Weekly Report 17/01/2022

Posted on 7th March 2022 by Sioned Lloyd

Whilst some members took an opportunity to rest from competing over Christmas, others kept busy!

Denbigh Harrier Emma Collins ran the Chester Round The Walls race on 26/12/2021. This was a route of just under four miles starting and finishing on the grassy Chester Racecourse, with footpaths and plenty of steps between. Conditions were wet, cold, but not icy. There were 511 runners taking part with Emma finishing a fantastic 60th – 7th Lady and first in category & the one below. A great result and a very enjoyable race.

The annual Jubilee Plunge took place on 28/12/2021. This race, organised by Denbigh Harrier Tony Benton, sees partcipants race down from Moel Famau summit to finishing point Llangynhafal in the fastest time.
Seven Harriers raced down the hill (and an eighth swept):
Daniel Jones 12.38 (2nd overall)
Vic Belshaw 13.57 (1st V60)
Katy Baugh 14.14 (2nd Lady)
Owen Conroy 14.18
David Baugh 14.20
Sian Pritchard 17.01 (3rd Lady)
Ed Brown 22.19
A great race with great organisation and atmosphere!

Gratitude due to former Harrier Joe Cooper who put on successful 10K and 5K races, plus a 5K canicross at Hawarden Estate on Sunday 09/01/22. These were trail routes with both heavy mud alongside the river, rough fields, and some road. In the 5k Denbigh Harrier Chris Baldwin had a great run finishing 8th and 2nd V60 in 31:23. In the 10k race, on form Tony Wood had a comfortable win finishing 1st overall in a time of 43:32.

Denbigh Harrier Sian Pritchard ran a personal best at the Tadworth 10 mile race Sunday 16/01/22. Starting and finishing at Epsom Racecourse, Surrey, this is a scenic and challenging 10 miles, 2-lap course on a mixture of road and grass. Sian had a great run finishing 273 in a time of 01:31:30.

Parkrun results 15/01/22
Kingston
132 Sian Pritchard 27:14
Chester
50 Simon Nixon 23:58
Selby
54 Julie Roberts 27:55
Prestatyn
5 Emma Collins 22:19
16 Chris Baldwin 26:10
48 John Llewelyn Thomas 46:33

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2021 Johnson’s Handicap

Posted on 16th December 2021 by admindh

A somewhat belated set of results for the 2021 Johnson’s Handicap shows that most of the eighteen finishers were going well by historical standards in obviously wet conditions. No age group records were broken although Vic and Menai were both only 25 seconds outside the M60 best (2013) and the W60 best (her own in 2018) respectively. Emma was even closer at 13 seconds from her own W55 best (2019). 

1st Gareth J …….11.08.42…….51.42

2nd Arwel……………..10.12…….58.12

3rd Ewan……………….10.30…….44.30

4th Sarah……………….12.41…….72.41

5th Chris E……………..12.43…….56.43

6th Peter L……………..13.02…….57.02

7th Menai……………….13.16…….61.16

8th Vic……………………13.31……46.31

9th Victoria……………..13.45…..53.45

10th Emma……………..14.23……50.23

11th Tony B……………..14.53……55.53

12th Owen……………….15.19……48.19

13th Shaun……………….15.20……40.50

14th Mel…………………..15.35…..51.35

15th David B……………..15.50……49.50

16th Lee…………………..16.55…….56.55

17th Pasha……………….17.09…….53.39

18th Dan S………………..20.51…….65.51

Duncan (54 minutes, starting on his own at 9 am) would have been in the battle with Shaun and Owen if he had started at 10.21am.

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Weekly Report 06/12/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Denbigh Harrier Menai Baugh travelled down to Shropshire on Sunday 5/12/21 to run the Cardington Cracker Fell Race …. and what a cracking race it was! This is a 9.4 mile/15 km off-road race with 2,765 ft/ 842 meters of elevation. The race follows footpaths over farmland to the base of three steep hills with beautiful views from their summits of Church Stretton, the Long Mynd and the surrounding area. The wind was un-relenting and bitingly chilly on the summits but the fast descents on grassy paths more than made up for it. Menai’s time was 2 hours 25:48, taking the first F60 prize.

