REPORTS
Dive into our round-up of club members competing in yellow and blue. It’s a mix of road, track (indoors and out), field events, relays, running across muddy fields, and up some terribly steep hills. From our youngest to our super-vets, we want to celebrate the achievements of our club.
Have we missed something? Let our race report team know.
A weekEND OF REAL HIGHS
Weekend full of running highs - in more than one sense!
Last weekend saw many of our senior athletes competing both here in Wales and abroad.
First up, and closest to home – well done to all club members who travelled the relatively short distance down the M4 to compete in the Admiral Swansea Bay 10K.
17 – Jon Phillips – 00:33:30 (2nd V40)
25 – Owen Wiggins - 00:34:18 (first official run in a Bridgend vest 😊)
101 – Bevan Howells - 00:37:21
323 - Nick Mannion - 00:43:24
375 - Sophie Oddy - 00:44:26
429 – Catherine Stephens - 00:45:10
2228 - Stuart Davies - 00:45:27
Well done also to the winner Dewi Griffiths who, according to Athletics Weekly
“Dewi Griffiths, who has had several goes at it, finally won his home town 10km event on Sunday (Sept 15) and did so in 28:21 to finally get the better of the Birchfield pair of Kadar Omar and Omar Ahmed with who he has battled all year”.
Just goes to show – if Dewi can take 12 attempts to win his local race – theres hope for us all….maybe 😊
Taking their daps a little further afield – keen to join the battle with Jacob Ingebritsen in the Copenhagen Half Marathon were Tom Oliver (1:27:44) and Steve Summers (1:32:00) – “Rigtig godt gået gutter!” (as we say in Bridgend....)
Also running for the club - following in his mum Cath’s footsteps was Jake Williams - following his BAC debut at the recent MM5k - with an excellent 1:22:46
Rehydrating.... yeah right
Finally – and perhaps most impressively – our plaudits / admiration / open mouthed amazement goes to Sean Tobin – who came joint first in the Yr Wyddfa Ultra. Running a little over 100 miles, taking in the summit of Yr Wyddfa (as part of the total climb of 5800m) – Sean ran for nearly 30 hours – in wind and rain at times to finish the race midday on Sunday.
Sean on the left after his incredible run
In describing the race Sean said
The 3 of us raced together for the last 6 hrs ish… as the weather was so horrendous up high… and then the 3 of us tried our best to keep those in hot pursuit away…. We decided to come in together to the finish for joint first … but the organisers went off chip time from when we crossed the start line so I ended up in 2nd (only 100th of a second behind first 😂) sadly the strongest of the 3 of us who would have had the legs to take us at that point ended up 3rd.
Cosmeston Relays July 10th 2024
On a warm but wet evening BAC enjoyed some success last night (Wednesday July 10th) at the Cosmeston Relays event put on by Penarth & Dinas Runners. 236 teams of 3 per team competed, each runner running the slightly-less-than-5k mixed terrain course, the baton being passed from runner to runner.
We had a total of 11 teams of 3 runners – with our Senior Men team of Rhys Hardman, James Hunt and Owen Wiggins a wonderful 2nd overall only to a strong Lescroupiers team.
One of our ladies team (comprising Kate Roberts, yes – wearing blue and yellow for once, Sophie Oddy and Erin Andrews) also came 2nd Ladies Team.
Busy, busy, busy!
A busy, busy weekend for BAC athletes both Junior and from the Senior ranks.
Saturday saw Steve Summers competing in the Titan Brecon Middle Distance Triathlon. In wet and windy conditions full marks to Steve completing the 3 disciplines in a total time of 6 hours, 39 mins and 35 secs – see breakdown here
Over on the track we had at least two athletes (that we know about!) competing in the Welsh Schools T&F Finals at Leckwith. Fraser Higginson (U17B) continued his excellent progress with a Championship Record of 17:01:96 in the 3K Walk.
Also competing for Glamorgan Valleys was Bella Thie (U15G) who gained a new PB of 2:33:23 in her 800m race.
Bethan Hardman (U20W) was also competing, racking up the points for her region of Cardiff & Vale Schools, by taking silver in the 1500m, bronze in the 3k and a 4th in the 800m.
On Sunday a large contingent of runners took to the sunny streets of Porthcawl running the OGI / R4W Porthcawl 10k.
In the main race we had the following 20 runners:
Porthcawl 10k results to be found here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7213487355628356864/races/490096
Some of our Porthcawl Runners (and friends of the club :-) )
In the Future Challengers events we had some excellent runs from junior athletes:
U13 & U15
U11
Results not available but certainly other excellent runs including a runaway win for Rowan Carson in around 5:30
Challenger results are here: https://results.sporthive.com/events/7213487355628356864/races/490098
In the mountains, at the Pen-y-Fan Fell Race Kevin Fosbury showed that training on Southerdown Golf Club Hill can really help by coming 3rd overall in a time of 41:30 (see https://www.breconfans.org.uk/pen-y-fan-results-2024)
In the junior event Ted Spiller also came an excellent 3rd in the U11 race.
Finally – over in London, Rhys Hardman took a sneaky 1st place in the Richmond Riverside 10K in a time of 35:50
Spud RUN 2024
Sunday 16th of June saw Gina & Gareth run a fun multi-terrain run over near Marloes in Pembrokeshire.
Picture kindly supplied by https://juliabarkerphotos.zenfoliosite.com/
The Spud Run is a low key 10K organised by Pembrokeshire Tri Club - and takes in all that the local scenery has to offer - especially the “(One of the) Best Beaches in The UK” - namely Marloes Sands.
Picture kindly supplied by https://juliabarkerphotos.zenfoliosite.com/
The race starts and finishes at the excellent Runwayskiln Restaurant - who provide a hot drink and a cake to all finishers as part of the race entry. The lovely weather certainly contributed to the day - but with scenery like this - the views would be dramatic no matter what.
The low key nature of the event was emphasised by the race prizes - a fine bag of spuds from the local farmer! No controversy over whether the prizes were eco-friendly here… Race tees were provided by a local supplier as well.
A big “Five Stars” from the guys - definitely one to consider for next year…
SSAFA 5K (RACE 1) May 22nd 2024
A small cohort of BAC runners travelled east along the M4 (A48?) to Blackweir in Cardiff to run the first of the 3 fast 5K’s that comprise the summer SSAFA series.
In decent running conditions there were good runs for all concerned (possibly.. :-))
Position Name Time
POS NAME TIME
45 Sean Petty 00:17:04
76 Tom Oliver 00:18:07
106 Tim Hughes 00:19:18
123 Daniel Morgan 00:19:48
129 Nick Stocker 00:20:08
161 Gareth Hardman 00:21:56
183 Jacqueline Brace 00:23:33
SOUTH & EAST WALES REGIONAL OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
The sun shone - and our junior athletes shone in equal measure at the S&E Wales Regional T&F Champs on Sunday (Aberdare)
Congratulations to all who competed - and as ever - huge thank you to parents in transporting, and coaches for being there to help the athletes do their best on the day.
