Category: Running

Saturday 1st – parkruns

38 runners across 8 parkruns which included Saul Harris at South Bank parkrun in Australia. A single PB with Jackie Lewis running 27:23 accompanied by Heather Garratt for the highest age grade percentage of anyone in the club that day including Niki who ran 18:38 for context.

Sunday 2nd – Aim to Tri Triathlon

A growing number of members are now diving into the world of triathlon with 6 members taking on the swim, bike, run. The girls (Shelley Evans, Sian LG, Sian Tossell and Rhiannon Buckley) upstaged the boys (James Beynon and Christie Coleman) in the swim. However, speedy bike, run combinations from our two male triathletes seen them come out on top with James just pipping Christie to the finish line.

Wednesday 5th – Aberavon Run for All 5K Series (Race 3)

21 runners for more pleasant conditions than the heat of the race 1 and wet and windy conditions of race 2. Niki headed us home in a PB time again of 18:21. There was also PB’s for Juliet Anmer and Jackie Lewis (second 5K PB in 4 days) who were both first in their age categories. Claire Taylor was delighted with her PB of 40:23 celebrating with a now customary ‘PB jump’ photo.

Saturday 8th – parkruns

A reasonably small turnout of 30 across 5 parkruns but amazingly across 4 different countries. As usual, Porthcawl ticked off the Welsh parkrun but this week we also had parkrun tourism couple Shawn and Julie ticking off an English parkrun at Cheltenham, Jayne Powney in Scotland at St Andrews parkrun, and slightly more further afield, Denise Bradley at Western Springs parkrun in New Zealand. Jayne also got a PB at her tourist parkrun.

Sunday 9th – Wales Half / Full Marathon, Two Tunnels 10K / HM, Heroes and Villians 5K

A busy day for the club ranging from a fancy dress 5K to a Marathon at the end of the Long Course Weekend for others. The Heroes and Villians 5K was attended by Rhiannon Whitely on her birthday along with my June runner of the month Alun Wylde and Jo Betty.

The Two Tunnels events saw Chris accompany his wife Sue as she ran a new 10K PB. Juliet Amner completed the Half Marathon event in Bath which is run 3 times a year.

The biggest attendance was at Tenby where we had 6 runners in the Half Marathon and 7 runners in the Full Marathon. The unrelenting hilly course meant the only PB was for Mark Gabb in his first marathon with the club and first marathon overall in over 10 years. Nick Harris, Chris Pratt and Mark ended up running most of the course together bumping into Karl Johnson and Kirsty Evans along the way. Kirsty had completed the bike course the day before whilst Martin Beard finished just a few minutes behind having completed all three Long Course Weekend disciplines which consist of Ironman distances over three days.

Thursday 13th – Thornbury 10K

On the hunt for shiny medals, Christie Coleman, Shawn Cullen, Rhiannon Buckley and James Beynon completed this one. I mention the medal as Thornbury runners who organise 3 events cleverly decided to design the medals so that if you complete all 3 events, the fit together much like they do for the Long Course Weekend. I’m sure we’ll see the result of completing all three on our Facebook page soon.

Saturday 15th – parkruns, Celtic Half and Full Marathon, MMTRF

25 runners across 3 parkruns including Saul Harris notching up another Australian parkrun. A much lower attendance than usual with both the Celtic (Margam) and Merthyr Mawr events later that day.

The Celtic Half was due to start at 10am but not wanting to miss parkrun, I did Porthcawl parkrun first before a mad dash to Margam for the start. I was joined by Juliet Amner, Martin Cowan and Sara Bayliss for the Half Marathon whilst Kris Denholm opted for the Full Marathon. A tough course which included the long climbs of the Hoka half earlier in the year. The Half included 2000 feet of ascent so I was delighted with a time of 1:53. Juliet finished in 2:09 whilst Martin and Sara came in together in 2:26. Kris completed the full in a very respectable 4:40 on the hilly course.

31 of our runners opted for the Merthyr Mawr Trail Running Festival events with 23 completing the 7 mile ‘Rabbit’ run whilst 8 completed the 18 mile ‘Giant Rabbit’ run.  Simon Harrison and Jamie Vanstone leading our runners home in the respective races in damp muddy conditions.

Wednesday 19th – Kenfig Sands 5K

The first race as Ogmore Phoenix Runners. 70 runners for what I consider not only one of the toughest 5K races I’ve done, but one of the toughest races overall. Sand sapping the energy and a head wind on the one short flat tarmac section. A decision was made to show solidarity and camaraderie with the usual top 20 told to fight it out for the the point scoring places whilst the majority of our runners ran the course together. Neil Jones was our first runner back and 5th overall in 20:26. We finished 3rd overall in the event.

Saturday 22nd – parkruns

52 runners across 4 parkruns and for the first time in the clubs history, Porthcawl wasn’t the most attended parkrun. That went to Maesteg where 35 of our runners went for their inaugural parkrun. Local boy Niki Puleio ran 18:59 to lead our runners home with Claire Dunbar-Bowen our first female.

At Porthcawl, I ran my 200th parkrun and had the honour of being the first Ogmore Phoenix across the line at Porthcawl parkrun replicating being the Cwm Ogwr runner across the line in the trial event for Porthcawl parkrun over 4 years previous. I also matched my best overall position of 14th. Jo Betty also achieved her target of being first in her age category having attempted to get her best time possible for several weeks in a row.

Sunday 23rd – Snowdonia Trail HM and Marathon

Having done this last year I can safely say this is the toughest race I’ve ever done. This year Ian Lewis signed up for the half marathon which climbs to close to the summit of Snowdon before a further climb in the final 3 miles which is the equivalent of our Beast run just to finish you off. Chris Pratt joined me for the half last year and somehow decided that doing double the distance with the Snowdon climb in the second half of the run seemed like a good idea! He ran with David Sheard and completed the quite frankly bonkers course which includes 5,400 feet of elevation in just over 7 hours.

Saturday 29th – parkruns and club BBQ

40 runners across 3 different parkruns which included 8 at the inaugural Calicot parkrun.  A big day for PB’s with new runners Sharon Pritchard and Debbie Bennion setting their first times, plus new PB’s for Rebecca Newton, Jackie Lewis, Beverley Sheard and Claire Goldsworthy.

Later that day was the club BBQ which was moved at the eleventh hour from Bryngarw park to Tondu Rugby Club. However, it worked out brilliantly with everyone thoroughly enjoying the evening. A big thank you to the social committee for arranging and I’m sure everyone is looking forward to the next event.

Saturday 29th – Magor 10K

Having been out of action for several weeks with a wrist injury caused by a bike accident, Stephen Davies was back with an incredible PB of 38:41 followed closely by Niki Puleio with 39:00.

Stato’s Runner of the Month – Jackie Lewis

A tough one to choose for July with most of the races being trail or hilly meaning PB’s were few and far between. However, 3 PB’s for Jackie at 5K with each also being age category wins is very impressive. It’s also worth pointing out that her 27 minute 5K runs give her an age grade percentage that is not only among the best in the club but among the best in Porthcawl parkrun each week.

Saturday 3rd – parkruns

48 runners across 9 different parkruns. Keith Coleman, Sue Roberts, Steph Dyke and Shelley Evans all claimed new PB’s at Porthcawl. Mark Gabb, Karl Johnson, Chris Pratt, Emma Morris, Shawn Cullen, Julie Ransom, Alana Lutwyche, Simon Melksham and Angela Parry made up our large band of parkrun tourists.

Wednesday 6th – Aberavon Run for All 5K Series (race 2)

19 runners braved the wet blustery evening on Aberavon seafront. Despite the conditions, Niki Puleio led our runners home with a PB time of 18:37 whilst Amy Williams got herself a PB of 28:33.

Friday / Saturday 9th-10th – London to Cardiff 24 hour relay

I signed up for this with a work colleague and 10 people who I’d never met before and only had contact with through a Whatsapp group set up for our team. The London to Cardiff relay starts just outside Twickenham Stadium and finishes in Sapphire Gardens in Cardiff 160 miles later. A GPS baton is carried throughout the run and each runner does 2 or 3 individual stages as well as 3 team stages which are the first and last stages plus one in the middle. Maps are made available 2 weeks before the event but marshals and signage on route are minimal.

Teams are set off at different times and we were allocated 4:22pm on Friday afternoon. The first team stage was just 0.3 miles. I then did an 8.3 mile individual stage (4th stage overall) which was very flat as it consisted almost entirely of canal paths and was delighted to complete it in under an hour. The second team stage was at 2:30am where we all had to run 1.8 miles through a wooded area around a lake. Our team had set out to complete the course in under 24 hours (cut off is actually 30 hours) but we were already well ahead at this point which worryingly meant my second individual stage which I thought would be around 6am, actually started at 4:45am. Fortunately it was just as the sun rose and I had a lovely scenic run from Royal Wooton Bassett to Malmesbury (near Swindon). 11.3 miles after no sleep and also one of the hilliest routes of the race was tough going so I was again really pleased with my time which was 1 hour 32 minutes – knocking another 10 minutes off the target time required to hit the target of sub 24 hours.

I was the first of the team to finish my individual stages, but with so much stop / starting at the various checkpoints, getting any sleep proved difficult for any of us. We arrived in Cardiff to run the final 400m together and smashed our target, actually finishing just under 22 hours. We were 4th of the record number of 48 teams and also had the accolade of first ‘new team’ as the top 3 had all completed the event in previous years. Incredibly the winning team finished in 18 hours 46 minutes meaning that they averaged 7 minute miles for the entire 160 miles.

Saturday 10th – parkruns

50 runners across 7 different parkruns. A reduced attendance at Porthcawl as 12 regular parkrunners chose to try out Llanelli parkrun. Brett Bonnell bagged a PB at Porthcawl whilst Alun Wylde, David McCann and Alana Lutwyche all got PB’s at Llanelli.

