Welsh 10-mile champs

CHAMPS SWITCH TO LAMPETER

Following the cancellation of the Llandudno 10 the Welsh 10-mile championships will now be incxorporated in the Teifi 10, to be held in Lampeter on March 31.

 T he Llandudno race was to have been part of the Run Wales series but now, so that North Wales doesn't lose out entirely, the Caernarfon 10k on September 1 will become the ninth race in the series.

Barry 40

NORTH WALIANS CLAIM MEDALS ON ULTRA DEBUTS

 Months of hard slog and determination - plus advice and support from someone who's been and done it before - brought rich rewards for two North Wales veterans.

 George Nicholls (Prestatyn) and Jenni Richards (Abergele) made their ultra-distance debuts in the Barry 40, which involved 160 laps of the Jenner Park track.

 Both were supported by experienced ultra-runner Sean McCormack and his son Stephen who had also helped them during their training, and their encouragement and attention proved vital.

 Despite an almost inevitable bout of cramp George completed the 40 miles in 5-39.02 to take bronze in the Welsh championship, while Jenni finished in 6-08.09 for second place in the ladies, competition.

Moel y Ci

CLIFFE TOP DOG IN MOEL Y CI

Veteran Martin Cliffe chalked up his third win of the year in the Moel y Ci race at Tregarth, but his winning time of 38.53 was seven seconds that last year when he finished eighth.

 The first seven finishers in a field of 131 were all Eryri Harriers, with the ever-improving Dylan Wynn Jones second and Daniel Kashi third - the university student being over three minutes faster than last year. Only five minutes separated the first 34 runners home.

 The first woman home was Chester Tri's Lisa Grantham, her time of 49.00 being over five minutes down on Andrea Rowlands' winning time in 2012. Student Becki Taylor was second and name from the past appear in third slot - Angela Brand-Barker, formerly one of the country's most successful female fell-runners.

* Editor's thought: Did Angela Brand-BARKER decide to put in an appearance because it was Moel y CI  and, if so, it's not surprising she took the lead ? Sorry.

Results (all Eryri unless stated): 1 M Cliffe (M40) 38.53, 2 DW Jones (M40) 39.29, 3 D Kashi 40.01, 4 J Parkinson (M40) 40.07, 5 A Edwards 40.07, 6 J Bacon 40.14. M50: 1 SP Jones 43.23, 2 M Belshaw 44.04, 3 A Lewis 44.14. M60: 1 Phil (Tan) Jones 49.35, 2 G Davies (ua) 53.54, 3 B Robbins 61.37. M70: P Roberts (Buckley). JM: H Bye 49.07. Ladies: 1 L Grantham (Chester Tri) 49.00, 2 B Taylor (Bangor Uni) 49.13, 3 A Brand-Barker (ua, L50) 49.38. L40: 1 S Rowlands (Clwydian) 51.32, 2 V Whitehead (Denbigh) 55.50, 3 E Wood 57.31. L50: 2 E Salisbury 55.02, 3 M Baugh (Denbigh) 62.57. . L60: M Oliver 64.14.

Focus on Athetes - 3

ATHLETES' PROFILES - 3

TED PARTRIDGE (WREXHAM)

Age: 51      D.O.B: 13.1.61

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COMPETING: 40 years, with long gaps inbetween

ANY OTHER SPORTS PLAYED: Golf, fishing, cycling

OTHER HOBBIES OR INTERESTS: Horseracing

FAVOURITE RACING DISTANCE: 10k

FAVOURITE RACE AND WHY: Twin Piers 10k, 2012 - because the wind was behind us all the way from Llandudno to Colwyn Bay

FAVOURITE TRAINING SESION:  Interval session 5 x 1 mile on grass - not my favourite but the hardest and most rewarding

 PROUDEST MOMENT: Representing Wales

WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE (INSIDE ATHLETICS AND OUT) AND WHY: Mo Farah for his achievements and Jess ica Ennis

ANY PERSONAL AMBITIONS: To continue to train and compete for as long as possible

ANY REGRETS: Not competing regularly at an earlier age

ANY EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCES: Not completing Welsh inter-counties XC champs in 2005 after being sent the wrong way by a marshal when in the lead

WHAT CHANGES (IF ANY) WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE SPORT: To try to find some way of attracting more youngsters into the sport

James does the double

JAMES DOES IT AGAIN - TWICE

Wrexham's prolific marathon man Ian James was at it again at the weekend - but this time at the double.