U13 Girls Long Jump
Gwen Trivett - 4.09 - Silver 🥈
Lola Cooksey - 3.32 - 10th
U13 Girls Shot Putt
Lola Cooksey - 4.89 - Bronze 🥉
U13 Girls - 100m
Leela Wilson -13.91- Silver 🥈
Gwen Trivett - 14.28 - 8th
Isabella Papura - 14.84 - 10th
Lola Cooksey - 15.20 - 15th
Mali Beynon - 15.22 - 16th
U15 Girls - 100m
Nia Fraser - 13.77 - 7th
Maja Chelminiak - 13.86 - 8th
Enya Rooney - 14.05 - 10th
U13 Girls - 200m
Leela Wilson - 29.14 - Gold 🥇
Isabella Papura - 31.04 - 7th
Lola Cooksey - 32.30 - 13th
Mali Beynon - 32.55 -14th
U15 Girls - 200m
Nia Fraser - 28.63 - Silver 🥈
Maja Chelminiak - 28.92 - Bronze 🥉
Enya Rooney - 30.29 - 8th
U20W - 400m
Georgia Smele - 1.06.78 - Gold🥇
Record BAC Numbers at Cardiff 5k
Sunday evening saw a record number of BAC runners compete in the Cardiff 5K at Whitchurch. This race is growing in stature and atmosphere in equal measure, with this year seeing Dewi Griffiths and Innes Fitzgerald take the honours in competitive races at the head of the field.
Making a welcome return for club after a number of years in the wilderness (Cardiff AC.. 😊) our first runner home was Jonathan Phillips in an impressive 15:46.
Next in was BAC Mark Emery was our first runner home in a PB of 16:08, followed by Ffion Higginson, back up from college – also earning a great PB of 17:57. Third home for the club was Tom Oliver – again a PB, a massive 44 secs one in 18:15.
Other notable performances were Stephen Summers equalling his PB of 19:37; Ebony Vanderras continuing to improve week on week with a time of 20:14, and Jack Ayoub – our Lebanese Lion running 23:28 – his fastest 5k since 2018 – and now in the V70 category….aging like a fine Chateau Ksara wine from the Bekaa Valley 😊
Also great to see a number of new joiners in Blue & Yellow for the first time, and so many of our juniors stepping up into the 5K distance – #youthontheirside
Full results
CATEGORY TIME
· Jonathan Phillips M40 00:15:46
· PB! Mark Emery M40 00:16:08
· PB! Ffion Higginson F20 00:17:57
· PB! Tom Oliver M35 00:18:15
· PB! Adrian Crujeiras miranda MSEN 00:18:37
· PB! Rory Griffiths M17 00:18:37
· PB! Stephen Summers M55 00:19:37
· Daniel Morgan M45 00:19:40
· PB! Finlay Griffiths M17 00:20:08
· PB! Ebony Vanderras FSEN 00:20:14
· Katy Griffiths F17 00:20:25
· PB! Nick Mannion M45 00:20:39
· PB! Belle Thie F17 00:20:59
· PB! Seren Hardman F17 00:21:34
· Bethan Hardman F20 00:21:34
· PB! Esme Lewis F17 00:21:30
· Orion Bailey M45 00:21:37
· Gareth Hardman M55 00:22:35
· Jack Ayoub M70 00:23:28
· PB! Calla Davies F17 00:23:40
· Phill Iveson M55 00:23:43
· Stacey Mcfarlane F35 00:24:23
· Wayne Randall M50 00:24:51
· Steph Iveson F40 00:25:38
· Abigail Morgan F20 00:28:15
· Krista Humphrey F45 00:29:20
· PB! Claire Morgan F45 00:29:47
· Huw Roberts M65 00:36:23
The YELLOW WAVE Crashes for BCRL
Last night the Yellow Wave (as we have now become!) crashed on the shore of Porthcawl with the first of 7 Bridgend County Running League (BCRL) events. For those that are not aware of it – it’s a local league between us and 6 other running clubs in the area – and it’s a closely fought set of events that run once a month over the summer period.
Last night saw 49 seniors turn up for the event – possibly our best ever turn out for such an event – and we were rewarded with 5 of the available 6 podium slots.
Congratulation to ALL runners – and to those that took the podium places
1st Male – Mark Emery 1st Female – Bethan Hardman
2nd Male - Sean Tobin 2nd Female – Georgie Dando
3rd Female – Ebony Vanderras
It was particularly pleasing to see a real mixture of club stalwarts, new joiners, those returning from injury and up-and-coming juniors (as we can see runners over 16 run for us).
The final results are on the BCRL Facebook page.
Senior REPORT - 24/04/24
Congratulations to the following athletes in recent events…
Mali McDuff (U17) in London Mini Marathon
Georgia Armitage ran Mersey Tunnel 10K in 42.45 (5th Female)
Dan Morgan ran and biked in the Mallory Park Duathlon
Devin Coombes in BUCS 10K – smashing a great PB time of 31.34
2023 Welsh athletics Combined events
The 6th of November took our junior Combined Events athletes to NIAC for the Indoor Combined Events competition. We fielded a strong number of athletes and a fantastic day was had by all.
Our coaches comments about the day included-
“
Well done to each and everyone of you who competed today .
Extremely proud of all of you, the attitude and togetherness I witnessed today from you all was absolutely fantastic .
I am proud of each member individually but also as a group. You were supportive, competitive, gracious and most importantly happy.
That arena can become a lonely place when things ain’t quite going your way and to have the support and togetherness you all showed can go an awful long way.
You should all be extremely proud of yourselves not just for your performances but the way you all presented yourselves throughout the day is something Gerwyn, Mike and Chris will hold in high regard.
You can all relax and take the rest of the day off.
“
So many personal bests, in fact EVERY athlete had a personal best in at least one event, pb’s in-
Under 14’s boys
Ed Jeynes - Shot, Quad
Under 16’s boys
Harri Davies - 800m
Regan Mahoney - 800m,
Cian Smith - 800m, long jump
Olly Esmond - 200m, long jump
Under 14 girls
Emily Rideout - long jump
Tamzin Bennett - first track event
Abbie Williams - long jump
Under 16’s girls
Bethan Deeks - 60m hurdles, shot put
Kacey Carter - first track event
Flo Durrant - high jump, long jump, shot put
Bel Durrant - 60m hurdles
Daisy Lewis - shot(i)
Mia Amerein - long jump, shot put
Under 18’s girls
Bethany Jenkins - 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put
Tamzin was the 4th fastest hurdler and Emily 5th in the U14 girls
Bethan was 6th fastest hurdler, 8th longest in long jump, 3rd in Shot, 6th in 800m in U16 girls
Mia was 9th fastest in the 800m for the Y16 girls
Bethany finished 6th overall
Bethan finished 7th overall
Emily finished 8th overall
Huge smiles and lots have fun had throughout the day.
Junior athletes eagerly awaiting the first event.
The sun shines favourably on us
SSAFA 5k – race 2 – 22nd June
A hot day presented a ‘warm’ evening. Too warm for some people, who might have preferred the rain that greeted the runners for the first race in the three-part series.
Wednesday’s event had a race within a race. It included the South Wales championships.
4th Adam Bowden 14:49 (SB)
33rd Kate Roberts 17:18 (2nd lady)
42nd Jon Parry 17:45 (PB)
65th Rhydian Lloyd-Francis 18:59
80th Nick Stocker 19:45 (SB)
82nd Leigh James 19:50 (SB)
88th Georgie Dando 20:09 (SB)
91st Gareth Hardman 20:16 (SB)
106th Katy Griffiths 21:08
121st Evatt Cummings 22:27 (SB)
177 finishers
We’re still waiting on a full set of South Wales championship results to see how many Bridgend Athletics names are in there. For now, we know that both Adam and Kate took home medals for top three overall.
