Conwy Half

VAUGHAN WIN TAKES HIM TO LONDON

  When Eryri's Alun Vaughan lined up for the start of the Conwy Half-Marathon he had one thing in mind - and 70 minutes later it was a case of "job well done".

 On his first attempt at the distance he was determined to get inside 75 minutes, earning him qualification for next year's London Marathon, which will also be his first.

 He achieved it with five minutes to spare, crossing the line in 70.31 after leading from the gun. He finished, over three minutes ahead of clubmate Brendan Rothery, who was third last year, albeit in a slightly faster time.

 As the race incorporated the North Wales championship Vaughan also took the regional title.

 Third finisher was Deeside veteran Lee Jones, who was also making his half-marathon debut.

 The first woman home was Sarah Cumber (Halifax), who also finished three minutes clear of her nearest challenger, Sarah Caskey (unattached).

 Results.

1 A Vaughan (Eryri) 70.31, B Rothery (Eryri) 73.56, 3 L Jones (Deeside, M40) 74.33, 4 J Dance (Middleton, M35) 75.41, 5 D Kashi (Bangor Uni) 77.22, 6 D Lemon (Deeside) 77.30, 7 E Fazakerley (Manchester H, M40) 78.07, 8 H Wharton (Cybi, M35) 78.37, 9 D Trinca (Mersey Tri) 80.10, 10 A Connell (Eryri) 80.21.
MU20: T Webb (ua) 82.23
M35: 3 M Green (NWRR) 91.59.
M40:  3 M Anwyl (Prestatyn) 82.47
M45: 1 R Pavey (Altrincham) 83.44, 2 C Mann (Met Police) 83.59, 3 M Dorrill (Kenilworth) 84.34
M50: 1 I James (Wrexham) 80.48, 2 A Lewis (Eryri) 83.14, 3P Jones (ua) 90.47
M55: 1 I Edgar (Eryri) 88.23, 2 J Foy (West Chesh) 89.14, 3 D Nalder (Ell Port) 89.58
M60: 1 G Shaw (Helsby) 1-43.13, 2 G Jones (ua) 1-49.31, 3 A Durston (Ell Port) 1-53.29
M65: 1 G Cumber (Halifax) 90.08, 2 P Grout (ua) 96.13, 3 T Hillier (Ell Port) 97.37
M70: 1 R Bacon (Winston) 1-42.16, 2 D Gardner (NWRR) 1-44.30, 3 J Gallon (Helsby) 1-57.27
M75:  1 Roger Harrison-Jones (Prestatyn) 2-03.31

LADIES
1 SL Cumber (Halifax, L40) 83.37, 2 S Caskey (ua) 86.46, 3 L Granthgam (Chester Tri, L35) 88.07, 4 S Gray (Stafford, L35) 88.46, 5 C Williams (Eryri, L35) 89.09, 6 E Prescious (ua) 93.19.
U20: B Taylor (Bangor Uni) 94.10
L40: 2 T Lewis-Jones (Eryri) 94.09, 3 H McArthur (Colwyn Bay) 94.18
L45: 1 A McDonald (Ell Port) 1-44.42, 2 B Taylor-Jones (ua) 1-44.46, 3 S Plested (Ell Port) 1-46.59
L50: 1 M Ludden (Buckley) 99.44, 2 S O'Brien (Knowsley) 1-44.20, 3 J Keasley (Helsby) 1-52.49
L55: 1 P Clay (ua) 1-52.36

NORTH WALES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Senior men: 1 Vaughan, 2 Rothery, 3 Jones
U23: 1 Kashi, 2 A Bromley (Deeside) 84.29, 3 M Hughes (Bangor Uni)
M35: 1 Wharton, 2 Green, 3 B Williams (Eryri) 83.17
L40: 1 Jones, 2 Anwyl, 3 A Nicholas (Eryri) 84.03
M45: 1 T (Eryri), 2 M Williams (Deestriders) 94.07, 3 R Cheetham (Prestatyn) 95.01
M50: 1 James, 2 Lewis, 3 E Jones (Cybi) 97.31
M55: 1 Edgar, 2 K Slattery (NWRR) 90.20, 3 P Ballinger (Denbigh) 90.41
M60: M Hayton (NWRR) 1-54.46
M65: R Jardine (Eryri) 2-01.29
M70: Gardner
M75: Harrison-Jones
M80: E Naisby (Prestatyn) 2-42.00

