Author: Gareth Jenkins

parkruns

This month saw 172 parkrun finishes between our members at 19 different parkrun venues. As we as covering many of the South Wales parkruns, we had tourists at Swindon, Durham, Longrun Meadow, Bushy, Reading, Stonehouse, Barking, Bakewell and Wythenshawe parkruns.

Of note in month was David Kembery running the inaugural Parc (prison) parkrun and setting a course record of 22:15 which still stands at the time of writing. Karl Johnson ran at his 50th different parkrun venue for his ‘Half-Cowell’ status joining less than 3000 parkrunners worldwide to achieved that milestone.

Karl also ran his 100th parkrun with Grangemoor eventually being the venue after storms meant that Pontypridd (1st choice) and Maesteg (2nd choice) had were cancelled that morning following several other South Wales parkruns that had already cancelled the day before. Richard Lowcock James became the 3rd member of the club to run his 250th parkrun at the start of the month, with Alun Wylde celebrating his 50th parkrun on the same day.

The Lovelucks ran their first ever parkruns and tore up the record books with Anneliese clocking a new female club record of 20:41 whilst Steve’s time of 19:28 earned him another club age category record. We had 52 runners at Porthcawl on 20/10/18 for the latest Zero to Hero graduation and despite a huge proporation of our runners being in Snowdon the week after, we still had 36 runners at Porthcawl with many of the previous weeks first timers returning and improving on their debut times.

Half Marathons

We had an incredible 91 members finish this years Cardiff Half Marathon. Neil Jones led the way with a new club record of 1:18:33 with Ryan Evans getting a PB of 1:24:11 as our next finisher and Niki couldn’t quite improve on his PB just a few seconds behind. Dai James smashed his PB and came agonisingly close to making it 4 of our runners under 1:30 with a 1:30:09.

The PB list is incredible so here goes – well done to Simon Williams, Anotonio Antoniazzi, Steven James, Chris Roberts, Kevin James, Nigel Hitchings, Dawn Hopkins, Alun Wylde, Sam Miller, David McCann, Wayne Randall, Jo Gamba, Ashley Howells, Sarah Littlewood, Sara Bayliss, Nige Rees, Adam Rowe, Brett Bonell, Louise Foster, Emma Winch, Ian Lewis, Beverley Sheard, Gary Loo, Emma Marshall, Sally Littlehales, Deb Griffin, Stephanie Dyke, Fran Collins, Rosaleen Lian, Shawn James, Debbie Bennion, Deborah Edwards, Hannah Knight, Sharon Pritchard, Tammie Baker, Alexis Barrett, Siobhan James, Shelley Evans, Jamie Puddy, Siân Bright, Siân Jenkins, Cath Griffiths, Leah Morgan and Nicola Allen. Martin Beard and Natalie Esp ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon where Natalie beat her previous years time by an incredible 36 minutes showing her remarkable improvement over the past 12 months. Karl ran the Stroud Half Marathon in just over 2 hours to tick another event off in his mission to run 18 halves or longer in 2018.

Marathons

Before we get onto Snowdon, Niki Puleio ran the Bilboa Marathon in 3:16:41 and Chris Pratt returned to the Keilder Marathon managed a sub 4 hour clocking.

At Snowdonia Marathon the club had a record 43 finishers which incredibly is more than we’ve had running parkrun in some weeks earlier on in the year. Freezing temperatures at the start and a strong headwind for much of the second half of the race gave the already testing course an extra bite. Neil Jones lead the way but conditions meant that his quest to go sub 3 at Snowdon fell just short with a 3:02:06. Neil Price was up next with Gareth Richards and Aled Hughes all getting in well under the 4 hour mark. Wayne Hayhurst set himself a new marathon PB as did Dan Clark. Denise Bradley ran 4:34:00 PB and was our first female finisher. She later received a Welsh Championship Medal for finishing in the top 3 in her age category.

The PB’s continued with Dai McCann, Mike Brian, Nige Rees (who ran quicker at Snowdon than he did at London?!), Peter Walsh, Shaun Evans, Ashley Howells, Hannah Bartle, Rhiannon Buckley, Leigh Francis, Wayne Randall, Alexis Barrett, Dawn Hopkins and Shelley Evans. Many of those completing their first ever marathons.

Other Races

The only 5 miler of the month saw Shawn and Julie ran the Ghost Run in Cardiff whilst the only 10K of the month saw Shawn Cullen and Jayne Powney run the Swansea Epic 10K. At the 11 mile Ponty Plod race the Lovelucks were adding more prizes to their collection with Anneliese finishing first lady whilst Steve picked up another great age category placing. We had 15 runners in total at the event with many using it as a final long run before Snowdon a week later.

This year the club has officially entered the Gwent Cross Country League. The first fixture was at Llandaff fields where Niki, Chris Pratt and Simon Williams ran whilst Juliet Amner ran in the womens race. The fixture also doubled up as a fixture in the British Cross Country series meaning several Elite runners were on show.

Last but certainly not least, 5 runners took on one of the toughest races in the South Wales race calendar – the Gower 50 miler. Gareth Richards was our first member across the line with Kris Denholm next up. Both knocked over an hour off their previous Gower 50 attempts. Nick Harris was next up with Simon Harrison and Liz Sim running the course together finishing in just over 14 gruelling hours.

What a month – from Zero to Hero’s running their first 5K to 50 mile Ultra-runners and everything in between!

Chairman’s Runners of the Month

October was a great month for running… As Autumn well and truly sets in event frequency peaks before the inevitable downturn into Winter as the nights draw in.   My word of the month is “epic” – one which gets trawled out every year as my favourite marathon concludes the month on the roads around Snowdonia.  A great race and wonderful atmosphere within the club as we always take many up there.  Epic can also be used to describe the enormous turnout at Cardiff Half this year.  Wonderful running from lots and lots of Phoenix!

My first selection is from that crazy bunch who headed up north.  Someone whose running is always inspirational.  One of the first people I met in the club back in 2014.  Not unlike many of us there have been periods of injury which have prevented good progress for her but when the going was good, it was good!  With a unique level of determination she faces down races in a way that teaches us all valuable lessons.  Totally committed to her training but also more than willing to help and guide others through theirs.  I’m sure many will join me in saying she has been an inspiration to them throughout both their training and their racing.  In October she was first lady finisher in Snowdonia in a very impressive time of 4:34 – a marathon PB (how crazy is that on that course?) – coming down the finishing straight very strong holding a photo of her parents aloft as she crossed the line to honour their memory.  Impressive in it’s own right, but it also warranted a Welsh Athletics Masters Gold Medal for being first in her age category!  I am absolutely thrilled to award my Chairman’s female runner of the month for October to Denise Bradley.  Well done Denise and thank you for all the inspiration and encouragement you give to our running community.