On the same day there was a good turnout of Harriers on the Clwydians for Out-fit’s Sea to Summit Half Marathon, Marathon and Ultra Marathon distances. These routes all had staggered starts, beginning in Prestatyn and followed the Offa’s Dyke path to different finishing points along the Clwydian Hills. The Half Marathon with an elevation gain of over 3,500ft finished on Moel y Plas, the Marathon with an elevation gain over 6,500ft on Moel Gyw and the Ultra distance with an elevation gain over 8,500ft and total a of 33 miles finished on Cyrn y Brain. Conditions on the day were clear but cold, with an easterly wind that was thankfully behind the competitors!! Taking on the Half Marathon were Iwan Evans (4th/99) just missing out on a podium finish in time of 2:28:16; Jeni Richards (23), also just missing a podium finish in 2:56:54; Lee Evans (42) in 3:12:36; and Rebekah Dumayne (78) in 3:55:37. In the Full Marathon Sioned Griffiths (7/40) took 1st Female position in a time of 5:52:19, followed closely by Katy Baugh (8) who took 2nd Female poition in 5:54:04. Peter Lester-Owen (23) also had a strong run finshing in 6:26:00. Braving the Ultra, Tony Wood (3/90) took overall 3rd and 2nd Male position in an incredible 6:18:24, with Melina Morris (13) just mssing out on a podium finish after an amazingly strong run in 7:01:42.

Posted in 10 Mile, Fell running, Half Marathon, Marathon, Trail Running, Weekly report | Comments Off on Weekly Report 06/12/2021

Weekly Report 22/11/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

5 Denbigh Harriers made the trip down to Brecon on Saturday as part of the North Wales Team in the Inter Regional Cross Country championships. Conditions were dry on the day with no wind to contend with. The course consisted of laps of small short hills and lots of tight turns on the playing fields of Brecon High School. The turn out for the men and women’s North Wales teams was dissapointing with no full teams on the day, but the Harrier members all had good runs and enjoyed the experience. The women, on a course of 3.65 miles, were led home by Melina Morris in 26:29 (41/137) followed by Emma Collins in 26:51 (48/137) with Sioned Griffiths finishing in 28:47 (78/137). The men, on a longer course of just under 6 miles, had strong runs in an extremely competitive field with Glen Price first Harrier home in 37:04 (107/171) with Owen Conroy finishing in 40:11 (144/171).

There was a good turnout of Harriers at the Penmaenmawr Fell race on Saturday, with excellent times and placings on what is a tough 10.5 mile course. 3 Harriers picked up category prizes on the day, with finishing places out of 143 runners as follow:

9th Tony Wood 1:22:29
20th Brett Jones (2nd M45) 1:28:39
39th David Baugh 1:39:04 (1st M60)
44th Katy Baugh 1:41:04
67th Peter Lester-Owen 1:51:38
75th Kate Wilson 1:53:18
85th Mike Hobday 1:55:02
103rd Clair Atterbury 2:04:03
106th Menai Baugh 2:05:57 (3rd F60)

The ever popular Conwy Half Marathon was also well attended by Denbigh Harriers on Sunday, again with excellent results. Eleanor Ashcroft was first Harrier home in an excellent time of 01:37:32 finishing 223rd overall. Mari Williams and Rachel Evans ran the race together with both finishing 01:54:09 and in 699th and 700th place respectively. Dawn Marshall bought the Harriers home in a fantastic personal best of 02:06:34 finishing 1052nd overall. Joseph Welch also took part as Pacer bringing the sub 01:30 group in at 01:29:53.

Posted in 10 Mile, 5K, Cross-country, Fell running, Half Marathon, Trail Running, Weekly report | Comments Off on Weekly Report 22/11/2021

Weekly Report 15/11/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

There was a big turnout of 19 Harriers at the Abergele 5k Sunday 14 November, and a huge haul of medals on what was a flat out and back course with a very gentle breeze for the return run. There were five North Wales 5K champions in the club: Daniel Jones, Emma Collins, Vic Belshaw, Sara Leverett and Menai Baugh. There were also numerous PB’s had by those who took part, with the results as follow:
8th Tony Wood 17:27 Senior (20-34) 3rd NWC – Senior 3rd
14th Daniel Jones 18:16 Vet 35 2nd NWC – Vet 35 1st (PB)
25th Vic Belshaw 19:53 Vet 60 2nd NWC – Vet 60 1st
28th David Baugh 20:19 Vet 60 3rd NWC – Vet 60 2nd
33rd Melina Morris 21:00 Vet 45 2nd NWC – Vet 45 2nd (PB)
39th Emma Collins 21:26 Vet 55 1st NWC – Vet 55 1st
43rd Elen Baugh 22:14 Senior (20-34) 3rd NWC – Senior 3rd
45th Paul Jones 22:23 (PB)
49th Fred Jones 23:00 Vet 65 3rd NWC – Vet 65 3rd
50th Ian Jones 23:04 (PB)
54th Lee Evans 23:16 (PB)
63rd Bob Neale 24:12 Vet 70 3rd NWC – Vet 70 3rd
64th Menai Baugh 24:46 Vet 60 1st NWC – Vet 60 1st
66th Julie Roberts 25:08 (PB)
79th Angela Beedles 28:49 Vet 60 3rd NWC – Vet 60 3rd (PB)
86th Jessica Jones 30:27
100th Ron Birch 37:09
102nd Gillian Jones 38:57
103rd Sara Leverett 38:58 Vet 50 3rd NWC – Vet 50 1st

