HUSBAND-and-wife North Wales Road Runners Club (NWRRC) duo Martin and Carla Green were selected for Wales last Sunday (September 25) in the Great Bristol 10k and competed against quality international opposition.
In a fast race Martin was pleased with his performance and finished 22nd overall in a superb time of 33 minutes and 16 seconds to claim fourth place in his respective age category.
Carla also enjoyed another excellent run, finishing 218th overall and the 51st female athlete in a time of 39.55 and sixth place in her age cat.
Former NWRRC member Gemma Moore, now with Eryri Harriers, was also selected for Wales in the same race and she finished 177th overall in 39.15 as the 35th female runner and eighth in her age category.
Elsewhere for NWRRC, accomplished endurance and fell runner Karl Morris competed in the tough Ras Pedol Peris/Peris Horseshoe race last weekend and claimed a great new PB.
The determined NWRRC star tackled this challenging 29.49km course, with 2,518m of elevation, in just four hours and 52 minutes.
Afterwards he said: “I made a slight mistake at the start, but still managed a course PB by one hour and 15 minutes.”
Kay Hatton and Mike Hayton became trail runners last weekend as they tackled the challenging St David’s Trail Race at Betws-y-Coed.
The event included a seven-mile rugged course with 1,280 ft of ascent, but both athletes ran well with Kay finishing as third lady and in 12th place overall in a time of one hour, 13 minutes and 26 seconds, with Mike 36th in 1.37.1
Hannah Griffith travelled to Winchester last Sunday to compete in the Winchester half-marathon race along with her sisters Siwan Kalatzi and Angharad Cooney.
They all ran well together, with Hannah recording a time of two hours and 13 minutes.
NWRRC members Sue and Mike Smith took part in the Southsea parkrun near Portsmouth last Saturday and Sue was delighted to claim third place in her VW55 age cat in 30.02, with husband Mike finishing in 252nd place in 31.20.
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Fast times by North Wales Road Runners at Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon
Couple of age category wins for North Wales Road Runners at fast 5k event
Conwy fell runner Mark Davies tackles daunting Swiss Peaks 360 race
Fast dash finish for Josh Keogh with a new PB at Conwy parkrun
Road Runner Josh Keogh claimed a great new personal best time and he was also the first man home following a fast finish at Conwy parkrun last Saturday (September 24).
Josh was nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest rival, David Garcia (Ilfracombe RC), in 18.54, with colleague Jonathan Kettle third in 19.16.
In a crazy fast dash finish, six club members eventually recorded some amazing times of under 20 minutes within the top 10 finishers.
The first female runner was Anna Mackenzie (Eryri Harriers) who also won her SW25 age cat finishing 10th overall in 20.09, and she was more than three-minutes ahead of her visiting rival Sheridan McWilliam (Birmingham Running and Triathlon Club) in 28th place in 23.19, and Charlotte Jones (Ilfracombe RC), who was 38th in 23.46.
The Road Runners celebrated seven podium places and claimed four age category wins amongst the near 200 entrants, which included many visiting runners from across the UK on a rain-soaked and challenging 5k course.
Josh won his SM30 age cat, as did Jonathan Kettle in his MV45 cat, with Martin Green fourth overall and second in the same age cat as Jonathan in 19.26, whilst preparing to represent Wales the following day at the Bristol 10k.
Steve Mason was on form again to claim the third spot in the same age cat, finishing fifth overall and he just one-second behind Martin in 19.27.
And Harry Driscoll ensured it was a tight finish as he crossed the line a further second adrift in 19.28 in sixth place to win his SM20-24 age cat.
Stuart Culverhouse was another athlete enjoying a great purple patch of top-form and he was ninth overall and second in his VM50 cat in 19.54.
After the event, Stuart admitted: “I was pleased to dip under 20 minutes for the first time in about six months.”
Stuart was followed by Jamie Tharme, who surprisingly matched the exact same PB time from the previous week finishing 20th in 21.49, whilst Gethin Wyn Jones returned to parkrun following his recent honeymoon and finished 43rd in 23.52.
Meanwhile, veteran runner Rob Fryer won his MV65 age cat again with a determined display to finish in 56th place overall in 24.47.
And John O’Shea was another veteran who enjoyed a good run in 95th place in 27.45, with Rachel Morris coming home in 131st place in 30.38.
Conwy parkrun provisional results list: www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults.
Start of North Wales Cross Country League
The North Wales Cross Country League begins this weekend at the Treborth Track, Bangor (October 1), with events for athletes ranging from under-15s to 65, plus masters’ races.
Event organisers say the Bangor course is currently dry and includes a 30-metre section of concrete, advising that runners may prefer alternative shoes rather than cross-country spikes.
Junior races start at 10.30am: U-15 boys; U-15 girls/U-13 boys; U-13 girls/U-11 boys; u-11 girls.
1pm: Women/65+ men/U-17 men.
2pm: Men.
All entrants must represent a club and be pre-registered with their full names, date of birth, club name etc as this year the races will be chip timed.
North Wales Cross Country League fixtures: 2022-23 season
Please note the following dates for the 2022-23 North Wales Cross Country season (the Junior Cross Country League will be held on the dates of four of the senior fixtures):
October 1 - Treborth Track, Bangor, LL57 2RQ.
October 22 - Dolerw Park, Newtown, SY16 2NZ.
November 26 – Whitford, CH8 9AN.
January 21, 2023 - Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay, LL29 7SP.
February 11, 2023 - Marches School, Oswestry, SY11 2AP.
Fixtures one, two, four and five will be senior and junior leagues.
Fixture three will be a senior fixture only.
The North Wales Cross Country Championships will be held at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd, Wrexham on Saturday, January 7, 2023.
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