Most of our team - L-R - Gareth, Jon, Leigh, Kate, Nick, Georgie.
Welsh tiathlon medal
With a series of race distances over the swim, bike, and run discipline on Sunday 26th, Sophie Moore finished second in the Welsh champs. With 7th in the British champs, she’s qualified for the World’s next year.
Sion Evans and Jon Parry were also in action.
Sprint distance
151st Sophie Moore 1:16:48
Standard distance
176th Jon Parry 2:38:25
211st Sion Evans 2:43:09
Sophie in transition
Most recent parkrun results
Devin Coombes stole the show at this Saturday’s parkrun, with a first place finish at Porthcawl parkrun.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
A short report written by Leigh James.
Photos Leigh Francis, Sion Evans, Cath Hayes.
Three letters fill the headline - WCR
WCR for those not in-the-know stands for Welsh Castles Relay. An event that runs for the tip of Wales, to the South, over two days. 55 teams. Each 20 members strong. It’s been in the pipeline for months. Gina has quietly soldiered on knitting our team together. Organising the troops. Travel. Logistics. Niggles and injuries.
This year marks the 37th running of the event, with 36 teams in the open category (the one we entered).
A handful and more of our team were making their WCR debuts: Leigh, Mark, James, Laura, Sadie, Steve, Jon, Sean.
Here’s our stage-by-stage recap.
Overall leg finish (open team position)
Stage 1 - Caernarfon Castle to Penygroes 9.1 miles
Leigh James 66:39
26th (22nd)
Leigh James finishing leg 1
“I had the dubious honour of opening the team’s account. But, I was spoilt by Team Hardman - a chauffeur services from my front door to the starting line, overnight accommodation, and a personalised set of drills to warm up by Seren. Despite a panicked reshuffle of the start, the race went off on-time. The noise from across the water (where we should have set off) raised a few smiles, and set the tone for the atmosphere of the day.
The wind was a challenge. I tucked in at the back of a train for the first few miles as much as possible. Had a sticky patch where I had to briefly stop. And a mostly solo run from midway. Not a vintage performance, but solid enough. And my work for the day over early.
From there on, it was a treat to support the day 1.”
Stage 2 - Penygroes to Criccieth Castle 10.7 miles
Mark Thomas 76:26
31st (24th)
Mark running strongly, and smiling.
Stage 3 - Criccieth Castle to Maentwrog 12.3 miles (mountain stage)
Evatt Cummings 1:42:12
53rd (35th)
Evatt negotiating the downhill finale.
Stage 3 NOT 4
Sometimes I do nice things. Sometimes. Just in case He is watching - I want to go Up NOT Down!!!!!
I wasn't asked to do stage 3 - I offered. Logistically the Castles is a nightmare and if you're trying, like Gina was going to, to get from the end of stage one to the start of stage 3 it's a bit of a rush and not ideal preparation for a mountain stage!!!!
Evatt on 3. Gina on 4. Potential problem avoided.
So, there I am stood by the boot of my car preparing to run from Criccieth to Maentwrog.
" Have you seen who's on this stage " an old Les Croups team mate says to me.
" I don't give a shit " I reply (I'm a Barry Boy and sometimes I remember that!!!!!!)
It doesn't matter how fast (or famous) your competitors are it all comes down to you and how you handle the occasion. I'm 53 and unable to run as fast as I once could so I spread the effort accordingly and settle into a pace I can keep for 9 miles. After running through, what can only be described as Holland (flat and uninspiring!!!!!), you reach the 9 mile point. You're sent left - I HAVE to go Up, Up, Up but, this time, I also HAVE to go Down..........
Well Done Everyone that played a part.
Stage 4 - Maentwrog to Harlech Castle 9.5 miles
Gina Hardman 73:33
38th (28th)
Gina moments before the start of leg 4.
“As ever, plenty of last minute changes were happening – and I wasn’t sure which leg I’d be doing until the last day almost. Evatt very kindly offered to “take one for the team” and do the Leg 3 Mountain Stage – I’m very grateful Evatt! This left me with the relatively flat Leg 4 – 9.5 miles from Maentwrog to Harlech.
One of the main problems with being part of the organising team on WCR is that you tend to forget to feed yourself in the rushing from start to finish to start again. This meant that I turned up on the start line at 1pm with a few curly fries nicked from Seren’s plate at the pub to sustain me on my run…. Not surprisingly, after setting off at a cracking pace, it ended up like a scene from “One Wheel On My Wagon” as I got progressively slower in the final few miles.
Huge thanks must go to Stephen Jenkins and the South Wales Police team, who not only encouraged me on my run, but also gave me a lift from the end to our car, abandoned as it was by Gareth at the start of his leg in Dolgellau.”
Stage 5 - Harlech Castle to Barmouth 9.6 miles
James Matthews 77:30
37th (28th)
James less than meter from stopping the clock on leg 5
Stage 6 - Barmouth to Dolgellau 10.7 miles
Laura Gush 79:24
35th (26th)
“First time runner at the castles relay this year. It has a reputation as a prestigious elite event so I'd built up quite some nervous energy. I camped Friday night at Hendre Mynach right at the start line of leg 6 so I was there and ready to go. The 10.7 mile section runs along the promenade, across the bridge with its clickety clack boards and then joins the Mawddach trail for a long, flat, almost entirely straight 7+ miles on gravel footpath. The public toilets at the start area were locked so I ended up nipping into the ones at the harbour 1.5 miles into the race - 30 seconds but enough to not know who had gone past and where I was in the field. Along the Mawddach trail, it would bend slightly then straighten out again and I'd see the same little pack in the distance - always keeping the same gap so running exactly my pace. I couldn't reel them in so apart from overtaking 2 runners completely, I ran the whole trail completely alone. But it was a nice route with beautiful views, I felt strong, and I was able to push along maintaining my pace to the end. Bring on 2023!”
Laura storming down the finishing straight.
Stage 7 - Dolgellau to Dinas Mawddwy 10.1 miles (mountain stage)
Gareth Hardman 77:34
40th (30th)
Gareth, with the wind behind him.
Another finish line in sight.
“When offered either Leg 3 (longer, then stupid hill) or Leg 7 (shorter, stupid hill from the go, then knee damaging downhill section) – it was quite a challenge to decide which of these beauties I was going to do. In the end – Evatt offered to do Leg 3 – leaving me with Leg 7 – one I’d done a couple of times before – so a known quantity in theory. Weird how the memory blocks out previous trauma though eh?
I decided on “steady she goes, stay with Ian Ogilvie from Brackla” strategy. Heading up the hill (all 1300 feet of it) – I was definitely in Ian’s slipstream, as we both steadily chipped away at a few of the hares that suddenly realised just how steep this leg was. We crested the pass some 20m apart – Ian then set off down the hill like a runaway train – and my nice new operated-on-last-year-knees protested sufficiently that I had to let him go…. Still there was a nice tailwind for us (unlike many who didn’t benefit in the same way) – and I hit the flat section with gusto – and felt good at the end. The course record broken this weekend – a combination of the tail wind and nice new techie daps I suspect.
