CLUB athletes from as far afield as Truro, Littleborough, the Fylde Coast, Chiltern, and Trentham had to battle a strong breeze and large puddles amid the challenging 5k course at Conwy parkrun on Saturday morning (March 12).

North Wales Road Runners entered 10 members this week following numerous fixture clashes over recent weeks, with Richard Eccles and Steve Mason competing neck and neck and just four seconds separating the duo.

Richard eventually finished in fifth place overall in 19 minutes 13 seconds, and also won his MV55-59 age category, with Steve sixth, and the winner of his MV45-49 group in 19.17.

Gethin Wyn Jones continued his rapid progress of late, to finish 16th overall in 20.46, with Stuart Culverhouse 22nd and 3rd in his MV50-54 category in 21.24.

Sean Butler had another good run, finishing in 36th spot and third in the MV60-64 group in 23.24.

John Dalzell was 41st in 24.00, with young Joe Culverhouse second in his JM11-14 category and 43rd overall in 24.04.

Sue Smith continued to improve and finished third in her MW55-59 age category in 29.14, with Rachel Morris 125th in 32.37, and Mike Smith 127th in 33.05.

Meanwhile, Helen Hannam ran as a tourist with her brother Tom at the Leas parkrun, near Minster, on Saturday, and finished in 13th place overall.

She won her age category as the second female athlete in 25.27, and Tom claimed a sub-20 run in second place overall in 19.52.

Afterwards, Heln admitted: “I enjoyed a good blast. Beautiful conditions and a great, fast route, very welcoming and well marshalled.”

Elsewhere, Mark Jessett enjoyed a spectacular run in the Dartford half-marathon on Sunday (March 13) and finished in 10th place overall in 1.22.12.

There were also four North Wales Road Runners in the Chester 10k on Sunday, and veteran Cheryl Frost led the small team home, finishing 443rd overall.

She was the 57th female athlete, in 48.11, to claim second place in her FV55-59 age cat.

Cai Roberts and Kelly-Marie Alford ran together again and finished strong in 1060th and 1061st places in 53.41, with Charlie Owen recording a determined effort in 2,510th place in 1.15.13.

The North Wales Regional Road Relay Championships will also be back in action again this year on Llandudno promenade, offering unique race opportunities for athletic clubs and mixed ability runners aged from under-11s to seniors, including master veterans aged 70 or older.

Organised by race directors John and Kay Hatton, in conjunction with the North Wales Regional Athletics Council, this exciting event will be held on Saturday, April 23, following a two-year absence due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The first race will start at 11am and will follow a 1km outward route starting along the promenade opposite Venue Cymru to the Cenotaph, and for the majority of runners, it will involve individual athletes running laps back and forth of either 2k or 4k, dependent upon their respective age categories, as part of a three-person relay team.

John Hatton said: “Entries are now online for this relay race. It includes social teams of any mixed ages.

“The online link gives all the age categories, and we have included the social aspect to help encourage many people to compete, therefore you could have a team of three, with one being 69 years old, another 40+, and someone who is 20 years old!

Kay Hatton added: “It would be good to see as many clubs participating as possible, and club secretaries will receive all the rules of competition.”

This is the link for online entries: secure.onreg.com/onreg2/front/step1.php?id=5565.

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