Hills and Coast

"OUTSIDERS" DOMINATE THREE EVENTS

Almost 1,000 runners took part in three events at opposite ends of North Wales at the weekend, but they included only a small percentage of local athletes.

 Paul Green (Mossley) won the Abersoch 10k which includes a finishing straight along the beach. His time was 33.56, with Oswestry veteran Paul Jones second in 34.45 and Stefan Sayer (Menai) third in 34.47.

 First woman in the field of almost 700 was Jane Evans, who finished in 36.36.

 There were 113 finishers in the Excalibur Marathon in the Clwydian Hills, with Charlie Sharpe (Running Riot) first in 3-42.18 and Simon Edwards (Buckley) runner-up in 3-44.33.

 Rob Grantham (Pensby) had a much easier win the Excalibur Half-Marathon, crossing the line in 1-38.49 and second-placed Tom Clowes in 1-47.19.

 Results of all races are on the TDL Events website.

Deganwy Dash

SAMUEL DASHES WHARTON'S HOPES

Eryri's Rob Samuel, who is gradually coming back from injury, eased his way to victory in the Deganwy Dash 5-mile race.

 Cybi veteran Harvey Wharton set the early pace but Samuel, having let him do the early work, then pushed ahead and won by almost a minute.

 Results: 1 R Samuel 27.12, 2 H Wharton 28.01, 3 M Green (M40) 29.27, 4 T Aldous (U20) 30.02, 5 A Butterworth (M40) 30.15, 6 J Waters 30.16. M40: 3 C Jones 30.18. M50: 2 M Williams 31.59, 2 A Roberts 33.09, 3 SP Roberts 33.48. M60: 1 K Slattery 32.41, 2 B Wells 36.00, 3 R Harrison 44.17. M70: I Roberts 50.03. Ladies: H McArthur (L40) 35.37, 2 H Blair (L40) 35.57, 3 K Kordiak 37.35, 4 H Turner 38.05, 6 J Butterworth 38.21. L40: 3 C Green 39.42. L50: 1 M Booth 38.34, 2 S Rodgers 40.50, 3 Y Rogers 44.51.

Great Orme race

BACON CLAIMS SECOND WIN

Eryri's Jim Bacon claimed his second win in the Joe Brown Tuesday Night Series on Llandudno's Great Orme, but was made to work hard by triathlete Steve Skates, who has now joined Prestatyn RC.

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 J Bacon 32.31, 2 S Skates (Prestatyn) 32.42, 3 J Parkinson (M40) 33.10, 4 C Jones (M40) 33.42, 5 R Cain (Menai, U16) 33.48, 6 M Davies (NWRR, M40) 34.28U18: J Edwards (ua) 40.22. M50: 1 S Toogood (Buckley) 34.59, 2 V Belshaw (Denbigh) 36.15, 3 E Owen 37.00. M60: 1 N Bradley (Meir) 44.18, 2 D Owen (Prestatyn) 50.20. M70: 1 J Morris (Buckley) 45.16, 2 B Robbins 46.14, 3 D Williams 47.30.
 Ladies: 1 B Jenkinson (U18) 38.36, 2 E Haf (ua) 39.26, 3 L Beetlestone 40.29, 4 G Brown (NWRR) 40.30, 5 J Heming (L40) 40.45, 6 C Belshaw (Denbigh) 41.16. L40: 2 S Barnwell 43.19, 3 A Williams (Buckley) 46.17. L50: 1 B Tiedtke (Prestatyn) 43.41, 2 H Blair 45.17, 3 E Salisbury 46.33.

NW Champs

DUO STAGE EXCITING BATTLE

Spectators at the North Wales track and field championships at Bangor were treated to a wonderful display by two of the youngest competitors.

 The battle between Menai's Osian Perrin and Deeside's James Jones in the under-13s' 1,500 metres was deserving of a much greater audience as both athletes demonstrated not only great talent but a tactical maturity way beyond their years.

 James is currently ranked Number 1 in the UK over the distance, having clocked 4-37.8 early in May and he is third over 800 metres in 2-18.78, while Osian is in seventh place over 1,500m with 4-40.7.

