Snowdonia Half

"DOUBLE" FOR UNIVERSITY

Following last year's success by ex-student Rob Samuel Callum Rowlinson made it a double for Bangor University when he won the second Snowdonia Half-Marathon from Llanrwst.

 The Sale runner's time of 79.01 was almost seven minutes slower than Samuel's for the tough course, which includes a severe climb after three miles.

 The in-form Daniel Kashi (Eryri) was second and last year's runner-up Stefan Sayer (Menai) was third.

 The women's winner was unattached runner Danielle Sansonetti, who also finished seven minutes outside Alison Lavender's 2012 winning time of 85.52.

 Results: 1 C Rowlinson (Sale, U20) 79.01, 2 D Kashi (Eryri) 80.00, 3 S Sayer (Menai) 80.25, 4 J Parkinson (Eryri, M40) 81.19, 5 J Ford (NWRR, M40) 81.43, 6 B Williams (ua) 82.23. M40: 3 R Grantham (Chester Tri) 84.15. M45: 1 D Scott (ua) 94.31, 2 R Wright (Sunlight) 96.04, 3 P Hodges (Eryri) 96.19. M50: 1 P Mead (ua) 89.55, 2 R Lewington (ua) 97.27, 3 S Coleman (Astley and Tyldesley) 97.42. M55: 1 D Nalder (Ell Port) 96.20, 2 S Bellis (Buckley) 97.52, 3 K Slattery (NWRR) 99.07. M60: D Owen (Prestatyn) 1-58.33. M65: JG Evans (Aberystwyth) 1-47.17.
 Ladies: 1 D Sansonetti (ua) 92.59, 2 G Mead (Chester Tri, L45) 93.52, 3 D Jolly (Sarn Helen) 99.58, 4 D Holl (ua, L35) 1-42.02, 5 J Richards (Abergele, L45) 1-43.04, 6 K Browning (Dursley, L40) 1-44.46. L50: L Rowlinson n(Sale) 1-46.23. L55: D Kenwright (Sarn Helen) 1-46.06.

Ras Mynydd Mawr

ROWLEY TAKES MYNYDD MAWR TITLE

Eryri's John Rowley took advantage of the absence of many of his clubmates to win Ras Mynydd Mawr at Fron, near Caernarfon.

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 J Rowley 35.07, 2 G Jones (ua) 37.56, 3 G Porter Jones (M40) 38.10, 4 S Toogood (ua, M50) 38.50, 5 R Pawling (ua) 39.12, 6 S Green (Bangor Uni) 40.14. M40: 2 G Williams 40.47, 3 G Davies (Mysteruns) 43.24. M50: 2 J Mooney (Macclesfield) 42.20, 3 T Murgatroyd (Calder) 46.39. M60: 1 P (Tan) Jones 42.59. M70: E Davies 47.39.

 Ladies: 1 R Newstead (ua) 44.27, 2 ML Hughes 45.49, 3 H Turner 47.18. L40: E Wood 47.47. L50: H Berrett (ua) 52.45.

Wrexham 10

ROTHERY RECAPTURES TITLE

By missing the final fixture of the Borders League in Wrexham Eryri's Brendan Rothery forfeited the chance of taking the individual title but he made amends over the same course three days later by winning the North Wales 10-mile championship.

 Last year he finished second behind Buckley's Matthew Rose but his time this year, even though he was 42 seconds slower, it was enough to regain the title he last won in 2010. His time then was one second faster than this year.

 North Wales' top female runners were missing this time, with the first six finishers all being ineligible for the championship. The title therefore went to seventh-placed L50 Margaret Ludden (Buckley).

 The first woman home, Salford's Hayley Kuter, broke the course record of 66.50 set last year by Emma Parry (Wrexham)

