GOG Triathlon begin year in fine form

Saturday saw the first events of the year for many of the Llandudno-based GOG Triathlon Club athletes.

More than 20 club members took part in the Arthur Bebbington Twin Piers 10km road race, with every one of them putting in tremendous performances, reflected in the excellent times they posted.

However, a special mention must go to three that took age group wins.

Simon Cole, 5th overall and first V40 🥇

Elizabeth Evans, first FV70 🥇

Ann d’Albuquerque, first FV75.

Also of note was the fact Anthony Jones ran from home to the start line, smashed the 10K in 42 minutes, then ran back home for a total mileage of over 18.

A big shout out to all the club members who were marshalling or out supporting on the route cheering everybody on.

Finally many thanks to Russ Goodwin and the team at Colwyn Bay Athletics Club for the flawless organising.

Another race taking place on Saturday was the Run to the Castle Ultra Series, hosted by How Hard Can It Be Events.

Competitors catch the train at Harlech and travel down to Aberdyfi. Once they alight the train they then have to run back to Harlech via the Welsh Coastal Path, passing through the coastal towns of Fairbourne and Barmouth.

With stunning scenery, but brutal sections across sand, this was a tough early season opener for the ultra community.

In the full distance race, resident ultra runner Mark Hemsley smashed the 42.1 miles in an impressive time of 7:27:52 crossing the finish line in 8th place.

In the ‘shorter’ distance race, which is still an incredible 28.3 miles and stops at Barmouth, Felicity Aries smashed it in a time of 6:48:47 taking 22nd place overall.

Great performance from John Farrell at Heaton Park

More weekend race action as GOG Triathlon Club member John Farrell completed the first of his one a month half marathons at Heaton Park on the outskirts of Northern Manchester.

Made up of four laps of an undulating 5km course, the first 2km consists of a flat section around the Heaton Park lake. Between 2 and 3 kilometres, some challenging hills take you to outside Heaton Hall with spectacular views of Manchester.

A loop through the forest area behind the hall follows, before a welcome downhill section to complete the lap.

Putting in a great performance, John crossed the finish line in a time of 1:52:18 to take 2nd place in the V60 category.