The nerd in me made me check on the first time I did this course in 2012. It was a slightly different course back then – I did the then 9.1 miles in 1.08.31 – ending up in 43rd position. This year course was 9.9 miles – and I did it in 1.17.35, finishing in 40th. So - 9 mins slower on a course 0.8 miles longer, and I’m 10 years older – I think that’s a “win”?”
Stage 8 - Dinas Mawddwy to Foel 10.8 miles
Kartin Higginson 91:21
51st (33)
Katrin clicking off the miles.
“After a bit of a hiatus of racing in yellow and blue I was back for castles relay 2022 Leg 8. Perhaps driving the reverse of the route on the way to the start was a mistake because then I knew anything I drove down I would be running back up later on. Nearly 7 miles of up hill took it out of me and the last 3 and a half felt like a marathon to me. Definitely by far the toughest race mentally I’ve ever done but I hope I have proven myself and I’m proud that I made it to the finish.
Being part of team Bridgend over the whole weekend was a privilege. Supporting the team all the way down to Cardiff on Day 2 was inspiring especially seeing Sean Tobin absolutely smashing leg 13 up to drovers arms. Thank you to Bridgend AC for choosing me to run again and I’m looking forward to racing in yellow and blue a bit more next year.”
All smiles.
Stage 9 - Foel to Llanfair Caereinion 8.5 miles
Sadie Pemberton 69:07
48th (33)
Keeping hydrated…
“After asking for an easy leg the Foel to Llanfair Caereinion did not disappoint! This 8.5 mile route (although my Garmin recorded 8 miles) definitely had a great start, a nice down hill with a great tail wind to add even more pace. Although undulating this stretch had more descent than ascent 456 ft compared to 240ft. The middle section of the race had some beautiful views, this coined with the great support I had along the leg enabled me to run in a faster time than I had anticipated. Thank you again to everyone involved in the organisation. As a family we had a brilliant weekend.”
Stage 10 - Llanfair Caereinion to Newtown 13.1 miles (mountain stage)
Andrew Tuckey 85:05
24th (20th)
Great minds…
Stage 11 - Newtown to Llanbadarn Fynydd 10.5 miles (mountain stage)
Nick Grimell 68:22
10th (9th)
Nick on the ‘wrong’ side of the road for photos.
Stage 12 - Llanbadarn Fynydd to Crossgates 11.2 miles
Nick Stocker 79:00
34th (24th)
“After a night spent in a tent in Crossgates listening to the rural sounds of dogs barking and distant cars it was time to rise at 5.20am a bit bleary-eyed. Drove Nick G to his start at Newtown Sports Centre where we also met Laura and her dogs. Returned to Llanbadarn Fynydd next, the start of leg 12 after I had chance to check out the route on the way.
The stage started on time at 7.55am (without Ellesmere Port) at a reasonably quick pace which soon eased off a bit. The route was apparently downhill for a good section although it didn't feel like it. Some parts were a bit rough underfoot all on the main road to Crossgates. A few hills towards the end. Not a lot of overtaking going on. It was warm enough to have a few cups of water along the way and a bottle from Laura too.
The end came sooner than expected so mis-timed my sprint finish but Katrin said I looked strong coming in so I will take that! That was my 4th Castles and 4th different stage. Was a fantastic weekend. “
Nick, followed by Nick, on leg 12.
Stage 13 – Crossgates to Builth Wells 10.6 miles
Steve Summers 72:15
24th (22)
Steve nearly ‘home’.
Stage 14 - Builth Wells to Drovers Arms 10.8 miles (mountain stage)
Sean Tobin 67:06
10th (10th)
Sean striding out.
Stage 15 - Epynt Visitor Centre to Brecon 12.8 miles
Mark Emery 74:01
10th (10th)
Mark ‘pretty in pink’.
Stage 16 - Brecon Canal Basin to Torpantau 12.5 miles (mountain stage)
Jon Parry 86:19
21st (18th)
Jon on his debut castles.
“Really enjoyed my 1st WCR, Kate Roberts picked the perfect leg for me to do. Fast rolling front half with the hills bringing us home. Gave it a good push from the gun and staying strong on the way home. Bring on next year now. Thanks to the guys who put the work in behind the scenes as well, much appreciated.”
Stage 17 - Taf Fechan Railway Station to Torpantau Merthyr 7.8 miles
Helen Andrews 63:01
42nd (26th)
Helen thoroughly enjoying her run.
Stage 18 - Merthyr Tydfil (Rhyd-y-Car Centre) to Abercynon (Navigation Park) 9.1 miles
Cath Stephens 67:20
33rd (23rd)
Cath rounding off leg 17.
“I was looking forward to a down hill 9.1 miles but it was fairly flat the first half with a lovely big uphill around half way! This part was marshalled by the BAC crew so it was a tonic to see their lovely faces despite me not being able to speak ! The second half was mainly downhill and despite a close shave with a supporters bus blocking my vision where I lost sight of the runners in front and nearly went off piste , they kindly pointed me in the right direction! Down hill from there with a supportive beep from Jack and Nick as they passed in the car, I motored onto the end and finished in 1 hr 7.”
‘That’s not a hill!?’
Stage 19 - Abercynon (Navigation Park to) Nantgarw 7.7 miles
Gemma Roche-Clarke 57:00
28th (18th)
“My 4th WCR experience, this time leg 19, 7.7 miles, navigation park to Nantgarw. A route of 2 halves with some undulating street running and lots of support to start and then the taff trail under the shade of the trees to finish. The second half was up a gentle gradient, just enough of a hill to feel relentless! I picked off those closest to me and settled into my pace, passing the odd cyclist and Sunday walker! Great to see some BAC support at the start and finish. Another great event, well done everyone involved!!”
“Let’s go”
Stage 20 - Caerphilly Castle to Cardiff Castle 9.9 miles
Dave Murray 65:00
23rd (20th)
That’s a wrap - Dave rounding off our team’s efforts.
Dive into all the WCR results and stats you could ever want.
WCR shout-outs
A BIG Thankyou to:
All the kids who travelled to support. Their cheers were the loudest and I have no doubt they will run Welsh Castles in the future.
Marshalls Gareth says “Great to have Gareth Davies, Nick Grinnell, Stuart Davidson, Nick Stocker, Jack Ayoub, Gina Hardman providing the marshalling support for WCR today 👏👏👏👏. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
And Gina: “Stu, Jack, Gareth D, Nick G, Nick S and Gareth H for marshalling (if there were a prize for best marshalling team, we would easily win it!).”
Our reserves - Tony, Steve J and Cath H who were all on standby in case of emergency.
All the BAC runners, who each gave it their all … and everyone finished with a big smile. The BAC team spirit has shone all weekend and it was great to be part of
Supporting the WCRs is tiring work.
That’s not all
Swansea Bay 5k – 8th June
Stood with their toes milometers from the starting line, Rhydian and Katy put the club colours to the fore of the second Swansea Bay 5k. Katy had her usual fast start, and held strong in the challenging windy conditions – closely matching her time from SSAFA. It bodes well, particularly returning from an injury. And Rhydian, well, despite the conditions he still managed to dip under the 20 minute mark.
Rhydian Lloyd-Francis 19:59
Katy Griffiths 22:00
Earlier that day we’ve heard news that Rhydian was racing over 1500, competing at the Inter Schools. Naturally he won, in a nippy 5:16.