With so many picking up Personal Bests this month it was so difficult to choose based on performance.  The beauty of this award, though, is that I have free rein on reasons for awarding.  For some, their running is out shadowed by other commitments they have within the club.  Giving their time to make sure other peoples running journeys are on the right track.  None more so than a coach.  Training sessions with club involve giving your own time and often not being credited with your own achievements.  This affects your ability to get your own training done for your own events.  I’ve already given the game away, I’m sure…  A unique opportunity presented itself this month.  A new parkrun initiative to introduce events into prisons came to Wales for the first time during October.  Working at the prison provided a totally unique opportunity to get involved in the inaugural running with a course record being set.  He doesn’t like to talk about it though!  He went on to tackle the Snowdonia Marathon at the end of the month and I had the great pleasure of sharing much of the distance with him, on and off, as we played cat and mouse.  We mutually supported each other through the last few miles finishing with tales to tell of a tough day, physically and emotionally.  I saw this guy dig very, very deep to fight off the demons at the end of the race!!  I have no hesitation awarding my Chairman’s male runner of the month to David Kembery.  Well done Dai!

parkruns 

This month saw 203 parkrun finishes by our members across 42 parkruns. As well as covering most of the South Wales parkruns, we had 20 members who crossed the border at one or more of Milton Keynes, Eastville, Newcastle, Camperdown, Worcester, Newbiggin, Portobello, Melksham, Sale, Eden Project, Weymouth, Exmouth, Northallerton and Sheffield Hallam.

Some highlights in month included a first placed finish at Maesteg for Niki Puleio, a PB for Bev Sheard on her 100th parkrun, and a first sub 40 for Ffion Smith. Claire Taylor becomes one of our only members to have a parkrun PB outside of Wales as she knocked over 2 minutes off her previous overall parkrun best at Weymouth. We also had a record for this year of 48 parkrunners on the final Saturday of the month.

10K races

Every September brings the two biggest Welsh 10K’s with Cardiff and Swansea 10K’s. At Cardiff we had 35 runners led back by Niki Puleio in a PB time of 38:08. There were 16 PB’s in total with that list including Sam Miller, Alun Wylde, Jo Betty (equalled her PB), Michael Brain, Tammie Baker, Sian Jenkins, Sara Davies, Nicola Allen and Claire Taylor. Chris Pratt who had run the 16 mile Roman Run the day before offered to pace anyone who wanted sub 1 hour which prompted a huge response with Amanda Taylor, Steph Dyke, Chris Stanlake, Kaye Pedler, Natalie Esp and Emma Marshall all getting PB’s and finishing between 59:01 to 59:57.

At Swansea we had 21 runners and an even greater PB percentage with 10 of our runners getting personal best times despite wet and windy conditions. Ryan Evans who finished just behind Niki at Cardiff ran an incredible 37:55 PB ahead of Niki in second who didn’t quite make it 2 PB’s for the month but added yet another sub 40 time to his records. Wayne Hayhurst added another PB to his list for the year having already bagged 5K and Half Marathon PB’s this year. Completing the PBers for the day were Tim Rees, Michael Brain, Gary Piper, Rosaleen Lian, Deb Edwards, Hannah Knight, Tracey Kembery and Ffion Smith. On the same day as Swansea 10K we had 6 runners in the rearrange St Davids Day 10K where new members and Maesteg parkrun regulars Emma Cox, Jamie Puddy and Stephne Puddy all got PB’s.

Other 10K’s in month included Shawn Cullen running the Snape 10K whilst on the final weekend we had 5 runners at Cowbridge 10K. A huge well done to several members who completed their first 10K’s as part of one of those races.

Half Marathons

Dawn Hopkins and Carol Bartle ran the Great North Run. Steven James helped pace in the English Half Marathon, whilst Karl Johnson notched up more events for his 18 in 18 with the Worcester Half Marathon, Bristol Half Marathon and Milton Keynes Half Marathon on all consecutive weekends. We had an impressive 17 runners at the Forest of Dean Autumn Half Marathon where despite the multi-terrain challenging course, Steven James, Wayne Randall and Suzanne Harrison all achieved PB’s.

Other races

Steven James ran a 5K race which was part of the English Half Marathon weekend. Sharon Pritchard and Debbie Bennion completed the ‘Thornbury AC trilogy’ by completing the Oldbury 10 miler with first time PB’s for both at the distance. It’s rare we have month without some crazy Ultra or long distance trail race and this month was no different. Liz Sim completed 2 Ultras just 7 days apart with the first being the Random Act of Kindness 50K Ultra in West Wales where she was joined by Simon Harrison, whilst the second was a 12 hour multi-lap event where she completed 44 miles whilst Kris Denholm managed one more lap to finish on around 48-49 miles.

This month also saw the 16 mile Roman Run which 10 of our runners completed and the Vicious Wentwood Weasel a day later with 14 members completing the course. Male club captain Richard Lowcock James completed both notching up close to a marathon of trail running for the weekend whilst Simon Harrison ran the Wentwood Weasel a day after his 50K Ultra.

In the first event of the West Glamorgan Cross Country League we had 10 runners take the trip down to Llanmadoc for the 4.5 mile multi-terrain course. A change to the usual course meant there was a much shorter beach section, but still plenty of energy-sapping sand to run through during the middle section of the course. With 5 to score for the men and 5 to score for the women we had the perfect balance in terms of entrants and everyone gave it their all to score as best we could for the club. Dai James was first home followed by Steven James and myself following close behind. Paul Johnson and David Sheard completed the points scorers for the men’s team before Emma Winch, Jo Gamba, Victoria Hillman, Bev Sheard and Hannah Knight made up the scorers for the women. Both teams are 6th out of 8 in their respective divisions and recruitment has already begun for the next fixture.

We had an amazing turnout of 77 runners for the final Bridgend League fixture of the year. Having held second place in the club standings from fixture 1 and throughout the season, Brackla had got themselves back into contention having beaten us the previous 2 fixtures making it an exciting finale to the season. To add to the drama, the organisers decided to set teams off in one minute waves in reverse order of where they stood in the league going into the fixture. This meant we started one from last. Arguably one of the best performances by our top 15 scorers along with a massive minus 62 points accumulated from all our other finishes ensured we maintained our second place in the league and therefore our best finish in the 3 years the Bridgend League has been running. Also a massive congratulations to Anneliese Loveluck who finished 3rd in the individual competition which is based on age graded scoring for each fixture. Worth mentioning that one of the ladies to finish ahead of her has represented Wales and won some pretty big races.

Chairman’s Runners of the Month

I said last month that this task gets ever more difficult.  We have just short of 250 members currently and all are worthy in some way of recognition.  But choose I must…

My first choice this month caught my eye last month and another good performance this month has warranted the accolade.  With a chequered running history dogged by a significant injury, there have been long periods where the running took a back seat.  Her interest faltered for a time as a result.  However, within the last few months, we’ve witnessed a renewed vigour in her running.  More frequent.  Distance increasing.  As a result, she achieved several impressive PB’s last month.  Not to be one to stand still she did it again this month as well!  Always running with a smile.  Always determined.  One thing you have to witness is her amazing sprint finish – focussed race face right to the bitter end.  A never give up attitude that inspires others to do the same.  I am absolutely delighted to name my chairman’s female runner of the month as Tammie Baker.  Well done Tammie – keep inspiring us all!

