Category: Running

parkruns

This month saw 201 parkrun finishes by our runners across 33 parkrun events. In month our members ran parkruns in a record 6 different countries. As expected, most were around Wales with a few just across the border in England. Further afield, the Sheards ran Loch Leven parkrun in Scotland, I ran Krakow parkrun in Poland, Dai James ran Clermont Waterfront in the US and Tim Rees ran at Toolern Creek in Australia.

There were 3 inaugurals attended in November with Karl running at the newest Welsh parkrun at Aberbeeg, Aled running Somerdale Pavilion, and David Kembery running Parc (prison) parkrun which is only open to prisoners and staff. I should point out he is one of the latter. At the time of writing, David still holds the course record with a 22:15 clocking.

Jo and I ran Ludlow parkrun which ranks 10th out of 571 for toughest UK parkruns according to this website https://the5krunner.com/2017/11/04/parkrun-difficulty-ratings-adjusted-course-times/ – a few of our members have run the toughest one listed, Lanhydrock, including Chris Pratt, Chris Stanlake, the Littlewoods, plus Shawn and Julie.

The final Saturday of the month saw another Phoenix takeover at Maesteg with our members filling most of the volunteer roles as well as 15 running.

Some standout performances in month include Tim Rees getting a parkrun PB in Australia, Claire Taylor notching up another PB at Maesteg, Alexis Barrett getting so close to sub 30 at Grangemoor and Chris Roberts beating his PB which had stood for more than 2 years. Dawn Hopkins celebrated her 50th parkrun with a huge PB at Swansea and Emma Loyns joined just 7 other current female members in running a sub 24 parkrun.

Our new influx of Zero to Hero graduates seem to have caught the parkrun bug with several notching up their 2nd, 3rd and 4th parkruns already and many of those improving times week on week.

10K races

We had a record 43 runners at the Richard Burton 10K despite it being just a week after many had completed Snowdonia Marathon. Niki Puleio added another sub 40 finish whilst new member Adrian Pearce missed out by just 13 seconds. Amy Roberts was our first female across the line in 47:29. Tammie Baker continued her amazing form this year with a PB making it several PB’s for the year across 5K, 10K and Half Marathon distances. The PB’s continued with Vickie Cameron-Davies, Claire Taylor, Nicola Allen and Maria George.

The Lovelucks were in action and picking up more age category prizes at the Oxwich Bay 10K. It almost goes without saying that the course was multi terrain and hilly.

We had 12 runners at the Mo Run 10K where Claire Dunbar-Bowen finished 7th female overall and 1st in her age category. There was also a PB for Leanne Parsons at the event.

A 10K with a difference to end the month with the Narberth Night Nobbler. Dan Clark and Brett Bonnell took on the event that starts in the dark on a hilly, multi terrain course.

Half Marathons

Only one Half Marathon in month with the inaugural Vale Half Marathon. The event takes in some of the Vale Ultra / 18 mile course along the Wales Coastal Path before looping back round to the start/finish in Llantwit Major. The event is a bit different to most as they set runners off every few minutes presumably to avoid congestion on the narrow paths around the course. On a tough course in wet conditions, Wayne Hayhurst led our runners back in 2:02 ahead of Nick Harris, Saul Harris, Sarah Littlewood and Darija Keenor.

Marathons

Just one marathon this month as well with Martin Beard running the historic Athens Marathons in 4:54.

Other races

A rare 10 mile race with the Sospan Multi Terrain 10 miler in Pembrey saw 9 members in attendance. Despite throwing in a couple of hills, sand dunes and a beach section, the course does allow for quick times and so it proved with Wayne Hayhurst, Simon Williams, Ashely Howells and Chris Stanlake all picking up 10 mile PB’s.

At the same venue a week earlier, Chris Pratt and Kris Denholm finished less than a minute apart in the second fixture of the Gwent League. A day later saw the second West Glamorgan XC league fixture where Adrian Pearce led the club home on the familiar sandy course at Kenfig. Claire Dunbar-Bowen was our first female as the women’s teams maintained their 6th place in Division 2. The mens team also occupy 6th spot in Division 2.

The penultimate fixture included in this years Trail Championship saw 6 members take on the Sodbury Slog. Search out the photos if you haven’t seen them already as you’ll see our runners wading through waist high muddy water which is one of the features of the event.

The final event to note was the Caer-hilly Trail Challenge. With around 1000 feet of elevation in less than 6 miles it was a tough one. A great event with a very reasonable entry fee that included a medal for all finishers and goody bag including stuff you actually want like crisps and a banana. The event also saw what must be the closest finish between our entrants in the clubs history. I led the way with 200 meters or so to go before Chris Pratt went flying past, I picked up the pace finishing within arms reach and not realising that Dan Clark was also hunting me down. The manually timed results had us all finishing within 9 seconds of each other but I think in reality it was more like 2-4 seconds at most. All good fun and all three of us said we’d probably go back for another attempt next year with added knowledge of what was to come.

Chairman’s Runners of the Month

November was a relatively quiet month after the furore of Cardiff Half with it’s huge attendance and then the trip to Snowdonia with runners and supporters out in force.

It’s notoriously a wet month and although the excitement of Christmas is just on the horizon it’s a time when many start to lose their mojo on the darker, colder evenings.  

Spring marathons mean one thing.  Winter training.  One of the things about marathon training is the length of time and number of miles it involves.  16 week programmes are common and so for the spring, they start now!  So.  On top of the darker, colder evenings you have to start building the strength and fitness to carry you through 26.2 miles.  Many are doing that now and one of our stand out runners is starting that journey again.  In amongst the beginning of the process she’s also notching up some quite impressive results.  Reading above it won’t have escaped your intention that we had a 7th place female finish, 1st in age category.  Not to be sniffed at!  Then, representing the club at a league fixture came in as first female to give our ladies a fighting chance in their division.  Holding just about every club record in her category she always impresses us with her running while still wanting to run with others during her training, enjoying the social aspect of the club too.  Worth saying also that the London Marathon place that she is training for was obtained by running a good for age time previously this year!!  I have no hesitation in awarding my Chairman’s female runner of the month to Claire Dunbar Bowen.  Well done Claire and good luck with the training.

To see a happy, smiling face is a huge lift.  We don’t smile enough.  It costs nothing and it’s amazing how it can warm someones heart if you just approach them with a smile.  I’ve bumped into my first choice for runner of the month at various events and at training lately.  He’s been through some tough periods where his health was worrying him and breathing was holding back his running.  With a real passion for running and always with a smile I had noticed during this time that his smile wasn’t quite as warm as usual.  Something clearly troubling him.  Recently I’ve seen it return.  Following a great run at Snowdonia Marathon Eryri (one that really gave him a big boost) I’ve seen him at parkruns with the same smile I knew so well.  Coupled with it was a renewed vigour.  The breathing was getting easier and with the passion had returned.  Cycling to and from training sessions, increasing the miles, putting in the the effort and seeing the rewards through enjoyment of something which has become a huge part of his life.  Love it.  I am absolutely delighted to award my Chairman’s male runner of the month to Mark Worrall.

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.