Cardiff tri – 11th June
Josh Morgan, 2nd
Josh’s words pinched from Instagram:
“Cardiff Junior Tri 2nd - 1st in heat then 2nd 🥈 overall - new and improved transitions making me have the fastest T1&T2 of the day and fastest bike and run leg - swim was alright need to improve.”
Podium photo.
British tri champs – Leeds – 11th June
Three of our members headed north to Leeds last weekend to take part in the British Triathlon Standard Distance Age Group Championships. Sean Petty, Richard Dando & Simon Osborne qualified to represent Welsh Triathlon’s ‘Tîm Tri Cymru’ and did the Welsh Tri suit proud! With a keen wind the race started with a 1500m swim in Roundhay Park, followed by a 2 lap 36km bike leg & rounded off with a lumpy 10km run around the park. All 3 had brilliant races but special mention to Sean for winning bronze in his 17-19 age group. Da iawn.
64th Sean Petty 2:12:08 (3rd 17-19)
74th Richard Dando 2:13:35 (13th 40-45)
269th Simon Osbourne 2:28:43 (6th 60-64)
TATA Steelman – 12th June
Evan John 10th in 25-29 age group 2:28:25
Swim 31:28 T1 1:26
Bike 1:15:09 T2 1:17
Run 39:04
Lucy John 5th in 35-39 age group 2:53:55
Swim 39:22 T1 3:23
Bike 1:24:48 T2 1:34
Run 44:46
In Lucy’s words:
“It’s a great event, very well organised, brutal head wind on the bike one side but lovely tailwind then on the return. Great finishes socks FairPlay, very happy with them! Ooo and I mustn’t forget the delicious bacon roll too 👌🏻”
Swansea half marathon – 12th June
Word from the race organisers is that it was a windy day. Scowling the results it looks like we had two who travelled West for the flat and fast half:
224th Ryan Bowan 93:56
1215th Jon Thiel 2:00:19
Welsh track and field championships - 11th & 12th June
Over the weekend the u15 age group and seniors were competing for Welsh medals in Cardiff. We’re thin on news on the ground, but have a scattering of results, and two fine photos. If you’d like to catch up, there should be a chance to re-play the events on Vinco (who were streaming live).
Lewis took home an impressive haul of three bronze medals. Sailing over the high jump, Alfie also took home a bronze.
Lewis Barnes 100 11.88 bronze
Noah Roberts 100 12.60
Alfie Osborne 100 13.20
Lewis Barnes 200 23.89 bronze
Lewis Barnes LJ 5.35 bronze
Alfie Osborne LJ 4.98
Alfie Osborne HJ 1.45 bronze
Mia Amerein: javelin 12.01
Annabelle Durrant javelin 12.13.
Florence Durrant javelin 10.05
Bethan Deeks 100 12.94 (PB)
Regan Mahoney 100 13.74
Ariane Smith 100 13.7
5Mia Jones 100 14.38
Bethan Deeks 200 26.68 (PB)
Ariane Smith 200 28.74
Martha Trivett 200 30.45
Annabelle Durrant 200 39.78
Mia Amerein 800 2:45
Florence Durrant 800 2:56
Annabelle Durrant HJ 1.25
Bethan Deeks LJ 4.70 (PB)
Regan Mahoney LJ 4.39
Martha Trivett LJ 3.87
Florence Durrant LJ 3.73
Proudly standing on the podium.
One of three Welsh Champs medals.
Most recent parkrun results
On what must contend as one of the busiest weekends for the club, we still had 17 athletes at this Saturday’s parkrun. Rich was seemingly warming up for his triathlon. Rhydian and Katy out over 5k again, albeit backing off the pace. Devin banked a first place at Exmouth parkrun with 16:36. And Adam Bowden making this week’s UK wide top 10, in 6th – 15:27.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
This week’s report comes at you from Leigh James.
Photos Gareth Hardman, Mari Higginson, Laura Gush, Leigh James, Steve Summers, Krista Humphrey, Andrew Barnes, Peny Y Bont Tri club, and possibly more (our WhatsApp groups were flooded with images and videos).
Krista's PB shines
Jumping straight into the results this week, with no warm up…
Rhydian zipping along.
Aberavon 5k series – 1st June
There’s no better day than Global Running Day to snatch a PB. It’s been on the cards for a while – Krista thought she’d clocked 25 minutes on the nose, with perfect 8 min miles. The official results showed she dipped under the 25 mark for the first time. It’s a whopping 2:20 off her course best too.
Krista wasn’t the only one going over the 5k though. We had six Bridgend Athletics members racing, with Rhydian leading the way (again):
17th Rhydian Lloyd-Francis 18:35
25th Josh Morgan 19:28
38th Dan Morgan 20:38
52nd Katy Griffiths 21:37
91st Abi Morgan 24:54
93rd Krista Humphrey 24:58
Devin in PB action.
BMC Regional Races – Exeter – 31st May
After a 5:34.9 1500m outing in early April, and a 2k steeplechase at BUCS champs at the end of April (8:15.47), Katrin took to the track again at the BMC meet. With the Welsh Castles Relay only a matter of days away, she’s nicely finding speed.
18th 1500 – Race C – 5:41.06
BMC PB Classic - Milflied – 4th June
Sporting Exeter uni colours, Devin Coombes was spotted by our unofficial club photographer Gareth racing over 3,000. It looks like he dipped under the 9min mark for the first time:
Men’s B race, 2nd, 8:58.00
National Athletics League – Premiership – Eton – 4th June
Racing in her first club’s colours, here’s Kate’s report on her competition in Eton, on Jubilee weekend:
“It was a hot and windy day at Windsor and one lap into the 3000m I knew it wasn’t a day for any pb’s.
One runner took the race out from the gun but I sat back and ran my own race. Sitting comfortable in second place at 1800m I had the leader in my sights and managed to pass her with a km to go and push on for the win.
Shortly after the 3000m I was asked if I would have a run out in the 1500m. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty and my legs gave up on me 500m in but came away with second place.”
3,000 1st, 10:05.72
1500 6th, 4:58.37
Most recent parkrun results
At this Saturday’s parkrun Gina has made it to 50 and counting at Barry Island (98 in total). As well as Barry, Bridgend Athletics athletes were at the locals – Maesteg and Porthcawl – as well as Swansea, Druridge Bay and Pontypridd.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
This week’s report comes to you from Leigh James.
Photos by Leigh Francis and Gareth Hardmam.
sitting in a Podium position
The event of the week had no competition for the headline – the second fixture in the BCRL was our focus.
BCRL – 24th May
Kate’s words about this race might resemble a series of characters $”@*!?” that we won’t spell out. She took an unfortunate fall not long after the starting gun, ending up in a bed of nettles. It’s safe to say she didn’t continue running, and didn’t get much sleep that night.
The rest of our team thankfully avoided trouble, trips and falls.
Bridgend Athletics held on to their 3rd place in the team standings. Richard Dando was first over the line for us in 6th, with Geoffrey nipping close behind in 7th, 5 seconds back.
It was a treat to see second-claim member Beth Hardman in our yellow and blue hoops. And great to see Jon Parry make his racing debut for us – plenty more to come.
Team standings
Bridgend Athletics 3rd with 1035
Don’t they look good - team photo from Kenfig.
A home competition - 28th May
Young athletes report from Richard Dando:
After the junior athletics meeting at Neath scheduled for Saturday 28th May was cancelled the day before, the brilliant team of Bridgend AC coaches & volunteers hastily arranged a club track & field fun day for our juniors.