My second choice is on a mission.  We see numerous people tackling challenges each year.  Run a distance over a month, run every day for so many days or complete several events over a year.  The latter was a challenge set at the start of the year for one.  The distance – half marathon.  The number of them to match the year – 18!!  Yes, 18 half marathons in 12 months.  Not only is that a tough ask to maintain fitness and remain injury free for the whole year, but finding the events and booking them up and then finding the time to fit them in to a hectic working life with a growing family at home.  Why honour it this month…  because September saw him complete four half marathon distances – one of which was actually a tough 16 mile run (which had been preceded on the morning by a parkrun).  He’ll be the first to admit he’s not at his best fitness currently but he’s still managed to complete the events even if some have pushed him to his limits.  An admirable and valiant effort and all for a very worthy cause.  With a great deal of admiration I award my chairman’s male runner of the month to Karl Johnson.  Nice work Karl and best of luck with the rest of the challenge!!

parkruns

August saw 166 parkrun finishes across 32 events and 26 different venues. August included the inaugural Severn Bridge parkrun attended my Aled Hughes, Jo Betty and I. Emma Loyns clocked a tourism PB at Lee-on-the-Solent.

Other tourists outside of Wales in month were Kris Denholm at Lydney, Chris Roberts at Heaton and Fulham Palace parkruns, Chris Stanlake at Heartlands and Victoria Docks parkruns, James Littlewood at Sewerby, Angela Walsh at Colchester, the Sheards at Rothwell, Saul Harris at Dartford, Chris Pratt at Cotswold Feilds, Karl at Wotton and myself and Jo Betty at Sandwell Valley.

Even further afield Karl ran at Inverness and Fiona Drysdale ran at Aviemore whilst Jayne Powney ran at Nose Hill in Canada.

Highlights in month included a new PB for Wayne Hayhurst who is closing in on his first sub 20. Cath Griffiths got the perfect sub 30 with a 29:59. Niki Puleio had a first finish at Maesteg parkrun. Plus we had several first time parkrunners.

At the start of the month we had 43 runners at Porthcawl for our ‘parkrun celebration day’ where myself and Chris Pratt ran our 250th parkruns whilst Liz Davis and Jo Betty celebrated their 100th parkuns.

Races

10K

17 runners took on the inaugural Barry Island 10K in hot conditions on an undulating course. Despite the conditions, Ryan Evans managed a sub 40 finish with Niki Puleio just outside. Emma Loyns, Sam Miller, Tim Rees and Natalie

The Lovelucks were back amongst the prize-winners again at the Barry Epic 10K where Shawn Cullen also completed the tough course.

Emma Morris was the 55 minute pacer at the Westonbirt 10K coming in at 54:26.

We had 17 runners at the Llantwit Major 10K where Steve Loveluck picked up another age category prize and Anneliese was first female overall.

The month ended with Wayne Randall, Vickie Cameron Davies, Suzanne Harrison, Rhiannon Whiteley and Pippa Clark completing the Narbeth Nobbler 10K.

Half Marathons

37 members ran the Port Talbot Half Marathon which included some a couple of very heavy rain showers. Gareth Richards was our first runner home whilst Claire DB continued her excellent form as 3rd club member across the line and first female in the club. Liz Sim picked up a sub 2 hour PB with a 1:57:29 with myself, Mark Burgess and Alun Wylde for company. Alun was only a few seconds off bagging himself a PB as well. Natalie Esp knocked another huge chunk off her half marathon PB with a 2:15:30 whilst Fran Collins completed our PBers on the day. On the same day, Dawn Hopkins completed the Dublin Half Marathon.

Two very different halves to finish off the month with 5 members completing the Narbeth Nobbler Half Marathon with all time in excess of 2 hours 30. At the Severn Bridge we had 8 runners all well under 2:30 led home by Wayne Hayhurst with a 1:35:10 knocking 4 minutes off his HM PB which had stood for almost 2 years. There were also PB’s for Chris Roberts and Deb Griffin.

Marathons

The only marathon of the month was the Narbeth Nobbler. A very challenging trail race which Chris Pratt and Kris Denholm took on last year and were back again for more along with Gareth Richards, Simon Harrison (who did the Half last year) and Dan Clark.

Other Races

A week before her heroic PB in the wet conditions at Port Talbot Half, Liz Sim ran a 10 mile PB at the Brecon 10 miler whilst Ian Lewis completed the course just outside of his PB in scorching conditions.

On the lighter side of ‘running events’, we had 30 members at the Bridgend Beer Mile. Some even had a second go when the organisers offered another round at the end. I went down to watch the first couple of groups and would highly recommend keeping it free next year either to sign up (if brave / stupid enough) or go along and support as it was a great atmosphere and sociable event.

Another fun event this month (but with a bit more running involved) was the 14 mile Race the Train event. It’s exactly what the title suggests. Fiona Drysdale did this one and highly recommends it with plenty of shorter distances available for younger runners as well.

Kris Denholm completed the Bath Two Tunnels 50K Ultra. The course includes over 20K underground in the tunnels.

Finally onto the Bridgend County Running League fixture this month which was at Newbridge Fields. A 3.6 mile, 2 lap course with a mixture of surfaces to contend with. We had an impressive 73 runners with Niki leading the way for the club. In the female standings, Anneliese had to settle for 5th this time out as Bridgend brought out their big guns for the race. Bridgend had 10 of the first 13 runners. A few of our top runners were missing resulting in Brackla clawing back more points and setting up an exciting last fixture in the race for 2nd place.

Well done all.

Chairman’s runners of the month

My first choice will come as very little surprise. 

Here is someone who has shown immense strength of character.  Life has thrown many things at her but she continues to get back up time and time again.  She has taken life by the scruff of the neck and she’s showing it who’s boss!!  Challenge after challenge we see her battle and win!!  Last month we saw her and her very dear friend Fiona smash the Long Course Weekend in Tenby – 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then run a marathon on three consecutive days!!  (You might have got it now)  Not only that but this month she organised a bike-athon on Wattbikes to cover the distance from John O Groats to Lands End in one day with friends.  Not only did they complete it, they smashed it out of the park with several Ogmore Phoenix Runners along for the “ride” raising lots of money for Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA), a charity very close to her heart.  Then on the back of that she headed off to complete the North to South challenge, again for MNDA, cycling from North Wales to South Wales in 3 days but stopping off to climb the 3 peaks of Snowdon, Cader Idris and Pen y Fan on the way!!  Not only that but she is one of our welfare officers and (as some of you may not know) a founder member of the club!  A lovely person and wonderful role model for all of us.  Without hesitation I award the chairmans female runner of the month to Helen Griffiths.  What’s next Helen?  Dare I ask?  Whatever it is – we salute you!

