Fast times by North Wales Road Runners at Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon

Endurance star John Dalzell was the first club man home in 122nd place in one hour, 28 minutes and 36 seconds, closely followed by Stuart Culverhouse, who was thrilled to go sub-90 minutes after his 37th attempt, finally finishing in 125th place in 1.28.47.

Ben Hudson also had a good run out and finished in 158th place in 1.32.33, but his wife Sarah Hudson was the outstanding star of the team knocking an amazing nine minutes off her previous best time.

Sarah later admitted that she had been trying for ages to dip beneath 1.45, and said she was “over the moon” about this result.

Nicola Wylie was another runner in top-form, and said she was “buzzing” after her finishing time of 1.45.15 in 305th place overall, which included an eight-minute PB from her last half-marathon at Wrexham.

And Kelly Marie Alford said she found the race hard, but still finished well in 1.53.18 to claim 426th place.

Meanwhile, veteran Kevin Higgins continues to improve with every race, and he finished in 454th place in 1.55.02

And Mandy Owen was back in club colours again, recording a time of 2.11.40 in 641st place, with colleague Sue Smith running home in 744th place in 2.27.06.

Results: results.sporthive.com/events/6972882776687163648/races/483216.

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Great debut for Llyr at Bilbao Duathlon

Llyr Ap Geraint-Roberts made his debut in the Bilbao Duathlon last Saturday (September 17) and finished 14th at the top end of his MV45-49 in one hour 10 minutes and 29 seconds, and 89th out of 204 male athletes.

The event included a 5k run, followed by a 20k bike ride, and a further 2.7k final dash.

He said: “It was a tough course with 6km of the bike ride up a hill. I held my own across the disciplines, so I’ll take that in my first one. Roll on next year.”

Conwy parkrun’s silent tribute to the Queen

A total of 165 entrants at the Conwy parkrun stood in silence for a minute to pay tribute to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II last Saturday morning before the start of their 5k dash.

It proved to be a day of mixed emotions following recent commemorative events and special permission had to be granted to run this week’s parkrun as part of the course covers Crown land.

The parkrun race director Kelly said: “Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning, runners, and volunteers alike.

“It was a lovely atmosphere and the silence in memory of Her Majesty the Queen was very moving.

“It was lovely to share a piece of living history with you all today. We are so fortunate to have the support of the RSPB at Conwy parkrun, so thanks again for today folks it was a really special run.”

The emotions were then lightened to a certain extent, by NWRRC member Will Williams who was celebrating his 50th birthday with club colleagues and friends, with many amusing special replica face masks of Will, during the warm-up.

It must have proved beneficial, though, as Will later claimed a new course PB time and won his new MV50 age, cat finishing seventh overall in 18 minutes and 38 seconds.

His best friend, club colleague and mask organiser Steve Forsyth was fittingly the first man home in 16.59, and he also won his MV40 age cat, with another club rival Josh Keogh finishing second overall and first SM30 runner in 17.15.

Another of Will’s friends, Jamie Tharme, joined in with the fun to additionally claim a course PB in 21st place in 21.48 and finished fourth in his MV45 cat.

Stuart Culverhouse was 33rd in 23.29, and veteran Rob Fryer won his MV65 age cat with another good effort to finish 46th in 25.04.

Karen Butler also enjoyed a fine parkrun outing and she was just eight seconds behind Rob but won her FV60 age cat with another PB in 25.12.

Her husband Sean Butler finished in 74th place in 27.06, and Rachel Morris fresh from her Great North Run debut last week recorded a time of positive 30.43 in 123rd place overall.

Following the event, a delighted Will Williams said: “So much effort and thought had gone into this birthday surprise, I had no idea.

“I’m blessed to have such a fantastic friend in Steve Forsyth, and many other fantastic friends including Jamie Tharme, who all joined in with me this morning.

“And a huge thank you to the race director, volunteers, and all those participants who wore the mask, and wished me a happy birthday.

“It really goes to show what a special community park run really is… so only one thing to do after that, and that was to smash my course pb and get my first 50 age cat win.”

The Road Runners entered nine members this week and amazingly claimed five age category wins and podium places.

The first female runner home was former NWRRC member Gemma Moore (Eryri Harriers) in 24th place in 22.34, with promising teenager Harri Jackson (Manchester Metro University AC) taking the third spot for the men with a new PB and first SM18-19 cat in 17.19.

This is the link to the provisional Conwy parkrun results: www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults.

NWRRC athletes Rachel and Cheryl at Great North Run

Rachel Morris travelled to the North East to take part in the famous Great North Run (GNR) half-marathon event on September 10.

Rachel ran well and managed to complete the course in two hours and 33 minutes.

She said: "I had the pleasure of running the GNR with my parents.

“If anyone hasn’t done this one, I would highly recommend it, but it’s been a long-awaited two years for this weekend to happen thanks to COVID-19.

"It was my first time doing the GNR, my Dad’s 14th time, and my Mum’s 12th.

“The atmosphere was amazing, with families cheering you on, kids high-fiving, shouting your name, handing out sweets, lollies, oranges, and people spraying hoses as it was so hot.

"Bands were playing and right at the end, a packed-out pub with everyone singing as we passed!

“There were 60,000 people taking part, and I was 27,538th. I loved the whole weekend! I’ve already got my place in next year’s GNR 2023.”

Cheryl Frost was another competitor at the GNR and celebrated an excellent performance.

She added: "I finished 23rd in my age group. I was 4,775th overall and finished in one hour, 46 minutes and 26 seconds.

“It was such an amazing atmosphere and a very moving tribute to our wonderful Queen, and the minute silence before the start was very emotional."