 In the championship the pair were cat-and-mouse with each other over the first two laps, with the diminutive Osian testing his opponent with a couple of surges.

 James reeled him in each time  and then on the final lap both went for it, and in the final straight it looked as if another push by Osian had given him the edge, only for the Deeside youngster to draw level yet again.

 They crossed the line together, and even the photo-finish camera could not separate them as they recorded an identical 5-00.19, but after much deliberation the judges awarded gold to James.

 It was a shame, as both deserved equal credit for what was undoubtedly the most exciting race of the afternoon and a huge credit to both lads.

Moel Eilio

STRONG FIELD FOR SNOWDONIA CLASSIC

The Moel Eilio race, long regarded as one of the classic Snowdonia events, attracted a big field with 104 finishers even though of the region's top mountain runners were absent.

 Victory went to unattached runner Gareth Hughes, who finished three minutes clear of Max Wainwright (Helsby).

 Results: 1 G Hughes (ua) 68.11, 2 M Wainwright (Helsby) 71.10, 3 D Thomas (Eryri, M40) 71.21, 4 M Cliffe (Eryri, M40) 72 .15, 5 D Parker (ua) 72.40, 6 J Bacon (Eryri) 73.41. M40: 3 S Edwards (Buckley) 73.48. M50: 1 N Craine (Eryri) 78.33, 2 A Lewis (Eryri) 81.07, 3 S Toogood (Buckley) 82.25. M60: 1 D Weaver (Eryri) 84.18, 2 C Wilcox (Clwydian) 88.13, 3 A French (Wrexham) 89.15. M70: 1 J Morris (Buckley) 1-43.52, 2 B Robbins (Eryri) 1-48.37.
 Ladies: 1 L Jeska (Eryri, L40) 79.07, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 81.02, 3 J Toone (ua) 82.22, 4 S Ridgway (Run Snowdonia, L40) 83.45, 5 L Bestow (Vale R) 86.58, 6 K Worthington (Eryri) 90.46. L50: 1 E Collins (Denbigh) 96.23, 2 C Mills (Mercia) 1-44.38, 3 H Berrett (Buckley) 1-45.12.

NZ win

NEW KIWI WILLIAMS LOGS ANOTHER WIN

Former Bro Dysynni athlete Alun Williams, who has recently been granted New Zealand citizenship, continued his recent good  form by winning the Welcome Rock 27k trail race in the Nevis Valley, one hour south of Queenstown on South Island.

 The event was held on the Roaring Lion Trail and Williams won in 2h 1m 24s, four minutes clear of the runner-up. The prizegiving podium proved rather unusual, consisting of appropriately sized logs.

Classic Aber

RECORD ADDS GLOSS TO MATT FINISH

Four new course records were set in the Aber Classic race, the latest in the Joe Brown Tuesday Night series, with Matthew Roberts tearing around the course in 31.11, 93 seconds  clear of runner-up Alun Vaughan.

 The other records fell to third-placed Rob Grantham (M40), Derek Weaver (M50) and Bronwen Jenkinson (LU18).

 Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 M Roberts (Calder) 31.11, 2 A Vaughan 32.44, 3 R Grantham (Chester Tri, M40) 33.25, 4 F Maier 33.57, 5 J Bacon 34.16, 6 J Parkinson (M40) 34.24. M40: 3 C Jones 35.05. U16: R Cain (Menai) 34.52. M50: 1 D Weaver 38.14, 2 V Belshaw (Denbigh) 38.28, 3 A Lewis 38.48. M60: 1 P "Tan" Jones 43.31, 2 D Owen (Prestatyn) 53.00. M70: 1 J Morris (Buckley) 48.06, 2 B Robbins 48.41, D Williams 50.16. Ladies: 1 B Jenkinson (U18) 41.34, 2 L Beetlestone 43.21, 3 N Albiston (ua) 43.28, 4 G Brown (NWRR) 43.32, 5 S Barnwell (L40) 43.42, 6 C Belshaw (Denbigh) 45.20. LU16: L Jones (Menai) 49.52. L40: 2 H Blair 47.32, 3 K Soley (ua) 52.01. L50: 1 B Tiedtke (Prestatyn) 45.49, 2 E Salisbury 48.10, 3 H Robbins 63.25. L60: M Oliver 57.36.