Ladies

U23: 1 N Rushton (Abergele) 1-48.17, 2 S Goffe (Bangor Uni) 1-59.35
Senior ladies: 1 C Williams (Eryri), 2 Lewis-Jones, 3 McArthur
L35: 1 Williams, 2 L Curtis (Abergele) 1-54.43
L40: 1 Lewis-Jones, 2 McArthur, 3 L Griffith-Jones (Denbigh) 1-44.47
L45:  V Ronald (CB) 1-49.49
L50: 1 Ludden, 2 D Dodd (Wrex) 1-55.54
L70: B Jones (Bro Dysynni) 1-58.30

Pen race

BROWN WINS PEN RACE

Buckley's Jez Brown and tri specialist Peter Brook had a battle in the annual Penmaenmawr fell-race, winning by 24 seconds.

 Jayne Joy (Helsby) had an easier win in the ladies' race, finishing surprisingly well clear of Andrea Rowlands.

 The race was once again blessed with near-perfect conditions and attracted runners from a very wide area.

 Results.

1 J Brown (Buckley, M40) 77.21, 2 P Brook (Chester Tri) 77.45, 3 R Grantham (Ellesmere Port) 78.36, 4 R Owen (Eryri, M50) 79.00, 5 P Jones (Eryri, M40) 80.24, 6 G Matthews (Sale) 81.01, 7 J McQueen (Eryri, M40) 81.06, 8 A Campbell (Wrecsam Tri) 81.45, 9 J Phillips (ua) 81.48, 10 S Roberts (Buckley, M40) 82.16.
 M50: 2 T Cahill (Abergele) 85.47, 3 E Roberts (Eryri) 88.55.
M60: 1 M Cortvriend (Denbigh) 93.58, 2 T Marshall (ua) 95.50, 3 J Morris (Buckley) 1-44.03
M70: 1 P Roberts (Buckley) 97.47, 2 P Norman (Wrexham) 2-42.09
Ladies: 1 J Joy (Helsby) 87.57, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri) 92.17, 3 E Collins (Denbigh, L50) 94.25, 4 K Seddon (Chester Tri) 95.27, 5 L Morley (Wrexham, L40) 97.14, 6 J Rogers (Chester Tri) 1-40.26
L40: 3 S Rowlands (Clwydian) 1-40.44
L50: 1 E Salisbury (Eryri) 1-45.53, 3 P Peers (Pensby) 1-47.35.
L60: 1 J Davies (Saddleworth) 1-54.16, 2 S Heywood (Saddleworth) 2-00.2

Rhobell Fawr

MEIRIONNYDD DOMINATE WFRA AWARDS

Meirionnydd David Parker finished fourth in the Rhobell Fawr race at Llanfachreth but it was not good enough to prevent his clubmate Ifan Richards from retaining the WFRA North Wales Series title.

 The race, the final event in the championship, was won by Tim Davies (Mercia), with clubmate Paul Jones just five seconds behind.

Lauren Jeska (Aberystwyth) was 22nd overall, giving her the championship.

 Results:-
1 T Davies (Mercia) 51.27, 2 P Jones (Mercia, M40) 51.32, 3 J Brown (Buckley, M40) 53.45, 4 D Parker (Meirionnydd) 53.56, 5 DW Jones (Eryri, M40) 54.09, 6 M Cliffe (Eryri, M40) 54.26.
 Junior men: 1 D Rushton (ua) 55.37, 2 H Davies (Mercia) 57.47.
 M50: 1 P Jeggo (Springfield) 58.57, 2 E Davies (Mercia) 59.23, 3 K Hagley (SWRR) 61.02.
 M60: 1 M Cortvriend (Denbigh) 67.38, 2 G Gunner (Croft Ambrey) 72.10, 3 J Morris (Buckley) 72.17
 M70: P Jones (Prestatyn) 85.53.
 Ladies: 1 L Jeska (Aberystwyth) 61.14, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri) 65.17, 3 L Barker (Aberystwyth) 66.36.
 L40: 1 A Thomas (Eryri) 71.20, 2 J Moore (Eryri) 72.49, 3 K O'Sullivan (Aberystwyth) 74.07.
  L50: 1 E Salisbury (Eryri) 74.26, 2 J Edwards (Meirionnydd) 75.31.