 Results of open race: 1 B Rothery (Eryri) 55.32, 2 D Rowlands (Wrexham, M40) 55.54, 3 D Hudson (Salford, M35) 57.08, 4 G Norgrove (Wrecsam Tri, M45) 57.21, 5 D Damiani (Wrex, M35) 58.09, 6 T Spence (Wrex) 58.55. Teams: Wrexham 26, Buckley 99, Denbigh 111, Prestatyn 121.
 M35: 3 M Davies (West Ch) 61.08. M40: 2 L Barlow (Wesham) 60.07, 3 S Eardley (Colwyn Bay). M50: 1 M Robbins (Wrex) 63.10, 2 S Rogers (Pensby) 3  D Baugh (Denbigh) 74.14. M55: 1 S Davies (Mansfield) 64.14, 2 C Edgington (Meirionnydd) 67.39, 3 A Gauton (Denbigh) 70.00. M60: 1 G Nixon (Prestatyn) 67.15, 2 G Shaw (Helsby) 74.20, 3 G Schofield (Pensby) 75.24. M65: 1 J Davies (Meir) 71.13, 2 A Egan (Wrex) 81.23, 3 J Tee (Bro Dys) 87.55. M70: 1 J Thomas (Buckley) 87.38, 2 P Jones (Prestatyn) 88.10. M75: Roger Harrison-Jones (Prestatyn) 84.55.
 Masters teams: Wrexham 14, Buckley 45, Penny Lane 53.
 Ladies: 1 H Kuter (Salford, L35) 60.19, 2 J Joy (Helsby) 64.00, 3 J Massey (Mansfield, L45) 65.42, 4 E Renondeau (Tattenhall) 65.48, 5 S Atkinson (Tatt, L45) 66.54, 6 J Khoueiry (Holmfirth, L40) 69.26.  SL: 3 C Frank (RAF) 91.54. L35: 2 M Dowell-Jones (CB) 75.51, 3 L40: 2 T Barlow (Blackpool) 75.26, 3 V Whitehead (Denbigh) 80.40. L45: 3 A Raistrick (Trafford) 89.32. L50: 1 M Ludden (Buckley) 71.03, 2 M Taverner (Vale Ro) 72.36, 3 C Shaw (Helsby) 76.00. L55: 1 A Meakin (Helsby) 87.07, 2 K Masters (Sandbach) 89.32, L O'Keefe (Sandbach) 1-41.09. L70: B Jones (Bro Dys) 90.41. L80: S Symonds (Bro Dys) 2-29.00. Teams: Helsby 27, Bro Dysynni 62.

Borders League (Final)

JONES TAKES TOP LEAGUE AWARD

With his only challenger, Eryri's Brendan Rothery, missing the final race at Wrexham, veteran Lee Jones (Deeside) took the main individual award for this season's Borders Road-Running League. Fellow vet Sarah Kearney (Wirral) won the ladies' award.

 Wirral dominated the team awards, taking the men's and women's Division 1 trophies as well as the veterans' category. The ladies share the award with Chester Tri, the first time there has been a tie.

 Newcomers Cybi will be promoted to Division 1 in the ladies' competition next season, along with champions Wallasey, while West Cheshire and Prestatyn's men move up.

 The individual awards went to:

MEN
U20: 1 K Morgan (Wirral, 2 R Colclough (Deeside), 3 T De Jong (Helsby)
 Senior men: 1 B Rothery (Eryri), 2 D Lemon (Deeside), 3 G Jones (Wall), 4 M Hulmston (Wirral), 5 A Sudlow (Tatt), 6 M Davies (West Ch), 7 A Bromley (Deeside), 8 C Davies (Deestriders), 9 P Stinton (Buck), 10 K Dandy (Chester Tri).
 M40: 1 L Jones (Deeside), 2 J Johnson (Wirral), 3 S Roberts (Buck), 4 D Blazier (Abergele), 5 K Dickinson (Wirral).
 M45: 1 J McQueen (West Ch), 2 J Gifford (Buck), 3 N Hershaw (West Ch), 5 S Hooson (Buck), 6 G Blackwell (Deeside), 6 S Fox (Wirral).
 M50: 1 T Barbat (Wall), 2 C Bishop (Helsby), 3 A Starkey (West Ch), 4 A Lewis (Eryri), 5 G Earlam (Ell Port).
 M55: 1 R Freeman (West Ch), 2 D Nalder (Ell Port), 3 M Whitfield (Ell Port), 4 G Ratcliffe (Wirral).
 M60: 1 T McDevitt (Wirral), 2 L Coathup (Buck), 3 M Cortvriend (Prestatyn).
 M65: 1 A Berry (Helsby), 2 J Morris (Buck), 3 N Pratten (Wirral).
 M70: 1 J Thomas (Buck), 2 L Brown (Birkenhead), 3 P Norman (Wrex).

LADIES
 U20: 1 E Kearney (Wirral), 2 A Bagnall (Prest), 3 A Cheetham (Prest).
 Senior ladies: 1 J Jennions (Deestriders), 2 K Seddon (Chester Tri), 3 E Gruber (Cybi), 4 V Jones (Chester Tri), 5 K McEneaney (Wirral), 6 A Bartley (Wirral).
 L35: 1 S Kearney (Worral), 2 S Holt (Wall), 3 T Llewellyn (Cybi).
 L40: 1 C Hall (Wirral), 2 D Urquhart (Buck), 3 L Davies (West Ch).
 L45: 1 A Mageean (Chester Tri), 2 T Shipley (Chester Tri), 3 S Plested (Ell Port), 4 J Lindley (Buck)
 L50: 1 M Ludden (Buck), 2 C Shaw (Helsby), 3 S Jones (Cybi).
 L55: 1 G Waring (Prest), 2 N Davies (Wall), 3 M Bird (Ell Port).
 L60: 1 C Birch (Abergele), 2 P Martin (Birkenhead), 3 L Bishop (West Ch).