Eleanor Ashcroft also had a podium finish as 3rd Overall Female at the Anglesey Trail Half Marathon on Sunday. This race was set in the beautiful winding woodland trails of Newborough Forest, with glimpses in of the Llyn Peninsula and Ynys Llanddwyn among the views. Eleanor had a strong run finishing in 01:41:33 on this undulating course. Harrier Iwan Evans also ran and had a brilliant race finishing 14th overall in 01:36:16. Great running from both!!

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Weekly Report 08/11/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

On Friday evening 5 Harriers attended the first of 3 rounds of Dash in the Dark. A great little race through the pitch black wooded trails in Llandegla. It’s always a fun and popular event as evidenced by it selling out almost straight away. The weather was surprisingly mild on the night and the new course (due to current logging work) was very enjoyable with some rocky trails, technical wooded sections and one tough climb. Dan Jones was the first Harrier home taking second place in 23:47 and just missing out on the podium top spot. Brett Jones ran well crossing the line in 7th position in a time of 25:05, chased by Aron Evans, making his debut at this race and finishing in 25:24. Aron’s 8th place put 3 Denbigh Harriers in the top 10. A fantastic run by Katy Baugh meant she was 1st female on the night and 15th overall in a time of 27:48. Peter Lester-Owen was easy to make out in his neon green shoes leading a group back in and taking a well earned 45th position finishing in 32:35. Smiles all around and I’m sure they’ll all be back for round 2 in December.

Four Harriers ran the Mad Jacks race in Attingham Park on Saturday, a cross country course with rough fields, woodland paths, brambles, mud, logs to jump over, fences and stiles to scale and a large pond to wade through, up to the waist in very cold water, near the end. Vic Belshaw was first Harrier home and second male over 60 in a time of 35:47. Emma Collins, less than two minutes behind him, had an excellent run and a personal best on the course, winning the F55 category, in a time of 37:36. Duncan Jones returning from injury, finished in 40 minutes, happy with his time and happy to be back racing. Menai Baugh finished a second behind the third F60, finishing in a personal best time on the course in 46:32.
Out of a field of 257:
40th, 39th Man, Second M60 Vic Belshaw 35:47
69th, 8th Woman, First F55 Emma Collins 37:36
103rd, 86th Man, 7th M60 Duncan Jones 40:00
169th, 40th Woman, 4th F60 Menai Baugh 46:32

Also running Saturday, Steve Gadd was the only Denbigh Harrier at the Run Tatton 10k. This is a race around the beautiful Tatton Park in Cheshire, and was a different course from last year with less switchbacks so it was preferred. Steve had an excellent run comming in 61st out of 585 in a time of 44:46 and 7th in the male V45 category. Great race and organisation as always.

Tony Wood and Mel Morris stuck to Fell running, racing the first of the Meirionydd Running Club winter series on Saturday. The series comprises of three Meirionydd organised Winter fell races Rhobell Fawr, Tarren Hendre and Ras yr Aran. This first route was an unmarked 6 mile route up and down Rhobell Fawr with 1900’ ascent. The weather on the day added to the challenege of this race with wind and rain making conditions and visability difficult. Tony Wood had a brilliant run finishing 9th overall in 00:56:09. Mel Morris also had a great run finishing 42nd and 8th female in 01:09:28.

