On Saturday 25/09/2021 Victoria Whitehead ran the Endurance Life North York Moors Trail Marathon. This route was on lovely coastal paths, old railway tracks and fields, with over 3500ft of climb. Conditions were very warm on the day, but Victoria had a fantastic run finishing 5th lady and 1st in her age group in a time if 05:51.00. Jon Whitehead ran the Half Marathon in the same event, though it was slightly over half marathon distance at 15 miles!! Jon finished in a great time of 03:39:44.
The Bespoke Denbigh 5k on Wednesday 29/09/2021 saw a great turnout of Denbigh Harrier members, with great results all round. Taking first place overall was Shaun Hughes in 17:57, with Mel Morris first lady and 5th overall in 22:38. Followed by Phil Hayes (6th 22:53); Gareth Jones (7th 22:57); Simon Nixon (8th 23:27); Abdul Pasha (9th 23:27); David Jones (11th 24:16); Lee Evans (12th 24:59); Paul Jones (15th 26:10); Peter Lester-Owen (16th 26:27); Bob Neale (18th 26:59); Alys Griffiths (20th 27:12); Hayley Scott (22nd 22:12); Sali Powell (27th 28:58); and Helen Davies (31st 31:27).
For the past month of Tuesday evenings, 4 Harriers have made their way across the border to take part in the Wirral Multi Terrain League. The series is held each year in September with each of the 4 races being held over various terrain including sandy beaches, rocks, mud, forest trails and hills at distances between 7.5k and 10k.
Maybe it was post lockdown excitement but this year the series attracted more runners than ever before; with over 400 competitors in each race; and they were competitive! Organised and hosted by 4 big Wirral clubs, Wallasey, Pensby, Birkenhead and West Cheshire the races attracted some of the area’s best, including some international runners, which made for an exciting, challenging and yet really friendly atmosphere. The Harriers did well to meet and sustain the challenge and came away with results to be proud of. Series Results – Emma Collins 1st V50 (10th Female overall); Mel Morris 2nd V40 (9th Female overall); Tony Wood 7th U40 (18th Male overall); Vic Belshaw (188th Male overall).
The Cross Country season started on Saturday 02/10/21 with the first fixture hosted by Wrexham on the playing fields at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd. There was a good representation from Denbigh Harriers members with great performances. The Women’s team finished 3rd team in Division 1, only 8 points away from 1st which is a fantastic start to the season. The Men were 7th in Division One – but not far off mid table, which bodes well for the rest of the season. The Over 65’s Men were 3rd team out of the four to finish, with again great performances on this flat, fast course.
Sunday 03/10/2021 saw some members lucky enough to run in the London Marathon – some in London and some virtually!! Joe Welch and Daniel Jones made the trip down to London, running in what were perfect conditions on the day. Joe Welch had a brilliant run managing to break 3hrs in a time of 02:59:21. Daniel Jones had an equally impressive run finishing in 03:03:17. Running ‘virtually’ was Caroline James after being approached by Hope House & Tŷ Gobaith to run the virtual London Marathon for them, and jumped at the chance to be able to support this wonderful charity. Caroline started 5am from Ruthin Rugby Club, running the first 10 miles in the dark which she described as being quite enjoyable! The virtual London App was great and kept Caroline updated every half mile and even played the official music at the start and finish! Caroline managed to get back to the rugby club bang on 26.2 miles in time to watch her son play his match. Caroline has set herself the challenge of running 2 marathons in 2 weekends for the charity, her next marathon being in Manchester next week.
Also running a marathon on Sunday 03/10/2021 were Shaun Hughes and Eleanor Ashcroft in the MBNA Chester Marathon. Shaun had a storming run, finishing in 02:51:28, 32nd overall and 15th in his age category. Eleanor had an equally brilliant run finishing in 03:35:22, 32nd female overall and 12th in her age category.
Choosing an even longer distance were Rachel Evans and Jenni Richards, who raced in Out-fit’s Brenig Way 50k on Sunday 03/10/2021. This was a linear route staring at Corwen and following the Brenig Way over varied terrain to finish at Llyn Brenig. After a rainy start from Corwen the weather brightened, with the sun shinning on the final descent and run in over the Llyn Brenig dam to the finish line. Rachel had a brilliant run, finishing 10th overall in 06:56:45. Jenni Richards also had fantastic run, finishing 14th overall in 07:02:21.
Parkrun results 02/10/2021
Bushy
481 Sian Pritchard 00:26:36
Conwy
8 Phillip Hayes 00:21:21
Nova Prestatyn
4 Vic Belshaw 00:20:38
54 David Baugh 00:30:40
75 John Llewelyn Thomas 00:56:04