Saturday 17th – parkruns and Sospan 10K

53 runners across 6 different parkruns. Another PB for Brett at Porthcawl and this week he was joined on the PB list by Anne Lalic and Leah Boon with her first sub 40 clocking accompanied by James Beynon. Away from Porthcawl there were PB’s for Karl Johnson on the super fast Swansea parkrun course whilst Kimberley Thomas got a PB at Grangemoor where we had 8 runners.

The Sospan 10K saw 13 members runners including PB’s for newbies Kaye Pedler and Nicola Veasey. Gareth Richards was first member back whilst Emma Morris was first female member.

Sunday 18th – Caerphilly 10K

20 runners for this one with Sian Price setting a new club age category record with a 46:28 – just 19 seconds off the overall female club record. There was also a PB for Alun Wylde. Special mention for Gareth Richards who ran the course in 43 minutes having run 42 minutes in Llanelli the day before.

Saturday 24th – Waterford Quarter, Half and Marathon

I did consider a separate blog post for this but will keep it as part of the monthly review. It all started on Friday with 64 runners and supporters setting off from Sarn Services for a bus / ferry / bus journey to Waterford. Dai Kembery handed out the tour polo shirts and goodies before we set off and Sarah Littlewood provided entertainment on the ferry with a quiz. A few chose to calm pre race nerves with a pint or two on the ferry whilst others tried their best to just get through it without being sick (me included).

We pretty much took over the hotel arranged by the Kembery’s and Nolan’s taking up an entire floor as well as the dining area for the evening meal. Most headed off to rooms shortly after the meal to get an early night and lay out kit ready for the morning.

The morning saw a mixture of excited and nervous runners at breakfast. Most steering clear of a full cooked breakfast with the odd exception (Christie Coleman if my memory serves correctly).

We headed to the start en mass having a huge team photo and bumping into a few from Lliswerry running club. The races all started together meaning a mixture of those doing the quarter marathon (6.55 miles – which caught a few out who had assumed it was a 10K), the half marathon and marathon. The Viking chant / clap made for a spine tingling start to the event with plenty of supporters at the start area and over the first mile or so.

As for the race itself – an undulating course (many will be shouting hilly as they read this) around Waterford and some quiet country lanes which Neil Jones described as his toughest marathon to date despite having done Snowdonia and running several other marathon courses. Great support from our team who had headed out as well.

The Quarter Marathon included 5 of our runners which were lead home by Julie Ransom. The Half Marathon had 20 runners lead home by newest member James Littlewood. I accompanied Alun Wylde on his mission for a sub 2 hour PB which he smashed with a 1:55:48. Sarah Littlewood came agonisingly close to her first sub 2 hour half but was delighted with a new PB of 2:00:48 whilst there were also PB’s for Diana Purnell, Steph Dyke, Rhian Nolan, Jayne Kembery and Cath Griffiths.

The biggest field was for our Marathon runners with 24 taking on the challenge including 9 running the marathon distance for the first time. Neil Jones was our first runner back in an outstanding 3:03. Niki Puleio managed a 3:11:51 PB a few minutes behind. Aled, Dai K and Gareth Richards ended up running together with Gareth getting a PB of 3:43. First club female home was Claire Dunbar-Bowen in an amazing time of 4:08 in her debut marathon. The PB list also included Carol Bartle, Neil Morgan, Nigel Hitchings, Daniel Clark, Mark Burgess, Elizabeth Sim, Victoria Hillman, Jo Betty, James Beynon, Ian Lewis, Sian Llewellyn-Goring and Rhiannon Buckley. Rhiannon completing an incredible journey from Zero to Marathon Hero less than 2 years after starting running with the club.

Needless to say, many drinks were consumed that evening at the dinner at the hotel and then the marathon after party.  A couple of pubs had the pleasure / displeasure of 60 odd mostly Welsh with a few English and Irish and a single Kiwi descent on them. Some lasted longer than others – not naming anyone here of course (Aled Hughes).

A great weekend had by all and a massive thank you to David and Jayne Kembery and Dermot and Rhian Nolan as well the extended team of organisers who helped make it a memorable weekend.

Saturday 24th – parkruns

23 runners across 6 different parkrun venues. One of our smallest attendances overall and at Porthcawl (13) for a couple of years due to the Waterford trip plus those resting before Swansea Half Marathon. 6 of our runners headed down to Swansea to run on part of the course they would revisit at around mile 7-9 the next day. No PB’s to note but a special mention for Caerwyn Lewis who had his first ‘first club finisher’ at Porthcawl.

Sunday 25th – Swansea Half Marathon

Despite the huge attendance at Waterford, there were still 33 runners at Swansea for the Half Marathon. Neil Price was first of our club finishers with a 1:34 PB. Josie Bishop was our first female with a 1:46 PB which is in the top 5 fastest half marathons by one of our female members. There were PB’s aplenty with the list also including Emma Loyns, Steven Taylor, Claire Goldsworthy, Sara Vowles, Louise Foster, Nigel Rees, Kimberley Thomas, Ashley Howells, Darija Mann, Shelley Evans, Jamie Bevan, Amy Williams, Nicola Cornock and Nicola Allen.

Wednesday 28th – Porthcawl 4K Time Trial

The third fixture of the Bridgend League saw the return of the Porthcawl 4K TT. Amended this year to start from the shelter going out to the usual parkrun turnaround at Rest Bay before running to the start of the Promenade before another 180 degree turn to return to the shelter and finish. Many tired legs with almost all of our 48 runners having run at Waterford or Swansea just a few days before.  A big effort was required by all which is exactly what happened. Niki Puleio ran 13:10 on what was a course just short of 4K in the end. Our first female was Sian Price. Great support and effort by all.

Stato’s Runner of the Month – Alun Wylde

In a month of big races and occasions, Alun really stood out with 5K, 10K and Half Marathon PB’s. Not only that, but all were by big margins. Well done Alun.

Future blogs are to include Stato’s Runner of the Month and the Chairperson’s Runner of the Month which will alternate between Chris and vice-chair Sian. My Stato’s runner of the month will be based purely on the numbers – PB’s, age grade percentages, improvements, number of events whilst the Chairpersons Runner of the Month will take everything in account whether it be effort put in at training, achieving a new distance or goal, encouragement as well as all the numbers.

1st May – Milton Keynes Half and Full Marathon

Three of the blue wave were in action in Milton Keynes with Jo Betty running the Half Marathon whilst Kirsty Evans and Wayne Hayhurst ran the Marathon. After battling back from a 6 week lay off due to injury during February and March, Jo ran the half in an impressive 2:10:31. Kirsty smashed her PB from Bournemouth last October with a 3:57:30 becoming only the 3rd Cwm Ogwr female to go under the 4 hour mark. Wayne was with her until half way but ran into problems in the second half finishing in 4:33:24.

6th May – parkruns and Preselli Beast

45 runners across a record number of 11 different parkruns. Claire Goldsworthy ran a PB at Porthcawl whilst Brett Bonell got a PB at Swansea.

Championed by male captain Richard Lowcock James, the Preselli Beast races have had more Blue Wave entrants year on year with 7 taking on the Beast Bach 11 miler whilst David Sheard took on the Beast race which is just short of a marathon. Having experienced it last year I can confirm it’s one of the toughest but scenic off road races.

7th May – Porthkerry 5 miler, Stratford (Shakespeare) Marathon and Great Welsh Half / Full

5 members ran at Porthkerry for the off road 5 miler that starts in the same place as the Vale 18 miler. There were 5 mile PB’s for new members Simon Melksham, Nigel Rees plus a first 5 mile time for Chris Stanlake.

Neil Price ran the Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford Upon Avon in an impressive 3:30:04.

At the Great Welsh HM I helped pace Mark Gabb to a 13 minute PB with a 1:42 whilst Ashley Howells got a PB of 2:09. In the Marathon, Neil Jones ran 3:01:42 whilst in his second marathon in the same week, Wayne Hayhurst ran a PB of 4:12:21.

13th May – parkruns

54 runners across 7 different parkruns including a PB for Sue Roberts at Penaltta. An incredible 9 new Zero to Hero graduates ran Porthcawl parkrun for the first time including Michelle Alexander, Maria George, Helen Perry, Natasha Jordan, Trystan Benbow, Nicola Veasey, Donna Radford and Vickie Cameron-Davies.

14th May – Cwm Ogwr 5 miler

The 5th year of the event seen record numbers again with the event selling out. This was also the first fixture of the 2017 Bridgend League. Our 26 runners were lead home by Niki Puleio followed by Davidleigh Butler and myself. In all, 23 of our 26 runners bagged themselves PB’s. Our first lady home was Josie Bishop. Over 50 members also made themselves available for marshalling and other volunteer roles in another hugely success day for the club.

20th May – parkruns

56 runners across 7 events. Another parkrun tourism PB for Sue Roberts with her first sub 30.

21st May – Worcester Half and Full Marathon, Cottrell Park Relays

Gareth Richards ran a sub 4 hour time in his first marathon with 3:58, Kris Denholm came in at 4:07 whilst it was a PB for Neil Morgan with 4:31. Four members ran the Half Marathon with David Kembery bagging a PB of 1:37.

Simon Harrison, Karl Richard Johnson, Christie Coleman and Mark Worrallran the Welsh Trail Half in Buith Wells whilst we had 8 runners at the Cottrel Park Relays.

27th May – parkruns

58 runners across 9 parkruns. Neil Jones was first finisher at Pontypridd with another sub 18 clocking. I helped pace Jo Betty to a PB of 24:35 at Porthcawl whilst Juliet Amner bagged a PB just 16 seconds further back.