Taste Academy 5k

THIRD WIN FOR CHALLINOR

Ricky Challinor (Liverpool Harriers) regained his North Wales 5k title in the Taste Academy race at Rhyl, but a tough headwind on the return stage along the prom meant it was the slowest time he has recorded.

 Challinor, who won in 2008 and 2013, was made to work hard by newcomer Ryan Roberts (Cybi), who finished just one second behind just three days after a good run in the Chester Half.

 Lisa Grantham (Pensby) was the first lady home, with the North Wales title going to Cybi's Tracey Llewellyn, who also won the 10-mile title last month.

 Results: 1 R Challinor (Liv H) 17.07, 2 R Roberts (Cybi) 17.08, 3 M Green (NWRR, M40) 17.18, 4 JE Morris (Denbigh) 17.20,  5 D Longley (Prestatyn) 17.23, 6 S Roberts (Buckley, M40) 17.57. U20: B Harrison (Prestatyn) 22.01. M40: 3 D Blazier (Abergele) 18.29. M45: 1 G Blackwell (Dee) 18.23, 2 M Jones (CB) 19.41, 3 M Barclay (Chester Tri) 19.48. M50: 1 M Robbins (Wrex) 18.45, 2 K Challinor (Dee) 20.34, 3 S Sheriff (ua) 21.54. M55: 1 G Jones (Prestatyn) 18.24, 2 B Jones (Wrex) 18.33, 3 D Baugh (Denbigh) 19.00. M60: 1 S Bellis (Buckley) 19.50, 2 G Nixon (Prestatyn) 20.57, 3 F Jones (Denbigh) 21.39. M65: 1 P Walker (Wrex) 22.34, 2 M Ollier (Wrex) 23.07, 3 T Hill (Cybi) 23.10. M70: 1 R Frost (Wrex) 25.32, 2 K Tewkesbury (Abergele) 26.11, 3 I Roberts (Eryri) 28.58. M75: 1 D Gardner (NWRR) 23.04, 2 Ron Harrison-Jones (Prestatyn) 28.37, 3 Ron Birch (Denbigh) 29.17. M80: R Billington (Wrex) 33.08.
 Ladies: 1 L Grantham (Pensby, L40) 19.34, 2 T Llewellyn (Cybi, L25) 20.14, 3 J Jennions (Deestriders, L35) 20.35, 4 E Collins (Denbigh, L50) 20.54, 5 G Brown (NWRR) 21.14, 6 A Owen-Jones (Abergele) 21.35. SL: 3 C Belshaw (Denbigh) 22.35. L35: 3 S Beck (Prestatyn) 21.46. L40: 2 V Whitehead (Denbigh) 21.39, 3 H Griffiths (NWRR) 24.15. L45: J Evans (Prestatyn) 33.09. L50: 2 H Berrett (Buckley) 22.45, 3 B Tiedtke (Prestatyn) 22.51. L55: S Rodgers (Prestatyn) 24.17. L60: M Docking (Wrex) 24.48. L65: C Birch (Abergele) 23.01.
 North Wales Championships:-  Men. U20: B Harrison. SM: 1 Challinor, 2 Roberts, 3 Green. M35: 1 J Waters (Abergele) 17.59, 2 R Armstrong (Abergele) 19.16, 3 I Evans (NWRR) 19.21. M40: 1 Green, 2 Roberts, 3 Blazier. M45: 1 Blackwell , 2  Jones, 3 M Mayers (Abergele) 20.26. M50: 1 Robbins, 2 Challinor. M55: 1 G Jones, 2 B Jones, 3 Baugh. M60: 1  Bellis, 2 Nixon, 3 Jones. M65: 1 Walker, 2 Ollier, 3 Hill. M70: 1 Frost, 2 Tewkesbury, 3 Roberts. M75: 1 Gardner, 2 Ron Harrison-Jones (Prestatyn) 28.37, 3 Roger Harrison-Jones (Prestatyn) 30.38.M80: Billington.
 Ladies. U23: A Owen-Jones (Abergele) 21.35. SL: 1 Llewellyn, 2 Jennions, 3 Collins. L35: 1 Llewellyn, 2 Jennions. L40: 1 Whitehead, 2 Griffiths, 3 C Manley (Prestatyn) 27.35. L50: 1 Collins, 2 Tiedtke, 3 L Goodson (NWRR) 22.54. L55: Rodgers. L60: Docking. L65: Birch. L80: S Symonds (Meirionnydd).

