BMAF CC Champs

SUPERB RACING AT RUTHIN

The cream of British veteran runners descended on Ruthin for the second time in six years when Prestatyn Running Club hosted the British Masters' Cross-Country Championships at Ruthin School - and the result was some superb performances.

 The most exciting race of the day was the opening event for all ladies over 35 and men over 65, with Claire Martin (Telford) and Helen Berry (Holmfirth) battling it out over the two laps and Lucy Elliott (Winchester) in third place.

 As they entered the school field for the final time the Yorkshire runner held a narrow lead but Martin powered up the finishing straight to win by three seconds.

 In the second race for men aged 35-64 the reigning Army cross-country champion Ady Whitwam stormed into the lead from the gun and was never challenged. He looked untroubled by the mud on the farm fields and won comfortably by 10 seconds from Mark Powell (Leicester).

 In third place was Philip Hinch (Tipton), while just five seconds further back was the remarkable Brecon farmer Austin Davies, who is now in the M50 category, almost 10 years older than the three medallists.

 Results. M35: 1 Whitwam 28.58, 2 Powell 29.08, 3 Hinch 29.14.
 M40:1 N Jones (Warrington) 30.01, 2 I Twaddle (North Shields) 30.12, 3 D Newbould (Hallamshire) 30.36.
 M45: 1 P Ward (Telford) 29.30, 2 A Weir (Thames Hare & Hounds) 30.30, 3 I Wetherall (Sale) 30.33.
 M50: 1 A Davies (Brecon) 29.19, 2B Reynolds (Thames Hare & Hounds) 29.52, 3 P Butcher (Mansfield) 30.47.
 M55: 1 I Lloyd (Swansea) 31.35, 2 C Bishop (Helsby) 32.24, 3 M Bridgeland (Chelmsford) 32.36.
 M60:   1 M Hager (Tipton)  32.14, 2 G Dalton (Hull) 33.29, 3 S Owen (Salford).
 M65: 1 P Young (Ryde) 25.27, 2 R Tintinger (Rotherham) 25.31, 3 G Anderson (Newbury) 26.26.
 M70: 1 M Ford (Cheltenham) 26.18, 2 P Giles (Hercules Wimbledon) 27.33, 3 G Orme (Carmarthen) 27.56.
 M75: 1 P Covey (Bingley) 29.50, 2 F Gibbs (Bingley) 29.59, 3 D Tomlinson (Bolton) 32.07.
 M80: 1 W McCaskey (Edinburgh) 32.49, 2 J Pittillo (Teviotdale) 37.29, 3 A Walsham (Salford) 57.31.

 Teams. M35-44: Salford M45-54: Thames Hare and Hounds. M55-64: Wirral. M65-74: Bingley.

Ladies: L35: 1 E Fowler (Nuneaton) 23.42, 2 H Kuter (Salford) 24.05, 3 C Lathwell (Luton) 24.44.
 L40: 1 C Martin 22.52, 2 H Berry 22.55, 3 C McKeown (Border) 23.57
 L45: 1 L Elliott (Winchester) 23.15, 2 K Bailey (Winchester) 23.50, 3 K Ruchton (Winchester) 23.52.
 L50: 1 C Wood (Arena 80) 25.59, 2 M Watson (TROT) 26.39, 3 H Robinson (Jarrow and Hebburn) 26.43.
 L55: 1 B Jackson (East Hull) 26.20, 2 S Tawney (Leamington) 27.03, 3 P Barber (Tipton) 27.08.
 L60: 1 M Statham (Holland Sports) 27.23, 2 A-M Jones (Altrincham) 27.58, 3 M Hesketh (Preston) 28.11.
 L65: 1 A Copson (Rugby and N'ton) 27.36, 2 R Tabor (Dulwich) 28.19, 3 L Lyness (Black Combe) 29.45.
 L70: 1 D Fellows (Cannock and Staff)  31.13, 2 L Bowcott (Wimbledon) 35.27, 3 J Johnson (Leamington) 37.09.
 L75: M Singleton (Colwyn Bay) 41.31.

Teams. L35-44: Wolverhampton and Bilston. L45-54: Winchester. L55-64: Burnden.

English Schools CC

WILLIS 13TH IN BLACKBURN

Wrexham's Matthew Willis, who won the English Schools' cross-country championships last year, moved up an age-group this time and at the meeting in Blackburn  finished a highly creditable 13th in the U17's race. The King's School pupil turned 15 only last month and so the result augurs well for next year.

 Meanwhile former Colwyn Bay and Eryri athlete Nathan Jones has been setting news pbs during his first year at McNeese State University in Louisana. In the exotically named McNeese Cowboy Relay meeting he clocked 8-34.74 while finishing second in the 3,000 metres.