Parkrun results
Bushy
477 Sian Pritchard 25:42
Newtown
11 David Baugh 21:24
17 Elen Baugh 22:34
Conwy
76 Simon Nixon 25:23
Wepre
15 Katy Baugh 24:54
Newborough Forest
31 Victoria Whitehead 23:39
Prestatyn
32 Ian Jones 24:15
39 Bob Neale 26:12
52 Dawn Marshall 27:38
112 John Llewelyn Thomas 57:47
113 Julie Roberts 57:50

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Weekly Report 01/11/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

3 Denbigh Harriers ran the Porth Eirias Bespoke Fitness 10k on Saturday 30 October 2021. Starting and finishing by the Colwyn Bay water centre, this was a fast course along the North Wales Coastal path on a bright sunny morning. There were approximately 110 starters. Bob Neale had an impressive run and an excellent result finishing 1st V70 in 00:51:23. He was followed in by recent new member Hayley Scott in a great time of 00:53:03. Last Harrier home was the evergreen Rocket Ron Birch taking the 1st V80 in a fantastic finishing time of 00:01:21.

On a wet, breezy Sunday, 4 Harriers braved the Clwydians to take part in the Clwydian Hills Fell Race. 105 runners set off in what were soggy underfoot conditions, with Tony Wood being the first Harrier home finishing 14th overall and 8th SM in 01:32:45. Next Harrier over the finish line after a strong run was Katy Baugh in 53rd overall position and 4th SF in a time of 01:56:52. Mel Morris also had a great run finishing 63rd overall and 2nd F40 in 02:00:50, with Menai Baugh continuing her winning streak finishing 87th and taking the 1st F60 prize in 02:19:05

Parkrun Results
Prestatyn
4 Victor Belshaw 00:20:36
7 Katy Baugh 00:21:22
8 David Baugh 00:21:25
12 Glen Price 00:22:30
21 Elen Baugh 00:23:32
23 Victoria Whitehead 00:24:14
43 Sian Pritchard 00:27:23
78 John Llewelyn Thomas 00:47:11

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Weekly Report 25/10/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Denbigh Harrier Victoria Whitehead was feeling tired with sore legs after completing her first Ultra Marathon on Saturday 23/10/21 in Yorkshire. This Ultra was the Punk Panther challenge of 29.33 miles along the Nidderdale Way – it was a dark start at 7am with everyone wearing head torches, but once it became light the views could be truly appreciated! The route crossed lots of muddy fields, paths along the river Nidd and required navigation which was tricky in places, causing a few wrong turns. This Ultra was only 4 weeks after Victoria’s first trail marathon, but she still managed to finish in a fantastic 06:33:42.

There was a good turnout again in the North Wales Cross Country league, this time at Treborth, Bangor, hosted by Eryri Harriers. The Junior Team made their debute with everyone enjoying the experience! The Women’s Team held onto their 3rd overall position in Division 1, with the Over 65’s Men’s Team also holding on to 3rd. A really good turnout in the Men’s team saw strong performances meaning they were 5th team on the day, but staying 7th position overall in Division 1.

Three Denbigh Harriers travelled to Liverpool to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on Sunday 24/10/21. Starting at the Royal Albert Dock, the course takes in the vibrant city centre, including some of the city’s most iconic buildings, music, sporting and cultural landlmarks. Rebekah Dumayne achieved a Personal Best, finishing in 02:22:50; Helen Davies had a strong run finishing in 02:14:24 with Abi Corfe finishing under 2 hours in a great time of 01:58:02.

Parkrun results
Town Moor
135 Mike Hobday 00:24:13
Nova Prestatyn
22 Bob Neale 00:25:40
23 Sian Pritchard 00:25:42
96 John Llewelyn Jones 00:49:08

Posted in Fell running, Marathon, Parkrun, Road running, Weekly report | Comments Off on Weekly Report 25/10/2021

Weekly Report 18/10/2021

Posted on 13th December 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Denbigh Harriers came back from The Flintshire 5 km and 10 km races with a haul of medals this morning. Running in the double races (5 km and 10 km) were Hayley Scott, Julie Roberts, Jessica Jones and Ian Jones. Gillian Jones ran the 5 km, her first 5 km race. The course is an undulating course around the town with approximately 150 ft of ascent. 154 runners ran the 5 km. Results for the 5km race are as follows:
28th Ian Jones 25min 50 secs Second M55-59
29th Julie Roberts 26 min05 secs First F55-59
32nd Hayley Scott 26 mins 21 secs First F 35-39
134th Jessica Jones 41 mins 03 secs
135th Gillian Jones 41 mins 04 secs Second F 60-64