31st May – Merthyr Mawr Lane 5K

The second fixture of the Bridgend League seen an incredible 92 Cwm Ogwr runners led home by Neil Jones in 17:29. There were PB’s for Gareth Richards, David Kembery, Simon Harrison, Christian Thomas, Josie Bishop (first club female), Juliet Amner, Adam Rowe, Steven Taylor, Claire Goldsworthy and Natasha Jordan.

OTHER EVENTS IN MAY

So many other events to mention. 3 runners at the Women’s Running 5K in Cardiff whilst 7 ran in the 10K event including Kirsty Evans and Victoria Hillman as pacers. Christie Coleman ran the SSAFA 5K. Graham Hillmanbagged a PB at the Liverpool Rock and Roll 5K the day before running the HM along with Victoria. The Purnells ran the Talley 5K. Lloyd West, Martin Beard and Tula Smallman completed the Swansea Triathlon.

At the start of the month 21 members ran the Aberavon 5K which included PB’s for Davidleigh Butler, Jo Betty, Louise Foster, Sara Vowles, Kimberley Thomas, Hannah Bartle and Sharon Delahunty. A special mention for Dai Power who got his first sub 30 with 29:55.

Helen Griffiths and Sian Tossell ran the Tonmawr Hilly 5 miler. At the Liverpool Spring 10K, Amy Roberts ran a new female club record time of 46:09 whilst her mum Sue Roberts ran a PB of her own. At Treforest 10K, Karl Richard Johnson and Matt Murray popped up with PB’s. Chris P ran Sunderland HM, Sarah L ran Bath Two Tunnels HM whilst Simon and Maria Lalic ran the Brecon Trail HM.

Other events included the Calder Idris Race, Whitford Point and the small matter of London to Brighton 100K Ultra which Wayne completed in 14:53.

One very busy month for one amazing club.

Saturday 1st – parkruns and Vale 18.5 / 32 Ultra

A lowest attendance in well over a year with 21 runners across 6 parkruns due to so many running the Vale races. There were PB’s at Porthcawl for Ashley H, Claire G and Darjia M. There was plenty of parkrun tourism with Saul at Southampton, Chris R at Knowsley, Karl J at Wythenshawe and Ann D at Llanelli. I ran at Barry Island parkrun before going on to the Vale 18.5. My parkrun marked a full year of not missing a Saturday parkrun. Only Nick H had previously achieved this with the club.

At the Vale races we had 43 runners with 23 doing the 18.5 miler (closer to 20) and 20 doing the 32 mile Ultra (nearer 33). The Ultra started from Penarth Pier whilst the 18.5 started from Porthkerry with both finishing in Ogmore by Sea. Christian Thomas lead the 18 milers home after I’d lead the Blue Wave for the first 16 miles. Emma Loyns was first female back of the ‘shorter’ distance whilst several members ran their furthest distance race. In the full Ultra, Neil Jones not only lead the Blue Wave home… he lead the whole field finishing first overall. Kirsty Evans was first of the female members home. Phenomenal running by all 43 runners including several runner their first Ultras. The day will also be remembers for the outstanding support by members who drove to various parts of the course and the big support crew at the finish who provided mountains of food and drink for the finishers.

Sunday 2nd – Cardiff Bay 10K, Liverpool Half Marathon and Manchester Marathon

The inaugural Cardiff Bay 10K seen 41 of the Blue Wave in attendance. Wayne Hayhurst lead the Blue Wave home but it was the ladies just behind who took the plaudits with Josie Bishop setting a NEW FEMALE CLUB RECORD with 46:29 whilst Claire Dunbar-Bowen set a new female veteran club record with 47:39. There were also PB’s for David M, Sara V, Hannah B, Amy W, Lisa J and Shareen B.

At the Liverpool Half Marathon another female club record fell as Amy Roberts ran a super speedy 1:44:32 with her dad Chris for company. An amazing day for our female members.

The Manchester Marathon seen PB’s for both our runners with a 4:10 for Karl Johnson and a 5:00 for Emma Morris.

Saturday 8th – parkruns

A massive 59 runners at Porthcawl for the 4th anniversary celebrations with Fiona D the only tourist this week as she visited Swansea parkrun. It was a Baywatch theme at Porthcawl for Christie Colemans 100th parkrun where the man himself was the Hoff for the day with plenty of lifeguards in support. In fact, a photo of Cwm Ogwr’s dressing up efforts made the local paper. As for the running bit, new member Chris T was first back in a PB time of 19:48. I paced Karl J to a PB of 22:19 with Mark Gabb grabbing himself a PB just ahead of us. Kim T, Amy W, Steph D, Alana L and Sarah K all bagged themselves PB’s as well. The parkrun was followed by a Presentation at the Hi Tide where Cwm Ogwr topped the stats for most individual runners at Porthcawl parkrun and most combined runs. We also featured in the volunteer stakes with a special mention for Maria Lalic as well as Jo Betty who had recently helped out with timing and barcode scanning whilst injured.

Sunday 9th – Paris Marathon

Josie Bishop took on her first marathon around the streets of Paris and became our first female to run sub 4 hours in their debut marathon. Her time of 3:54 clocking her a senior female club record.

Saturday 15th – parkruns

60 runners across a record 9 different parkruns. 49 at Porthcawl where there was just one PB which belonged to Nicola Allen. Pippa Clark got a PB at Swansea parkrun accompanied by Alun and Rhiannon. Dawn H ran at Grangemoor, Saul was at Dartford, the Hillmans chose Pontypridd, Peter W and Kimberley D were at Cardiff, Chris S at Trelissick, Fiona D at Inverness whilst parkrun tourism couple Julie and Shawn were at Burgess.

Saturday 22nd – parkruns

55 runners across a record equalling 9 parkruns again. 43 at Porthcawl where there were PB’s for Nicola P, Kim T, Sue R and Sarah K. I got a PB at Tewkesbury finishing 5th overall with a 19:47 – my third sub 20 and at 3 different venues. Karl J and Aled attended the inaugural Merthyr parkrun. Brett B ran at Poole, Chris P ran at Eastleigh, Jayne P ran at the Gnoll whilst Christie C ran at Blackpool ahead of the marathon the next day. There were also plenty of London Marathon runners and supporters in action warming up with a parkrun the day before with Mervyn at Basildon and Peter W, Kim D, Dai K and Keith C at Burgess.

Sunday 23rd – London Marathon, Blackpool Marathon, Madrid Half Marathon, Bryn Bach 6 miler

Our magnificent seven at London were lead home by Neil Jones in a NEW CLUB RECORD of 2:54:24. Next up were Dai K and Kevin R followed by a PB for Keith Coleman with 4:01. Emma L was first club female in 4:30:03 in what was her debut marathon. I’m sure she will want me to point out is 114 seconds quicker than I ran the same course in 2014. There were two further marathon debutants with Liz Sim finishing in 4:52 and Matt M in 5:36.

In Blackpool, Antony Lewis ran his 6th marathon for the club in a time of 4:05 whilst Christie Coleman completed the course in 4:53. In the Madrid Half Marathon, Fiona D and Dawn H completed the course in times of 2:07 and 2:16 respectively. Karl, Alica, Natasha and Angela P all opted for the Bryn Bach 6 miler.

Saturday 29th – parkruns

60 runners across a record 12 (TWELVE!) different parkrun venues. Cwm Ogwr haven’t just taken over Porthcawl parkrun.. we’re taking over UK parkrun. Starting at Porthcawl where the 47 runners were lead home by Stephen D who finished second overall in 18:20. Just 6 days after his marathon PB Keith Coleman ran a 5K PB. There were also PB’s for Ashley Howells, Sue Roberts (accompanied by husband Chris Roberts), Gwyneth Steddy, Shelley Evans (accompanied by Matt Murray), first timer Rachael LD and Hannah Kinsella who crossed the line with Dai Power. Awesome to see so many of our runners supporting each other.

Away from Porthcawl was a huge list of tourism. John B at Aberdeen, Chris S at Riverfront, Rhiannon B ran a PB at Torbay, Ann at Llanelli, I ran at Kettering, Niki ran at Aberystwyth, Karl at Longrun Meadow, Martin at Pomphrey Hill, Chris P at Colby, Mark G at Barry and the Hillmans at Grangemoor.

Sunday 30th – Pembrokeshire 100, St Ilyts Ultra 50K and Cardiff Race to Victory 5K

Nick Harris and Jamie Vanstone took on the 100 mile race organised by Run Walk Crawl. Not only was it 100 miles but it also had 16500ft/5030m ascent. For some sort of reference point it is roughly the equivalent of doing the Beast 10K 16 times in a row both in terms of elevation and distance. After 31 hours Nick and Jamie made Cwm Ogwr history becoming the first members to complete a 100 mile race.

Saturday 4th – parkruns

52 runners across a record 10 different parkruns in 3 different countries. At Porthcawl Stephen Davies became our 3rd parkrun winner following in the footsteps of Neil Jones and Dai Kembery. His time of 18:15 was a huge 37 seconds clear of second place. Liz Sim clocked a new parkrun PB accompanied by Gareth Richards whilst Emma Williams made it 4 parkrun PB’s in 5 attempts. My February runner of the month Claire Taylor knocked 48 seconds off her PB making it an improvement of 2 minutes and 16 seconds this year.

Away from Porthcawl, Chris Pratt ran at Cambridge parkrun where an issue with the timers meant everyone was given a time of 59:59. Could argue Chris was joint first. Jayne P ran at Gnoll, Ann Davies ran at Llanelli, Shawn and Julie ran at Penrhyn, Niki, Brian and the Hillmans ran at Grangemoor, and Chris S ran at Hereford. Kelly ran at Florida’s Clermont Waterfront parkrun for the second week in a row and third time in total. Dai K was just 6 seconds away from a PB at Cardiff. Neil Jones clocked yet another sub 18 at Pontypridd parkrun with Karl Johnson also in attendance.