North Wales Series aggregate:-
Senior men: 1 Ifan Richards (Meir), 2 David Parker (Meir), 3 G Griffin (Meir).
U23: 1 K Steinegger (Ambleside), 2 H Davies (Mercia)
M40: 1 P Jones (Mercia), 2 M Cliffe (Eryri), 3 S Edwards (Buckley).
M50: 1 M Belshaw (Eryri), 2 G Fletcher (Maldwyn), 3 G Davies (Mercia)
M60: 1 M Cortvriend (Denbigh), 2 J Morris (Buckley)
M70: 1 P Roberts (Buckley), 2 J Marsh (Tarren Hendre), 3 P Norman (Wrexham).
Ladies: 1 L Jeska (Aberystwyth), 2 A Rowlands (Eryri), 3 J Williamson (Eryri)
L40: 1 A Thomas (Eryri), 2 J Moore (Eryri)
L50: E Salisbury (Eryri)
L60: M Oliver (Eryri)

 Results of  inov-8 2012 WFRA championship:-
 Senior men: 1 T Davies, 2 Parker, 3 P Ryder (Brycheiniog)
 U23: Steinegger
M40: 1 P Beeson (Maldwyn), 2 P Jenkinson (Eryri), 3 S Bellamy (Mercia)
 M50: 1 Jeggo, 2 G Davies (Mercia), 3 G Fletcher (Maldwyn)
 M60: 1 Cortvriend, 2 Morris
 Senior ladies: 1 Rowlands, 2 Salisbury
L40: Thomas
L50: S Ridings (Buckley)
L60: Oliver.

North Wales records

REGIONAL RECORDS.........OR NOT?

The recent reference to Andy Davies (Maldwyn) setting a new North Wales 10-mile record in the Great South Run in Portsmouth has caused a bit of a debate.

 Andy clocked 50.17, thus bettering Steven Henshaw's record by 20 seconds, but that prompted Gary Blackwell (Deeside) to speak up on behalf of his "big brother" Tony, one of  the finest athletes North Wales has ever produced.

 Gary points out that in 1988 Tony clocked 48.22 in the Ballycotton 10 and was inside 49 minutes on a few other occasions. If I remember rightly Simon Shiels also broke 50 minutes in Llandudno.

 So why is Andy's time regarded as a record? The answer is that until North Wales secretary Paul Brooks began compiling the regional records in 1998, when the North Wales Regional Council came into being, no official records were kept and so many outstanding performances have been lost in the mists of time.

 I'm sure some of you could come up with many other potential records e.g. how about Arwel Lewis's 2-20 marathon or several of Lynn Maddison's performances for Colwyn Bay, Wrexham or Prestatyn?

 I'd love to hear from you, as I'm sure would other North Wales athletes.

Abergele 5

MOUNTFORD KEEPS 5-MILE TITLE


 Welsh 5-mile champion David Mountford (Liverpool Harriers) retained his North Wales title with a comfortable win in Abergele. His time of 25.35 was eight seconds faster than last year.

 The in-form Lee Jones (deeside) was second but the outstanding male performance was that of teenager Iolo Hughes (Menai), who finished fourth overall.

 His clubmate Sarah Livett, who was second last year, sliced over a minute off her time to claim victory in 29.47 for 17th place overall. That was an under-20s' age-group record for the race.

 In the championship competition no fewer than seven age-group records were broken, with Livett not only setting a new under-20s' best but it was also a new senior record, beating by one second Alexia Hamilton- Morris' 1998 time.

