Fast times by North Wales Road Runners at Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon

Report by Don Hale

Nine North Wales Road Runners tackled the revised Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon last Sunday with many athletes among the 800-plus entrants celebrating superb times in near perfect conditions.

Endurance star John Dalzell was the first club man home in 122nd place in 1 hour 28 minutes and 36 seconds, closely followed by Stuart Culverhouse, who was thrilled to go sub-90 minutes after his 37th attempt, finally finishing in 125th place in 1.28.47.

Ben Hudson also had a good run out and finished in 158th place in 1.32.33, but his wife Sarah Hudson was the outstanding star of the team knocking an amazing nine-minutes off her previous best time.

Sarah later admitted that she had been trying for ages to dip under 1.45, and said she was “over the moon” about this result.

Nicola Wylie was another in top-form, and said she was “buzzing” after her finishing time of 1.45.15 in 305th place overall, which included an eight-minute PB from her last half-marathon at Wrexham; and Kelly Marie Alford said she found the race hard but still finished well in 1.53.18 to claim 426th place.

Meanwhile, veteran Kevin Higgins continues to improve with every race, and he finished in 454th place in 1.55.02, whilst it was good to see Mandy Owen back in club colours again, and she recorded a time of 2.11.40 in 641st place, with colleague Sue Smith running home in 744th place in 2.27.06.

*The race was won by Nigel Martin (Sale Harriers) in 1.05.54, with Callum Rowlinson (Salford Harriers) 2nd in 1.06.00, and Andrew Davies (Stockport AC) 3rd in 1.07.44. The 1st female runner was Alison Lavender (Oswestry Olympians) in 1-18.07.
https://results.sporthive.com/events/6972882776687163648/races/483216

Great debut for Llyr at Bilbao Duathlon

Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts made his debut in the Bilbao Duathlon last Saturday and finished 14th at the top end of his MV45-49 in 1 hour 10 minutes and 29 seconds overall, and 89th out of 204 male athletes.

The event included a 5k run followed by 20k bike ride and a further 2.7k final dash.

He later commented: “It was a tough course with 6km of the bike ride up a hill. I held my own across the disciplines, so I’ll take that in my first one. Roll on next year.”

Conwy Parkrun’s silent tribute to the Queen

Report by Don Hale

165 entrants at the Conwy Parkrun stood in silence for a minute to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen last Saturday morning before the start of their 5k dash.

It proved to be a day of mixed emotions following recent commemorative events and special permission had to be granted to run this week’s parkrun as part of the course covers Crown land.

The parkrun race director Kelly said: “Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning, runners, and volunteers alike. It was a lovely atmosphere and the silence in memory of Her Majesty the Queen was very moving.

“It was lovely to share a piece of living history with you all today. We are so fortunate to have the support of the RSPB at Conwy Parkrun, so thanks again for today folks it was a really special run.”

The emotions were then lightened to a certain extent, by NWRRC member Will Williams who was celebrating his 50th birthday with club colleagues and friends, with many amusing special replica face masks of Will, during the warm-up.

It must have proved beneficial though as Will later claimed a new course PB time and won his new MV50 age cat finishing 7th overall in 18 minutes and 38 seconds.

His best pal, club colleague and mask organiser Steve Forsyth was fittingly the first man home in 16.59, and he also won his MV40 age cat, with another club rival Josh Keogh finishing 2nd overall and 1st SM30 runner in 17.15.

Another of Will’s friends, Jamie Tharme, joined in with the fun to additionally claim a course PB in 21st place in 21.48 and finished 4th in his MV45 cat. Stuart Culverhouse was 33rd in 23.29, and veteran Rob Fryer won his MV65 age cat with another good effort to finish 46th in 25.04.

And Karen Butler also enjoyed a fine parkrun outing and she was just eight seconds behind Rob but won her FV60 age cat with another PB in 25.12. Her husband Sean Butler finished in 74th place in 27.06, and Rachel Morris, fresh from her Great North Run debut last week, recorded 30.43 in 123rd place overall.

Following the event, a delighted Will Williams said: “So much effort and thought had gone into this birthday surprise, I had no idea. I’m blessed to have such a fantastic friend in Steve Forsyth, and many other fantastic friends including Jamie Tharme, who all joined in with me this morning.

“And a huge thank you to the race director, volunteers, and all those participants who wore the mask, and wished me a happy birthday. It really goes to show what a special community parkrun really is… so only one thing to do after that, and that was to smash my course pb and get my first 50 age cat win.”

*The Road Runners entered nine members this week and amazingly claimed five age category wins and podium places, and the 1st female runner home was former NWRRC member Gemma Moore (Eryri Harriers) in 24th place in 22.34, with promising teenager Harri Jackson (Manchester Metro University AC) taking the 3rd spot for the men with a new PB and 1st SM18-19 cat in 17.19.
*This is the link to the provisional Conwy Parkrun results:
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

NWRRC athletes Rachel and Cheryl at Great North Run

Report by Don Hale

Rachel Morris travelled to the north east of England to take part in the famous Great North Run half-marathon event, completing in 2 hours and 33 minutes.
She later confirmed: “I had the pleasure of running the Great North Run with my parents. If anyone hasn’t done this one, I would highly recommend it.…but it’s been a long awaited 2 years for this weekend to happen thanks to Covid-19.

“My first time doing the GNR, my dad’s 14th time, and my mum’s 12th. The atmosphere was amazing, with families cheering you on, kids high-fiving, shouting your name – someone even called me smiler – handing out sweets, lollies, oranges, and people spraying hoses as it was so hot.

“Bands playing and right at the end a packed-out pub with everyone singing as we passed! There were 60,000 people taking part, and I was 27,538. Loved the whole weekend! And I’ve already got my place in next year’s GNR 2023.”

Cheryl Frost was another competitor at the GNR and celebrated an excellent performance.

She confirmed: “I finished 23rd in my age group. I was 4,775th overall and finished in 1 hour 46 minutes and 26 seconds. It was such an amazing atmosphere and a very moving tribute to our wonderful Queen, and the minute silence before the start was very emotional.”