The 10km race is a double loop of the 5 km … it is an undulating course with around 300ft of ascent. It was also the North Wales Championship 10km race. Emma Collins, record holder of the Female 55-60 category and the Female 50-55 category was first Harrier home. Close on her heels was Mel Morris. Fred Jones and son Paul Jones, in friendly, fierce competition were next to finish, followed by Menai Baugh running her first 10km in nearly three years. New member Hayley Scott was next to finish, having run the 5 km as well. Ian Jones and Julie Roberts, also having run the 5 km, finished the 10 km within seconds of each other and Jessica Jones finished the 10 km triumphantly, having also run the 5km. 235 runners ran the 10km. Results are as follows:
33rd Emma Collins 44 mins 44secs First F 55-59 First F55-59 in the North Wales Championships
36th Melina Morris 44 mins 55 secs First F 45-49 First F 45-49 in the North Wales Championships
54th Fred Jones 48 mins 02 secs 3rd M 65-69 2nd M 65-69 in the North Wales Championships
81st Paul Jones 51mins 28 secs
112th Menai Baugh 54mins 29 secs First F60-64 First F60-64 in the North Wales Championships
125th Hayley Scott 55 mins 3rd F35-39
130th Ian Jones 55 mins 55 secs
137th Julie Roberts 56mins 09 secs 3rd F55-59 3rd F55-59 in the North Wales Championships
235th Jessica Jones 1 hr 27 mins 10th F30-34 3rd F30-34 in the North Wales Championship

Posted in 10k, 5K, Road running, Uncategorised, Weekly report | Comments Off on Weekly Report 18/10/2021

October Handicap results and final standings

Posted on 26th October 2021 by admindh

With the nights drawing in, the ground getting decidedly muddy in places, and cattle (both small and large) causing obstructions to some, the handicap season drew to a close on 5th October

Another decent turnout of 16 people both virtually and on the night led to some close finishes (Elen and Katy one second apart, and all 4 Baughs separated by less than 50 seconds), but Tom Jones , who has not run the handicap for years, finished in first place, Tony Wood and Menai finishing second and third.

Also a welcome to her first handicap race for Clair Atterbury, hope to see you next year too.

Overall for the season, 47 people did the race at least once, however only 12 did the required 6 races to be in the official standings, with the overall chance of glory.

A special mention here has to go to Menai Baugh, who was the only person to have completed all 10 of the races in what was a very long season.

The overall winner for 2021 is Paul Jones, who took October off, having an unassailable score of only 20 points for the entire year in spite of only doing 6 races. He has consistently improved through the year, fighting off the handicapper’s determined efforts to pull him back into the pack.

For the minor places, it was all to play for, with a number of people in with a shout if they could make a last lunge for the finish line.

However, it was Melina Morris who finally managed to secure second, her 11th place on the night meaning she got to drop a 15th place from way back in February, leaving her with an overall 35 points.

Coming home in the bronze position for the season is David Baugh, with another consistent race, leaving him on 36 points.

Ed Brown and Gareth Jones finished on 39 points, Menai Baugh and Peter Lester-Owen finished on 40.

Many thanks to all those who have taken part throughout the year (without whom I’d be standing in a field on my own), and also thanks to those who’ve come down to support, take photos, and just for a chat on the race nights

The intention for the 2022 season is to go back to ‘normal’, with the first race happening on Sunday 6th March, and after that races going ahead on the first Tuesday of each month.

Rob Parry

October Results

Position Name Finish time Actual time
1 Tom 18:43:13 00:27:13
2 Tony W 18:44:52 00:23:22
3 Menai B 18:45:06 00:33:36
4 Peter L-O (v) 18:45:22 00:31:22
5 Katy B 18:45:38 00:29:38
6 Elen B 18:45:39 00:30:09
7 Iwan 18:45:43 00:24:13
8 David B 18:45:55 00:27:25
9 Vic 18:46:12 00:25:42
10 Ed 18:46:41 00:35:41
11 Mel 18:46:51 00:28:21
12 Bob 18:47:30 00:35:30
13 Clair 18:47:48 00:40:48
14 Gareth J (v) 18:47:51 00:30:51
15 Lucy (v) 18:50:16 00:37:46
16 Rob P (v) 18:53:47 00:43:17

Final Standings

Final Points from best 6 Races Number of races Position
Paul J 20 6 1st
Mel 35 9 2nd
David B 36 9 3rd
Ed 39 9 4th=
Gareth J 39 7 4th=
Menai 40 10 6th=
Peter L 40 9 6th=
Tony W 43 9 8th
Elen 43 8 9th
Lee 52 8 10th
Rob P 62 7 11th
Bob 68 6 12th
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