 At the IAAF Cross-Country international in Antrim, which incorporated the home countries' international, Welsh champion Ffion Price  (Cardiff) finished 24th in 26.42, with Katie Parry (Leeds) 30th in 27.36.

 In the under-20s' race Brecon's Heidi Davies came home 4th in 19.29, with Bronwen Jenkinson (Eryri) 31st in 22.00.

Bwlch Maengwm

RECORDS SMASHED IN BWLCH RACE

The men's and women's course records were shattered in the second Bwlch Maengwm 10k in Llanberis.

 Gary Wyn Hughes took 51 seconds off Martin Cliffe's 2014 record and Lauren Jeska had an amazing run, beating fellow international Katie Beecher by one second, and that battle helped her slice almost five minutes off Becky Taylor's best.

 Results: 1 GWyn Hughes 44.31, 2 S Davies 46.04, 3 G Davies (Aberystwyth) 46.11, 4 L Jeska (Eryri, L40) 47.33, 5 K Beecher (Mynydd Du, SL) 47.34, 6 S Green (Eryri) 48.16. L40: 1 G Williams 50.11, 2 G Porter-Jones (Eryri) 52.05, 3 E Owen (Eryri) 52.06. M50: 1 E Roberts (Eryri) 53.51, 2 E Jones (Cybi) 55.44, 3 P Cain 56.26. LadiesL 1 Jeska, 2 Beecher, 3 S E vans 49.50, 4 H Reasdale (Eryri, L40) 54.21, 5 J Charloton (Eryri, L40) 55.46, 6 K Worthington (Eryri) 56.10. L50: 1 J Riley (Eryri) 64.29, 2 S Jones (Cybi) 65.09, 3 K Potter 67.23.

Sue Sayer

DEATH OF SUE SAYER

Everyone connected with athletics in Wales will have been shocked and saddened by the news of the sudden death of Sue Sayer, of Deeside AAC.

 The president of Welsh Athletics, she was taken ill while driving home from the indoor international meeting in Cardiff on Sunday evening.

 She was a stalwart of the sport, serving as chairman of the Deeside club, chairman of the North Wales Regional Council and, for two years, a hard-working national President. She was also secretary of the Welsh track and field committee.

 Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Ivor and children Caroline and Richard, all of whom have made a huge contribution to the sport. Sue will be very sadly missed.

 Sue's death follows the recent tragic death of Gareth Brooks, 35-year-old son of Paul Brooks, who is secretary of the North Wales Regional Council and secretary of the Welsh road-running committee. Gareth contracted a virus a few weeks ago and it affected his liver. His condition deteriorated and he died in hospital in Wrexham.

Wrexham Marathon/Half

WESTON WINS ON HOME GROUND

Wrexham's Daniel Weston finished just outside his pb in winning the inaugural Wrexham Marathon, while Hannah Oldroyd produced a superb run to take the ladies' title.

 A week after coming second in the Anglesey Half she finished 10th overall in Wrexham, with a time of 2-52.42.

 The half-marathon was won by Chris Hollinshead (Cannock and Staffs), the first of a trio of veterans to finish.

 The leadings places were:-
Half-Marathon: 1 C Hollinshead (C & S, M45) 74.23, 2 D Rowlands (Wrexham, M45) 75.28, 3 J Jones (C & S, M40) 78.05. Ladies: 1 V Walls (Spectrum) 86.02, 2 J Clague (Liverpool H, L40) 86.18, 3 S Dutton (ua) 95.28.
 arathon: 1 D Weston (Wrex, M35) 2-35.59, 2 P Ecclestone (Burnden, M35) 2-36.43, 3 M Russell (Swinton, M45) 2-39.33. Ladies: 1 H Oldroyd (Uknetrunner) 2-52.42, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 3-00.00, 3 C Hemming (Spectrum, L45) 3-16.55.

For full results see TDL Events' website.

CAU XC

HULSON TAKES BRONZE AND NW MEN GET TURNER PRIZE

Despite the usual batch of withdrawals and no-shows North Wales had probably its best ever day at the CAU inter-counties' cross-country champio0nships in Cofton Park, Birmingham.

 It is often frustrating for team manager David Alun Williams to see the region's chances of a respectable placing ruined by withdrawals but the value of a strong turnout was underlined this time by the senior men, who are often the worst offenders.

 Charlie Hulson (Sale) was among the favourites for the title after winning the English championship and he was always with the leading group. Eventually he had to settle for third behind Scottish champion Andrew Butchart and four-time Welsh champion Dewi Griffiths.

 With strong backing from the five others, especially Andrew Davies (Stockport), who was 16th, and Richard Roberts (Eryri) who was 92nd, the team finished an excellent 16th overall.

