Over 1,000 runners beat the weather at new 10 mile and half marathon races

Report by Don Hale. Photos by Michael Finnie

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It was wild, wet, and windy for over 1,000 hardy athletes on Sunday, March 29, for the new Victorian 10 mile and half marathon races that started with a loop along Llandudno promenade before heading out towards Colwyn Bay, then a reverse route home.

The mass pack of runners had to negotiate a challenging course and a fierce and swirling headwind, with some heavy showers thrown in for good measure along their tough journey.

And yet despite the brutal conditions it still failed to deter numerous elite entrants with M35 James Yarwood (Wrexham AAC) winning the half marathon in a very good chip time of just 1 hour 16 minutes and 43 seconds. He was followed by M50 Martin Green (Meirionnydd RC) in 1.18.57, and M35 Matthew Gaskin (GOG Triathlon) in 1.21.14.

The first female finisher was Louis Lee (Penny Lane Striders) with an outstanding performance in 1.22.53, in 9th place overall, ahead of nearest rival, Hannah Carter (Liverpool) in 1.31.10 and Olivia Boothby (Macclesfield) in 1.31.48.

NWRRC entered three members with club chairman Kevin Slattery winning his M70 age cat in 110th place in 1.40.12, with ultra running couple Ben Hudson 113th in 1.40.53 and his wife Sarah Hudson 330th in 1.59.11. There were 749 finishers.

A field of 256 tackled the associated 10-mile race over much of the same demanding course, and this event also included the NW Regional Championships over this distance.

Once again, many top club runners competed with Eamon Clowes (Newcastle, Staffs) first man home in 55.31, with Richard Coen (Wilmslow RC) second in 56.48 and Steffan Sayer (Menai T&F) third in 57.01.

Top female was Georgia Stanfield (Trentham RC), 20th overall in 61.56, and Jennifer Rambaldi (Buckley RC) runner-up in 65.30, with Joanne Stanfield (Trentham RC) third in 65.46.

NWRRC entered 15 with Jonathan Kettle 18th and 2nd M50 in 61.01, Will Williams 28th in 67.08 and Stuart Culverhouse 37th in 70.29. Steve Bozier finished 3rd M45 in 44th place in 73.04, and Carla Green was 17th female and 51st overall in 74.58.

Adam Lemalle was 56th in 76.05, Cheryl Frost 1st F60 in 58th place and 20th female in 77.33, Steve Roberts was 70th in 80.27 and Kay Hatton was 25th female, 79th overall and 3rd F60.

Master vet Rob Fryer was 1st M70 in 117th position in 92.24, Nia Lister 118th in 93.33. Gwen Charlton was 120th in 94.07, Helen Hannam 142nd in 99.27, whilst veterans Len Jackson finished 156th place in 101.56 and Kevin Higgins was 194th in 108.03.

NWRRC also won 11 medals including 5 gold, three silver, and three bronze medals in the NW Regional 10-mile championships. * The championships results included: GOLD: M45 Steve Bozier, M50 Jonathan Kettle and M70 Rob Fryer. SILVER: M65 Len Jackson. BRONZE: M40 Adam Lemalle, and M50 Will Williams. Female – GOLD: F35 Nia Lister, F60 Cheryl Frost. SILVER: F35 Gwen Charlton, F60 Kay Hatton. BRONZE: F50 Carla Green.Full resullts on the NWRRC website.

Plenty of visitors at blustery North Wales parkruns

Report by Don Hale

It was cold and blustery for many hundreds of parkrunners across North Wales last Saturday morning, March 28, but many events still reported good attendances and fast times.

LLANDRILLO-YN-RHOS

At Llandrillo yn Rhos, where they commemorated WWF and a nature theme, they pulled in 443 participants, including plenty of visitors from across the UK.

Ffirst finisher was debutant Aidan Thomas, the runaway leader clocking just 17 minutes and 22 seconds. The second-placed athlete remained unknown, but Jeremy Pena took third in 18.41.

Number one female was visitor Emma Knowles (9th overall) who enjoyed a great debut in 19.10, with Ellie Evans (Cybi Striders) second in 21.55, and the talented Amelia Anderson (Tristars Conwy) third in an impressive 22.33.

NWRRC entered 11, Will Evans 8th place with a new course PB 19.06, also winning his VM45 cat. Will Williams was 12th and 3rd VM50 in 19.50, whilst James Jones finished 31st and 3rd SM30 in 21.50. Richard Scamans was 39th in 22.18, and Jonathan Kettle ran as a guide with Daniel Owens and they finished together 86/87th in 24.21.

Master vet Don Hale won his VM70 age cat in 162nd place in 27.20, and super-vet Mike Hayton was 1st VM75 cat in 235th place in 30.10. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Driscoll ran with her dog Winston again in 32.23, and Hannah Griffith was 294th in a new course PB 32.39, whilst veteran John O’Shea finished 312nd in 33.49, and Helen Hannam tail walked in 41.38.

GOG Triathlon had 12 finishers at Rhos with Andy Jones 37th in 22.09; Paul Algieri was 54th in 23.14, and Gary Jones was 62nd in 23.31.

Colwyn Bay AAC had three members running, with Josh Mottram winning his SM18 age cat in 27th place in 21.28; and Ian Taylor was 36th and 3rd VM45 with a new course 22.01, whilst Rebecca Downs won her VW45 in 60th place in 21.28.

CONWY

SM20 athlete and Bangor University student Andrew Moore was the runaway finisher at the Conwy parkrun on Saturday, March 28, despite the challenging conditions in 15.58, with Andy Woodhead 2nd with a new CPB 17.47 and teenager Harry Alvarez took 3rd on his course debut in 18.15.

First female was Chelsea Travers (Rothwell Harriers Leeds), 13th overall on course debut with a fast finish in 22.11. First-timer Alice Horsfield was second in 22.13, with visitor Suzanne Beattie (Musselburgh and District AC) third in 22.45.

Local results: Stuart Culverhouse (NWRRC)16th and 3rd VM50 in 22.32, with GOG’s Simon Cole 11th overall and 2nd VM45 in
22.05, with Jose Eduardo Vega Perez 15th and 3rd VM35 in 22.18. Veteran Liz Evans won her VW75 age cat in 28.28 in 63rd place overall. There were 158 finishers overall.

PRESTATYN

Tom Carter (Prestatyn RC) won the Nova Parkrun in 18.56, with visitor Zack Sadier second on course debut in 20.11, and
teenager Jack Richards was third in 20.39.

First female was Abbey Young in 23.37, Lucy Lloyd finished second in 24.29, with Tilly Jones third in 25.167.

Prestatyn RC entered 19 with Carter first, Dafydd Montgomery next in 4th overall in 20.39, with Adam Jeffers 7th in 21.26. There were 193 finishers.

PENRHYN

Visitor James Browne won the Penrhyn Castle Parkrun in 17.23, followed by Ifan Jones (Cybi Striders) in 18.23.

Top female was Samia Jones (Menai T&F) in 10th overall in 20.16, with JW11-14 athlete Fiona Horne second with a new
CPB in 20.46, and Mabli Baines (Eryri Harriers) claimed third in 21.10.
There were 213 finishers.