Askern 10k

WIN FOR PARRY IN HILLY 10K

Leeds-based Katie Parry from Rhyl was first lady home in the hilly Askern 10k in Doncaster. The Leeds City Welsh international came 36th overall in an 800-strong field with a time of 36.44.

Christleton 5k

STRONG COMEBACK BY JONES

The annual Christleton 5k attracted its usual high quality field from across North Wales and the North West, with Wales Commonwealth Games marathoner Andrew Davies (Stockport) finishing second behind junior Elliott Bowker (Vale Royal).

 Bowker clocked 14.31, with Davies just eight second behind. Crossing the line in 119th place was Wrexham veteran Bernard Jones (M55), who clocked an impressive 17.40 as he continues his comeback from injury.

 Among other leading North Wales placings were: 93 Nick Robinson (Deestriders)  17.17, 97 Andrew Campbell (Wrecsam Tri) 17.19, 146 Darren Blazier (Aber gele) 18.05, 148 Richard Hayes (Wrecsam Tri)  18.11, 181 Stephen Roberts (Oswestry, M60) 19.17,  196 Barry Loden (Wrecsam Tri) 19.28.

 Full results are on City of Chester Tri Club's website.

Ras y Gader

JONES MAKES IT THREE AT  CADER

Welsh international Felipe Jones (Aberystwyth) made it two wins on the t rot at the Ras y Gader in Dolgellau after another tough battle.

 Last year Simon Harding (Macclesfield) came second and 2011 winner Lloyd Taggart (Manx) third but this time those positions were reversed and the veteran Taggart made Jones work hard for his win.

 The ladies' title went to Eryri's former English champion Lauren Jeska, who  finished 17th overall in 1-38.24, just outside Jackie Lee's winning time in 2014.

 Among the outstanding individual performances was that of Stephen P Jones (Eryri), who won the M60 class and was 19th overall. That placed him ahead of the first M50 and U23 finishers.

Full results are on the TDL Events we site.

Chester Half

JONES WINS CLASS IN CHESTER

Injury may have forced Lee Jones to give up his attempt to win his class in this year's London Marathon but he gained some consolation by doing the same in the Chester half-marathon.

 The Deeside athlete was eighth overall and first M45 in 71.54 in a race won by Kenyan Vincent Boit in a course record of 62.21.

 Ryan Roberts (Cybi), a newcomer to the local scene, had a tremendous run to come 13th overall in 75.30.

 Several North Wales athletes were among the  top three in their age-groups, including Martin Green (NWRR), who was second M40 in 77.18, and Ian James (Wrexham), second M50 in 83 .16. Richard Slattery (NWRR), having just moved into the M60 category, came second in 89.44.

 Dave Gardner (NWRR), who is ranked number one in the UK, won the M75 class in 1-42.13, with Eddie Naisby (Prestatyn) second in 2-23.22 - at the age of 87!.

  Full results are on the TDL Events website.
 

FRA relays

GIRLS STEAL THE SHOW AT BETWS

The North Wales pair of Bronwen Jenkinson and Mollie Davies were the local star performers at the FRA fell-running relays in Betws y Coed, winning the under-18s' event.

 Jenkinson finished 2nd in 23.42 and Davies 3rd in 24.11. They were supported in 13th place by Lowri Jones (28.20.