My second choice goes to a runner who is returning to form.  With a penchant for very long distance events his focus has changed slightly recently with a return to shorter distances which has had the inevitable effect of falling times.  A PB at parkrun produced a time homing in on 20 minutes.  The holy grail is within sight!!  These are not isolated incidents – they are consistently being achieved.  Severn Bridge saw a new half marathon PB so endurance is still good.  Running long distance all the time leaves the body tired and performance suffers as a result.  Sometimes you need to back off from it to allow the body to rest and recover properly and off the back of it better performances at shorter distances arise.  He is a prime example of that.  Chatting with him just last week revealed how excited he is to be regaining that form and pushing the boundaries again.  Long may it continue!  I am delighted to award the chairmans male runner of the month to Wayne Hayhurst.  Keep it up Wayne.

parkrunning

This month saw 182 parkrun finishes across 32 events with 22 different parkrun venues. We covered most of Wales with members running at Haverfordwest in the South West of the country to Wepre parkrun in the North East. Outside of Wales, Karl Johnson ran at Burnham and Seaton parkruns, Jo and I ran at Sixfields Upton, Chris Robrets ran at Osmskirk and Barclay parkruns, Dawn ran at Fulham Palace, Liz ran her 99th parkrun overall at Boston whilst Juliet Amner ran at Reigate Priory. Fiona Drysdale wins for furthest parkrun away this  month with Fort William parkrun which is close to Ben Nevis in Scotland.

Some highlights in month included Claire Dunbar-Bowen beating her own club age category record with her first sub 23 time of 22:55. Tammie Clemett had an outstanding month with 3 PB’s in 3 parkruns knocking almost 2 minutes off her previous PB time during the month. For the final PB of the month Tammie was joined by Lisa Jenkins, Nicola Allen and Angela Parry at Swansea Bay parkrun where Lisa and Nicola also got PB’s.

At Maesteg, Kris Denholm became the 4th current member to finish first overall at a parkrun, joining David Kembery, Niki Puleio and Neil Jones.

Races in July

5K

The first Wednesday of July saw 15 members at the third and final race of the Aberavon 5K series. Jamie Vanstone led the club members home with Natalie Esp clocking a 30:10 PB accompanied by Jo Betty. Jo ended up finishing 4th overall senior female in the 3 race series.

The 4th race of the Bridgend Running League saw the ‘challenging’ Kenfig Sands 5K fixture. The race was first run 3 years ago as a ‘one off’ between the current Bridgend League clubs. As the main contact for the club at the time for parkrun, I suggested in a regular group e-mail with the other clubs contacts that we could start some sort of Bridgend League and a few months later, mainly due to Steve Brace, the league was up and running. This time out we had 63 runners with Ryan Evans leading the way. With a few of our top runners missing, Brackla and Cornelly gained points on us but we remained second overall. Anneliese Lovelock finished 3rd lady overall.

In his swansong for the club before joining the newly affiliated Pontyclyn Roadrunners, Jamie Vanstone ran a PB and a slightly agonising time of 18:00 in his mission to get sub 18.  He ended up doing so a week later in his first 5K for Pontyclyn knocking over 20 seconds off his PB.

The final 5K of the month saw Sian Jenkins, Fran Hipkiss and Alyson Morris complete the challenging Afan Epic 5K.

5 mile

No 5 milers in July but I’ve missed Porthkerry 5 miler off my last 2 blogs so want to mention the 8 runners that ran the course back in May. Fiona Drysdale led the way whilst a rare 5 mile event allowed for PB’s for Chris Stanlake, Sharon Pritchard, Debbie Bennion and Rhiannon Whitely. Shawn Cullen, Julie Ransom and Pippa Clark completed our finishers on the multi-terrain course which is also the starting venue for the Vale 18 miler.

10K

The month kicked off with the free Maesteg 10K. I was expecting a reasonably flat road 10K so it was a bit of a shock to only discover on the day that it was a reasonably hilly trail race that ended up being 6.7 miles. Niki Puleio finished 2nd overall on a course he often uses on training runs. I was 7th overall whilst Claire DB was 1st female and 8th overall. Sara Bayliss and Jo Betty also completed the challenging course whilst Jayne Powney did the 5K.

On the same day, Chris Pratt completed the Lindley 10K with a course best time of 47:59.

At the Cardiff Epic 10K, Neil Jones finished 1st overall whilst Anneliese was 2nd female and first in her age category with husband Steve also picking up a first in age category prize.

We had 4 runners at the Thornbury 10K where Emma Loyns picked up a new PB whilst there were good age category places for Claire DB, Sharon Pritchard and Debbie Bennion.

Three very different 10K’s on the 3rd Sunday of the month with Kevin James running the Virgin Sport British 10K, Rebecca Newton running Tenby 10K and Bev Sheard completing the Snowdonia Trail 10K.

At the Magor 10K Steve Loveluck finished 3rd in his age category against a strong field of runners, whilst Anneliese set a new female 10K club record with a 41:36.

Finally in a very busy month of 10K’s, Alun Wylde, Debbie Bennion, Sharon Pritchard and Nicola Cornock completed the Afan Epic 10K.

Half Marathons

A month of many 10K’s but very few Half Marathons. Peter Harrop completed the Snowdonia Trail Half Marathon – by far the toughest HM I’ve done and I would go as far to say there can’t be many tougher in the UK. We had 10 runners at the Wales Half Marathon in Tenby where Karl Johnson was our first finisher notching up another event for his 18 in 18.

Marathons

We had 5 runners at the Wales Marathon in Tenby which included Fiona Evans and Helen Griffiths who completed the full distances of all 3 disciplines over the Long Course Weekend. For those that don’t know that’s a 2.4 mile swim on the Friday, a 112 mile bike on the Saturday, and running a marathon on the Sunday. Amazing.

Kris Denholm ran the only other marathon of the month with a 4:14 in scorching conditions at the Dorchester Marathon.

Other races

Plenty of other non-standard distance races in the month and the Lovelucks were at it again with Anneliese winning another age category prize at The Loop 6 miler organised by Pontypridd Roadents. Karl Johnson and Brett Bonnell completed the Tintern Trot. 17 of us ran at the Cosmeston Relays where due to a few last minute changes, Jo and I both ran 2 legs for our respective teams. Neil and Sian Price ran at the Buxton Carnival 4 miler. Darija Kennor completed the 14 mile Lundy Island race.

At the more extreme end of the scale, Simon Williams completed the Ham and Lyme 50K Ultra whilst Chris Pratt and David Sheard completed the 39 mile Snowdonia Trail Ultra. Given my comments on the Half Marathon being the toughest event I’ve ever done, then I can’t imagine what running 3 times that distance is like including climbing the summit of Snowdon towards the end.

Well done to all that represented the club this month whether it was a parkrun or an Ultra, be proud to be Phoenix.

Chairman’s runners of the month

July was a month of incredible achievements by so many members.  The task of selecting winners becomes more difficult as our membership grows and the members we have continue, en masse, to show so much spirit in their endeavours.

