th in 21.15, and Jamie Tharme claimed 3rd M40 in 26th position in 22.12. Steve Roberts also enjoyed a fast-paced finish to record 22.30 in 31st place and was 3rd MV55.
Veteran Rob Fryer continued with his good form to win his MV65 age cat in 72nd place in 25.05, and both Karen Butler and the ever-improving Vicky Taylor both won their respective age cats. Karen ran home in 87th place and won her FV60 cat in 25.34, with Vicky recording 26.37 to win her FV45 cat in 26.37.
Young Joe Culverhouse finished 2nd in his JM11-14 age cat in 26.46 in 103rd place, and Dave Spofforth running with his young son Ben finished together in 145th/146th places in 29.17, with Ben also claiming the 2nd spot in his JM10 age cat. And Rachel Morris ran her fastest parkrun time this year following another positive performance in 152nd place in 29.52.
Meanwhile, Dave’s Spofforth’s wife Nicola and daughter Elowen ran together in 192nd/193rd places, and both runners celebrated new PBs in 34.10. In addition, Sue Smith, fresh from her recent medal winning performance, finished in 160th place in 30.20, with Ceri Jones 185th in 32.50, and Sue’s husband Mike, and another previous medal winner, finished 190th in 33.42.
*This is the link to the provisional results from Conwy Parkrun:
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/