 RESULTS OF FINAL RACE

1 S Boyton (Dee) 20.29, 2 L Jones (Dee, M40) 20.55, 3 P Brook (Chester Tri) 21.14, 4 D Kashi (Eryri) 21.14, 5 X Desse (Wirral, M40) 21.27, 6 J Thelwell (Wall) 21.39, 7 D Lemon (Dee) 21.45, 8 K Pickstock (Wall) 21.50, 9 M Hulmston (Wirral) 22.00, 10 S Roberts (Buck, M40) 22.05.
 U20: 1 J Roberts (Wrex) 22.25, 2 W Sheridan (Dee) 22.29, 3 T Henry (Dee) 22.43.
  Teams. Division 1: Deeside 222, Chester Tri 425, Wirral 428, Buckley 542, Wallasey 625, Eryri 1,444, Tattenhall 1,527. Division 2: West Cheshire 391, Abergele 402, Prestatyn 575, Helsby 590, Deestriders 601, Ellesmere Port 624, Cybi 1,151, Birkenhead 1,218, Wrecsam Tri 1,316, Wrexham 1,572.

 M45: 1 J McQueen (West Ch) 22.54, J Gifford (Buck) 23.03, 3 D Gilbert (Buck) 23.58
 M50: 1 C Bishop Helsby 22.41, 2 A Starkey (West Ch) 23.02, 3 G Jones (Prest) 23.06
 M55: 1 T Devoy (Wirral) 24.36, 2 R Freeman (West Ch) 25.11, 3 D Nalder (Ell Port) 25.28.
 M60: 1 L Coathup (Buck) 25.00, 2 M Cortvriend (Prest) 25.26, 3 G Shone (Abergele) 27.16.
 M65: 1 E Davies (Eryri) 28.26, 2 N Pratten (Wirral) 29.04, 3 J Morris (Buck) 30.13.
 M70: 1 J Thomas (Buck) 33.05, 2 L Brown (Birkenhead) 36.27

LADIES
1 S Kearney (Wirral, L35) 23.30, 2 G Mead (Chester Tri, L45) 24.25, 3 E Kearney (Wirral, U20) 24.43, 4 S Atkinson (Tatt, L45) 25.04, 5 L Grantham (Chester Tri, L35) 25.15, 6 J Jennions (Deestriders) 25.23.
 U20: 2 H Nuttall (Wirral) 28.00, 3 A Bagnall (Prest) 29.13.
 SL: 2 K Seddon (Chester Tri) 26.20, 3 B Holland (Chester Tri) 26.31.
 L35: 3 S Fourie (Chester Tri) 26.24
 L40: C Sutcliffe (Chester Tri) 26.54, 2 C Hall (Wirral) 27.11, 3 L Davies (West Ch) 28.02.
 L45: 3 T Shipley (Chester Tri) 28.46.
 L50: 1 M Ludden (Buck) 27.04, 2 B Tiedtke (Prest) 29.48, 3 M Brockway (Wirral) 31.04
 L55: 1 G Waring (Prest) 29.31, 2 N Davies (Wall) 32.49, 3 J Shaw (Helsby) 34.44
 L60: 1 C Birch (Abergele) 29.23.

FINAL TEAM PLACINGS (UNOFFICIAL)

 Men, Division 1: Wirral 2,585, Chester Tri 2,823, Wallasey 3,059, Deeside 3,954, Buckley 4,164, Eryri 7,598, Tattenhall 10,143.
 Division 2: West Cheshire 2,670, Prestatyn 4,221, Helsby 4,295, Ellesmere Port 4,408, Deestriders 4,734, Abergele 4,994, Cybi 5,403, Wrecsam Tri 8,957, Wrexham 9,202, Birkenhead 9,987.

 Ladies, Divison 1: Wirral 251, Chester Tri 251, Tattenhall 720, Helsby 683, Buckley 780, Ellesmere Port 965, Prestatyn 1,054.
 Division 2: Wallasey 397, Cybi 727, Deestriders 965, Abergele 1,279, West Cheshire 1,371, Wrexham 1,572, Birkenhead 1,729, Eryri 2,053, Deeside 2,100, Wrecsam Tri 2,100.