My first accolade goes to someone that I’ve held in high esteem for a long time.  I remember not long after joining the club tagging along with her on some club training sessions hearing her regale stories of marathon attempts not ending as planned and how tapering never worked for her because it always seemed to leave her with a cold!  It was back then that I gained a sense of reservation from her when it came to the long distances.  I’ve seen her take on the might of Snowdonia (and conquer it) but never really show the love for it that some us feel resulting in last year being cycle mounted support crew along the route.  Turning to (as some in the club call it) “the dark side” her love for multi-sport has grown and one particular competition wooed her with it’s glamorous approach very much akin to Ironman.  Spread over three days, she’d always feared the open waters but with the big five-o approaching it was time to bite the bullet and throw off the shackles of fear to get the job done.  This is a runners accolade but when the marathon distance is tackled by someone on day 3 of an event that involves a 2.4 mile sea swim and a 112 mile bike ride on the two days previous it is worthy of very high praise.  When it comes from someone who has battled with the fear of open water and a desire to complete the event spanning 7 years it carries even more weight.  With her partner in crime at her side (who may be honoured very soon in the same way) she made us all proud the day she completed the full distance with most incredible smile on her face – which was still there when I congratulated her at training the Thursday after!!  I am absolutely delighted to award my chairmans female runner of the month to Fiona Evans.  Continue to inspire us Fiona…

My second choice this month was a foregone conclusion that it was going to happen at some point soon.  It will be difficult to mask who I am talking about really as soon as I mention that he’s the other half of a wonderful couple who have been honoured many times since joining the club just a short time ago for simply outstanding running.  It’s almost every month where we see them pick up age category prizes or they appear in the top 3 finishers.  This month saw some fantastic running by them both.  I honoured one half of the pair back in January but it’s now the time of the other.  In a month of great running July saw yet another significant result and a second in age category prize.  The benefit of writing this much after the event gives me the benefit of adding that in August he went on to pick up a silver medal in his age category at Llantwit 10k which formed part of the South Wales regional championships with his wife picking up gold in the same age category and third lady overall.  Someone who shows consistent form and a passion for representing the club at events is definitely worth of accolade.  I have great pleasure in awarding my chairmans male runner of the month to Steve Loveluck.

parkrunning in June

Our runners clocked up 201 parkruns across 44 parkruns during the month which are the highest totals this year. Our runners visited 29 different parkruns in total. This included an amazing 17 different Welsh parkruns including Porthcawl, Maesteg, Barry Island, Newport, Cardiff, Bryn Bach, Rogeit, Swansea, Llanelli, Colby, Dolgellau, Llanerchaeron, Haverfordwest, Riverfront, Pontypridd, Gnoll, plus several members visiting the newest Welsh parkrun at Aberdare.

Further afield we had runners at Alness, Chester, Eastville, Worcester, Crane Park, Dartford Heath, Bedford, Minehead, Maidstone, Chipping Sodbury, Huddersfield and Trelissick. At Huddersfield, our Chairman Chris Pratt ran a parkrun alongside his daughter Ffion and his son Joseph for the first time. Trelissick parkrun had the honour of our parkrun tourism King and Queen otherwise known as Shawn and Julie completing their 50th different parkrun venue there.

Neil Jones had two first place finishes in the month at two different venues (Pontypridd and Porthcawl) whilst he also had an impressive 6th place in Cardiff parkrun. Sian Jenkins knocked over 2 minutes off her PB at Maesteg with her 8th PB in 10 parkruns.

Races in June

5K

At the second race of the Run 4 All Aberavon 5K series, Niki Puleio lead the way with a 18:53 whilst I was next up with a course best of 20:52. Jo Betty was our first female with 25:00 whilst Natalie Aryal clocked a new PB of 31:55.

Niki also ran the second race of the Swansea Bay 5K series with another sub 19 time. Jamie Vanstone came agonisingly close again to getting sub 18 with a 18:08 at the SSAFA 5K whilst injury meant that Karl Johnson had to settle for 25:24 after a seasons best on the course in the previous race.

10K

We had 9 runners at the Sospan 10K with a few having run Llanelli parkrun on the same course just a couple of hours before the 10K start. Niki sneaked under 40 minutes with a 39:54 whilst Dai James clocked a PB of 44:23. Nicola Cornock also bagged herself a PB with 1:11:21 in hot conditions.

Half Marathon

Back for a 5th year, the Swansea Half Marathon saw 44 of our runners in attendance plus several volunteering on the course. We even provided the tail walkers. Ryan Evans led the way with an outstanding 1:26:24 in very hot conditions. Jamie Vanstone sneaked under 90 minutes again as our second finisher. Mark Gabb got a PB of 1:41:07. On what was my 50th half marathon, I ran with Claire Dunbar-Bowen who set a new personal best time of 1:45:46. Claire was amongst the top 10% of women running. Despite far from perfect conditions for running fast times, Leigh Francis, Wayne Randall, Kayley Griffiths, Deb Griffin, Amanda Taylor, Natalie Aryal, Alexis Barrett, Nicola Allen and Claire Taylor all also achieved PB’s.

Other races

June saw the usual wide variety of events from short relay events to Ultra’s. Chris Pratt and Nick Harris kicked off the month with the inaugural Vale of Glamorgan Ultra. A 40 mile route along the Wales Coastal Path from Porthcawl to Penarth. A challenge in itself, it was made all the more difficult by a long day of blazing sunshine. They stuck together and somehow got through in 12 hours.

Something a little more appealing to club members was the 2.4 mile Cottrell Park Relays. Ogmore Phoenix had an amazing 19 teams of three members each which including all male teams, female teams, mixed teams and even family teams. Also a mention for Neil Jones who was running with Pontyclun Roadents and won the event by some distance. A great evening with so much support from our amazing runners (plus additional supporters in tow).

Neil Jones, Fiona Drysdale and Wayne Hayhurst took on the Man vs Horse race. Yes, it really is racing against horses…. over a 22 mile course…. including river crossings and multi terrain. Fiona ran it as part of a relay team whilst Wayne ran the entire course. Just in case you are wondering, a horse won. In 38 years, only two runners have ever finished ahead of the horses.

Nicola Symmonds, Simon Harrison and Steven James took on the Race to the Tower event. A 52 mile (double marathon) event that can be completed over 1 or 2 days. Nicola pulled out after the first marathon whilst Simon carried on to complete the 52 miles in just over 14 hours. Steven was walking the route and finished in just under 19 hours.

The second race of the Bridgend County Running League (BCRL) saw a brand new event hosted by our club – the Beast of Blackmill. A challenging trail course that reduced even the speediest and toughest runners to walking pace on one particular climb. Despite needing members to help set and marshal the race, we still managed to have 57 runners lead home by Neil Jones, and ending with our tail runner, Emma Loyns. Just as we did in the first fixture, we finished second in the club standings to Bridgend therefore maintaining our second place overall and increasing the gap on 3rd.

This years Merthyr Mawr Trail Festival only included a 7.3 mile option rather than the Giant Rabbit Run offered in previous years. 27 of our runners took on the challenge with Jamie Vanstone finishing amongst the top 10 with a  speedy 55 minute clocking. Our first female was Emma Loyns who was just seconds ahead of Emma Winch.

The 3rd fixture of the BCRL was the Beauty of Bryngarw. Another new event to the league with an out and back within Bryngarw Park. Temperatures soared with hot and humid conditions throughout. Neil Jones, Ryan Evans and Jamie Vanstone all finished in the top 10 and with a huge turnout of 78 runners from the club we yet again finished in second place and increased our lead on Brackla in 3rd. Another busy and event-filled month ending on a great note for our club.

Chairman’s runners of the month

June’s choice for chairman’s runner of the month was a given for me. 