From long jump & high jump, to shot and discuss, to 75m and 200m sprints, to 800m and 1500m endurance races - there was something for everyone. The last event was a mixed aged relay which went down well with all the kids. In between all the track & field fun there was a family game of rounders with ice creams & the day finished with pizza and chips.
For some of our newer junior members it was their first experience of a track & field event and judging by the smiles it was a great success.
A big thanks to all the coaches, volunteers & parents that helped put the event on in such short notice - and well done to all the juniors for their brilliant performances. Good luck for the rest of the summer track & field season.
Our junior squad
Swansea 5k – 29th May
With the offering of free places, there was a four-strong club turnout for the Swansea 5k. Organised by Activity Wales Events, it was part of a busy day’s competition including a triathlon.
Everyone negotiated the steps successfully. Phew.
Results (you might need to pick the event from the dropdown menu)
4th Richard Dando 18:19 (1st vet)
16th Nick Stocker 20:46
20th Georgie Dando 21:04 (1st vet)
22nd Deryl Stephens 21:36
71 finishers
Sorry if we missed anyone, we couldn’t filter results by Bridgend Athletics
Swansea tri – 29th May
At the aforementioned triathlon, Jon Parry swam, biked, and ran again (in prep for Long Course Weekend, in Tenby, we believe)
91st Jon Parry 1:17:38.7
Beast of Bryn – 29th May
Tuesday edit to drop in Gareth Hardman’s race report:
Sunday 29th of May saw a number of BAC runners travel up to the lovely Afan Valley to take on the “Beast of Bryn” 15 mile trail race. This was the first running of the event for 7 years – not run since the unfortunate incident where the marshal didn’t turn up at the turn-around point on a kids race…This resulted in most of the kids heading off down a railway track and being “rescued” by the Mountain Rescue Land Rover when the parents didn’t see their loved ones return after a worrying length of time. I was there that day – 9 year old Bethan had great fun in the Land Rover has to be said. This incident made the local papers and BBC Wales news at the time – so I guess the original organisers have had to keep a low profile for a while!
This year’s event, now under new stewardship, seemed to go off without any obvious hitch – in fact very well organised from what I saw – the complimentary alcohol free beers put on by brewery sponsors Days a very welcome alternative to Brecon Carreg sprint water! The route was mostly on forest trails with plenty of arrows and marshals, and sufficient water stations.
The weather has been dry in the main for the last few weeks, so the course, whilst very hilly, wasn’t overly muddy – and Andrew Tuckey, running on his birthday, choosing to run in ordinary running shoes, wasn’t impacted for lack of grip, coming in second place overall. He suggested he was running to test out the legs prior to Welsh Castles Relay – I think his selection for Leg 10 was justified based on this performance….
The run heads south of the village of Bryn to start with, up around the Cwmwernderi Reservoir, back into the Afan Valley, before doing another big loop to the north of Bryn, taking in sections of the Afan Argoed Forest Park.
Big thanks to the Morgan Tribe for the full support – but it was in their back yard I guess. Well done to Josh (who came 6th) and Ruth Davies (coming 4th Female) for running the “6 mile” race. This was essentially the first half of the main race and was about 7.1 according to Josh’s watch… – so no ordinary 10k for sure!
2nd Andrew Tuckey 1:46:00 (1st v45)
30th Simon Osborne 2:06:52 (1st v60)
38th Gareth Hardman 2:11:33 (3rd v55)
49th Dan Morgan 2:15:29
93rd Gina Hardman 2:31:38
140th James Matthews 2:43:46
Team photo
Most recent parkrun results
At this Saturday’s parkrun Krista has made it to 80 and counting. Richard made it two 5ks in two days, starting with Porthcawl parkrun. With another 17 club members in action.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Leigh James was this week’s reporter. Boosted by reports from Richard Dando and Gareth Hardman - thank you.
Photos by Josh Morgan, Cath Hayes, Krista Humphrey, and Alison Allen.
South Wales success
As the ‘summer’ racing season picks up pace, we’ve a mix of track and road running to report.
South Wales regional champs – 18th May
Josh Morgan had double success, racing twice in quick succession at the Ron Jones Stadium - Aberdare. It looks like he made his debut over 3k.
Bronze 3,000 - 10:54.24
Gold 1500 steeplechase - 5:49.99
Results event by event – there may have been others in action too!?
Josh in action
Soggy SSAFA 5k – 18th May
A happy accident to line up in number order, Gina, Leigh, Kate, Evatt, Huw (missing Rhydian and Katy)
A contingent of Bridgend Athletics athletes across the age groups hopped over to Cardiff’s Bute Park for the first race of the three-part series.
Conditions were good, for ducks. It was a wet night where the rain didn’t ease off much. It was still mild, and the rain didn’t bring the wind – so racing was still fast. Not as fast as the first k marker suggested though. It was positioned much closer to 900m than 1000.
Kate Roberts was first across the line (in her Swansea vest), finishing just the wrong side of 17 minutes with 17:03 and 2nd lady. Her 16:49 PB is sure to be re-written this year.
Rhydian and Kate were flying the flag for our juniors, and Huw proving form in his hopes of gaining a Welsh masters vest in Tenby on 3rd July.
24th Kate Roberts 17:03
52nd Rhydian Lloyd-Francis 19:24
63rd Leigh James 20:02
78th Gina Hardman 21:34
97th Katy Griffiths 22:38
98th Evatt Cummings 22:44
109th Huw Roberts 23:38
146 finishers
YDL
Here’s a space for you to fill - we’d love to hear about your track and field efforts, share your results, and snaps. We think a group of Bridgend Athletics juniors were out in Hereford!?
Cardiff Bay 10k – 22nd May
The sun was shining in the Welsh capital for athletes taking on the 10k. There was a near minute PB for Abigail in the mix. And it’s been a particularly busy week for Josh too.
Club results (that we’ve spotted)
77th Sean Petty 37:26
144th Ryan Bowen 39:35
151st Mark Emery 39:39
303rd Josh Morgan 43:53
495th Huw Roberts 47:36 - 5th v65
864th Abigail Morgan 52:37
1107th Krista Humphrey 55:30
Mark
Sean
Josh
Huw
Abi
Krista
Most recent parkrun results
22 Bridgend Athletics athletes took part in parkrun this Saturday – with Laura bagging her Z for the parkrun alphabet challenge.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Race report scribbled by Leigh James
Photos by Dan Morgan and Jon Parry.
Regional Champs - aberdare
Well it’s unlike me to put pen to paper and write about one of the events attended but I think the time is right to pencil some words.
Saturday (14th May) saw us heading to the fantastic facilities at Aberdare to take part in the regional track and field champs. Leaving Bridgend in overcast conditions led to false sense of security as the weather in Aberdare was scorching, thankfully I’d remembered a hat this time.
We had some 25 junior athletes entered from across a range of disciplines and none failed to put all their energy into their chosen events.
There was a fantastic atmosphere both between our athletes and those athletes from other clubs. I couldn’t be prouder of each and every athlete present. They were polite, honest, supportive and represented the club impeccably. Even when things went a little awry on the shot… the u15 ladies had to throw twice as the first 3 shots thrown were 1kg overweight. Fortunately the error was noticed, but only once they’d all had 3 throws. There were no cross words or tantrums, the young ladies from all the clubs just got on with it and threw again.