URGENT APPEAL

League officials are urgently seeking someone to take over the compilation of results for the 2013-14 season. Rupert Lindley, who gave notice of his impending retirement a couple of years ago, will no longer be doing the job and a volunteer is sought by the League's AGM at Northop on July 1st.  

Top NW performances

DAVIES AND BIRCH JUDGED TOP

The awards for the outstanding road-running performances by North Wales athletes in 2012 are to go to Andrew Davies (Maldwyn) and super-vet Chris Birch (Abergele).

 The awards, judged by a three-man panel, have been revived after lying dormant for a few years.

 Davies takes the men's trophy for his 50.17 clocking in the Great South 10-miler in Portsmouth, which placed him 23rd in the UK rankings, while Birch was ranked top in the UK L65 table for her time of 22.08 in the Christleton 5k.

Athlete's Profile (5)

ATHLETE'S PROFILE (5)

Chris Birch (Abergele)

Previous clubs: Highgate Harriers, South Shields AC (founded ladies' section of Morpeth Harriers), Wrexham.

Age and d.o.b.: 65, 12.4.47

How long have you been competing: From age of 12 to 65, except for a hap of about 15 years from age 45

Any other sports played: Played tennis and badminton during gap in running.

Other hobbies or interests: Very much enjoy hill-walking, some cycling and gardening.

 Favourite racing distance: 5k

Favourite race and why: Any cross-country race (I wasn't allowed to play in the mud as a child).

Favourite training sessions: Running over the hills above Conwy.

Proudest moment: Winning my age-group in the British 5k championships in 2012.

Whom do you most admire (inside and outside athletics) and why: I admire the people who are the very backbone of our sport - those who do a tremendous amount of work running our clubs and organising events. Also the top athletes of the world - surely they must be made of different stuff to the rest of us.

Any personal ambitions: To be able to continue competing for many more years.

Any regrets: That each year seems to fly past more quickly than the last one (I know, it's an age thing!).

Any embarrassing experiences: Can't think of any. Perhaps the loss of memory that comes with old age can be a good thing.

London Marathon

VAUGHAN TAKES WELSH TITLE IN LONDON

Eryri's Alun Vaughan turned in a brilliant performance on his marathon debut to take the Welsh title in London.

 The 34-year-old ran a very consistent race to finish a brilliant seventh overall in the open competition in 2-24.10, and Wrexham's Emma Parry very nearly made it a double for North Wales.

 She recorded a massive pb of 2-53.19, finishing less than a minute behind Jessica Parry-Williams (Les Croupiers), who took the title. In third place was ultra specialist Emily Gelder (Dulwich) from Llandrindod.

 Vaughan and his Eryri clubmate Rob Samuel went through 10k together in 33.34 but by the halfway mark the former had pulled slightly ahead in 71.28. Samuel, who had been suffering from a bug in recent weeks, fell back in the closing stages to finish in 2-38.16.

 Samuel's physio Andy Walling (Menai), making his marathon debut having turned 40, came home in 2-47.01, just behind Martin Green (NWRR), who was one of many who set pbs.

 Among the other top performances by North Wales athletes were those of the amazingly consistent Wrexham marathon specialists Ian James and Cath Hewitt. James finished in 2-52.22 and Hewitt 3-25.54.

 North Wales times included the following:-
  Abergele: Carol Willgoose 3-48.52, David Edwards 4-15.25, Austin Bell 4-17.19, Alan Lucas 4-35.59.
  Colwyn Bay: Bethan Ward 5-36.03.
  Cybi: Sue Jones 4-18.59
  Deeside: Lee Perry 4-25.00
  Deestriders: David Jones 3-41.20
  Denbigh: Peter Agnew 3-25.18, Tracy Williams 3-51.07
  Eryri: Alun Vaughan 2-24.10, Rob Samuel 2-38.16, Arwel Lewis 3-03.24, Bryn Williams 3-05.52, Tim Watson 3-18.16, Rob Barber 3-37.17, David Kirkby 4-28.10, Richard Williams 4-37.00.
  Maldwyn: Richard Jones 2-56.34, Chris Copus 3-21.28, Haydn Jones 3-21.59, Janice Thomas 4-44.06.
  Meirionnydd: Tony Hodgson 3-26.06
 Menai: Andy Walling 2-47.01, Carwyn Evans 3-28.41, Csaba Kuzsmicki 3-48.49
 Mysteruns: Alan Taylor 3-46.07, Judith and Julie Meyrick-Yale 3-49.46, Jeremy Bright 3-59.09, Carole Roberts 4-12.53, Pam Grant 4-28.57.
 North Wales RR: Martin Green 2-46.58, Chris Yorke 2-59.41, Mark Davies 3-07.11, Andy Jones 3-14.39.
 Oswestry: Paul Jones 2-49.26, Ian Lowe 2-58.27, Claire Birch 3-48.03, William Morris 3-59.42, Emily Vaughan 4-42.05, Trevor Searle 4-58.44
  Prestatyn: Arwel Jones 3-26.12, Kate Brandrick 4-05.09, Sandy Roberts 4-08.05, Dawn Barraclough-Jones 4-47.34, Nia Llyr-Jones 4-56.37, Vinny Boyd 4-58.51, Lynda Rowlands 6-13.29
 Wrecsam Tri: Richard Hayes 3-24.03, Neill Hughes 3-54.34
  Wrexham: Ian James 2-52.22, Emma Parry 2-53.19,  John Prichard-Taylor 2-59.25, Cath Hewitt 3-25.54, Lisa Morley 3-34.53, Linda Hampton-Jones 3-46.45, Julie Harnden 3-51.21, Charles Ashley 4-34.39.