I have an affinity for parkrun.  It was the cornerstone of my running when I did the first one Porthcawl in April 2013.  I’ve never looked back and it has always been there for me, even when my running fell to virtually nothing.  I always had my free 5k on a Saturday morning at 9am, usually on the seafront in Porthcawl… but not always.  parkrun is always there when you travel.  Invariably there will be a one wherever you go – if not, go somewhere where there is one!  

Some take this to the extreme and travel far and wide in search of new locations.  It’s a thing.  parkrun tourism!  Recognition for this is a place on the UK or world most events list.  The former requiring 20 unique locations, the latter 30.  That’s equivalent to over 6 months of parkrunning if done in succession as it’s only possible once a week to increase that tally (excepting Christmas and New Year of course).  

So, not to be constrained by normal limits two of our midst have smashed through both barriers, well and truly positioning themselves on the world most events list and beyond…  During June they reached and have now exceeded the crazy level of 50 unique locations.  For the relatively short time that they’ve been parkrunning this is impressive stuff.  Exhausting all those local they now venture off in their camper to search out more and more locations every week… although I did see them both last week in Porthcawl – a rare occurrence these days.  

I am delighted to announce that my Chairman’s runners of the month for June are Julie Ransom and Shawn Cullen.

 

parkrunning in May

Our runners clocked up 171 parkruns across 36 parkruns during the month. Our runners visited 19 different parkruns in total. Welsh parkruns included Porthcawl, Maesteg, Barry Island, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Pontypridd and Gnoll.

Further afield we had regular tourists Shawn and Julie at Thornbury with Chris Stanlake joining them. Shawn and Julie also ran at Phoenix parkrun with Karl Johnson as part of the Liverpool club trip. The Littlewoods chose Princes parkrun as their Liverpool weekend venue. Martin Beard ran Pompey Hill, Vickie Cameron-Davies ran Gunnersbury whilst Gwenyth Steddy ran Henley-on-Thames during the month.

 

Races in May

5Ks

This month marks the start of many shorter races series including Aberavon, Swansea Bay and SSAFA as well as other one off local 5Ks.

The month started with 10 runners at Aberavon in blustery conditions where Chris Pratt was first across the line in a then personal fastest time of the year of 22:04 which he would lower that weekend at parkrun. Our first female was Jo Betty in 25:43. There were PBs on the night for Jo Rowling, Natalie Aryal and Claire Taylor.

Jo Betty and I ran the MK Rocket 5K that weekend. A race Jo has done a couple of times before with it being the town where she grew up. I ran my fastest 5K of the year with a 21:06 whilst Jo smashed her PB which had stood for almost a year by 29 seconds with a 24:06.

We had 10 runners at the Cardiff Victory 5K where Jamie Vanstone ran a PB of 18:03. Lisa Jenkins was our first female across the finish line.

Niki Puleio ran a sub 19 whilst Emma Morris ran a sub 25 at the Swansea Bay 5K. In the first SSAFA 5K of the series, some manual timing issues robbed Dai James of a 19:47 finish as it appears we were all given times of runners 2 places behind us. He was given 19:57 which was still a PB and which he lowered again four days later at parkrun. By my watch I equalled my best time of the year whilst it was also a seasons best for Karl Johnson despite having run a marathon just 3 days earlier.

The final 5K of the month saw 25 of us at the Merthyr Mawr 5K. A personal favourite of mine and my 7th year in a row running at the event. This wasn’t part of the Bridgend League this year but if I point out Neil Jones ‘only’ finished 9th with a fastest 5K of this year of 16:53 then I think it’s safe to say the race wasn’t any less competitive. Jo Betty was our first female back. There were PB’s on the night for Simon W, David McCann, Chris Stanlake, Vickie Cameron-Davies and Katie Pritchard.

10K’s

A couple of trail events in May with Shawn Cullen running the Brecon Trail whilst Suzanne Harrison and Pippa Clark ran the Welsh Trail 10K in Buith Wells in blistering conditions. Jo Kendall, Gail Pritchard and Andrea ran the Night Trail 10K.

Kaye Pedler and Nicola Veasey ran the Womens Running 10K in Cardiff.

At Caerphilly we had three sub 40 runners for the first time with the in form Jamie Vanstone adding 10K to 5K, Half Marathon and Marathon PBs all within 7 weeks. Niki narrowly missed out on beating his best 10K whilst Ryan Evans clocked a 39:36 PB. A photo of the three of them had comments suggesting they were the clubs new boy band to which Jamie suggested the name of UBsub40.

A week later on arguably a tougher course in Treforest, Jamie was at it again with yet another PB with a 38:30. Anneliese Lovelock smashed the female club record with 42:05 and was 3rd female. Her husband Steve clocked a PB just one second behind.

Half Marathons

Jo Betty and I ran the Milton Keynes Half Marathon in what was a slowest road half marathon time for both of us due to temperatures exceeding 25 degrees during the race. Supporters were encouraged to spray runners with water pistols whilst a few sprayed hose pipes from their drives on route. The race finishes with a lap inside the MK Dons stadium and as we ran the Rocket 5K the day before you collect an extra medal with the three from the weekend connecting together. Emma Morris also ran the Half having sensibly dropped down from the Full due to the conditions and having another marathon just 13 days later.

Simon Harrison, Steven James, Peter Harrop, Nicola Symmonds and Dan Clark experienced similar conditions in the super tough, hilly, Welsh Trail Half in Buith Wells. Steven James had an outstanding gritty run to finish 1st in his age category in a Run Wales event therefore earning himself a Gold Medal.

The hot conditions didnt stop Stephanie Dyke, Leigh Francis and Julie Ransom achieving PBs at the Liverpool Half Marathon which was one of the race options in this year’s club tour to Liverpool.

Marathons

As mentioned, the club tour this year was to Liverpool where along with 8 half marathon runners, we also had 12 doing the marathon. As with several races recently, the hot conditions meant PBs were unlikely however Amy Roberts produced one of the most impressive debut marathons in the clubs history with a well paced 3:55:26 whilst her dad, Chris, also running his debut marathon finished in 3:59:10 having run much of the race together. Sara Bayliss clocked a marathon debut of 4:39 whilst Sarah Littlewood  (like Emma Williams did at Newport) knocked an incredible 35 minutes off her London Marathon time with a 4:43. She ran with husband James who also bagged a PB beating his Snowdon time by 8 minutes. Emma Morris became our first member to officially pace in a marathon coming in around 5:30 (exact time unknown due to chip timing issue).

The only other marathon in the month was yet another hot one with Kris Denholm completing the challenging Dorchester Marathon in 4:14.

Other races

Other races in the month ranged from a flat 1 mile race to a hilly trail Ultra such is the variety of events our members enter.

The 1 mile race was myself running the Bannister Anniversary Mile in Cardiff. The event is run by Les Croupiers each year to celebrate the anniversary of the first sub 4 minute mile run by Sir Roger Bannister who passed away earlier this year. Runners are split in the groups according to predicted finishing  times to avoid congestion. I finished second in my race with a 6:15 clocking.

