A Fortune in Gold

 FORTUNE IN GOLD IN BRAZIL

Deeside athlete Sabrina Fortune will be hoping that her trip to Brazil will be a sign of things to come in 2016.

 The 17-year-old Coleg Cambria student took gold in the shot putt at the Paralympic school games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, boosting her hopes of returning to South America for the Olympics in Rio.

 Sabrina, who suffers from dyspraxia, a speech impediment which led to minor learning difficulties, will be hoping to emulate Beverley Jones, from Mancot, who gained bronze in the London Olympics.

NW Road awards

CHALLINOR AND OUTTEN TOP ON THE ROAD

Ricky Challinor (Liverpool Harriers) and Georgina Outten (Birchfield) have been named as the top male and female road runners of the year by North Wales team manager Paul Brooks.

 Both were chosen on the strength of their performances for the region in the Abergele 5-miler in November. Challinor led the North Wales team home in the inter-county match against Stafford and Cheshire, finishing in 25.59, while Outten won the race in a new course record of 28.41. The old record had stood for 16 years.

 The best debut for the region was judged to be that of Cybi's Edith Gruber, who ran the opening 8-mile leg in the Staffs 20 relay, establishing a four-minute lead which enabled the team to go on and claim victory.

 Best Youth Athlete was  Abbie Cheetham (Prestatyn) who held her place in the regional team, recorded several personal bests and won three under-20 national titles.

Grand Prix Express NWCC League (3)

WREXHAM CLEAN UP ON HOME GROUND

After a disappointing show in the opening two  fixtures Wrexham claimed a "double" on their home ground, with victories for James Roberts and Emma Crowe.

 The men's race produced an interesting battle between the youth and speed of 21-year-old track specialist Roberts and the staying power of 44-year-old fellrunner Paul Jones (Oswestry).

 With many predicting that strength would prevail, it was the younger man who pulled away on the fourth and final lap, and as Jones' challenge  slipped it was his Oswestry clubmate Ollie Blake who came through to take second.

 Though Bangor University were not at full strength, finishing second on the day, they still hold a comfortable lead and look well positioned to win the Division 1 title for the first time.

 With Alison Lavender and Cari Hughes, the 1-2 from the earlier races, both missing, the women's race was a pretty straightforward duel between veterans Andrea Rowlands and Emma Crowe.

 The Eryri runner set the pace but Crowe dug in and overhauled her to win by seven seconds.

 Results. Men: 1 J Roberts (Wrex) 29.23, 2 O Blake (Osw) 29.39, 3 P Jones (Osw, M40) 40.46, 4 D Weston (Wrex) 40.50, 5 B Ashcroft (Shrew, U20) 30.26, 6 D Kashi (Bangor Uni) 30.51, 7 D Alexander (West Chesh, M45) 31.01, 8 D Longley (Prest) 31.12, 9  F Maier (Eryri) 31.16, 10 O Roberts (Eryri, U20) 31.27.

 Teams. Division 1: Oswestry 141, Bangor University 147, Eryri 196, Shrewsbury 220, Deeside 263, Tattenhall 264, Meirionnydd 525, Telford 701. Division 2: Buckley 247, Wrecsam Tri 322, Prestatyn 341, Wrexham 370, Whitchurch 446, Denbigh 453, Colwyn Bay 505, Cybi 567, West Cheshire 644, North Wales RR 650, Deestriders 717, Abergele 782, Bro Dysynni 873, Aberystwyth 874, Bridgnorth 881.