Sunday 5th – Newport HM, Cambridge HM, Anglesey 10K and HM, St Davids Day 5K and 10K

One of our busiest Sunday’s in a long while in terms of number of different events. 48 runners across 6 different events. Starting in Cardiff with the St Davids Day 5K where founder member Ross Jones made a return to running 2 and a half years after his last parkrun with a 32:17. New members Angharad Rees and Shareen Bentley also completed the 5K run.

Our biggest number of entries for the day was the St Davids 10K event which seen 30 of the Blue Wave in attendance. Chris Roberts lead the Blue Wave home with Daniel Clark and Mark Gabb getting PB’s just behind him. Nicola Symonds was our first female home in what could be her last event for us before moving to the newly formed Pencoed Panthers. Liz Sim joined a short list of runners who’ve completed a double PB weekend again accompanied by Gareth Richards. Claire Goldworthy and Sara Vowles got PB’s under the hour mark. The huge number of PB’s continued with Stephanie Dyke, Amy Williams, Joanne Rowling, Cath Griffiths, Angela Parry, Emma Jayne, Nicola Parsons, Alun Wylde, Rhiannon Whiteley, Mandie Owen and Pippa Clark.

There were 13 of the Blue Wave at Newport Half Marathon. I was first back with a PB run of 1:33:21 in my 37th Half Marathon. It also meant I temporarily held the record for fastest club HM time in 2017. Graham Mackleworth, Karl Johnson, Darjia Mann and Matt Murray all clocked PB’s as well. Great team spirit with 5 of our 13 runners finishing together as Matt had a team of pacers with the Garratts, Liz and Mark Worrall joining him.

Chris Pratt ran the Cambridge Half Marathon in 1:44:10… not bad after a parkrun time of 59:59 the day before! Shawn Cullen ran the Angelsey Half Marathon in a PB of 2:26:36 whilst Ellen Wyn Evans ran in the 10K event.

Saturday 11th – parkruns

48 runners across 7 parkruns.  A first sub 20 at Porthcawl for me with a 19:59 and a very rare parkrun where I was first Cwm Ogwr runner across the line. New member Chris Truman set an impressive debut parkrun time of 20:33. There was a course PB for Kirsty Evans accompanied by Stephen. Stephanie Dyke clocked her first parkrun PB since November last year. 2017 Zero to Hero recruit Leah Boon made it 3 PB’s in what is already her 5th parkrun appearance.

Away from Porthcawl Denise was first in her age category in Grangemoor and had the highest age grade percentage of the day. Dawn and Kevin ran at Swansea, David Sheard ran at Cwmbran and Karl Johnson ran at Pontypridd. Aled Hughes made one of the longest journeys ever to attend a parkrun and informs me it is the furthest West of any parkrun done by a club member as he ran at Crissy Fields parkrun in San Francisco.

Sunday 12th – Llanelli HM, Bath HM, Wrexham HM, Silverstone HM, Grisly 20 miler, Neath 10 miler

Another very busy Sunday with four different half marathons and a 10 miler.

Starting at Llanelli were we had 24 runners. Chris Pratt lead the Blue Wave home just ahead of Simon Harrison. Juliet Amner set a new club age category record and was 2nd her category in the race itself. Tula Smallman bagged herself a PB with a sub 2 hour finish.

David Shaun McCann, Matt Murray and Shawn James Cullen all made it two half marathon PBs in as many weeks. I helped pace Matt in what was my 5th half marathon in 24 days. A 3 minute PB for Lisa Jenkins. A huge 22 minute PB for Claire Taylor having run Swansea Half last year. Well done to half marathon newbies Angela Parry, Rhiannon Whiteley and Pippa Clark who pick up PB’s for their first half marathons.

The Garratts ran their half around Silverstone race track. There was a 9 minute PB for Emma Williams at Bath Half Marathon following a parkrun PB last week. Carole Bartle was 3rd in her age category with a PB at Wrexham Half.

At the Neath 10 miler there were PB’s all round. Niki broke his own club record. Neil was running his first 10 miler for the club whilst Kevin set an club age category record and knocked over 10 minutes off his 10 mile PB having only previously run the multi terrain Pembrey 10 mile course.

Richard Lowcock James took on the Grisly 20 miler. Described on the website as “Twentyish muddy, hilly, boggy, beachy miles of the multiest-terrain running experience you will find this side of the end of time.” It’s so popular entry is via a ballot. I can confirm RLJ made it out alive.

Saturday 18th – parkruns, Windsor Half Marathon and Darth Mannion

50 runners across 3 parkruns with 46 of those at Porthcawl. We had an influx of new runners with a few of the new Zero to Hero running their first parkruns for the club. Despite blustery conditions there were a number of PB’s. The first of which was for David McCann who I helped pace to a 86 second PB. David is just 1 second away from making it 5 minutes off his first parkrun time just 2 months ago.

Brett Bonnell bagged a PB in his first Porthcawl parkrun in over a year. Gwyneth Steddy, Alana Lutwyche and Sarah C King all got PB’s as part of our Zero to Hero group. Alana was our 200th different finisher registered as Cwm Ogwr at Porthcawl parkrun.

There were also PB’s for Louise Bennett and Lisa Jenkins. Leah Boon made it 2 PB’s in as many weeks and has now knocked over 4 minutes off her first parkrun time set just 6 weeks ago. The Hillmans ran at Cardiff whilst at Pontypridd Neil Jones got first place for the first time at that venue. It’s the 4th different parkrun venue he has finished first.At the Windsor Half Marathon Nicola Prior got her first sub 2 hour half marathon time whilst there were superb times across the board for our girls with a couple of others very close to PB times.As you’ll have seen from other posts, Richard Lowcock James managed to find another bizarre crazy mudfest of a run called the Darth Mannion. Haven’t seen any results for this one yet but I suspect our captain may convince a few more to do it next year.

Sunday 19th – Forest of Dean Half Marathon and San Dom 20 miler

We had 5 runners at the Spring edition of the Forest of Dean Half Marathon. There’s also an Autumn one in September if anyone interested a trial half marathon later in the year. Juliet Amner lead the way in 1:52 whilst Liz Sim clocked her 3rd PB of the month at her 3rd different distance with a 2:02 knocking 4 minutes off her PB accompanied by Gareth Richards. Ian Lewis clocked a 2:10 whilst Jonathan Mead got 2:17.

Before this date, only 12 Cwm Ogwr runners had done a 20 mile event so it was a bit of a surprise to see 18 signed up for the San Domenico 20 miler. Neil Jones lead the way in a 20 mile PB time of 2:13:31 putting him in the top 10 finishers. Niki Puleio was next up with an impressive 2:27:45. New member Emma Jane Morris was our first female and came in under the 3 hour mark with a 2:56:39. Of the ones that had run a 20 miler before, Christie Coleman picked up a PB knocking 5 minutes off his time set at Llanelli last year.

Saturday 25th – parkruns

57 runners across 5 parkrun venues. 52 of which were at Porthcawl were Stephen Davies became the second Cwm Ogwr member to be the first finisher with his first sub 18 as well and also a club age category record. Not many other PB’s due to a lot of Princess fancy dress efforts slowing most people down (except Stephen). However, there was a PB for Rhian Nolan in her first Porthcawl parkrun in almost a year.

Away from Porthcawl, the Denholms ran at Beeston, Dawn Hopkins ran at Parke whilst Neil Jones and Karl J ran at Pontypridd.

Sunday 26th – West Glam XC League and Merthyr HM

25 runners at Aberavon Beach for the final fixture of the West Glamorgan XC League. A 5 mile route along the beach with some testing sand dunes in the middle before battling a strong head wind on the way back. Stephen Davies was first Cwm Ogwr runner back with Gareth Richards, Simon Harrison, Chris Truman and Chris Thomas making up the remainder of the points scoring positions. A massive well done to our men’s team finished 2nd in Division 3 gaining promotion!

Betty Lee lead the women home with Kelly Owen, Victoria Hillman, Denise Bradley and Bethan Cross making up the other scoring positions. Bethan achieved a top 5 club finish in all 5 events and was one of only three members along with myself and Pippa to run in all fixtures. Our female team finished 6th in Division 2 which should secure them a place in the same division next year even if a third division is created with additional teams joining.

At the Merthyr Half Marathon, Karl Johnson picked up his second half marathon PB this month with Nigel Rees and Darjia Mann also running for the blue wave.

Chairman’s Runners of the Month

For one month only, I’m listening to the members for who the runners of the month should be as a few people have suggested these for this months choices…

Male Runner of the Month – Gareth Jenkins

Yes – it’s with some embarrassment but great pride that I’m writing about myself for runner of the month. My Half Marathon PB in Newport of 1:33:21 remains the fastest half marathon time in the club so far this year. A week later I got my first sub 20 at Porthcawl parkrun. I also helped pace Matt Murray to a Half Marathon PB in Llanelli and David McCann to a parkrun PB this month. I also ran the final fixture of the West Glam XC League and was the only male runner in the club to complete all 5 fixtures finishing second highest in the club in the overall individual standings.

Female Runner of the Month – Elizabeth Sim

An easy choice with Liz getting 5K, 10K and Half Marathon PB’s this month. She beat all by large margins and the Half Marathon was actually a hilly trail race in the Forest of Dean.

Wednesday 1st – Club Championship 1500m time trial

The first club championship event of this year seen 41 members run 5 laps of the 300m Bridgend AC track in a 1500m time trial. Times were compared to average mile pace for each members parkrun best over the past 12 months to come up with results. A great atmosphere on the night with each group being cheered around by the rest of the runners who were awaiting their turn. New member David McCann came out on top with Claire Taylor top female and Lisa Jenkins 3rd. Fastest time of the night went to Niki Puleio with 5:17.