Kris Denholm and Darija Kennor ran the St Ilydts 50K. Kris secured a place only a couple of weeks before the event whilst impressively Darija completed her first Ultra just 2 weeks after completing her first marathon at Newport.

Karl Johnson and Fiona Drysdale ran the Lady Windsor race. Later that day Karl ran the Cardiff Victory 5K as well.

David Sheard completed the Preseli Beast Ultra in 7 hours 35. The race is one of the toughest trail 30 something mile ultras around. We also had 11 runners in the Beast Bach where it’s time for another mention for Jamie Vanstone who finished amongst the top few runners.

We had 6 runners at the Tonmawr Hilly 5 miler where Steve Loveluck lead our runners home closely followed by wife Anneliese who was first female overall.

Simon Williams took on the Caldra Idris mountain  race.

Finally there was also the first Bridgend League fixture of the year with a new race at Ogmore Castle. The route included the Golf club hill section of the old Pudding Run route. Neil was our first runner home with Claire Dunbar-Bowen our first female. We had an amazing turnout of 86 runners with over a dozen completing their first Bridgend League fixture for the club over the 5.5K trail course.

Chairman’s runners of the month

During May I was lucky enough to spend 12 days of May out in Las Vegas and was out virtually every day of that doing miles up and down “The Strip” in desert temperatures in the mid 30’s.  Despite being pre-occupied by the casino and loving life I did still manage to keep my eye on the clubs antics…

Commitments since May have delayed me getting round to completing my obligations as chair in the monthly blog but that does give me the benefit of hindsight to look back and further justify my choice for the month with further evidence of their achievements.

We’ve seen new faces joining the club over the last few months and all the newcomers have made an impression on joining.  As much as we celebrate achievement, we celebrate endeavour!  To see the running bug “click” is a wonderful thing and to be a part of making that happen is so rewarding.

My first choice for runner of the month is for making an impression.  Not only through running efforts of their own but in encouraging others in theirs.  I think it’s fair to say that she’s vocal.  “A bell on every tooth” as my mother would say. But in a good way.  Always encouraging.  Always the life and soul of the running party.  Since making the decision to award this person and at Swansea Half Marathon, after the month was over with fellow OPR tail walkers alongside her, she came around the final bend into the finishing straight singing “Party at the back” at the top of her voice!!  Wonderful spirit.  I am delighted to announce my Chairman’s female runner of the month as Sian Jenkins.

My second choice is for slightly different reasons.  We’ve had members come to the club with a certain pedigree, but often we’ve been unaware of such hidden talents.   I remember welcoming my second choice to a training session when he first joined the club.   Clearly a fast runner but if I remember right not completely confident of those abilities.  We’ve seen his running develop and he clearly has a competitive streak.  A “gritty” run in the tough Welsh Trails Half in Builth Wells in May earned him a gold medal for 1st in age category.  A worthy accolade for a great runner.  My Chairman’s male runner of the month is Steven James.

parkrunning in April

Our runners clocked up 171 parkruns across 36 parkruns during the month. Our runners visited 19 different parkruns in total. Welsh parkruns included Porthcawl, Maesteg, Barry Island, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Pontypridd and Gnoll.

Further afield Ian and Rhiannon Lewis ran at Stratford Upon Avon, Alun Wylde ran at Bideford, Sian Bright at Exmouth, Adam at Eden Project, Fiona Drysdale at Winchester, Helen Loo at Fulham Palace, Kaye Pedler at Kirra, Nigel Rees at Roding Valley and Niki at Eastliegh.

Of our regular parkrun tourists, Karl Johnson ran at Wakefield Thornes and Torbay Velopark, Shawn and Julie ran at Hackworth and Thetford, whilst Chris Pratt ran twice at Southampton which included over 1,100 runners.

Due to the Vale Ultra, there was a much lower attendance for the 5th anniversary of Porthcawl parkrun. The 5 year anniversary also marked the 5 year first parkrun anniversaries for Chris Pratt, David Sheard, Peter Harrop and John Burridge. Only John was actually a member of the club at the time.

Other things of note this month. There were large attendances at the final two Maesteg parkruns of the month with 21 runners from our club at each. Jamie Vanstone ran 18:21 at Cardiff parkrun achieving a top 10 finish. Deborah Edwards, Sue Verran, Sharon Pritchard, Sian Jenkins, Ffion Smith, Michelle Alexander, Cath Griffiths, Lisa Prior, Fran Hipkiss, Claire Taylor, Ashley Howells and Jayne Bismirre all achieved parkrun PB’s during the month. Claire Dunbar-Bowen set a new club age category record with a 23:05 at Maesteg which is also the fastest time by any female i  Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.

 

Races in April

The random distance events

What a month for races – starting with the Vale Ultra 18/32 milers and ending with the Newport 10K/Marathon. The Vale included 32 members running the 18 mile (closer to 19.5 mile) distance, and a further 12 members running the 32 mile (nearer to 34 mile) Ultra. Not only that but dozens of members turned out to support at the two starting points, along the route, and at the finish. Conditions were arguably the toughest in the 4 years that the event has run with adverse weather conditions for some time and midweek rain contributing to make much of the course a water / mud-fest adding to what is already a challenging multi-terrain course. With so many runners, unfortunately I can’t mention every achievement, but a particular well done to several members who were running their furthest distance in completing the 18 (19.5) miler. We also had 4 first time ultra-runners in the 32 miler.

Annaleise and Steve Loveluck ran the Sugar Loaf Fell Race. A 7 mile mountain race with an eye watering 1500 feet of elevation. Our fell loving racers done us proud with Steve coming in just under 70 minutes and Annaleise just over the 70 minute both finishing amongst the top half of runners in a field full of fell running regulars.

On the same day as the London Marathon, Angela Parry and Lisa Jenkins ran together at the Valley of the Hospice 6 miler in Parc Bryn Bach in sweltering conditions. We had 8 runners for the Pentrych Hill Race which was a fixture in our trail club championship where Jamie Vanstone was our first club finisher therefore extending his lead in the championship.

10K’s in April

Just one 10K in the month but a pretty big one with the inaugural Newport 10K. Whilst 27 of our runners were running the Newport marathon, 29 of us chose the 10K distance which set off half hour later. I was first of our club across the finish line in 43:57 followed by Jo Betty who set a new PB in 51:36. The PB’s continued with Brett Bonell, Rebecca Newton, Leigh Francis and Emma Winch all coming in under 55 minutes. Hannah Bartle also got a PB with a time just under the hour mark whilst Amanda Taylor and Deb Griffin will surely be aiming for the same in their next 10K having PB’d just a few seconds outside the hour. Michelle Alexander, Deborah Edwards, Natalie Aryal and April Kitchener also achieved PB’s in the event making it nearly half of all our runners achieving a PB and plenty of other great times besides.

Half Marathons in April

Well I’m actually going to start with a Half Marathon in March which I missed in the previous blog. Chris and Amy Roberts ran the Liverpool Half Marathon with Amy running a club age category record of 1:43:28 which is also puts her as second fastest female overall at Half Marathon distance in the club.