 Masters. M40: 2 M Green (NWRR) 31.49, 3 I Houston (Wrecsam Tri) 32.34. M45: 2 C Davies (Deestriders) 33.00, 3  G Blackwell (Dee) 33.08. M50: 1 E Campbell (Buck) 32.02, 2 R Jones (Shrews) 32.44, 3 V Belshaw (Den) 35.10. M55: 1 G Jones (Prest) 33.28, 2 G Jones (Shrews) 34.14, 3 SP Jones (Eryri) 34.59. M60: 1 S Roberts (Osw) 36.08, 2 P Savill (Shrews) 36.40, 3 L Coathup (Buck) 37.46. M65: 1 I Jones (Wrecsam Tri) 41.01, 2 P Walker (Wrex) 41.29, 3 J Nolan (Bro Dys) 43.12.
 Teams: Oswestry 27, Buckley 33, Shrewsbury 38, Eryri 69, Wrecsam Tri 70, Cybi 79, Prestatyn 92, Denbigh 98, Whitchurch 108, Deeside 130, Meirionnydd 139, Tattenhall 159, Colwyn Bay 162, Deestriders 176, Telford 191, Wrexham 215.

 Men over 70: 1 A Ega n (Wrex) 25.06, 2 D Williams (Eryri) 26.00, 3 MH Edwards (Wrex) 29.00. M75: 1 D Hughes (Prest) 27.29, 2 J Tipping (Wrex) 37.47, 3 P Norman (Wrex) 42.01. M80: 1 R Billington (Wrex) 34.13, 2 B Forster (Wrex) 35.01. Team: Wrexham 12 points.

 Men under 17: 1 J Spill (Eryri) 17.37, 2 M Pleavin (Wrex) 18.03, 3 Z Holland (West Chesh) 19.11, 4 R Cain (Menai) 18.40, 5 S Sussex (Wrex) 19.14, 6 J Parry (CB) 19.52. Team: Wrexham 14.

Ladies. 1 E Crowe (Wrex, L40)  20.07, 2 A Rowlands (Eryri, L40) 20.14, 3 L W right (Wrex, L45)  20.27, 4 M Kitching (Tatt, L45) 20.31, 5 S Caskey (Bangor Uni) 20.56, 6 E Dove (Whit) 20.59, 7 C Jones (Osw, L35) 21.06, 8 A Robinson (Tatt) 21.20, 9 A Backshall (CB, U20) 21.29, 10 A Muller (West Chesh) 21.34.
 Teams. Division 1: Eryri 49, Wrexham 64, Oswestry 93, Colwyn Bay 111, Buckley 175, Menai 218, Telford 250. Division 2: Tattenhall 32, Whitchurch 41, Denbigh 67, Prestatyn 99, NWRR 132, West Cheshire 177, Abergele 199, Bangor University 205, Deeside 211, Wrecsam Tri 219, Cybi 228, Bro Dysynni 254, Meirionnydd 260, Shrewsbury 262, Deestriders 289.

 Masters. L35: 2 L Emery-Jones (Eryri) 21.54, 3 M Hughes (Eryri) 22.30. L40: 3 L Morley (Wrex) 22.07. L45: 3 A Tickner (Osw) 22.59. L50: 1 E Collins (Den) 22.00, 2 B Tiedtke (Prest) 23.37, 3 Y Hill (Osw) 23.47. L55: 1 G Waring (Prest) 25.07, 2 A Whitelaw (Wrex) 25.16, 3 S Greaves (Osw) 26.06. L60: 1 M Docking (Wrex) 26.23, 2 S Richards (Shrews) 32.40, 3 R Morrell (Den) 33.00. L65: 1 C Birch (Abergele) 24.32, 2 M Oliver (Eryri) 27.54, 3 Y Marconi-Nolan (Bro Dys) 32.32. L70: 1 B Jones (Bro Dys)  30.12, 2 M Singleton (CB) 33.40.
 Teams: Wrexham 12, Eryri 18, Oswestry 31, Tattenhall 62, Colwyn Bay 69, Denbigh 69, Prestatyn 71, Buckley 81, Abergele 129, Whitchurch 130, Bro Dysynni 181, Shrewsbury 181.

AGGREGATE AFTER THREE RACES

Men, Division 1: Bangor University 299, Eryri 517, Oswestry 629, Deeside 749, Shrewsbury 772, Tattenhall 1,163, Meirionnydd 1,486, Telford 2,298. Division 2: Buckley 885, Prestatyn 1,109, Colwyn Bay 1,173, Denbigh 1,368, Whitchurch 1,475, Cybi 1,589, Wrecsam Tri 1,627, NWRR 1,783, Abergele 1,915, Wrexham 1,955, Deestriders  1,984, West Cheshire 2,302, Aberystwyth  2,601, Bridgnorth 2,646,  Bro Dysynni 2,649.