 The under-16 boys finished second to Yorkshire, with Matthew Willis second individual and Ryan Cain eighth. Other placings were : 13 Steffan Williams , 18 Kieran Forrest, 20 Sion Jones.

  North Wales finished fourth in both the under 18 boys and girls' races, while the senior women were eighth and senior men 12th.  First North Wales woman home, in 22nd place, was Andrew Rowlands, who topped the L40 class, while Russell Bentley was first of the male finishers vin 31st place.

BMC Grand Prix

PBs FOR SIBLINGS

Brother and sister Iolo and Cari Hughes both recorded personal bests at the BMC Grand Prix meeting in Stretford.

 In his heat of the 1,500m 18-year-old  Iolo finished eighth in 3-55.82 while 16-year-old Cari was second in her race in 4-28.33.

 Caernarfon-born Gareth Warburton, still working his way back to fitness, finished seventh in his 800m in a season's best of 1-51.14.

Dinas Bran race

BROWN THE KING OF THE CASTLE

Buckley's Jez Brown was in a class of his own in the Dinas Bran hill race at Llangollen, which attracted only 29 runners. He led from start to finish and his clubmate Hayley Evans also took the ladies'  prize by  a comfortable margin.

 Results: 1 J Brown (Buckley, M40) 31.27, 2 D Roberts (Osw) 33.19, 3 S Edwards (Buckley, M40) 33.46, 4 D Boothby (Wrecsam Tri, M35) 34.09, 5 J Davies (Wrexham)  34.52, 6 A Pritchard (Buckley, M40) 34.59. M45: R Davies (Osw) 40.22. M50: S Toogood (Buckley) 35.37. M60: S Roberts (Osw) 37.10. Ladies: 1 H Evans (Buckley, L35) 40.20, 2 A Tickner (Osw, L45) 41.17, 3 M Peffers (Deeside, L45) 42.17. L40: J Ewels (Clwydian) 46.18. L50: R Arnold (Helsby) 46.02.

Market Drayton 10k

IN THE MARKET FOR AN AWARD

The Baugh family from Denbigh had a productive visit to Market Drayton where they competed in the popular 10k.

 Dad David finished third in the M55 class in 39.07 and he was followed by daughters Kate and Elen, and wife Menai.

 Among the North Wales placings were: 7 Tim Davies (Maldwyn) 34.21, 54 Dave Gilbert (Buckley) 37.28 (3rd M50), 92 David Baugh (Denbigh), 39.07, 392 Victoria Whitehead (Denbigh), 400 Kevin Roberts (Denbigh) 45.51, 472 Lisa Gittins (Buckley) 47.15,  591 Kate Baugh (Denbigh) 48.59, 604 Keith Williams (Meirionnydd) 49.06, 783 Elen Baugh (Denbigh) 52.03, 908 Jon Whitehead (Denbigh) 53.40, 1200 Menai Baugh (Denbigh) 57.35.

Rhostryfan 10k

SAMUEL MAKES WINNING RETURN

After a lengthy lay-off from competition Rob Samuel made a winning comeback in the Rhosryfan 10k, beating  clubmate  Gwyn Owen by 17 seconds.

 Siobhan Evans, who has also been missing for a while, mad e a similar successful return, clocking  40.40.22 for the hilly course.

 First M50 was the prolific Arwel Lewis, who had won his M55 age-group just 48 hours earlier in the Cardiff Bay 5-miler in 31.35. In that same race former Eryri Harrier Iwan Morton (Pont-y-Pwl) finished 23rd overall in 28.11 and the amazing 62-year-old Martin Rees (Swansea) set yet another age-group record of 27.05.