 That was enough to earn them the Joe Turner Memorial Trophy for the most improved team over the past five years.

 Menai's Iolo Hughes was also among the favourites for the under-20s' title, but he was unwell and had to pull out, as did fellow Welshman Jac Hopkins.

 Iolo's sister Cari, who has also had her problems in recent months, had a  fine run,  finishing sixth in the U17's class, but the  young star of the day was her Menai clubmate Oliver Barbaresi. The Welsh U15 champion came  home a brilliant fifth, which was enough to win him the GB Cross-Challenge series. He also claimed the scalp of his friendly rival Matthew Willis (Wrexham), who was two places behind, and  their placings helped North Wales' boys finish in 10th place.

 Another youngster to impress was Deeside's Mia Roberts who, in her first  appearance at such a high level, ran superbly to finish 22nd in the U13s' race.

 Among the North Wales placings were:- Boys under 13: 149 Dillon Gill, 262 Tomos Land, 270 Cai La-Trobe Roberts, 271 James Roberts, 291 Eden Potter. Team: 38th.
 Boys under 15: 5 Oliver Barbaresi, 7 Matthew Willis, 70 Joseph Crutchley, 146 Roland Finnie, 170 Sion Jones, 224 Samuel Holt, 261 Thomas Evans. Team: 10th.
 Men under 17: 39 Christian Smith, 97 John Spill, 108 Cai Linton, 198 Harry Arnull, 219 Rayn Cain, 261 Ashley Williams. Team: 23rd.
 Senior men: 3 Charlie Hulson, 16 Andrew Davies, 92 Richard Roberts, 198 Stefan Sayer, 218 Daniel Kashi, 233 Iwan Jones. Team: 16th.
 Girls under 13: 22 Mia Roberts, 78 Laura Sharp, 176 Ellen Jones, 199 Fifi Davies, 277 Ffion Rees-Jones. Team: 25th.
 Girls under 15: 128 Eabha Roberts, 211 Annabelle McQueen, 213 Kate Jones, 276 Shannon Walker. Team: 38th.
 Ladies under 17: 6 Cari Hughes, 63 Mollie Davies, 130 Lily Davis, 224 Vicky Gittins, 240 Gwenno Morris, 251 Margo Martin. Team: 21st.
Ladies under 20: 55 Bronwen Jenkinson.
 Senior ladies: 225 Lynne Wright, 262 Amie Bagnall, 262 Abbie Backshall.

Pipedream

FRANTIC FINISH TO PIPEDREAM

Records tumbled in the Pipedream race at Dolgarrog, which was the second qualifier in the North Wales Series and  first in the Welsh Open Championship.

 Up front there was a fascinating battle between fellow internationals Matthew Roberts (Eryri), who led by 29 seconds at the summit, and Felipe Jones (Aberystwyth).

 On the technical descent through the forest Jones overhauled Roberts but in a sprint finish the Eryri man held on to win by a single second, slicing two minutes off the 2011 record.

 Katie Beecher (Mynydd Du), winner of the Moel Yci race two weeks ago, had an even more comfortable victory this time, finishing six minutes clear of teenager Bronwen Jenkinson, but just missed the ladies' record.

 Other records fell to John Parkinson (Eryri, M40) and Don Williams (Eryri, M70).

 Results: 1 M Roberts (Eryri) 33.16, 2 F Jones (Aberystwyth) 33.17, 3 D Lewis (Sarn Helen) 36.13, 4 J Parkinson (Eryri, M40) 36.26, 5 D Parker (Meirionnydd) 36.28, 6 T Budd (Glossopdale) 36.34. M40: 2 R Grantham (Pensby) 36.40, 3 J Brown (Buckley) 37.44. M50: 1 S Toogood (Buckley) 40.31, 2 M Belshaw (Eryri) 40.48, 3 D Baugh (Denbigh) 42.38. M60: 1 C Wilcox (Clwydian) 43.41, 2 S Roberts (Oswestry) 44.18, 3 N Hindle (WFRA) 47.00. M70: 1 D Williams (Eryri) 51.02, 2 J Morris (Buck) 52.06, 3  G Fielding (Eryri) 53.13.
 Ladies: 1 K Beecher (Mynydd Du) 38.08, 2  B Jenkinson (Eryri) 43.46, 3 L Emery-Jones (Eryri) 44.49. L40: 1 J Heming (Eryri) 46.34, 2 A Rosbottom (P ensby) 49.27, 3 L Palmer (Glossopdale) 52.01. L50: 1 C Mills (Mercia) 50.18, 2 S Howarth (Mercia) 51.44, 3 L Jones (Wrex) 52.47. L60: M Oliver (Eryri) 78.05.