 NORTH WALES PLACINGS IN LONDON MINI-MARATHON (3 Miles):

Boys under 13: 31 Oliver Barbaresi 17.25
 Boys under 17: Iolo Hughes 14.51
 Girls under 15: 32 Cari Hughes 18.18, 69 Lily Davies 19.36
 

Aber race

COURSE CHANGE AT ABER


Teenager Nathan Jones (Colwyn Bay) secured his first win in the Joe Brown Midweek Series of races when he led from the start on the amended course at Aber. It was the fourth race in the series.

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 N Jones (CB, U20) 32.29, 2 J Parkinson (M40) 32.45, 3 A Edwards 33.04, 4 J Rowley 33.42, 5 M Fortes 33.51, 6 R Grantham (Chester Tri) 34.16. U18: J Griffith (CB) 34.44. M40: 2 B Beachall 34.27, 3 P Jones 34.29. M50: 1 P Jones (ua) 37.02, 2 SP Jones 37.45, 3 J Williams 41.14. M60: P (Tan) Jones 41.25. M70: P Roberts (Buckley) 42.25. Ladies: 1 L Grantham (Chester Tri) 40.20, 2 C Dallimore 42.15, 3 H Morgan 42. 35. L40: G Riley (ua) 47.57. L50: E Salisbury 44.20. L60: M Oliver 54.58.
 

Pen Dinas race

MATT FINISH SEES OFF DOC

Just days after their battle in Ireland Eryri clubmate Matthew Roberts and Sam Smith renewed their duel in the third round of the Joe Brown Midweek Series at Pen Dinas.

 Some of the regular competitors gave the race a miss, perhaps aware of the severe ascent and descent, leaving the pair to battle it out. Once again Roberts came out on top, winning by 18 seconds.

 Lisa Grantham was the first lady on the climb but was overtaken on the descent by veteran Sarah Barnwell.

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 M Roberts 26.32, 2 S Smith 26.50, 3 A Edwards 27.42, 4 M Fortes 27.48, 5 G Owen (ua) 27.55, 6 P Jenkinson (M40) 28.28. JM: 1 J Griffith (CB) 30.33, 2 M Llyr  30.36. M50: J Williams. M60: C Hartfell. M70: E Davies. Ladies: 1 S Barnwell (L40) 35.05, 2 L Grantham (Chester Tri) 35.28. L50: E Salisbury. L60: M Oliver.

Silent Valley

SNOW, MIST AND GALES ON IRISH TRIP

 Sixteen members of Eryri Harriers had an action-packed trip to Northern Ireland for the first round of the British Fell-Racing Championship.

 The remaining snow meant that the Silent Valley course had to be changed and although it included some runnable track there was also plenty of very rough terrain over the 10-mile course.

 Englishman Gavin Bland, holder of the record for the Welsh 1,000s, won the race in 1-43, with Richard Roberts the first Eryri man home in 24th place with a time of 1-54.42.

 He was closely followed by Matthew Roberts (25th, 1-55.19), who overtook clubmate Sam Smith (30th, 1-56.49) on the final descent.

 Other Eryri finishers were: 38 Matt Fortes 2-00.20, 43 John Rowley 2-01.41, 44 Martin Cliffe 2-01.48, 60 John Moore 65 Adam Haynes, 88 Dylan W Jones, 123 Arwel Lewis, 127 Trefor Jones. Jo Moore was the club's only lady representative, finishing 13th in the L40 class in 2-48.

 It was a particularly memorable outing for the club's Dils Rowlands, who got caught in the bad weather which came in after two hours. He reached the last checkpoint suffering from hyperthermia and had to be led to safety by the Mourne Mountain rescue team, reaching the finish after being out for six hours.