Masters. Shrewsbury 117, Oswestry 121, Buckley 122, Eryri 185, Denbigh 260, Prestatyn 292, Colwyn Bay 300, Tattenhall 381, Cybi 390, Deeside 408.

Ladies, Division 1: Eryri 148, Oswestry 220, Wrexham 252, Colwyn Bay 352, Buckley 505, Menai 627, Telford 818. Division 2: Denbigh 195, Whitchurch 299, Bangor Uni 359, Prestatyn 383, Tattenhall 420, NWRR 437, Wrecsam Tri 472, Cybi 496, Abergele 601 , West Cheshire 604, Deeside 722, Bro Dysynni 726, Shrewsbury 745, Deestriders 773, Meirionnydd 828.

Masters. Wrexham 51, Eryri 57, Oswestry 101, Denbigh 152, Buckley 231, Prestatyn 271, Colwyn Bay 280, Abergele 402, Bro Dysynni 501.

L'pool Cross Challenge

WILLIS TAKES GOLD AT SEFTON

Wrexham's  Matthew Willis, the English Schools' cross-country champion, turned in another outstanding performance to win the opening race in this year's British Cross Challenge in Liverpool's Sefton Park.

 He won the U15 event by just two seconds from Peter Curtis (New Marske), while Menai's Oliver Barbaresi also produced a superb run to  come 4th, just seven second behind Willis.

 North Wales  5k champion Georgina Outten (Birchfield) put herself  among the places for the European championships  by finishing sixth in the U20 ladies' race, just 19 seconds behind Commonwealth Games representative Jessica Judd, while in his first year in the same category Iolo Hughes (Menai) came 19th a few days after his 18th birthday..

 Charlie Hulson (Sale), who  finished eighth in Liverpool last year, was 11th this time and the first Welshman home in a high-quality senior men's field.

 In the senior ladies' race Alison Lavender (Oswestry), who leads the North Wales League competition, finished 31st.

 Among other North Wales athletes who made the trip were:- Girls under 13:  65 Ffion Madi Rees Jones (Menai). Girls under 15: 17 Martha Owen (Deeside). Boys under 13: 37 Tomos Land (Colwyn Bay). Men under 17: 31 Christian Smith (Wrexham)

Athlete's profile (21)

ATHLETE'S PROFILE

RAY BILLINGTON

CLUB: Wrexham

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Barrow AC, Birchfield AC, Colchester AC, Rhyl AC, Liverpool Pembroke A & CC, Thames Valley Harriers

AGE: 80 (DOB: 24.3.1934)

OTHER SPORTS PLAYED: Football, golf, table-tennis

HOW LONG COMPETING: Started competing in 1950  shortly after leaving school.

HOBBIES/INTERESTS: Railway signalling and accident investigations, also 1960s music. Instrumental in starting Rhyl AC and North Wales CC League.

FAVOURITE RACING DISTANCE: Initially half-mile (880 yards), now 5k and 10k.

FAVOURITE RACE AND WHY: 5th July, 1958, Wales v Nigeria, half-mile. I won the race in 1m 53s which broke the Welsh Native record held by Jim Alford.

FAVOURITE TRAINING SESSION: In the 1960s Sunday mornings during the winter - 20 x 880 around Marine Lake with 440 recovery; in the summer - 16 x 220 with 110 recovery.

PROUDEST MOMENT: Representing Wales in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

WHOM DO YOU MOST ADMIRE: Seb Coe for his outstanding ability on the track and for all that he has done for the sport - a true ambassador.

PERSONAL AMBITIONS: In recent years, having fractured both femurs (on separate occasions) and had a mini-stroke (TIA) all during running, I have been put on medication which includes statins that has resulted in my legs feeling tired and aching even before I run. In consequence, despite training six days a week I am not running anywhere near as well as I ought to. I am continually striving to overcome this problem but at present with little if any success.

