Four Sarn Helen men travelled some distances to take part in four different half marathon events through the month of March, with all posting some great times around some beautiful cities. Severe weather has resulted in the cancellation and down scaling of many events this month but despite this ‘The Big Half’, a brand-new event in the centre of England’s Capital, prevailed and drew some enormous crowds on March 4th. Our firefighting senior male, Terry Wyn Jones made it to the start line and was pleased to finish the 13.1-mile run (and warm up!) in a time of 1:54:40.
Sarn Veteran, in more ways than just his age suggests, Graham Penn took part in the Hastings Half Marathon on March 16th in blisteringly cold winds. The route circumnavigates the Ancient Town of Hastings, starting at the Seafront and following the route of William the Conqueror and in a 4000 strong crowd Penn ran strong to finish in 2:28:23.
It appears that Sarn’s Carwyn Davies has taken a liking to the famous ‘Taffs Trail’ as he raced their again on Sunday 25th March having not long completed an ultra-distance event along the same river trails and paths. The annual Merthyr Tydfil half marathon, organised by Merthyr RC, entails a twisty and undulating route that drawers a large crowd; this year over 300 runners. Carwyn Davies fished in an overall position of 25th with a time of 1:27:41.
And finally, race lover David Thomas included the Victoria Park Easter Run in his weekend away agenda, much to his families delight!, with the 13.1 mile route travelling the borders of south Hackney and bow street in London’s East end. On Saturday March 31st Thomas covered the distance on the flat, wide paths in a respectable 1:42:45.
With April being a marathon heavy month it as with great dismay that snow and storms interrupted the longer mile race calendar as San Domenico 20mile and Rhayader 30k were cancelled. However the Caulkett family were determined to prepare properly for the upcoming London Marathon and travelled north to run at the Wrexham 20 Mile Road race. Held on March 11th and organised by runABC North the race is renowned for flat and fast and offering good crowd support. Kenneth Caulkett ran a fantastic time of 2:08 which placed him 3rd M35 while his wife Jenny finished in spite of prolonged pain in her back with a great time of 3:43.
Saturday March 17th was yet another weekend of intense winds and blustering snow effected the running of two off road events with the inaugural Silver Trail Marathon, organised by Aberystwyth AC and held from the scenic Nant Yr Arian visitors centre, being downgraded and the children’s events cancelled all together. The hard decision was made in the early morn and only the half marathon race was held. One Sarn Helen lady, Pamela Carter, braved the atrocious winds and finished in 2:45:38.
The same day a difficult decision was made by Meirionydd RC at this years’ Ras Yr Aran, near Bala as the usually route meant a 10mile up and back, unmarked fell run. Conditions as they were (-20c wind chill at the top of mount Aran) the runners were instead turned around just after half way. Even still the snowflakes were blinding at times and the bog land was partly frozen. Sarn Helen was well represented with some top category places and an outright win for Dylan Lewis in a time of 43:38. Felipe Jones placed 3rd overall and 1st M40 in 44:08 while an interclub battle between fell lover Daniel Hooper and downhill speedster Simon Hall finished with Hooper 11th in 48:88 and Hall 14th in 50:01. Our only female present was Dee Jolly who laughed all the way down the tricky mountain tracks and finished 2nd female, 1st in her class, with a time of 53:11.
In complete contrast to the previous weekends weather, it was an 11am start in Cardiff on a lovely sunny Sunday morning on the 25th March It was outside the Welsh National Assembly Building where almost 5000 runners were to start the 6.2 Mile race around Cardiff Bay. The course was flat and fast, although a little twisty. Several runners ventured to the Welsh capitol from Sarn Helen. George Eadon finished with a time of 41:01, just 19 seconds off is best time, Martin Darby who is well into his marathon training for London managed 52:06, even with an injured foot. Matthew Walker was hot on Martins heels with a great time of 53:12, although not his fastest 10k it was a great run given his lack of winter training. Other runners from Lampeter included Eilir Evans (41:09), Elinor Morgan (55:46), Lowri Gregson (59:45) and Iona Morgan (1hr 25).
Tregaron Duathlon, organised by team Campau Caron was successfully held on Sunday March 25th, while a whole array of individuals and relay teams, experienced athletes and
Novices taking to the tough running routes and their bikes. Sarn Helen once again achieved some notable success with results as follows. Andrew Poole 2nd overall in 1:14:11, Dylan Lewis 3rd overall (having lost a bike wheel!) in 1:14:46, Eric Rees 9th in 1:24:02, Carwyn Davies 11th 1:26:11, Dorian Rees 19th 1:40:39 and our only female competitor finished a fantastic 5th lady in 1:50:03.