 

Cross-country AGM

"AS YOU WERE" FOR 2013-14 SEASON

 The fixtures for the Grand Prix Express North Wales Cross-Country League in the 2013-14 will be the same as last winter.

 At the AGM in Wrexham it was agreed that the dates will be as follows: October 5, Bangor; October 19, Llandudno; November 23, Northop; January 18, Lilleshall; February 8, Oswestry.

 The final fixture is a week later than usual to accommodate Bangor University who have lost out on promotion in the past two years because of a clash with the British Universities' championships.

 The North Wales Championships are expected to be held on January 25, probably once again at Rhug, Corwen.

 Two long-serving officials have become the first Life Members of the North Wales Cross-Country Association. They are the former chairman George Tudor of Shrewsbury, who will continue as a referee, and Les Baldwin of Wrexham, a former competitor and referee.

Edwards wins

EDWARDS CLAIMS FIRST WIN

Deestriders' in-form Andy Edwards claimed his first-ever victory in the Cheshire 10k in Crewe, leading from the gun to cross the line in 34.10.

 The 21-year-old, a member of the North Wales development squad for the past three years, broke the record for the course which included some difficult terrain.

 Edwards has been well-placed in several races recently, with two top-four finishes in the Borders League - including last week's race at Shotton - and a third place in Blackpool.

 Now he turns his attention to the North Wales 10-mile championships in Wrexham on April 27, where he hopes to improve on his pb of 57.19, set in Llandudno last year.

Rotterdam Marathon

DAVIES CLOSE TO PB IN ROTTERDAM

Maldwyn's Andrew Davies was just over a minute outside his pb when he finished 28th in the Rotterdam Marathon.

 His time of 2-26.29 places him fifth in the current GB rankings but that is likely to change after next weekend's London Marathon.

 Davies set his pb of 2-25.03 in Barcelona in March, 2012, and in this year's Barcelona race Matthew Roberts clocked 2-30.53, which places him eighth in the GB rankings.

Moel Lus

BENTLEY CLAIMS ANOTHER WIN

Kent's Russell Bentley chalked up another victory in the Moel Lus race at Dwygyfylchi, the second event in the Joe Brown Midweek Series, but was made to work hard by the 2012 champion Nathan Jones.

 The Colwyn Bay teenager set the early pace but Bentley took the lead near the summit and safely negotiated the snowy descent to win by 20 seconds.

 Teenager Bronwen Jenkinson continued her scorching form to claim her second win in the series.

 The race attracted a record field of 119, in addition to more than 30 juniors.

 Results (more details to follow. All Eryri unless stated): 1 R Bentley (Kent) 22.55, 2 N Jones (Colwyn Bay) 23.15, 3 M Roberts 24.17. M40: J Parkinson 25.05. M50: A Lewis 29.10. M60: P Jones 31.47. U18: J Griffith (CB) 27.00. Ladies: 1 B Jenkinson (U16) 30.00 (new record), 2 L Grantham (Chester Tri) 30.33, 3 A Thomas (L40) 31.56. L50: E Salisbury 33.21. L60: M Oliver 40.30.

UK Sportshall finals

N WEST WALES BOYS WIN BRONZE AT NIA

The under-13 boys from NorthWest Wales put up a great display at the UK Sportshall finals at Birmingham's NIA, where they were representing Wales.

 They claimed seven top 10 positions, with pride of place going to the 4 x 2-lap relay team. They qualified for the final as joint fourth fastest overall and then improved their time in the final by 0.8 seconds to earn bronze medals.

 Steffan Jones was the highest placed individual, finishing fourth in the vertical jump with a best leap of 60 centimetres. Olly White was fifth in the standing long jump with a best of 2.35m and Guto Owen was sixth in the 4-lap final.

 Other team members were Ifan Roberts, Matthew Jarvis and Iwan Davies.

Blackpool Marathon/Half

FORD GETS PB "AT HOME"

Veteran John Ford (NWRR) returned to his native Lancashire for the Blackpool marathon and came away with a pb.

 He finished fourth overall and second M40 in 2-49.09.  Third vet and 14th overall was Aaron Nicholas (Eryri) in 2-57.32, while Dyfed Whiteside Thomas (also Eryri) set a pb of 3-06.53 in 40th place.

 Other North Wales placings included: 98 Steven McCormack (Abergele) 3-26.24 and 207 Richard James (Wrexham) 3-44.22 (pb).

 In the Blackpool Half David Millington (Wrexham) was 37th in 86.43, Jon Evans (NWRR) 198th in 1-41.25 and Thian Thomas (Eryri) 403rd in 1-52.52.