Saturday 4th – parkruns and Presentation Night

60 runners across 6 parkruns. A huge turnout with 53 of the Blue Wave at Porthcawl. Chris Pratt clocked his second sub 20 in as many weeks whilst I knocked 28 seconds of my best at Porthcawl which dates back to 2015. Winner of the first club championship event David McCann knocked nearly 4 minutes off his PB in his second parkrun. My January runner of the month Angela Parry got her 3rd PB of this year whilst Joanne Rowling clocked her first PB of the year.

Claire Taylor was accompanied by Jo Betty for the 5K whilst I joined the party for the final 2K with a huge 88 second PB for Claire. We also had our first 2017 Zero to Hero graduate with Leah Boon running her first parkrun with a little help from Rhiannon, Sian T and Sian LG.

Away from Porthcawl Aled Hughes beat his PB dating back to May last year with a 19:19 at Swansea. Neil Jones ran a 17:48 which took him past 100 miles of running for the week! Stephen, Bethan and Dawn ran at the Gnoll, Chris Roberts ran at Grangemoor and Ian Lewis ran his 50th parkrun at Bedford.

We had over 100 attendees at the Presentation Night at the Heronstone Hotel to celebrate achievements of the club and it’s members for 2016. A massive thank you to the social committee and everyone involved in the evening and well done to all the winners listed below.

2016 Presentation Night Winners

Club Championship

Super Veterans – Denise Bradley and Christie Coleman

Veterans – Fiona Drysdale and Aled Hughes

Senior and Overall – Shelley Smithson and Neil Jones

Newcomers – Claire Dunbar-Bowen and Keith Coleman

Level Playing Field – Lucy Hancock and Neil Jones

Best Runners

Super Veterans – Denise Bradley and Kevin Archie Raymond

Veterans – Claire Dunbar Bowen and Aled Hughes

Senior – Shelley Smithson and Neil Jones

Most improved – Rhiannon Buckley

Best Newcomer – Pippa Clark

Zero to Hero – Shawn James Cullen

Runners Runner of the Year – Christie Coleman

Sunday 5th – Beast 10K

The first Cwm Ogwr event of the year seen the second annual Beast 10K which sold out weeks in advance. Despite a small delay with using our chip timing system for the very first time, the event was another huge success with the male and female course records broken. A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered – particularly as most had been out the night before at the presentation night.

Saturday 11th – parkruns

A record 64 runners across 7 parkruns. A record attendance at Porthcawl as well with 57 runners. Stephen Davies equalled his PB of 18:43 despite the parkrun being in the middle of a 22 mile run. There was a huge 70 second PB for Matt Murray accompanied by myself, the Hillmans and Chris Pratt.

A PB for new member Tula Smallman just behind us with a 25:50. Club Championship leader David McCann got yet another PB knocking another 20 seconds off his time. A great PB by Catherine Griffiths whilst Nicola Allen knocked 51 seconds off her PB.

Saturday 18th – parkruns and Hoka Trail Half Marathon

39 runners across 3 parkruns. A slightly smaller attendance than usual due to the Hoka Half Marathon later that morning. At Porthcawl, Stephen Davies ran an outstanding 18:08 and is now well clear in second place in the club 5K rankings. Aled Hughes ran a Porthcawl best of 19:33 whilst Karl Johnson also ran a course best with 22:40. There were also PB’s for Mandie Owen and new runner Leah Boon.

Elsewhere Neil Jones ran a 17:52 at Pontypridd whilst Ann Davies ran a 29:53 at Llanelli.

39 runners at the Hoka Trail Half Marathon at Margam. Simon Harrison was our first runner back in 1:47:54 on a tough hilly course with 1800 feet of elevation including a mile long incline from mile 10 to 11. Our first female back was Josie Bishop in 2:10:33. Well done to Bethan Cross who despite a injury managed to get a Half Marathon PB of 2:27:43.

Sunday 19th – Brecon to Cardiff Ultra Marathon

Last year seen over a several members enter the world of Ultra running which was a big factor in 6 signing up for this 44 miler following the Taff Trail from Brecon to Nantgarw. Jamie Vanstone ran a superb sub 7 hour time to finish in 18th place overall. Gareth Richards, Wayne Hayhurst and Gary Piper all completed their first ultras whilst Brian was running it for the second year in a row and his third Ultra in 11 months having not run much more than half marathon previous to that.

Sunday 25th – parkruns and Ras Dewi Sant Half Marathon

63 runners across 6 parkruns. 57 runners at Porthcawl where Neil Jones finished 3rd in a time of 17:43. Stephen ran another sub 19 whilst Niki ran a sub 20 making it 3 Cwm Ogwr runners in the first 6 finishers. There were birthday celebrations for myself and Nicola Cornock with a lot of cakes on offer.

Away from Porthcawl, Claire DB ran a PB at Swansea with a 23:38 for her first sub 24. Sarah Littlewood ran at Lanhydrock parkrun which interestingly has had 7 different Cwm Ogwr tourists. The Hillmans ran at Cardiff whilst Diana Purnell ran at Llanelli.

Meanwhile Richard LJ ran the Ras Dewi Sant Half Marathon in around 2:18 on a tough multi terrain course around the Pembrokeshire course with storm Doris.

Sunday 26th – Pontypool 10K

Just a single Cwm Ogwr runner for this one with Matt Murray getting his first sub 1 hour 10K and knocking 3 minutes off his PB in the process.

The “Three halves and a little parkrun”

As part of my 2017 goals I wanted to run Half Marathons on consecutive days. I’d seen a running events company that do a week of events in Hartlebury which is 5-10 minutes drive from my in-laws in Worcestershire so having already signed up to the Hoka Trail on Sat 18th Feb I decided to enter their Thursday and Friday events to make it 3 in 3 days. The Hoka race didn’t start until 11am so I couldn’t resist still including a parkrun as well.

That particular week of events was called ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ with a different deadly sin medal for each day. There was 10K, Half or Full Marathons options each day. It turned out I was the only one doing the half so am down on their website as the Half Marathon winner for that day! My intention was run around 1:55 to save myself for the subsequent halves… I ran 1:47:33 but felt comfortable.

Day two I felt surprisingly good.. I did have one competitor on day two but she was a 2 hour plus runner so I’m down as winning twice! Ended up running slightly quicker than the first day with a 1:46:43.

Traveled back Friday evening which meant Porthcawl parkrun that morning. The original plan was to leave early Saturday morning and do a parkrun tourism on the way back but it was cutting it too fine. I ended up offering to pace 25 minutes at Porthcawl which was pretty much the exact pace I’d done in the first 2 halves. Legs felt a bit heavier. Off to Margam for the final half marathon where I’d arranged to run with Bethan would be running around 2:30. We ran 2:27 with Bethan being the only runner to PB.

Really pleased with how the challenge went and definitely looking to extend it to 5 or 7 days of half marathons.

Chairman’s Male Runner of the Month – David McCann

Following in the footsteps of Matt Murray, Jo Betty and others, I’ve chosen David as my runner of the month in the first full month with the club. David has reduced his parkrun PB from 31:03 to 27:24 and only narrowly missed out on making in 4 PB’s in 4 parkruns at last weeks event. David was also the overall winner in the first club championship event of the year at the start of this month.

Chairman’s Female Runner of the Month – Claire Taylor

Second place overall and first female in the first club championship event of the year. Claire followed this up with parkrun PB knocking 88 seconds off her PB. This month has also seen Claire training for Llanelli Half Marathon including running to parkrun. An inspirational runner.

January 1 – parkruns and Kenfig 4 miler

New Years Day is the only day of the year that parkrun allow you to run two parkruns. With Cardiff starting at 9am and Barry Island at 10:30am, Chris Pratt, Nick Harris, Kris Denholm, Karl Johnson and myself went for the option of doing both. Neil Jones joined us at Cardiff where he ran 17:27 for his third sub 18 time within the space of 24 hours and 18 minutes and in the process set a seasons best that is unlikely to be beaten by anyone but himself less than 10 hours into the New Year. Mark Gabb joined us to do Barry Island only. Meanwhile, Aled clocked 19:58 at Swansea parkrun just ahead of Brian Cotton with David Evans, Juliet Amner and Christie Coleman also in attendance.

Later that morning was the Kenfig 4 miler with 39 members in attendance including the 5 who’d ran Swansea parkrun earlier. Neil Price was first of the Blue Wave across the line in a speed 25:07 on what turned out to be a 3.7 mile new route. Our first female was Denise Bradley who was celebrating her 100 event for the club. Well done to several of our runners who completed the Festive Four competition with this being the final event. Sian Tossell finished 5th in the ‘Green Jersey’ competition which looked at how participants did against seasons best times. Helen Griffiths, Jo Betty both made the top 10 with 9th and 10th respectively whilst Pippa and Claire T were just outside in 11th and 13th.

January 4 – Track Session

The second track session attracted even more runners with around 50-60 in attendance. Some chose a technique session in the clubhouse whilst others were put through their paces by multiple club record holder Neil Jones. The session ranged from doing 8 laps with 30 seconds recovery to some of the faster runners doing 12 laps and a couple of cool down laps to finish. Another superb session with many already looking forward to the next one.

January 7 – parkruns

58 runners across a massive 8 different parkruns. 33 were at Porthcawl where Stephen Davies annihilated his previous best set just 3 weeks earlier and finished a remarkable 3 overall with a time of 18:43. He becomes only the third Cwm Ogwr runner to get a sub 19 time and over the past month has jumped from 25 in the club 5K rankings to 3. Aled Hughes set a new course best for himself with 19:43 whilst Niki Puleio clocked an early season sub 20 time as well. Interestingly Aled’s time of 19:43 gives him a better age grade percentage than Stephens 18:43. New member Alun Wylde clocked himself his 3 PB in as many parkruns. Chris Stanlake got a course best whilst Cath Griffiths got a PB of 31:06.