The first race of April and therefore the first race in the first full membership year as Ogmore Phoenix started with the inaugrual Cardiff Taff Trail Half Marathon. A very flat out and back course up the Taff Trail. Niki Puleio led our runners home with Jamie a couple of minutes behind achieving a huge PB with a 1:26:45. Neil, myself, Karl, Kimberley and Peter Walsh all also ran the event.

Other half marathons in the month included the Great Welsh Half Marathon where Rebecca Newton bagged a PB with a 2:05 finish. Dawn Hopkins ran the Disney Half Marathon in what was her 100th event for the club. Sally Pensom ran Chester Half Marathon where she got a great PB time of 2:14.

Marathons in April

Antonio Antoniazzi smashed his marathon PB with an impressive 3:42:07 at the Paris Marathon at the start of the month. A week later, Simon Harrison came agonsingly close to a sub 4 at Brighton with 4:00:47.  Densie Bradley set a female club age category record with a 4:42:07, whilst Jonathan Pritchard completed our Brighton heroes with a time of 6:56:44.  On the same day, the returning Neil Jones got yet another marathon PB with an incredible 2:45:24 at the Gloucester Marathon. Caerwyn Lewis finished in just over 5 hours in the same race.

London Marathon saw 8 members get the running experience of a lifetime around the city. Unfortunately for those aiming for certain times, it was the hottest London Marathon on record with temperatures exceeding 24 degrees. The weather had a dramatic effect on runners particularly in the second half of the race. John Burridge finished in just under 4 hours and Anthony K and Mark Burgess finished in just under 5 hours. Emma Williams, Sarah Littlewood and Sara Vowles had an absolute blast running together and finishing in 5:18:40 in what was a first marathon for all. Nige Rees finished 4 minutes behind, whilst Jake Banner who joined the girls at one point finished his first marathon in 5:31:08. This year appears to have inspired even more members than usual with many already seeking charity places and a record number signing up when the 2019 ballot opened.

On the same day as London, Emma Morris ran with her partner in the Zurich marathon which saw temperatures even higher than London. She finished in 5:07 although I believe that was the gun time rather than chip.

The biggest marathon in terms of club participation was still to come. At the inaugural Newport Marathon we had 29 runners. Neil Jones set his second marathon PB in just 14 days with a 2:43:07. That’s an incredible 6:13 average mile and the equivalent of running 8 and a half parkruns at 19:16 for each 5K. Niki Puleio was next up in with an amazing PB of 3:05:01 which puts him second in the clubs marathon rankings. Agonisingly the London Good For Age time was sub 3:05. The PB’s kept rolling in with Jamie Vanstone, Neil Price, Gareth Richards and one of our fastest marathon debuts ever with Dai James running 3:33:08.

Claire Dunbar-Bowen set a new female club record with a 3:46:32. Almost 22 minutes off her time she ran in Waterford last year. She also now holds 5 out of the 6 records for the club in her age category. Steven James and Mark Gabb continued the PB’s whilst Juliet Amner in her first marathon for the club, set a new age category record in 4:13:46, taking the category record Denise has broke just 2 weeks earlier. Victoria Hillman and Nicola Symmonds improved their marathon times whilst Bruce Hill ran his first marathon in his first event for the club.

Emma Williams, who got a place last minute ran finished in 4:44:50 – beating her London time from the previous week by 34 minutes! She was joined by marathon debutante Louise Foster with another marathon newbie, Jo Kendall, finishing just a few minutes behind. Karl Johnson continued his quest of running 18 events at Half Marathon distance or over. Alun Wylde was delighted with a sub 5 hour finish and running the whole distance. Ian Lewis ran almost an hour quicker than his previous two marathons with a 5:10 finish and was joined by Mark Worrall. Our final finisher was Darija in 5:25.

Chairmans Runner of the Month

I’ve written all this once before but rather than writing offline I wrote it straight to the blog and it decided to crash on me just as I tried to update it.  Lesson learnt!  Here we go again…

April.  It was a month dominated by a trio of major events.  A week in we saw a huge turnout for the Vale Coastal Challenge covering the two distances of 18.5 miles and 32.5 miles.  The latter falling into the class of ultra marathon.   Two weeks later we saw a number of members head to the English capital to complete probably the most famous race on the calendar, the Virgin Money London Marathon and just a week after that we saw the inaugural Newport Marathon and 10k event take place.  Being local this also attracted a fair few members onto the streets.  More and more of our number tackle the marathon distance as confidence and endurance build and they target longer and longer races.  

It is from these events that I selected my winners for the month.

Entry to the London Marathon is becoming more and more difficult as the sheer volume of people in the ballot increases.  As the popularity of running accelerates we are seeing the requirements to obtain club places also increase and the good for age times are becoming more difficult to achieve.  Despite that we had members who successfully obtained places, some through chosen charities close to their hearts.  Spring marathons require dedication through the tough winter months and so to follow a training plan effectively can be difficult.  Through mutual support we had a group of runners who managed it to the letter.  Training had been spot on.  Little niggles had come and gone but the miles were achieved and the distances got longer.  The excitement and subsequent nerves built but we knew they had put in the hard work and as long as they remained injury free they would be absolutely fine.  They did.  A small, tight-knit group of ladies in particular defied the heat of the day and enjoyed their tour of the London streets finishing in an admirable time, most on their first running of 26.2 miles.  A feat in itself worthy of accolade but one of their number decided that London as her first marathon wasn’t quite enough of a challenge and had a place for the inaugural Newport Marathon just one week later.  Now I’ve questioned whether I should be honouring such a move as our coaches would no doubt be shuddering at the thought of a newbie to marathon running tackling a second only one week later.  However, from my own experience I have discovered that a sensible and successful long-term pattern of training as a build up, and proper recovery from the first if you haven’t gone all out in it can result in it being a long training run for the other.  It was clear she was capable of more and she asked for advice immediately following London as to whether it was achievable.  Heeding the advice of rest to the letter she stood on the start line of Newport one week later and smashed her time set the previous week by 34 minutes!!  An outstanding achievement and I am delighted to announce my chairman’s female runner of the month as Emma Williams.  Well done Emma.

We have many runners who graduate from the Zero to Hero (Z2H) programme within the club who go on to become prolific runners.  The running bug grabs them and draws them in.  Signing up for races I liken to kids in a sweet shop when the bug has got hold of you.  You see an event and can’t help getting on the start list.  This happened to someone in our midst who went from his first session at Z2H to his first ultra marathon in virtually one year.  Since starting running he’s never looked back.  He completed the full distance Vale Coastal Challenge in 2017 in an impressive 7 hours 53 minutes.  This year we were subjected to what has been described as the worst conditions in the last 4 years.  It’s fair to say it was very muddy and even in decent trail shoes it was difficult to get good purchase on the ground and maintain momentum.  Conditions like that are energy sapping and typically make for a very long day over such a long distance.  Despite all of that this guy romped home with a PB of an hour and a half in 6 hours 22 minutes!!  Absolutely amazing running.  But this particular example really crowns off a very short running career that is going from strength to strength with every race.  I’m looking forward very much to seeing where it takes him next.  It gives me great pleasure to award Daniel Clark my chairman’s male runner of the month.  Well done Dan.  Keep it up!