Four Sarn Helen men travelled some distances to take part in four different half marathon events through the month of March, with all posting some great times around some beautiful cities. Severe weather has resulted in the cancellation and down scaling of many events this month but despite this ‘The Big Half’, a brand-new event in the centre of England’s Capital, prevailed and drew some enormous crowds on March 4th. Our firefighting senior male, Terry Wyn Jones made it to the start line and was pleased to finish the 13.1-mile run (and warm up!) in a time of 1:54:40.
Sarn Veteran, in more ways than just his age suggests, Graham Penn took part in the Hastings Half Marathon on March 16th in blisteringly cold winds. The route circumnavigates the Ancient Town of Hastings, starting at the Seafront and following the route of William the Conqueror and in a 4000 strong crowd Penn ran strong to finish in 2:28:23.
It appears that Sarn’s Carwyn Davies has taken a liking to the famous ‘Taffs Trail’ as he raced their again on Sunday 25th March having not long completed an ultra-distance event along the same river trails and paths. The annual Merthyr Tydfil half marathon, organised by Merthyr RC, entails a twisty and undulating route that drawers a large crowd; this year over 300 runners. Carwyn Davies fished in an overall position of 25th with a time of 1:27:41.
And finally, race lover David Thomas included the Victoria Park Easter Run in his weekend away agenda, much to his families delight!, with the 13.1 mile route travelling the borders of south Hackney and bow street in London’s East end. On Saturday March 31st Thomas covered the distance on the flat, wide paths in a respectable 1:42:45.
With April being a marathon heavy month it as with great dismay that snow and storms interrupted the longer mile race calendar as San Domenico 20mile and Rhayader 30k were cancelled. However the Caulkett family were determined to prepare properly for the upcoming London Marathon and travelled north to run at the Wrexham 20 Mile Road race. Held on March 11th and organised by runABC North the race is renowned for flat and fast and offering good crowd support. Kenneth Caulkett ran a fantastic time of 2:08 which placed him 3rd M35 while his wife Jenny finished in spite of prolonged pain in her back with a great time of 3:43.
Saturday March 17th was yet another weekend of intense winds and blustering snow effected the running of two off road events with the inaugural Silver Trail Marathon, organised by Aberystwyth AC and held from the scenic Nant Yr Arian visitors centre, being downgraded and the children’s events cancelled all together. The hard decision was made in the early morn and only the half marathon race was held. One Sarn Helen lady, Pamela Carter, braved the atrocious winds and finished in 2:45:38.
The same day a difficult decision was made by Meirionydd RC at this years’ Ras Yr Aran, near Bala as the usually route meant a 10mile up and back, unmarked fell run. Conditions as they were (-20c wind chill at the top of mount Aran) the runners were instead turned around just after half way. Even still the snowflakes were blinding at times and the bog land was partly frozen. Sarn Helen was well represented with some top category places and an outright win for Dylan Lewis in a time of 43:38. Felipe Jones placed 3rd overall and 1st M40 in 44:08 while an interclub battle between fell lover Daniel Hooper and downhill speedster Simon Hall finished with Hooper 11th in 48:88 and Hall 14th in 50:01. Our only female present was Dee Jolly who laughed all the way down the tricky mountain tracks and finished 2nd female, 1st in her class, with a time of 53:11.
It was an 11am start in Cardiff on a sunny Sunday, March 25th, outside the Welsh National Assembly Building where almost 5000 runners were to start the 6.2 Mile race around Cardiff Bay. The course was flat and fast, although a little twisty. Several runners ventured to the Welsh capitol from Sarn Helen. George Eadon finished with a time of 41:01, just 19 seconds off is best time, Martin Darby who is well into his marathon training for London managed 52:06, even with an injured foot. Matthew Walker was hot on Martins heels with a great time of 53:12, although not his fastest 10k it was a great run given his lack of winter training. Other runners from Lampeter included Eilir Evans (41:09), Elinor Morgan (55:46), Lowri Gregson (59:45) and Iona Morgan (1hr 25).
Tregaron Duathlon, organised by team Campau Caron was successfully held on Sunday March 25th, while a whole array of individuals, relay teams, experienced athletes and novices took to the tough running routes and then their bikes. Sarn Helen once again achieved some notable success with results as follows. Andrew Poole 2nd overall in 1:14:11, Dylan Lewis 3rd overall (having lost a bike wheel!) in 1:14:46, Eric Rees 9th in 1:24:02, Carwyn Davies 11th 1:26:11, Dorian Rees 19th 1:40:39 and our only female competitor finished a fantastic 5th lady in 1:50:03.
{gallery}News/2018/Mar{/gallery}