Road Runners trio tackle historic 100km Race to the Stones ultra-marathon

Report by Don Hale

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

Three North Wales Road Runners competed in the historic, tough, but prestigious Ridgeway Ultra-Marathon, Race to the Stones event over the weekend.

The showpiece is staged over a gruelling 100km course, including parts of the oldest path in Great Britain.

Talented trio Ben and Sarah Hudson, together with club colleague Jamie Tharme, accepted this exceptional ultra-marathon challenge which was run in decent weather conditions and along a picturesque but undulating route.

Event organisers claimed it was the UK’s biggest ultra-marathon, and challenged entrants to conquer Britain’s oldest road, confirming that the Ridgeway follows the same route over high ground used by herdsmen and travellers since prehistoric times. 

In their publicity brief they stated, ‘runners can explore a remarkably isolated and unspoilt corner of Southern England through some of its most ancient landscapes, finishing by the 5,000-year-old Avebury Standing Stones, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.’

Ben and Sarah Hudson ran the race together, and despite the fact this latest run was only a few weeks after their gruelling ultra ‘Wall’ challenge, they competed well in the ‘non-stop’ race option, and eventually finished with a superb chip time of 14 hrs 49 mins and 16 secs. 

Ben was 462nd overall out of 1,029 finishers. Sarah shared the exact same time and was 463rd overall, and 31st in her F40 age cat. And this ultra-pair set a new PB over 50k during this race!

After the event, Sarah explained: “We managed to complete ‘Race to the Stones’ along the Ridgeway from Lewknor to Avebury. 100-crazy kms! Our feet are not overly happy with us now, but it was an amazing experience with stunning scenery. 

“My friend Emma Vadhesha ended up running the 50k instead (very wise) but me and Ben finished in 14:49:16, and over one and a half hours quicker than when I first ran it in 2021. I’m tired but happy.”

And Ben added: “I went OK until about mile 40, then I flagged. The blister problem from the ‘Wall’ race re-appeared which didn’t help.”

Jamie Tharme also managed to run a good chunk of this same ‘Race to the Stones’ course and bravely completed 72.14kms in 10 hrs and 37 mins, before eventually having to pull-out due to injury, blisters, and sheer exhaustion. Jamie’s time over 50k however, was his third best ever.

After the race, he admitted: “I’m not a fan of DNF but I physically can’t even walk never mind run. I’m a stubborn old goat, but I’m not stupid, and medical advice I will take!”

Schoolboy Charlie’s 75-mile charity run for Alder Hey

Rhos-on-Sea mum Rebecca Sheen is immensely proud of her 11-year-old son Charlie, who has been running 75-miles in stages, along the prom between Rhos and Llandudno over recent weeks to help raise funds for the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital charity in Liverpool.

She explained: “This distance is equivalent to running nearly three London Marathons, and his motivation stems from his personal experience, as his sister was recently a patient and treated at the hospital.

“On Saturday, Charlie is hoping to be accompanied on his run by world champion boxer Natasha Jonas, and next Sunday, we have now decided to start at Llandudno Pier at 2pm, and to finish his fundraising campaign at the Coast Cafe in Rhos on Sea.” 

Conwy parkrunners greeted by warm sunshine and light winds

Report by Don Hale

In stark contrast to the previous week, Conwy parkrunners enjoyed very warm conditions last Saturday morning with bright sunshine, light headwinds and a limited number of puddles.

Nearly 300 mixed ability club and social runners from all over the UK took advantage of the mild weather at the RSPB Nature Reserve to record some excellent new PBs, many fast times and some notable age category wins.

North Wales Road Runners had a good entry of some 14 athletes in action and claimed three age cat victories, with four other members finishing in second places. Alastair Canaway made a rare parkrun appearance but ran well in 5th place overall and 2nd VM35 in 18.59.

Harry Driscoll also enjoyed a comfortable outing in 11th place and was 2nd SM20 in a fast time of 19.49.

Newcomer Benjamin Brummit was 15th with a new course PB of 20.21, and Will Williams managed to shake-off his recent injury woes to finish 17th in 20.40 and 2nd VM50.

Martin Green took it easy in 23rd place in 21.24, also 2nd VM45, with his wife Carla Green 4th female, 38th overall and 1st VW50 in 22.30.

Sion Thomas was 47th in 23.04 and Richard Scamans, fresh from his recent Triathlon adventure, came 50th in 23.09.

Cheryl Frost was 1st VW55 with an excellent run in 53rd place in 23.34, and master vet Don Hale also won his VM70 cat after finishing 96th in 26.26, with fellow master Rob Fryer 98th in 26.40 and 2nd VM70.

Gethin Wyn Jones was 133rd in 28.18, veteran Len Jackson 156th in 29.34, whilst Steve Mason was the event sweeper, 173rd in 30.37.

*Student Bryn Woodall (Colwyn Bay AC) was the 1st man home at Conwy Parkrun in just 15 minutes and 49 seconds, and won his SM20 age cat, with Tom Carter (Prestatyn RC) 2nd in 17.57 and 1st VM40, whilst Dave Hughes won his VM35 cat in 3rd place overall in 18.15.

*For the ladies, talented youngster Catrin Evans was the 1st female finisher (24th overall) in 21.26 and she easily won her JW11-14 age cat. Lisa Butcher (Wootton Road Runners) finished 2nd (26th overall) on her debut in 21.39 and Vicky Cole (GOG Triathlon) was the 3rd female athlete, (and 30th overall), in 21.58, and 1st VW40. There were 281 finishers.

Other results

Pentir

Kevin Higgins and Rachel Morris took part in the Pentir 4.5k trail race in midweek in rather wet and slippery conditions. Kevin finished in 29.43 and Rachel in 35.05. After the event, Rachel confirmed: “It was very hard and wet, which made it really slippery underfoot, but it was a good challenge, and I enjoyed it.”

Tal y Fan

Adam Lemalle took on the very challenging Tal Y Fan fell race on Saturday, finishing 18th place overall in 1 hr 41 mins. The race included an undulating course of about 14k with 876m elevation. After the event he said: “That was brutal up, tough down. Knee deep bogs, and a total white out at the summit. What’s not to love?”

Dublin

Kevin Higgins hit the road running in the Emerald Isle on Sunday at the Swords 10k in Dublin, and despite a tough course, he ran well and added some further excellent results to his series of 10k events. He confirmed: “Race 6 and 7. Pentir 4.7k trail race, but it was a bit longer than that last Wednesday night, in 29min 43 seconds. The start of Swords 10k in Dublin today, 53 minutes 55 seconds, very undulating but enjoyable.”

Snowdon

Vicky Taylor enjoyed her run in the undulating Xterra Snowdonia 10k race last Sunday and finished in 119th place in 1.24.53, and was the 55th female athlete.