 Georgia Garner and Brenda Jones beat their own U17 and L70 records respectively, Mountford's winning time was a new U23 best, Emma Collins beat the L50 record set by Mary Meredith (Prestatyn) in 1990 and Chris Birch's 36.41 took almost eight minutes off Brenda Jones's L65 record from 2008.
 Results:-
1 D Mountford (Liv H) 25.35, 2 L Jones (Deeside, M40) 26.43, 3 B Rothery (Eryri) 27.00, 4 I Hughes (Menai) 27.35, 5 D Kashi (Bangor Uni) 28.01, 6 H Wharton (Cybi, M35) 28.07, 7 G Norgrove (Wrecsam Tri, M45) 28.15, 8 S Sayer (Menai) 29.21, 9 S Wynne-Williams (Liv H)28.43, 10 E Campbell (Buckley, M45) 28.48.
 U17: 2 J Griffith (CB) 31.04, 3 A Williams (Deeside) 31.19
 U20: T Cunnah Watson (ua) 27.07
M35: 2 M Green (NWRR) 29.41, 3 A Campbell (Wrecsam Tri) 30.11
M40: 2 S Roberts (Buckley) 28.51, 3 C Yorke (NWRR) 29.13
M45: 3 M Robbins (Wrexham) 30.02
M50: 1 A Lewis (Eryri) 31.05, 2 Peter MW Jones (ua) 31.25, 3 J Merfyn Williams (Cybi) 32.31
M55: 1 D Nalder (Ellesmere Port) 32.55, 2 P Ballinger (Denbigh) 33.15, 3 C Higgins (Buckley) 34.25.
M60: 1 G Nixon (Prestatyn) 33.07, 2 JO Griffith (Cybi) 35.22, 3 M Ollier (Wrexham) 35.27
M65: 1 A Bery (Helsby) 35.43, 2 G Hughes (Prestatyn) 35.52, 3 JG Evans (Aberystwyth) 36.08
M70: 1 D Gardner (NWRR) 37.47, 2 J Thomas (Buckley) 42.47, 3 R Birch (Denbigh) 46.02
M75: J Park (Cheshire Tally Ho) 43.30
M80: A Watts (Sarn Helen) 80.22
Teams: 1 Menai, 2 Buckley, 3 Eryri
Corporate Challenge: Kinmel Arms

LADIES
1 S Livett (Menai, U20) 29.47, 2 E Parry (Wrexham, L35) 30.28, 3 G Garner (CB, U17) 31.35, 4 I Redfern (CB, L35) 32.21, 5 E Collins (Denbigh, L50) 33.45, 6 L Morley (Wrex, L40) 34.43.
U17: 2 A Cheetham (Prestatyn) 41.15, 3 L Miles (Prestatyn) 44.41
U20: 2 A Bagnall (Prestatyn) 40.19
L35: 3 J Hardern (Wrex) 36.24
L40; 2 H McArthur (CB) 35.00, 3 D Urquhart (Buckley) 35.58
L45: 1 J Jeffreys (Wrex) 38.09, 2 K Hatton (NWRR) 38.47, 3 T Hamer (ua) 38.49
L50; 2 M Ludden (Buckley) 36.56, 3 B Tiedtke (Prestatyn) 37.54
L55: 1 J Green (ua) 43.11, 2 V Edwards (Menai) 45.27, 3 V Cortvriend (Denbigh) 52.30
L65: C Birch (Abergele) 36.41
L70: B Jones (Bro Dys) 43.53
Team: Wrexham

 North Wales championships:-
U17: Hughes; U23: Mountford; Senior men: 1 Mountford, 2 Jones, 3 Rothery; M35: 1 Wharton, 2 Green. M40: 1 Jones, 2 Roberts. M45: 1 Norgrove, 2 Campbell, 3 Robbins. M50: 1 Lewis, 2 JM Williams; M55: 1 Ballinger, 2 Higgins. M60: Nixon. M65: Hughes. M70: Gardner.
 Ladies.
Under 17: Garner, 2 Cheetham, 3 Miles. U20: 1 Livett, 2 Bagnall. Senior ladies: 1 Livett, 2 Parry, 3 Garner. L35: 1 Parry, 2 Redfern. L40: Morley. L45: Hatton. L50: Collins. L65: Birch. L70: Jones.

* In the Tatton Half-Marathon Deestriders' Steven Hayes (M35) clocked 82.50 and his clubmate Rosemary Rogers chalked up another win in the L60 class with a time of 99.15.