 The amazingly consistent vet won the Clonakilty Back-to-Back Marathons in Clonakilty, Ireland, which concists of two 26-milers in two days.

 On the Saturday he clocked 2-54.42 and he followed it up with 3-19.04, giving him an aggregate time of 6-13.45, while the runner-up clocked 6-20.48.

 Ian, whose times rarely drop below 3 hours, said afterwards that he found the experience enjoyable, but tiring. Surprise, surprise!

Village Bakery Half

CHARLES CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY EARLY

Trafford's Tom Charles had an early birthday present when he won the Village Bakery half-marathon in Wrexham, setting a new pb in the process.

 Just 24 hours before his 29th birthday he won by a substantial margin from Christian Prior (Chester Tri), who hails from Prestatyn. Charles's winning time of 70.23 was 10 seconds inside his previous pb, set when he won the Macclesfield half in September, 2011.

  The North Wales title went to third-place Daniel Weston (Wrexham), while Denbigh vet Emma Collins went home with a bagful of trophies. She was first L50 and also first lady overall in the championship.

 Results:
 1 T Charles (Trafford) 70.23, 2 C Prior (Chester Tri, M35) 71.47, 3 D Weston (Wrex) 72.44, 4 R Downs (Wilmslow, M45) 72.52, 5 A Edwards (Deestriders) 73.17, 6 M Smith (South Chesh, M40) 73.42, 7 C Moulton (Boalloy) 74.06, 8 J Hilton (Wigan Ph) 74.44, 9 D Kashi (Eryri) 74.54, 10 P Middleton (Shrews) 76.04.
 JM: J Morris (Dee) 84.37
 M35: 2  T Armstrong (Vale R) 78.47, 3 C Davies (UKNet Runner) 80.39
 M40: 2 S Roberts (Buck) 77.48, 3 K Dickinson (Wirral) 79.00
 M45: 2 G Norgrove (Wrecsam Tri) 77.29, 3 D Duret (Chester Tri) 81.12
 M50: 1 S Whatmough (Warr Tri) 79.44, 2 D Scott (ua) 83.20, 3 M Haire (Boalloy) 83.46
 M55: 1 C Martin (Spectrum) 84.36, 2 S Davies (Mansfield) 86.17, 3 G Kemp (Newcastle) 88.07
 M60: 1 D Bewley (ua) 97.25, 2 G Mendham (Wilmslow) 97.38, 3 J Griffith (Cybi) 99.36
 M65: 1 G Cumber (Halifax) 90.20, 2 D Bright (ua) 1-46.52, 3 D Poole (Holme-Pierrepoint) 1-48.40
 M70: 1 D Gardner (NW)) 97.58, 2  J Thomas (Buck) 1-55.57
 M75: 1 Roger Harrison-Jones (Prest) 1-58.24
 M80: E Naisby (Prest) 2-20.30

LADIES

 1 K Crickmore (Chester Tri, L35) 78.32, 2 G Connolly (St Helens) 80.56, 3 L Blizzard (Belgrave, L35) 82.27, 4 S Cumber (Halifax, L40) 83.00, 5 M Kirkman (Coventry) 84.35, 6 G Mead (Chester Tri, L45) 85.54
 L35: 3 C Jones (Osw) 92.42
 L40: 2 J Meadowcroft (Whitchurch) 92.46,  3 C Hall (Wirral) 94.12
 L45:  2 J Platt (Wigan) 89.42, 3 L Park (Trismart) 99.19
 L50: 1 E Collins (Denbigh) 89.39, 2 J Taylor (Wigan) 91.04, 3 C Shaw (Helsby) 99.21
 L55: 1 J Thorn (Vale) 93.46, 2 S Meakin (Helsby) 99.09,  3 L Turton (Stockport) 1-46.30
 L60: 1 R Rogers (Deestriders) 1-41.00, 2 G Tombo (Abbey) 1-52.58, 3 P Davies (Vale R) 1-53.47
 L65: L Simpson (Village) 2-00.56
 L70: B Jones (Bro Dys) 2-01.46