To see so many smiling faces enjoying the competition makes the hours spent each week at the track worth it.
I really do feel very luck to be part of the team.
I really don’t care if you come first, last or somewhere in between but what is important is that you enjoy what you do. There is absolutely no point spending hours each week at training if you don’t actually enjoy it and clearly at the moment you are all enjoying it.
For those interested in the medal tally:
Gold medals for
Ffion Calford (Hammer), Lewis Barnes (200m), Lewis Barnes (100m), Bethany Jenkins (long jump), Daisy Lewis (discus)
Silver medals for
Alfie Osborne (High Jump), Bel Durrant (hight jump), Bethan Deeks (100m), Georgia Smele (discus), Georgia Smele (300m), Harri Davies (hammer), Lewis Barnes (long jump) Ruby Scourfield (100m), Mia Amerein (800m), Ffion Calford (discus)
Bronze medals for
Maddison Mustoe (300m), Alfie Osborne (100m), Cian Smith (800m), Mia Amerein (shot)
Written by
Chris Jeynes (Proud Coach)
Swim, bike, and ‘RUN’
A mixed bag of results this week, showing off our various talents. We’re not just a running club, as some might believe. Please send us your result with a few words to help us plug the gaps.
Canine corner - Maverick Terrex Trail – 14th May
What follow’s is Laura’s report on her and Welly’s race. It’s a club record – for writing a report. It stands at 41 minutes – from the b of bang (being asked to write something) to crossing the line (sending this through). Can you beat it?
“On Saturday, I ran the Maverick Terrex trail race in the Forest of Dean. They put on a series of races, mostly in the South of England and a few across Europe. They returned to the Forest of Dean in 2022 after 7 years. A low key, friendly race; they offer three distances - short (7km), middle (12km), and long (22km) course.
In true trail fashion, the long was more like 23km but I can't comment on the others. I ran with Wellington (the Vizsla), setting off at the front because he always goes off like a rocket (probably taught well by poorly-pace-it me). After about a mile, the short and medium course runners headed straight on and we turned left, so the field thinned out. We probably maintained 1st lady, 1st dog position for about 5km, but it was quite hot and hilly and his longest race to date, so I made sure he had some puddle paddle stops to cool off, and we walked up the gnarliest hills (and the hairy scary biggest downhill). It is mostly wide undulating forest paths and not too technical, but with a couple of very uneven sections, and a downhill or two made scary by a complete lack of ankle stability and a strong dog pulling ahead.
The aid stations were well stocked for both human and canine, and at the finish line we were both presented with a medal and some snacks.
There were around 300 runners across the 3 distances and probably just under 10% running with dogs. Having finally made it to a Maverick race after seeing many friends do them, I would agree with the hype, and recommend this race to others next year.”
Laura Gush and Wellington
And, they’re off.
South Wales track and field champs – 14th May, day 1
We haven’t heard from anyone on the ground, but saw a snap of the club branding on show:
The results are split by event and age groups, and include East Wales competitors – take a hop, skip, and a jump through them for yourselves.
Walking wonders
Gemma Price and Fraser Higginson gatecrashed the West Wales regional championships in Neath for the combined regions 1km race walk event! Both donned the Bridgend vest with pride and both came away with regional titles and PBs - what more could any coach ask for?
Fraser 5:07:52
Gemma 5:53:25
A huge thank you to Martin Bell who ventures to Bridgend on a weekly basis to ensure the walkers are put through their paces and perfect the walking wiggle and build on their endurance!
BCRL – Rest Bay – 10th May
May 10th saw the return of BCRL after 978 days away due to the pandemic.
The first race took place on Rest Bay, the same location as the previous race on 5th Sept 2019.
It was a sunny evening with a fresh onshore wind and the course was 1 small lap followed by 2 large laps. Each time the runners ran away from the start their feet would get more wet as the tide came in but this produced some spectacular photos and a very smooth and flat albeit damp terrain.
Of the 284 finishers, just 23 were from Bridgend. However we still managed to sit in a very commendable 3rd place overall behind Porthcawl Runners and Ogmore Phoenix.
Tom Wright was 2nd overall, with Richard Dando 6th, and Mark Emery 7th. The first Bridgend AC female was Mia Allen (36th) beating Georgie Dando (37th) by just 3 seconds. Ruth Davies was 3rd Bridgend lady finishing in 81st place.
‘We need you’. The more numbers we get out, the fewer points we get.
Put Tuesday 24th May in your diaries - Kenfig Nature Reserve.
Bridgend team snap.
Welsh 10k championships – Caerphilly – 15th May
An individual shout-out from the man-on-the-ground, Stuart:
“Well done Simon Osborne only BAC VEST at Caerphilly”
Simon cut the sub 40 as close as it can get with 39:59. But his chip time gave him a little more breathing space, 39:56 for 72nd.
And escaping Stu’s eye, Kristofor Powell was out too (possibly not in a club vest!?) 69:59 on the clock.
In the 2k event Bella Thie put in a commanding run, with 8:39. 30th overall, 8th female out of the 307 finishers.
Bryn Meadows Caerphilly 10k results
Running+
Outlaw, Nottingham – 15th May
We know Beth Lance was taking on the 70.3 in Nottingham. This is a space left for her words, once she’s rested.
19th female, 5:07:24
1.9k swim 32:32
Transition 3:40
90.12k bike 2:41:33
Transition 4:02
21.3k run 1:45:37
Llanelli Sprint Triathlon – 15th May
Over the 750m swim/ 30k bike/ 5k run we had Sean Petty, Jon Parry, and Tom Graham were in action.
A race debrief from Sean:
“I thought it was going to be rainy, but luckily it held off. The race went really well. I swam well (I think) and came out the water with a little group. I pushed on the bike, cycling with Tom all the way more or less, until he made bit of a gap at the end. I worked on the run, managed to catch him up and then ran with him then. No watch, so will have to wait for the official results.”
And the results are in:
Tom 6th 1:16:30
Sean 7th 1:16:32
Jon 126h 1:34:03
Most recent parkrun results
17 Bridgend Athletic athletes took part in parkrun this Saturday – with Jack getting closer to his parkrun (aka Porthcawl – his parkrun record is 100% at Porthcawl) best. He’s now within 25 seconds of it.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Race report pieced together by Leigh James
Photos by James Evans, Clout, Josh Morgan.
Taking to the trails
Slim pickings for a report this time, with a few fleeting mentions (please do share results and info about the events you’re taking part in).
Radyr and Morganstown Trail half – 7th May
Saturday 7th of May was a nice warn day – so NOT ideal possibly for a hilly half marathon taking in The Garth and the woodland above Castell Coch… As part of the annual Radyr and Morganstown Festival there are a couple of low-key races organised – a half and a really tough full marathon that took runners nearly 5 hours to complete this year.
We decided that the Half was enough thank you….and certainly the 2,200 ft of climb that was involved in that one was enough for both of us.
Starting and finishing at the Cardiff Harlequins Rugby Club near Whitchurch, the race takes you through lovely trails in the Taff Valley just north of Cardiff, up above Radyr, over to the Garth, flying down the steep bit to Gwaelod and then back up through the bluebell woods at the back of Castell Coch.
