A TRIO of North Wales Road Runners Club (NWRRC) members competed in the Mid-Cheshire 5k road race on Friday (August 26), which proved to be another ultra-fast event for a host of top club and elite athletes.

Run on a course known for its speedy times and personal best results, the race attracted 848 finishers for this popular summer challenge.

Just 30 seconds eventually separated the first 10 finishers, and incredibly, some 28 athletes all finished inside 15 minutes.

Martin Green was the first NWRRC man home in 124th place in a superb time of 16 minutes and 10 seconds, and yet he was seventh in his MV45 age cat.

Will Williams was delighted with his time of 17.39 in 289th place, with Harry Driscoll 364th following another excellent run in 18.52.

The overall race was won by Adam Craig in just 14.09, with Kurt Taylor (Bristol & West AC) second in 14.15, and Ben Brown (Southampton AC) third in 14.18.

This is the link to the provisional results from the Mid-Cheshire 5k race: runcheshire.niftyentries.com/Results/Mid-Cheshire-5k-Summer-2022.

Road Runners battles for club points and podium places at Nova parkrun

A total of 11 members of NWRRC travelled to Prestatyn on Saturday (August 27) to compete in the Nova parkrun as part of its revised 5k club championship events, with the run organisers recording their best attendance since lockdown.

With numerous open races either being cancelled or rescheduled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club opted to include this parkrun as an important middle-distance alternative.

Members later celebrated with seven podium places, including four age category wins.

And for all but one of the Road Runners, it meant a course debut at this parkrun venue, which was also boosted in the sunshine by supporters of the cancer charity – “Your Way, Move Against Cancer”.

Martin Green led the club team home despite competing in the elite 5k race in Cheshire the night before.

Martin eventually finished fourth overall out of 162 runners, in a time of 19 minutes and 45 seconds, and he also won his MV45 age cat.

Stuart Culverhouse, who was the only club finisher to have run at this event before, was sixth and won his MV50 cat in 20.13, with Gethin Wyn Jones 12th in 21.21.

Carla Green was the first female finisher in 14th place overall and won her FV50 cat in 21.29.

Cheryl Frost and Kay Hatton enjoyed another bout of friendly rivalry, with Cheryl narrowly finishing just one second and a place ahead of her colleague.

Cheryl was 29th overall and won her FV55 cat in 23.29, with Kay 30th and second FV55 cat in 23.30.

Nicola Wylie ran well to claim 37th place and she was second in her FV50 age cat in 24.34, with veteran Rob Fryer 41st and third in his MV65 age cat in 25.39.

And it was a rare parkrun outing for fellow vet Len Jackson who finished 63rd, and he was fourth in the same age cat as Rob in 27.54.

In addition, Helen Hannam was fourth in her FV45 cat in 28.43, whilst Rachel Morris finished 92nd overall, and fourth in her FV40 cat in 31.01.

The event was won by Andrew Wallace in 17.52, with local runner Stephen Skates (Prestatyn RC), second in 18.23, with Matthew Baker third in 18.25.

This is the link to the Nova Prestatyn parkrun results: www.parkrun.org.uk/novaprestatyn/results/latestresults.

Josh and Steve claim age category wins at Conwy parkrun

Only two North Wales Road Runners took part in the Conwy parkrun last Saturday (August 27) due to the club 5k dash at Prestatyn and other fixture clashes

But both members won their respective age categories and finished within the top 10 finishers.

Josh Keogh was the first club man home in second place overall with a fast time of 17 minutes and 13 seconds to win his SM30-34 age cat.

Steve Mason also had a fast finish in ninth place overall in 19.04, and he too won his MV45 age cat in 19.04.

The event was won by first-time Conwy parkrunner and tourist Keith Swainson (Sheffield RC) in 17.04, who finished just nine seconds ahead of Josh.

Another visitor, Ian Hales (Redhill Road Runners), claimed the third spot in 18.11, and the first female athlete was former NWRRC member Gemma Moore (Eryri Harriers) once again in 19.57.

This week’s parkrun at Conwy attracted a bumper Bank Holiday attendance of 241 finishers, with many travelling from far afield just to enjoy this picturesque 5k course staged in bright, warm, and sunny conditions.

First medals for juniors at fell race

It proved to be a family affair at the Dufton Show fell race last weekend after NWRRC member Dave Spofforth made a last-minute decision to run.

He competed in his road shoes and said he even stopped at the top for a moment to take some photos.

His young son Ben and daughter Elowen ran in the junior event, with Ben finishing second overall, but won his JM10-11 junior age cat, whilst Elowen claimed the third spot.

Dave explained that it was not a huge entry but said both youngsters won their first medals.