We had 16 runners at the Gnoll which was a memorial run for Dan Tomlinson, a promising young runner who tragically died just over a year ago. Chris Pratt lead the way with seasons best all round with most running their first 5K of the year. Great to see coach Kev in attendance and some great team spirit with Pippa, Rhiannon, Sian T and Llinos running the whole course together.

The Hillman’s attended Cardiff parkrun where they had a record 815 runners. Dawn was at Newport, Jo Betty at Cheltenham and Fiona D at Grangemoor. Neil Jones clocked 17:37 at Pontypridd parkrun – the same time to the second that he ran there a week earlier. At the same parkrun, Neil Harris set a new PB with a time of 19:31. I attended Gloucester North parkrun where I became the 20 member of the sub 20 club with a time of 19:58 knocking 12 seconds off my PB. A lot of us had put what our goals for 2017 were on the clubs Facebook page and my top priority was to get a sub 20.. I didn’t expect it to come on the first Saturday of the year! It also meant we have a record 6 runners under 20 minutes on the same morning at 3 different venues.

Sunday 8 – Tata Steel Run Round the Reservoir   

This is normally a fixture in the West Glam XC league but after not making the list this season, they decided to still put on the event and only charge £2 for affiliated runners. A combination of no Zero to Hero session and interest in off road running seemingly being at an all time high in the club meant that over 30 members chose to do Richard’s trail session which took in part of the Hoka Half Marathon course just a few miles away from where this race was. Christie Coleman and Chris Roberts were our only runners in what was described as ‘the Blue Dribble’ as opposed to ‘the Blue Wave’. It meant after the first full weekend of the year, Christie already gained top spot on the 2017 most events table.

Thursday 12th – Chepstow Night Run 5 miler

Stephen, Bethan, Emma W and Ian signed up for this one which was a headtorch required night race which included hills that reduced runners to using their hands to climb and running through caves. Stephen finished the course in 41:37 for 21st position overall out of 294 runners. Bethan, Emma and Ian finished close together around the 1 hour 5 to 6 minutes mark.

Saturday 14th – parkruns

54 runners across 5 different parkruns. 46 of which were at Porthcawl where Stephen Davies helped pace Graham Hillman, and Chris Pratt helped pace Victoria Hillman to course bests. I ran with Jo Betty helping her knock an incredible 69 seconds off her PB which had been set over 6 years previous at Cardiff parkrun. There was more pacing heroics with Bethan helping Matt Murray to PB meaning both my December Runners of the Month picked up PB’s in the same morning. Angela Parry picked up a PB whilst Dai Power made it 5 Cwm Ogwr pacers to help others get PB’s with Lisa Jenkins knocking 43 seconds off her previous best.

Away from Porthcawl, Karl, Julie and Chris S ran at Newport, Sarah Littlewood ran at Telford and Peter Walsh ran at Brighton. Aled got a parkrun PB and was 2 seconds shy of his overall 5K PB at Cardiff parkrun with an impressive 40th place finish amongst a record attendance of 856. Nick Harris and Mark Gabb also ran at Cardiff with Mark pushing a buggy round.

Sunday 15th – West Glamorgan XC league – Margam Park and Riverbank Rollick

33 runners at the 4th fixture of the West Glamorgan Cross Country League. This one was a 2 lap course around Margam Park which was advertised as approximately 4.5 miles – it turned out there was a bonus mile and it was closer to 5.5! The lap started with a lengthy tarmac section before entering the zig zag ‘Field of Dreams’ which included a mixture of mainly grass and some muddy sections whilst gently inclining before a short sharper incline towards the top. At the highest point runners were treated to a mile or so of trail and mostly downhill back to the tarmac section at the start.

Stephen was first of the Blue Wave across the line in a speedy 36:12 followed a couple of minutes later by stand in captain for the day Chris Pratt. Simon, Kevin and Graham H made up the remaining scoring positions with myself and Nick Harris close behind.

Bethan Cross was the first Cwm Ogwr female across the line in 47:29 which would actually indicate a large 5 mile PB. Victoria, Claire W, Liz Davis and Sara made up the remaining points scoring places. In true Cwm Ogwr spirit, most of the members in attendance waiting for our final runner who on this occasion was Pippa and ran the final straight with her.

Meanwhile we had 17 runners taking on the Riverbank Rollick. A 9 mile race with mud, mud and more mud. Aled was first across the line for Cwm Ogwr with Daniel Clark second. Fiona Drysdale was first of our female runners.

Saturday 21st – parkruns

56 runners across 8 different parkruns. 45 at Porthcawl where Neil Price was first Cwm Ogwr back in a PB time of 19:42. Denise Bradley beat her PB which had stood for over a year whilst there was another PB for Angela Parry.

Away from Porthcawl, Aled helped pace Karl to a PB at Penallta parkrun, the Hillmans ran at Cardiff, Neil clocked another sub 18 at Pontypridd and Shawn and Julie continued their parkrun tourism run in Bournemouth. Dawn and Kevin ran at Swansea, Stephen, Bethan and Mark Gabb ran at Grangemoor and finally we had Jayne P at the Gnoll.

Sunday 22nd – Buff Trail 10K

The first 10K of the year brought an off-road event following the same course as the Night Trail Race that had a huge Blue Wave attendance last May. Just 12 runners this time with Nigel Hutchings leading the way just under the hour mark on the tough course which has a killer incline in the last kilometre. Josie was first Cwm Ogwr female less than a minute behind Nigel. Top effort by all.

Saturday 28th – parkruns

46 runners across 5 parkruns. At Porthcawl Stephen notched up another sub 19 and a time only Neil and Niki have beat in the past. There was a first sub 20 at Porthcawl for Chris Pratt and his fastest 5K since last June. Matt smashed his PB by 51 seconds and has 9 PBs from his 14 Porthcawl parkruns. Emma Williams got a PB despite running down to Porthcawl in only her second parkrun. Rhiannon Buckley had PB of the day knocking a huge 109 seconds off her best at Porthcawl. Her stepson George was first junior over the line in a swift 20:43.

Away from Porthcawl, Aled beat his PB which had stood since May last year. Aled has now achieved sub 20 at 6 different parkruns plus the Merthyr Mawr Lane 5K. There was also parkrun tourism from Chris R at Passhanger, Dawn at Barry, Nick and Mark at Penallta, whilst Saul ran at Southampton.

Sunday 29th – Lliswerry 8

29 runners for this race which sold in out just a few hours after a Snowdon Marathon style midnight entry system. Chris Pratt was first across the line beating his previous course best with Dai K and Nick Harris next up. Josie Bishop and Claire Dunbar Bowen were the two fastest female club runners respectively. We also had members running their first race over 10K distance so a massive well done to them.

Chairman’s Male Runner of the Month – Stephen Davies

2 months ago, Stephen had run 3 parkruns, a 10K and a two Cardiff Half Marathons in around 15 months. I’m not sure what happened.. but he seems to have caught the racing bug. He’s doubled that in January alone. An incredible 18:43 at parkrun catapulted him from outside our top 20 ranked 5Kers to third and only to Neil Jones and very close behind second placed Niki Puleio. He also finished 3rd in that parkrun. In another parkrun he helped pace Graham Hillman to a course best and then got another sub 19 in the final parkrun of the month. Add to that being first Cwm Ogwr by some margin in the Margam XC and a 21st placed finish in the Chepstow night race and it has been a remarkable month for Stephen.

Chairman’s Female Runner of the Month – Angela Parry

Angela notched up two parkrun PB’s in 2 weeks knocking a total 39 seconds off her previous best set in October. She also volunteered as tail runner in the final parkrun of the month in a role she has now done 4 times. There were also great performances in both the Kenfig 4 mile on New Years Day and the Lliswerry 8.

Saturday 3rd – parkruns, Aberavon Santa 5K, Might Contain Nuts Brecon 10 miler and Christmas drinks

The month kicked off with 43 runners across 5 parkruns. 38 of which were at Porthcawl where Brian lead the Blue Wave home with his first sub 20 at Porthcawl. There were overall PB’s for Wayne Hayhurst, Bethan Cross, Matt Murray and Jayne Kembery. Away from Porthcawl, Fiona D ran at Penallta, Ellen Wyn Evans at Penryhn, Simon M at Newport whilst Nick Harris and Mark Gabb warmed up for the Santa run by doing the Gnoll parkrun beforehand.

Later that morning, 40 of the Blue Wave got into their Santa Suits for the Aberavon Santa Run 5K. A dozen had already run a parkrun but we totaled 73 different runners for the morning. Brian led us home for the second time in two hours and despite wearing Santa Suits, Lloyd West and Rhiannon Buckley managed to bag themselves 5K PB’s.

Meanwhile, in Brecon, Gary Piper and Mark Worrall were taking on the ‘Might Contain Nuts’ Brecon 10 miler. A very hilly off road race with technical ascents and descents.

Later that day around 40 members met at the Wyndham Arms in Bridgend for the annual Christmas drinks with a few going onto the Wicked Lady and a small hardcore group carrying on until the early hours. A great night had by all.

Sunday 4th – Childrens Christmas Party

Our social committee are evil and decided to organise the clubs first childrens Christmas Party for the morning after the Christmas drinks. The chairman was in attendance and a little worse for wear and this was a theme for a few adults in attendance. Another fantastic event set up by the new committee and a massive thank you to everyone involved… even if they did insist on me getting involved in the party games!

Saturday 10th – parkruns

43 across across 5 parkruns with 36 at Porthcawl. Neil Price clocked his second sub 20 and improved his PB by a further 2 seconds. Jamie Bevan, Kim Thomas, Amy Williams, Louise Bennett and Joanne Rowling all got PB’s as well. Away from Porthcawl, Neil Harris ran a PB of 19:36 at Cardiff putting him up to 6th fastest on the Cwm Ogwr rankings. Julie and Shawn ran at Perry Hall, Chris Pratt ran at Huddersfield and Karl ran at Cheltenham.