ANY REGRETS: Not having received any coaching, I always used to base my training on ding as much as possible in a session, even in the middle of the track season regularly doing 12 x 440 with a 220 recovery. I realise now that I ought to have been doing less in quantity and more in quality.

EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCES: There have been many, but a rather amusing incident was during a road race many years ago in Mid-Wales there was a shortage of marshals along the course and nearing the finish in the lead I took a wrong turning and found myself approaching the finish line from the opposite direction, with the timkeepers facing the other way. As I crossed the line the look on their faces was a sight to behold.

WHAT CHANGES WOULD I LIKE TO SEE:  I would very much like to see handicap track races reintroduced. In the Cheshire/Lancashire areas in the 1960s there used to be handicap meetings sponsored by Widnes Police, St Helens Police, Liverpool Police, BICC Helsby, Pilkington Glass St Helens, Liverpool Parks and Gardens and Chester Council, with a track on the Roodee.
 I ran in the half-mile event which involved 3 or 4 heats with about 30 runners in each, the first six in each heat qualifying for the final held later in the programme. When you ran your first handicap race you were given a mark that you were to run off, usually about 75 yards, and if you won the race your mark was reduced to 8 yards, 4 yards if you were second or   third, the next time you raced. If you were not placed in any of the races during the season your mark was increased next year.

 At the start of the race runners would be positioned at intervals around the track coinciding with their individual marks. The back-markers would usually run off 20 to 30 yards while the frontrunners were off 120 yards and you retained your mark during both heat and final. Being a back-marker you had to run as fast as you could from the gun to ensure you caught the front markers before the finish, which ensured you had to run to your limit.

 There was also an excellent club one-mile medley relay incorporated into the programme (the only non-handicap event) with teams consisting of 2 x 220 runners, a x 440 and a half-mile  runner, the race progressing in this order. There was a most attractive  prize list for each event.
              
EXTRA ITEMS:
How I came to take up the sport: My friends and I used to play a lot of football with a small ball on the promenade in Rhyl, usually on Sunday mornings,  with coats for goalposts and no other boundaries. I gradually realised that I was getting as much, if not more, enjoyment from running around as I was from the football, so I decided to enter the County Athletics Championships at the Coronation Gardens, and won both the 440 and 880 events.
 Shortly after this I was called up to do my National Service in the RAF and subsequently found myself in Baghdad. Whilst there I became friendly with a member of Liverpool Pembroke and he put me in touch with their club trainer who I was invited  to meet on my demob. This I did and turned up on a Saturday afternoon  with my running kit.
 We went out for a road run and after a  couple of miles he said we would be returning along the same route and suggested that I might like to stride out on the way back, which I did, thinking "I'll show him how good I am", overlooking the fact that I was 20 and he was in his late 50s.
 Over a drink he suggested I might like to come down the following week and be introduced to the Pembroke team before taking part in a Mob Run, which was a road race with all the Liverpool clubs taking part. The next week I turned up and learned that the race was to take place in a residential area.
 Wanting to make a good impression, I shot into the lead from the gun but after a couple of miles began to feel a little tired and asked a nearby runner if we were near the finish, to which he replied: "We're not halfway yet" .
 By now several runners were passing me and I started to get a little concerned at the possibility of being lost in a residential area. Just then a guy in a red and white ringed Pembroke vest came alongside me and asked if I was OK, to which I replied that I was shattered because I had gone off too fast.
 To my relief he stayed with me to the finish. I later learned he was the club captain and could easily have won the race. In consequence on the train home I thought what a wonderful club/sport  I had become involved with if a fellow competitor would be prepared to forsake his personal performance to help me. We subsequently became great friends and team-mates.

