Husband and wife running duo star for Wales at Great Bristol 10k
Report by Don Hale
Talented husband and wife road running duo Martin and Carla Green were selected for Wales last Sunday in the Great Bristol 10k and competed against quality international opposition.
The pair are members of North Wales Road Runners.
In a very fast race, Martin was pleased with his performance, finishing 22nd overall in a superb time of 33 minutes and 16 seconds to claim 4th place in his respective age category.
Carla also enjoyed another excellent run, placing 218th overall and 51st female athlete in 39.55 – also 6th in her age cat.
Former NWRRC member Gemma Moore, now with Eryri Harriers, was also selected for Wales in the same race and came home 177th overall in 39.15 as the 35th female runner and 8th in her age cat.
Other Race results
Peris Horseshoe
Accomplished endurance and fell runner Karl Morris competed in the tough Ras Pedol Peris/Peris Horseshoe race last weekend and claimed a great new PB.
The determined NWRRC star tackled this challenging 29.49kms course, with 2,518m of elevation, in just 4 hours and 52 minutes. Afterwards he said: “I made a slight mistake at the start but still managed a course PB by one hour and 15 minutes.”
Betws-y-Coed
Road Runners Kay Hatton and Mike Hayton became trail runners last weekend as they tackled the challenging St David’s Trail Race at Betws-y-Coed.
The event included a 7-mile rugged course with 1,280 ft of ascent, but both athletes ran well with Kay finishing as 3rd Lady and in 12th place overall in a time of 1 hour 13 minutes and 26 seconds, with Mike 36th in 1.37.1.
Winchester
Hannah Griffith travelled last Sunday to compete in the Winchester Half Marathon race along with her sisters Siwan Kalatzi and Angharad Cooney. They all ran well together with Hannah recording a time of 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Southsea
NWRRC members Sue and Mike Smith took part in the Southsea Parkrun near Portsmouth last Saturday and Sue was delighted to claim 3rd place in her VW55 age cat in 30.02, with husband Mike finishing in 252nd place in 31.20.
Mike later confirmed: “Sue and I ran the Southsea Parkrun today. This was our home Parkrun before moving to Llandudno.”
Fast dash finish for Josh Keogh with a new PB at Conwy Parkrun
Report by Don Hale
North Wales Road Runner Josh Keogh claimed a great new personal best time and he was also the first man home following a fast finish at Conwy Parkrun last Saturday.
Josh was nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest rival, David Garcia (Ilfracombe RC), in 18.54, with NWRRC colleague Jonathan Kettle 3rd in 19.16.
In a crazy fast dash finish, six club members eventually recorded some amazing times of under 25 minutes within the top 10 finishers.
First female runner was Anna Mackenzie (Eryri Harriers), who also won her SW25 age cat finishing 10th overall in 20.09, and more than three minutes ahead of visiting rival Sheridan McWilliam (Birmingham Running and Triathlon Club), 28th in 23.19, and Charlotte Jones (Ilfracombe RC), 38th in 23.46.
The Road Runners celebrated seven podium places and claimed four age category wins among the near 200 entrants, which included many visiting runners from across the UK on a rain-soaked and challenging 5k course.
Josh won his SM30 age cat, as did Jonathan Kettle in his MV45 cat, with Martin Green 4th overall and 2nd in the same age cat as Jonathan in 19.26, whilst preparing to represent Wales the following day at the Bristol 10k.
Steve Mason was on form again to claim the 3rd spot in the same age cat, finishing 5th overall and just one second behind Martin in 19.27. And Harry Driscoll ensured it was a tight finish as he crossed the line a further second adrift in 19.28 in 6th place to win his SM20-24 age cat.
Stuart Culverhouse was another athlete enjoying a great purple patch of top-form and he was 9th overall and 2nd in his VM50 cat in 19.54. After the event, Stuart admitted: “I was pleased to dip under 20 minutes for the first time in about six months.”
Stuart was followed by Jamie Tharme, who surprisingly matched the exact same PB time from the previous week finishing 20th in 21.49, whilst Gethin Wyn Jones returned to parkrun following his recent honeymoon and finished 43rd in 23.52.
Meanwhile, veteran runner Rob Fryer won his MV65 age cat again with a determined display to finish in 56th place overall in 24.47. And John O’Shea was another veteran who enjoyed a good run in 95th place in 27.45, with Rachel Morris coming home in 131st place in 30.38.
*Conwy Parkrun provisional results list:
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/
Start of North Wales Cross Country League
Report by Don Hale
The North Wales Cross Country League begins this weekend at the Treborth Track, Bangor (1st October), with events for athletes ranging from U15s to 65 plus Masters’ races.
Event organisers, however, say the Bangor course is currently very dry and includes a 30-metre section of concrete, advising that runners may prefer alternative shoes rather than cross-country spikes.
Junior Races start at 10-30am U15Boys; U15Girls/U13Boys; U13Girls/U11Boys: U11Girls:
1pm Women/65+Men/U17Men; 2pm Men.
All entrants must represent a club and be pre-registered with their full names, date of birth, club name etc as this year the races will be chip timed.
North Wales Cross Country League Fixtures 2022/23 season.
Please note the following dates for the 2022/23 North Wales Cross Country Season. The Junior Cross Country League will be held on the dates of four of the senior fixtures.
Sat 1 October 2022 – Treborth Track, Bangor LL57 2RQ.
Sat 22 October 2022 – Dolerw Park, Newtown SY16 2NZ.
Sat 26 November 2022 – Whitford CH8 9AN.
Sat 21 January 2023 – Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay LL29 7SP.
Sat 11 February 2023 – Marches School, Oswestry SY11 2AP.
Fixtures 1, 2, 4 & 5 will be senior and junior leagues. Fixture 3 will be a senior fixture only
The North Wales Cross Country Championships will be held at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham on Sat 7 January 2023.