NORTH WALES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men under 23: 1 A Edwards, 2 D Kashi, 3 A Bromley (Dee) 82.06
 Senior men: 1 D Weston, 2 Edwards, 3 Kashi

 M35: 1 M Green (NWRR) 80.37, 2 A Jones (Wrex) 87.41
 M40: 1 S Roberts, 2 C Yorke (NWRR) 79.53, 3 N Thomas (Trismart) 81.21
 M45: 1 Norgrove, 2 T Bent (Wrex) 91.15, 3 R Cheetham (Prest) 95.41
 M50: A Jones (Prest)
 M55: 1 S Davies, 2 K Slattery (NWRR) 88.58, 3 J Dillon (Whit) 89.37
 M60: J Griffith  99.36
 M65: I Roberts (Eryri) 2-10.08
 M70: D Gardner
 M75: R Harrison-Jones
 M80: E Naisby
 L35: J Harnden (Wrex) 98.58
 L40: M Beeson (Mald) 1-57.20
 L45: J Wainwright (Chase) 2-05.58
 L50: E Collins
 L60: J Lloyd (Mald) 2-06.38
 L70: B Jones

Welsh CC Champs

NORTH WALES YOUNGSTERS STRIKE GOLD AT GLANUSK


Brother and sister Iolo and Cari Hughes both followed up their wins in the North Wales Cross-Country Championships in Corwen last week by claiming national titles.

 The Menai pair were among several North Wales youngsters who had excellent runs in the Welsh Championships in Glanusk, while the region's seniors were few and far between.

 From the North Wales point of view one of the most interesting races was that featuring the U17 and U20 ladies who ran together.

 The overall winner was Colwyn Bay's Georgia Garner (U17). At Corwen she beat all the senior ladies and this time she finished ahead of all the under-20s. Second in the race and first U20 was Sarah Livett (Menai), who  claimed a rare victory over Brecon twins Ffion and Rhianwedd Price.

Dewi Griffiths (Swansea) retained his senior men's title, finishing just two seconds ahead of twice-champion Ian Mitchell (Tipton) who originally hails from Flintshire.

 The North Wales placings were:-
Boys under 13: 5 Thomas Evans (Wrex) 10.31, 6 Oliver Barbaresi (Menai) 10.32
 Boys under 15: 8 Kyle Owen (menai) 15.40, 11 Michael Roberts (CB) 15.51
 Men under 17: 1 Iolo Hughes (Menai) 18.45, 8 Rhys James (Menai) 20.49, 10 Jacob Griffith (CB) 21.05
 Men under 20: 5 Nathan Jones (CB) 19.55
 Senior men: 52 Russ Godwin (CB) 42.09, 54 Clive Edgington (Meir) 42.39, 64 Kevin Challoner (Dee) 45.44, 68 David Griffith (CB) 52.15
 Girls under 13: 4 Martha Owen (Dee) 11.20, 10 Ceitlin Howell-Williams (Menai) 11.59
 Girls under 15: 1 Cari Hughes (Menai) 16.23, 8 Chloe Evans (Mald) 17.21, 10 Mollie Davies (Menai) 17.39, 17 Hannah Pryce (Osw) 19.07.
  Ladies under 17: 1 Georgia Garner (CB) 19.56
 Ladies under 20: 1 Sarah Livett (Menai) 20.14
 Senior ladies: 11 Isabel Redfern (CB) 24.12, 33 Victoria Ronald (CB) 30.43, 34 Laurie Griffith (CB) 31.05.