It’s a very low-key event – with only a 100 or so in the Half – and whilst pretty well marshalled and signposted – suspect the number of signs wouldn’t have met the high “Steve Brace” standards – there were a couple of places where you might have done a few extra yards of trail.
We were lucky this year – the weather on the day was perfect and it had been dry in the proceeding weeks. If it had been wetter then this would have been a real challenge – as there were plenty of trails where you were thankful it wasn’t muddy.
Nice wooden medals to finish with – Gareth coming home in 2:12 and Gina not long after.
Gina Hardman
Gareth Hardman
Notable mentions
We’re aware of a few other events. Clare Hughes cycling Carten (100 or so miles from Cardiff to Tenby). There was some multi-sport action for Rob, Dave, and Steve over the half ironman distance.
And our young athletes were competing in the early season YDL.
Most recent parkrun results
A few first-place finishes at parkrun this Saturday – Katy Griffiths at Penallta, Leigh James at Mole Valley, and Craig Burrows at Milford Waterfront
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Race report by Gareth Hardman, brought together by Leigh James
A festival of fast five ks
This is a bumper round-up, not just for this week but events spanning three weeks or so.
Fast Running – 16th April
In the fastest parkruns for Saturday 16th April, Adam Bowden proudly sat in the number one spot. His 15:01 at Pontypridd was enough to lead the way. A snip under two weeks after his marathon at Manchester, it looked like a good test of speed.
Blustery Bath – 23rd April
A few athletes took to the road for Bristol Track Club’s 3k/5k, which wasn’t held in Bristol but in Bath’s Odd Down Cycle Circuit. St George’s day brought gusty conditions to the cycle track. But that didn’t seem to slow our youngsters down much, Rhydian was 6th over the line and Katie 11th – she sped in with a fine first place for the girls.
3k results
6th Rhydian Lloyd-Francis 11:20 (3rd u13)
11th Katy Griffiths 11:57 (1st female)
5k results
Leigh James 20:38
Leigh James in the finishing stretch
Rhydian Lloyd-Francis
https://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16665&RId=3323&EId=1
Eight and a bit 5ks – 24th April
Kept under wraps, Nick Stocker quietly ventured to Sheperdine to run a marathon. On a looped course, he covered the five+ laps in 3:33:08 to finish 23rd out of 49.
“No shade, no shelter from the wind, very lonely! But very friendly.”
An endorsement from Nick… “great after race support and refreshments, no stress and very cheap.”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ply62Ffg53cKrkuUmfdFV7T_jtSblQbX/view
Nick Stocker
First finisher – 24th April
In her debut parkrun (on a Saturday or Sunday) Bella Thie stormed to a first place finish and third overall at Cardiff junior parkrun, in a nippy time of 8:21 for the 2k distance.
Bella Thie
There may have been an outing to Yale too for the UK Youth Development League, but not being at the event and no mutterings of news or results we can’t report anything here. Keep your ears to the ground though, and eyes on Facebook.
Welsh Junior Trail Running Championships Devils Bridge – 31st April
Josh turned to the trails to take part in the Welsh trail champs. We hear it was a tough course – although that was what we’d expect from an event like this. We haven’t seen the results, yet.
Josh Morgan to the fore
Race for Victory 5k – 1st May
Many club members spent their bank holiday weekend racing around the streets of Whitchurch. At the pointy end were athletes competing for Wales and their regions. As with previous years, the race included the Welsh 5k championships.
With 20 runners in yellow and blue hooped vests, it’s perhaps one of our strongest turn-outs for an event in a while. A good balance too, almost 50/50 male and female.
It looked like a storming run from Rhydian, a target sub 19 PB for Josh (the day after running up big hills). There were too many PBs in the mix to highlight them all. Pencil next year’s race in your diaries though – it’s the place to go for fast times and a quality event.
Gun positions, chip times:
56th Devin Coombes – 15:43
108th Mark Emery – 16:37
159th Sean Petty - 17:32
191st Ryan Bowen – 17:54
242nd Rhydian Lloyd-Francis – 18:33
260th Josh Morgan – 18:51
343rd Leigh James – 19:55
370th Benjamin Jones – 20:23
392nd Katy Griffiths – 20:58
407th Mia Allen – 21:07
410th Dan Morgan – 20:59
420th Sophie Moore – 21:14
438th Freya Allen – 21:28
448th Gareth Hardman – 21:19
500th Huw Roberts - 22:23
501st Ruth Davies – 22:08
648th Seren Hardman – 24:08
712th Abigail Morgan – 24:52
747th Krista Humphrey – 25:11
844th Daisy Lewis – 26:44
1380 finishers
https://results.sporthive.com/events/6926486474351149312
We’ll sit tight for Welsh champs results.
Most recent parkrun results
A few stand-out runs this Saturday – Rich and Georgie took on what’s considered one of toughest parkruns in the UK, at Woolacombe Dunes. Rhydian switched 3k for 5k, with a storming 18:59 at Cardiff, while Jack hit his sub 24-minute target at Porthcawl.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Report by Leigh James
Photographer credits Seren Hardman, Leigh Francis, Tosh K Simpkin, James Thie, Welsh Athletics.
Chasing times, and trails
Therme Manchester Marathon – 3rd April
Adam Bowden might have had his sights on a Welsh Commonwealth Games qualifying time (unconfirmed). Snuggled in at the back of the lead pack until just before halfway, he crossed the 13.1-mile mark in 66:37. According to the Power of 10, that’s just 43 seconds outside his best for that distance. Detached in the second half, he lost some of the first half pace but still bagged a near 3-minute PB to finish 12th and 5th V35.
To Greg Newhams’ disappointment, Adam’s 2:17:18 slots him into 3rd in the club’s all-time rankings, overtaking Greg by a whole two seconds.
Adam’s own words: “I’m very pleased with my PB today of 2:17:18. I went off with the pace from the start and through half way in a 66 which is a little quick and I paid for it over the next half. I’m still learning the pacing but this is only my second marathon so I’m very pleased with my progression.
It was really nice to have my family there for support. The crowds were awesome and the event was well organised.”
CF64 – also 3rd April
A lovely spring day saw Gina and Gareth Hardman run the “CF64” – a nice low-key 10.4K trail race around the Cosmeston Park area, organised really well by Penarth & Dinas Runners. Normally this race would be a pretty tough muddy affair. But having been moved due to Covid, and a really dry period meant the underfoot conditions were difficult (in a different way) due to dry ruts where cows had been previously – hardly a mud patch in sight.
The race sees lots of the local “usual suspect” clubs – many of whom probably see this as an extension to the parkrun that takes place in the same area. The race goes out of the park and on to the ridge to the west of the main park area – so there’s a nice hill you go down, then back up with a mile to go which is a bit mean frankly. That would NOT have been fun if the mud was out in force for sure.
Gareth was 34th (6th v55M) and Gina came home in 41st position (2nd v45W), Congratulations to Chris Jeynes, BAC Junior Club coach – running for Brackla – coming home in 11th.
217 runners finished in total.
Parkrun results
A few stand-out runs this Saturday – Josh Morgan notched up his 50th parkrun with a debut sub 20 at Maesteg. That’s where Krista Humphry bagged a course PB. Over at Porthcawl, celebrating their 9th birthday, Sally Murray finished in a PB of 26:13.
Report by Gareth Hardman and Leigh James
Photographer credit Abyd Quinn Aziz