 A somewhat reversal of roles occurred  recently in the Guilden Sutton 10k, following which a female competitor e-mailed Wrexham club secretary Bob Frost to thank me for having helped and encouraged her to finish what was her first race

PERSONAL BESTS

100 yards: 10.9s, 1958
200 yards: 23.2s , 1958
440 yards: 50.7s, 1958
880 yards: 1m 53.5s, 1958
1 mile: 4m 16s, 1960
1,500m: 3m 56s,  1960
10m: 52m 30s,  1968
20m: 1h 50m 40s, 1966
Half-Marathon: 1h 12m 42s
Marathon: 2h 39m 20s, Harlow, 1966.

TOTAL MILEAGE  RUN:  1052 to date - 135,500 miles (No record of number of running shoes  worn out in the process).

Lanzarote week

ROBERTS  FLYING IN THE CANARIES

Tomos Roberts (Meirionnydd), the current North Wales 5k champion, continued to work hard during his recent holiday in the Canaries.

 The International Running Week at Club La Santa, Lanzarote, involved a 10k, a 13k ridge run, a 5k beach run and a half-marathon, and Tomos finished third overall.

Conwy Half

ABU-REZEK ADDS TO HIS 'HALF' TITLES

Jordanian Mohammad Abu-Rezek, winner of this year's Chester, Wilmslow and Four Villages half-marathons, claimed another victory in the Conwy Half  - but only by the narrowest of margins.

 The Altrincham athlete finished just one second ahead of Ethiopian Yared Hagos, who has chalked up wins himself in Sunderland, Northumberland and Leicester. The first North Wales-based finisher, in a superb third place, was Russell Bentley (Kent/Eryri).

 The 2013 ladies' champion, Alison Lavender (Oswestry), had to settle for second this time behind former Telford member Kim Fawke-Williams.

 Results: 1 M Abu-Rezek (Altrincham)  67.16, 2 Y Hagos (Wallsend) 67.17, 3 R Bentley (Kent) 68.51, 4 S Robinson (RAF) 71.33, 5 C Rowlinson (Sale/ Bangor Uni) 74.28, 6 S Sayer (Menai) 75.08. M35: 1 D Lemon (Deeside) 79.42, 2 G Boughey 80.14, 3 M Phillips 80.45. M40: 1 R Grantham (Chester Tri) 76.57, 2 M Green (NWRR) 78.11, 3 M Goulbourne 78.33. M45: 1 G Green (Warrington) 76.50, 2 C Hollinshead (Stafford) 76.52, 3M Dorrill (Kenilworth) 82.32. M50: 1 A Green (Warr) 75.37, 2 R ab Elwyn (Eryri) 85.36, 3 S Rogers (Pensby) 86.18. M55: 1 N Phillips 86.31, 2 D Hodgson (New Marske) 88.01, 3 J Foy (Chester Tri) 88.41. M60: 1 B Sheppard 92.25, 2 D Nalder (Ell Port) 94.35, 3 T Marshall 94.41. M65: 1 R Johnson (Sneyd) 1-44.06, 2 C Davies (Altr) 1-43.54, 3 JG Evans (Aberystwyth) 1-43.37. M70: P Jones (Prestatyn) 2-04.35.

 Ladies: 1 K Fawke-Williams (Centurion, L35) 77.51, 2 A Lavender (Osw) 78.59, 3 K Crickmore (Stockport, L35) 79.59, 4 D McVey (Wilmslow, L35) 80.41, 5 L Custance (Clapham, L35) 81.15, 6 H Oldroyd 84.28. L40: S Gray (Cannocvk) 89.15, 2 S Fourie (Chester Tri) 98.36.  L45: 1 T Trueman (Lawley) 95.25, 2 C Hall (Wirral) 96.32, 3 L McEveley (Helsby) 98.55. L50: 1 E Jackson 98.59, 2 B Tiedtke (Prestatyn) 99.31, 3 J Edwards (Sh Shufflers) 1-40.12.  L55: 1 L Collinson (Sh Shufflers) 96.00, 2 S O'Brien (Knowsley) 1-45.12, 3 A Webster 1-47.56. L60: 1 A Oldham (East Chesh) 1-47.01, 2 P Newton (Market Drayton) 1-50.09, 3 P Clay 1-51.14.