 Results of Rhostryfan  10k (all Eryri unless stated): 1 R  amuel 34.32, 2 G  Owen 34.49, 3 R Roberts (Cybi) 35.19, 4 D Owen 37.00, 5 J Bacon 37.21, 6 D Blazier (Abergele, M40) 38.02. M40: 2 I Rowlands (Cybi)  39.18, 3 G Porter-Jones 40.49. M50: 1 A Lewis 41.12, 2 E Jones (Cybi) 44.24, 3 N Holmes (Cybi) 47.57. M60: P "Tan" Jones 47.28. M70: I Roberts 63.59. Ladies: 1 S Evans 40.22, 2 E Haf (ua) 42.33, 3 T Llewellyn (Cybi) 42.39. L40: 1 A Thomas 50.45, 2 E Wood 52.48, 3 T Fretwell 52.50. L60: 1 J Riley  49.56, 2 S Jones (Cybi) 50.10, 3 S Norris (Eryri  Orienteers) 53.21.

Liverpool 10k

ANOTHER PB FOR MORRIS

Denbigh's in-form John Edward Morris chalked up another pb in coming 16th in the Liverpool 10k. His time was 35.18.

 In the same race Darren Blazier (Abergele) 40th overall in 37.20.

Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k

HUGE PB FOR WESTON

As expected, England took the team prize at the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k in Redwick, near Newport, but Wrexham's Daniel Weston had a tremendous run to lead the Welsh trio home.

 Last year, on his international debut, he clocked 7-43.07 to come 10th overall but this time he improved by five places and reduced his time to 7-16.44.

 Eryri's Paul Wathan, in his first attempt at the distance, finished 16th, the last of the 18 starters to complete the race, and his time was 9-52.38. 

 Wathan has been a prolific racer in recent months, having competed in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United States, Singapore and France on his travels over the past two years.

BUCS Champs

SMITH JUST MISSES PODIUM PLACE

Former Deeside athlete Owen Smith finished just outside the medal places in the British Universities' track and field championships in Bedford.

 The Cardiff Met student won his  400m heat in 47.99 and semi-final in 48.35 but finished fourth in the final in 47.93

 At the same meeting Welsh international Ffion Price was second in the 1,500m heat in 4-44.83 and thin the semi improved her time to 4-37.82. In the final she again bettered her time with 4-30.50 but came sixth .

Wrexham's Megan Rogers (Cardiff Met) finished third in her 400m heat in 55.67.

London bronze

BRONZE FOR NWRR TRIO

The North Wales Road Runners trio of Martin Green, Chris Yorke and Andy Kerr earned bronze medals after coming third in the Welsh championships within the London Marathon.

 Their respective times were 2-41.26, 2-43.34 and 2-47.33.

Llangynhafal Loop

HUNT BEATS THE FIELD BUT WEATHER IS THE WINNER

 John Hunt (Dark Peak) led a trio of veterans home in the Llangynhafal Loop race in the Clwydian hills, but it w as the weather which presented the greatest challenge.

 The 73  runners faced a strong wind and driving rain on the testing course and though Hunt  finished over a minute clear of runner-up Tim Higginbottom he was seven minu es outside Morgan Donnelly's course record.

 Andrea Rowlands, whose record has stood since 2009, retained her title, finishing seventh overall, and w as only two minutes outside her best.

 Results: 1 J Hunt (Dark Peak, M40) 44.48, 2 T Higginbottom (Haglofs, M40) 45.57, 3 S Edwards (Buckley, M40) 45.58, 4 P Randall (Black Combe) 45.59, 5 T Fletcher (ua) 47.14, 6 S Toogood (Buckley, M50) 47.32. M50: 2 V Belshaw (Denbigh) 49.17, 3 J Randell (Meir) 50.23. M60: 1 S Bellis (Buckley) 52.14, 2 A French (Wrexham) 55.25, 3 N Bradley (Meir)  58.29. M70: N Pratten (Pensby) 69.21. Ladies: 1 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 47.44, 2 R Pierce (Denbigh) 51.02, 3 L Beston (Vale R) 51.30, 4 L Grantham (Pensby, L50) 52.00, 5 H Evans (Buckley) 54.27, 6 C Belshaw (Denbigh) 55.05. L40: 3 A Rosbottom (Pensby) 55.59. L50: 1 D Rutherford (Pensby) 64.15, 2 M Baugh (Denbigh) 69.26, 3 C Lancaster (Pensby) 71.54.