Wrexham 10k

WESTON WINS 10K IN NEW PB

 Wrexham's Daniel Weston took 10 seconds off his pb winning the inaugural Wrexham 10k in aid of Nightingale House Hospice.

 He finished 42 seconds clear of the fast-improving Andrew Edwards (Deestriders), with evergreen Gary Norgrove third.

 Wirral's Sarah Kearney took the ladies' title, with fellow-veteran Isabel Redfern second.

 RESULTS

1 D Weston (Wrex) 33.08, 2 A Edwards (Deestriders) 33.50, 4 G Norgrove (Wrecsam Tri, M45) 34.20, 4 S Williams (ua) 34.28, 5 P Evans (Wrecsam Tri, M40) 35.38, 6 A Campbell (Wrecsam Tri) 35.42.
 M40: 2 J Taylor (Wrex) 37.30, 3 J Thomas (Cybi) 38.36
 M45: 2 G Owens (Osw) 39.23, 3 K Roberts (NWRR) 40.45
 M50: 1 A Lewis (Eryri) 38.11, 2 E Reid (Abergele) 41.54, 3 J Treggett (ua) 43.09
 M55: 1 R Freeman (ua) 40.36, 2 B Brown (Wrex) 42.24, 3 A Gauton (Denbigh) 42.32
 M60: 1 G Nixon (Prestatyn) 40.21, 2 B Wilson (Ludlow) 42.28, 3 M Ollier (Wrex) 45.58
 M65: 1 JG Evans (Aberystwyth) 45.23, 2 M Beech (ua) 62.07
 M70: 1 Roger Harrison-Jones (Prest) 51.08, 2 D Phillips (ua) 51.32, 3 M McDonald (N Vets) 62.24

Ladies

1 S Kearney (Wirral, L35) 38.23, 2 I Redfern (CB, L40) 39.55, 3 E Collins (Denbigh, L50) 41.07, 4 L Morley (Wrex, L40) 43.39, 5  D Holl (ua) 44.43, 6 C Birch (Abergele, L65) 45.24.
 L35: 2 H Bainbridge (ua) 51.34, 3 E Birse (ua) 53.33
 L40: 3 R Court (ua) 51.08
 L45: 1 S Jones (ua) 48.54, 2 M Meadowcroft (ua) 51.52, 3 S Edwards (ua) 52.40
 L50: 2 J Nicholls (ua) 51.49, 3 H Massey (ua) 55.29
 L55: 1 J Green (ua) 55.29, 2 J Kember (ua) 57.20, 3 W Evans (ua) 70.01
 L60: 1 G Graham (Whitchurch) 53.42, 2 D King (ua) 56.23
 L65: 2 A Jones (ua) 57.40

Chester Spring 5

VETS SET THE PACE AT CHESTER

Eight of the first 10 finishers  and 14 of the first 20 in the Chester Spring 5 were vets as the race again attracted a quality field.

 Deeside's Lee Jones was third overall and was first M40, two places ahead of Christian Prior (Chester Tri), from Prestatyn, who was third last year.

 The first woman home was Helsby's Jayne Joy, who came home 21 seconds ahead of Elizabeth Renondeau (Tattenhall).

 Results

1 R Burney (Liv H, M35) 25.45, 2 D Nicholls (Wilmslow) 26.00, 3 L Jones (Deeside, M40) 26.10, 4 W Neill (Stoke) 26.23, 5 C Prior (Chester Tri, M35) 26.32, 6 M Walker (Macclesfield, M35) 26.39, 7 M Smith (South Chesh, M40) 26.51, 8 P Jones (Oswestry, M40) 27.08, 9 D Fahey (Goyt, M40) 27.09, 10 C Standidge (Chester Tri) 27.14.
 M45: 1 D Harris (Chester Tri) 28.06, 2 N Jones (South Chesh) 29.15, 3 K Begley (Chester Tri) 29.53.
 M50: 1 G MacNeil (Wilmslow) 28.23, 2 T Cahill (Abergele) 29.26, 3 M Robbins (Wrex) 30.22
 M55: 1 C Martin (Spectrum) 29.00, 2 D Carrington (Altrincham) 30.28, 2 M Weedall (Vale Royal) 31.22
 M60: 1 S Owen (Salford) 29.10, 2 M Cole (Suth Chesh) 34.03, 3 G Shaw (Helsby) 34.49
 M65: 1 T Hulme (Wilmslow) 33.36, 2 M Whiteside (Tatt) 35.32, J Morris (Buckley) 38.32
 M70: J Riley (N Vets) 41.39
 M75: 1 J Park (Cheshire Tally Ho) 42.08