Sunday 11th – Merthyr Mawr Pudding Run

An amazing turnout with 61 runners making the Blue Wave by far the biggest represented club at the event. Our top 5 runners were seperated by just 51 seconds with Aled, myself, Nick, Dai K and Graham H. Kelly was our first lady in with a course best. A special mention for Rhiannon Buckley who ran the event last year having only started running a few weeks before and on her return this year, beat her time by over 18 minutes. Plenty of the Blue Wave ran in fancy dress so it was a mixture of fun running and competitiveness with the race also being a club championship fixture which ended up confirming several winners which I’ll post about in the final review of the year. The race also marked the 102nd event of the year for Christie Coleman, setting a new record which again, I’ll write more about in the final blog of the year.

Saturday 17th – parkruns, Cottrell Park Christmas Cracker 10K and Christmas Party

40 runners across 8 parkruns with one of our lowest Porthcawl attendances in a while at 29. Neil Price set a PB for the second week in a row knocking another 8 seconds off his time for a 19:49 with Graham Mackleworth up next also beating his PB. David Kembery shaved a second off his PB whilst Jo Betty smashed her first parkrun with a 27:38 after apparently telling others she’d be happy with sneaking under the 30 mark. PB of the day has to go to Jayne Kembery who on her 50th parkrun beat her PB by 26 seconds and in the process got her first sub 30 with a 29:42. Oh, and did I mention we were all wearing Christmas jumpers as well!

Away from Porthcawl, Aled, Karl, Christie and Brian ran at Grangemoor before heading to the Cottrell Park 10K which started by 30-40 minutes after they’d finished their parkrun. Aled ran a super-speedy 19:43 making it the 3rd different parkrun he has achieved sub 20. Neil J and Niki are the only others to achieve this. Neil Harris followed up his overall parkrun PB last week with a 19:51 at Pontypridd. Bethan Cross was first in her age category at Bognor Regis. The Hillmans ran at the Gnoll, Chris R at Harlow and Fiona D at Linford Woods. Martin Beard ran the Rhodes parkrun in Australia – his 3rd different Australian parkrun and despite a slightly earlier start time, the temperature was around 28 degrees.

14 of the Blue Wave headed to Cottrell Park for the Winter version of their 10K that just myself, Brian and Christie ran the year before. Neil Jones finished 6th overall and would have finished higher had it not been for a fall around the halfway mark. Jayne Powney was first Cwm Ogwr female whilst Llinos Humphreys won a prize for being the final runner.

That evening around 20 odd of the Blue Wave descended on the Hi Tide in Porthcawl where the local Bridgend clubs got together for a joint Christmas Party. A great night had by all with the highlight being the secretly new formed band ‘Caution Runners’ which included our very own Chris Pratt as well as representatives from Bridgend AC, Porthcawl Runners and Cornelly Striders.

Still to come in December

The Festive Four competition is due to get underway with parkruns on both Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, an option of either the Porthcawl Lions 7K on Boxing Day or a 5 miler in Glynneath, plus the New Years Day 4 miler in Kenfig. Nos Galan 5K can also be used as one of the options. Rhiannon Buckley won the most improved category last year having beaten her previous bests by more than anyone else and is back to defend her title.

My next blog is likely to be after Christmas, so a Happy Christmas to everyone. Hope Santa brings you lots of running related gifts!

Christmas Drinks – part 3 and 4

 The week leading up to Christmas seen the club take the usual quick stop at a local pub a bit further. Tuesdays session involved more than 20 members running to the Wyndham pub with most staying for at least an hour and some (Kirsty Evans and Claire Dunbar Bowen) staying considerably longer. Then Wednesday’s session also decided to do a more swift pub stop at Tondu Railway club. No doubt this will now be an annual fixture with potentially more focus on the drinking than the running!

Christmas Eve – parkruns

Surely people got other things to do on a Christmas Eve morning? Apparently not… a staggering 70 runners across 5 different parkruns setting a new parkrun participation club record and a record at Porthcawl with 65 of the runners there. It was a triple celebration with Dai Power, Sian Tossell and Mervyn Beckwith all carefully timing their 100th parkruns for the occasion. Many dressed up and the less said about my outfit the better. As for the running bit, Stephen Davies got himself into the sub 20 club despite starting towards the back of a record 425 strong crowd at Porthcawl with a 19:53 and was first Cwm Ogwr across the line. Richard Lowcock James set a late season PB whilst Jo Betty and Matt Murray got PB’s – both for the second time in December. Bethan Cross helped pace Kimberley Thomas to a PB whilst Amy Williams had the unfortunate sight of my outfit for the entire run as I paced her to PB exactly one minute faster than her previous time – she may have been trying to run away from me which might have helped. Nicola Allen completed the set of Porthcawl parkrun PB’s for the morning.

Away from Porthcawl, Neil Jones notched up another sub 18 run at Cardiff whilst Neil Harris ran another sub 20. Karl Johnson ran at Pontypridd, Simon Melksham at Newport and Brett Bonnell at the Gnoll.

Christmas Day – parkrun

 Yes – this is a thing… Cardiff and Newport have both done Christmas Day parkruns for a number of years with Richard LJ, Dai Power and Sian Tossell attending in previous years. Sian was back again, along with Fiona Drysdale, Gavin Lewis and Juliet Amner.

Boxing Day – Porthcawl Lions 7K and Glynneath 5 miler

35 runners in attendance for the Porthcawl Lions 7K which starts at the Hi Tide and takes in the entirety of the parkrun course plus a bit extra at either end. Neil Jones finished 3rd overall with a time of 25:36 for the 4.5 mile course (roughly 7K). Several members including Aled, Brian and myself improved on our times from the previous year in what was also the final club championship event of the year. There was an unfortunate incident with Tammie falling at Rest Bay which resulted in a broken finger and hospital admission. A massive thanks to several of our club members who stopped to help and others that ran back to assist.

5 members attended the Glynneath 5 miler where Shelley Smithson smashed her PB and was agonisingly just 4 seconds short of the female club record. Carole Bartle set a PB with a superb sub 40 time. A PB for Helen Griffiths meant she joined a select group of runners to have achieved the ‘Grand Slam of PB’s’ in a calendar year which includes 5K, 5 miles, 10K, 10 miles, Half Marathon and Marathon distances. Joanne Rowling also set a PB with it being her first 5 miler and was encouraged around the course by Keith Coleman.

New Years Eve – parkruns and Nos Galan 5K races

 55 runners across 4 parkruns. 49 at Porthcawl where we had yet another new member of the sub 20 club with Joey Howland clocking 19:51. Mark Gabb got a PB of 23:24. I paced Jo Betty for the second half of her run to a PB of 26:13. Incredibly this beat a time that was set over 6 and a half years previous. Richard Lowcock James became only the second member to run his 200th parkrun. Away from Porthcawl, Claire Taylor and Pippa ran at Swansea, Chris S, Julie R and Shawn ran at Llyn Llech Owain and Neil Jones ran at Pontypridd. Julie and Shawn’s run at LLO parkrun marked their 20th parkrun venue putting them on the UK parkrun most events table.

That evening 19 Cwm Ogwr runners were in Mountain Ash for the Nos Galan races. Neil Jones and Neil Harris ran in the Elite 5K race where Neil Jones set yet another club record of 17:08 whilst Neil Harris got 19:57. Neil Jones had also run a 17:37 at Pontypridd parkrun that morning. In the fun run 5K they were no more PB’s to be had as many enjoyed the party atmosphere on the course. The final race of the year resulted in Christie Coleman finishing on a club record 108 events for the year.

Chairman’s Male Runner of the Month – Matt Murray

Two parkrun PB’s for Matt in December as well as great performances in the Pudding Run and Cottrell Park 10K.

Chairman’s Female Runner of the Month – Jo Betty

The only member to get three parkrun PB’s and beating that 6 and a half year previous best. Jo also ran at the Pudding Run and accompanied Pippa on the Boxing Day 7K.

That’s it for 2016. Bring on 2017!

November 1 – Halloween Party

The first event set up by the social committee was a kids Halloween disco in Ogmore Life Centre. A great evening had by all and I think some of the adults enjoyed it even more the kids. Great costumes by those who attended and a mountain of fabulous food. Thanks to Natasha and her team for decorating the room and for the music and party games. Definitely one to be repeated.

November 5 – parkruns

A record equalling 55 runners across 8 parkruns. 44 of which were at Porthcawl where there were PB’s for Joey, Emma Loyns and Kimberley Thomas with her first sub 30. We had another new parkrunner with Amy Williams completing the course in 32:22. There are now 180 different Cwm Ogwr runners who’ve ran Porthcawl parkrun.

Away from Porthcawl there were plenty of tourists with Martin B in Bath, Neil Harris running his 50 parkrun in Pontypridd, Wayne running in Colby and Neil J finishing 3rd in another sub 18 time in Grangemoor. We had 3 runners at Cardiff where Jamie V set a new PB of 19:44 with the Hillmans also in attendance. Another 3 at Penallta where Shawn Cullen set a new PB of 27:04 with Dawn and Julie also running there. Kirsty Evans ran Swansea parkrun and obiliterated her previous PB by over a minute to finish in 23:07 to go equal 5th with Lorna in the 5K female rankings.

November 6 – Richard Burton 10K and Bog n Bryn

37 runners at the Richard Burton 10K, smashing last years total of 18 (which seemed a lot at the time). Niki Puleio was first Cwm Ogwr runner back in 40:50 with Aled just 5 seconds further back. Peter Walsh ran 43:53 to add a 10K PB to his 5K and Half Marathon PB’s he achieved in October. Both Lloyd West and Shelley Smithson made it three 10K PB’s in 2 months with Cardiff, Swansea and Richard Burton. Shelleys time puts her up to 3 fastest club female in the 10K rankings with her 48:03 and second fastest this year. The PB’s continued with James and Carol whilst Emma Williams knocked almost 4 minutes off her time set at Caerphilly earlier this year. June Parry, Bev Sheard, Rachel G, Cath Griffiths and Julie Ransom completed the PB list. Impressive running by all.

Starting at Cwmbran Stadium, 8 crazies from the Blue Wave turned up to take on the Bog n Bryn Trail ‘Half Marathon’ (actually 13.8 miles). A multi-terrain course with a mixture of tarmac, fields, mud and forestry paths. With countless amounts of styles, a few narrow wooden bridges and a couple of small streams added to the 1800 feet of elevation – this was certainly a good challenge. Most of the elevation is included between mile 5 and 10 and is agonisingly mostly undone with a mile of steep descent similar to the final mile in Snowdon Marathon. Jamie Vanstone completed the course in the most satisfying time of 1:59:59 and was 15th overall in a small field of just 130 odd runners. Graham Hillman was up next followed by Daniel Clark and then myself. Victoria Hillman was first Cwm Ogwr female over the line followed closely by Richard LJ. Emma Loyns and Bethan Cross came in together just under the 3 hour mark. All eight of us really enjoyed the event with Bethan even declaring it as her favourite race so far, so I’m sure we’ll be looking to recruit a few more to take on the challenge next year. Just a gentle warning though – it’s almost always the week after Snowdon Marathon so bare that in mind.

November 12 – parkruns and Gower Trail Half

46 runners across 5 parkruns with 41 of which at Porthcawl were there was a plethora of PB’s. Neil Jones was first finisher for the 3rd time at Porthcawl and beat the club record he already held with a 17:12. Neil Price got the perfect first ever sub 20 with a 19:59 making him the 17th club member to achieved the feat. Joey Howland was just a few seconds off making it 18 members with a PB of 20:11. Daniel Clark smashed his parkrun PB by over a minute which was set on the short Salt Lake Car Park course, so realistically it was a 2 minute PB if only counting times on the original course. Lloyd West also beat his previous best a parkrun by around 2 minutes although this was only his 3rd parkrun. I helped pace Bethan Cross to a 55 second PB with a 26:08. She has knocked over 5 minutes off her parkrun time in just 7 months. Natalie Griffiths ran a late season PB and her fastest time since August 2015 whilst Angela Parry completed the PB list.

Away from Porthcawl, Mark Gabb ran at Barry, Shawn and Julie ran at Newport whilst new member Karl Johnson ran at Pontypridd. Shelley took on the super fast Swansea parkrun course and finished as 3rd female overall with her second fastest parkrun time of 22:48.

An event that really slipped under the radar for the Blue Wave is the Endurance Life Gower Trail Half Marathon. They also do a 10K, Marathon and Ultra although all distances tend to be very approximate and the events are pricey which is maybe what’s put members off. The Half Marathon is slightly long at 13.6 miles (and probably longer in reality) and includes nearly 2500 feet of elevation – that’s not far off Snowdon Marathon but all the elevation squeezed into half the distance. Simon Harrison and Nicola Symmonds took on the challenge finishing in 2:16 and 2:38 respectively.

Sunday 13 November – Cardiff Mo Run 10K and Las Vegas Half Marathon

A bumper 22 runners for the Mo Run 10K this year after only having 5 last year and 2 the year before. A fun event with lots of people dressed up and a good atmosphere. A super flat course but not ideal for racing as the paths are narrow in places and it’s very congested at the start. The two lap course also includes a footbridge that is very busy with walkers and cyclists crossing which resulted in bottlenecks and even having to stop for a few seconds. However, despite all this, it was one of the most successful PB races we’ve ever had. Chris Pratt was first club member across the line followed by Josie in a PB time of 48:59 putting her 6th in the female 10K rankings for the club. I was next across the line in what was my 300th event for the club. Mark Gabb came in with a PB time of just under an hour with Matt Murray and Kirstie Ellen picking up PB’s just outside the hour mark. Then came a huge group of PB’s with Nigel H, Tammie, Stephanie, Cath, Angela, Rhiannon W, Nicola A, Llinos, Claire Taylor and Pippa Clark. Myself, Chris Pratt and Mark Worrall all returned part way up the course to run in with some of the girls whilst almost everyone stayed to cheer on the runners in the latter stages.

Kelly ran the Las Vegas Half Marathon in 2:01:11 under the bright lights as it’s run in the evening. She commented that it was an amazing atmosphere and the medal was pretty decent as well.

Saturday 19th – parkruns

51 runners across 9 different parkruns. 41 at Porthcawl where despite ‘character building’ weather as Richard LJ would say, several new Cwm Ogwr members who started training with Shelley Smithson attended. Their times ranged from 28 to 37 minutes with first time PB’s for all. Away from Porthcawl, Karl Johnson volunteered as tail runner at Pontypridd, Jayne Powney ran at Forest of Dean whilst new member Joseph Smith (son of Chris Pratt) ran at Cambridge in the fastest time of the day with a 20:23. The Hillmans ran at Cardiff, parkrun tourists Shawn and Julie ran at Llanhydrock, Mark Gabb at Barry, Martin Beard at Gnoll and Dawn Hopkins at the inaugural Llanelli parkrun.

Sunday 20th – Pembrey MT10, Margam Tough 10K and Valencia Marathon

For possibly the first time this year we actually had less members at an event than the previous year. The Pembrey Multi Terrain 10 miler seen 19 of the Blue Wave in attendance compared to 25 last year. The race sold out weeks in advance which I think caught a few out. The race includes a mixture of tarmac, forestry trails and lots of sand including a mile beach section and multiple sand dunes. Niki lead the way in an impressive 41st place and course record for a Cwm Ogwr member.  A few PB’s mainly for those doing their first 10 milers including Graham M, Aled, Wayne, Lloyd, Keith, Josie, Claire DB, James Beynon, Gary Piper, Dawn H, Lucy H and Liz Sim. Emma Loyns was the only non-first timer to set a new PB beating her time from the previous year by 38 seconds.

I ran at the Margam Tough 10K in place of Chris Stanlake who had to drop out through injury. A stunning course around Margam Park going up to the highest point with a mixture of terrain. It lived up to the ‘Tough’ name so I was pleased to finish 34th out of 333 finishers.

Fiona Drysdale ran her first marathon and went for an alternative venue with Valencia her choice. Her impressive time of 4:17 is a club age category record.

Saturday 26th – parkruns

A record 63 runners across 5 parkruns with several more volunteering. 57 at Porthcawl which is also a record for a single parkrun venue and where Brian Cotton was celebrating his 50th parkrun. Conditions were cool (cold some might say) but with minimal wind it made it ideal for going for some speedy times. Sian Price annihilated her own female club record by 68 seconds with a 21:14. Incredibly the old record of 22:22 was smashed twice as Amy Roberts who was the long term record holder became the second club female to break 22 minutes with a 21:53. Jo Kendall, Stephanie Dyke, Catherine Griffiths and Joanne Rowling all also achieved PB’s whilst Richard LJ and Natalie Griffiths secured their best times of 2016.

There was a further PB away from Porthcawl with Katie Wood getting 30:49 at Burnley parkrun. Shawn and Julie continued their tourism at Cwmbran parkrun, the Hillmans were at Cardiff for their 50th parkruns and Dawn ran at Swansea.

Sunday 27th – West Glam XC League Kenfig fixture

The third fixture of the league seen the Blue Wave numbers increase against with 31 in attendance after 20 at the first fixture and 29 at the second fixture. This time it was advertised as a 4.5 mile route taking in the same course as the Bridgend League Kenfig 5K but with the additional mile or so thankfully being an extra loop around the trail part rather than the sand.

Neil Price was first of the Blue Wave back followed by Chris Pratt. Nick Harris, Brian Cotton and Graham Hillman made up the 5 male scorers. As for the ladies, Kelly led them home with Victoria Hillman, Sarah Littlewood, Bethan Cross and Denise Bradley made up the 5 female scorers. Both Bethan and Denise have been in the top 5 in each of the first 3 fixtures.

Chairman’s Male Runner of the Month – Lloyd West

Lloyd started off the month with an impressive 46:21 PB at the Richard Burton 10K which was also his third 10K PB in just 2 months. A week later he followed it up with a huge parkrun PB of 21:38 equating to a 71.65% age grading which is amongst the best in the club. A week later Lloyd got a PB at the Pembrey 10 miler with a 1:22:22 placing him 15th in the male 55+ age category. He wrapped up the month with a great performance at the Kenfig XC finishing as our 9th male runner.

Chairman’s Female Runner of the Month – Emma Loyns

Emma started off the month with 41 second PB at parkrun with a time of 25:21. A day later she ran the tough hilly 14 mile off road Bog n Bryn in Cwmbran showing some nifty footwork whilst running with me along one of the trickier sections and finishing alongside Bethan having thoroughly enjoyed the event. Emma was the only member at the Pembrey 10 miler to beat a previous 10 mile PB and then finished off the month with a run down to parkrun.

Coming up

Hopefully members don’t think Christmas is a time for relaxing. Very important to carbo-load and ‘hydrate’ of course but still a busy month of events. The opening weekend will see a few doubling up with parkrun plus the Aberavon Santa Run whilst there’s plenty of other Santa / Reindeer / Elf fun runs to choose from over the coming weeks. The second weekend see’s one of the highlights of the racing calendar with the Merthyr Mawr Pudding Run which I believe despite selling out in around half an hour, we have over 50 members entered. We have a few doing Cottrell Park 10K the week after and then over the Christmas period there’s the Festive Four competition. This includes a Christmas Eve parkrun, Boxing Day 7K, New Years Eve parkrun and a New Years Day 4 miler. To a non-runner this sounds like the most horrendous idea ever but I think we’ll see quite a few of the Blue Wave getting involved. Merry Christmas everyone!