Ladies

1 J Joy (Helsb) 30.51, 2 E Renondeau (Tatt) 31.12, 3 L Blizzard (Belgrave, L35) 31.46, 4 C Voyce (Sh Shufflers, L35) 33.42, 5 B Hughes (Chester Tri) 33.44, 6 J Thorn (Vale Royal, L55) 33.47.
 L35: 3 S Fourie (Chester Tri) 34.09
 L40: 1 L Morley (Wrex) 33.53, 2 C Hall (Wirral) 34.54, 3 L Davies (West Chesh) 37.46
 L45: 1 A Mageean (Chester Tri) 35.11, 2 S Waring (Stockport) 41.09, 3 J Lucas (Wilmslow) 41.41
 L50: 1 M Ludden (Buck) 34.16, 2 M Tavener (Vale R) 35.07, 3 C Shaw (Helsby) 36.26
 L55: 2 G Waring (Prestatyn) 38.07, 3 D Read (Spectrum) 38.43
 L60:  1 J Shaw (Helsby) 44.39, 2 L Bish (West Chesh) 52.57
 L65: S Swinnerton (South Chesh) 45.30
 

Cross-country rankings

FOUR NW ATHLETES IN UK RANKINGS' TOPTEN

Four of North Wales' outstanding youngsters who have had brilliant winters are listed in Athletics Weekly's first ever UK cross-country rankings.

 In the under-20s' class Charlie Hulson (Sale) is placed eighth, his third place in the McCain Challenge in Liverpool earning him his first GB vest.

 Joseph Crutchley (Maldwyn), who gained a bronze medal in the UK inter-counties' championships in Birmingham, is ranked a superb third in the under-13s' group. In the Welsh inter-regional championships he finished second behind Matthew Willis (Wrexham), who is placed fifth in the UK table.

 Welsh under-17s' champion and UK inter-counties bronze medallist Georgia Garner (Colwyn Bay) is ranked eighth in the U17 category and would have been higher but for a disappointing run in Liverpool.

Joe Brown Series (1)

RECORDS FALL ON MOEL TRYFAN

Roads specialist Gwyn Owen made a rare but winning appearance on the hills in the opening race of the Joe Brown Midweek Series at Moel Tryfan.

 Teenager Bronwen Jenkinson had her biggest win to date, beating the experienced Lisa Grantham by two seconds.

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 G Owen 18.24, 2 J Rowley 18.41, 3 A Edwards 18.52, 4 J Parkinson (M40) 19.02, 5 H O'Donnell (Ambleside) 19.12, 6 DW Jones (M40) 19.20.
 U18: M Llyr 22.02.
M40: 3 N Craine 20.47.
 M50: D Sales (Pennine) 20.59.
 M60: P "Tan" Jones 23.56
 M70: E Davies 26.08
 Ladies: 1 B Jenkinson (U16) 22.22 (new record), 2 L Grantham (Chester Tri) 22.24, 3 M Owen (Cybi) 23.35. L40: K Broach (ua) 24.06 (new record). L50: E Salisbury 25.42 (new record). L60: M Oliver 31.19.

Fron Four

BENTLEY WINS DESPITE GETTING LOST - AGAIN

Sheer speed compensated for lack of navigational skills for Kent athlete Russell Bentley in the Fron Four mountain race.

 Last month he got lost while leading in the Moel Tryfan race at Fron, and on his blog he later joked that as a predominantly track athlete he was more used to course directions being simply "Left, straight on, left again and repeat".

 However, the same thing happened when he returned to the village for the longer Fron Four race, the course for which was shortened because of the snow.

 At the front of the field, he led a group of runners off-course but, realising his error, was fast enough to get back on-route and go on to win, while the other errant athletes were so far behind they could no longer see him making the correction.

 Results.
1 R Bentley (Kent) 43.15, 2 DW Jones (Eryri, M40) 43.59, 3 J Parkinson (Eryri, M40) 44.04, 4 J Brown (Buckley, M40) 44.46, 5 C Jones (Eryri, M40) 48.29, 6 M Davies (NWRR) 48.33.
 M50: 1 D Soles (Pennine) 49.54, 2 K Hagley (SWRR) 50.24, 3 J Williams (Eryri) 55.40.
 M60: D Owen (Prestatyn) 70.16.
 M70: E Davies (Eryri) 61.25
 Ladies
1 S Cumming (ua) 59.06, 2 K Worthington (Eryri) 59.15, 3 E Salisbury (Eryri, L50) 59.46. L40: A Wilde (ua) 66.55. L50: 2 S Jones (Cybi) 73.10.