Emma Collins shows her class as she takes 1st VF55 at Helena Tipping 10k whilst Menai Baugh continues to dominate in her category at local fell races
Sunday saw the annual Helena Tipping 10k with 745 turning out to run in the rain & wind. 10 years ago this was Emma Collins first road race. 10 years later she was only 30 seconds slower & finished in 45:16 and 1st VF55 and 17th lady out of 315. Also having fantastic runs were Sharon Griffiths finishing in 63:12, a PB of 10 mins and Lian Jones finishing in 63:17 in her first ever race.
Four Denbigh Harriers turned out amongst the 86 runners who took to the hills for the lovely Green, Green Grass of Home Fell race which is organised by Tony Benton of Denbigh Harriers and marshalled by many of Tony’s local friends and the Harriers. This 5 mile / 8 km race starts above Llangynhafal was run this year on a warm, clear summer’s evening last Wednesday. The field of runners set off on a challenging route that took in some rarely trodden tracks and afforded some spectacular panoramic views of the Vale of Clwyd and surrounding hills. On their way, competitors coped with a combination of twisting paths, lung-busting climbs and head-high banks of bracken before descending over open heath to the finish. Ceri Belshaw led the quartet of Harriers home with a strong run, finishing in 53:19. Mathew Jones, who was competing the race for the first time, finished in 57:07 followed by Katy Baugh in 61:27. Congratulations to Menai Baugh whose determined effort saw her finish first in the VF60 age category in 63:44.
On Saturday, the start line of the Push up the Pincyn fell race felt like a winter cross country race as 35 odd runners lined up shivering in their vests facing heavy rain and wind interspersed with hail. Thankfully over the 6.2 mile course the weather eased but stayed cool making the 1,443 foot of climb more comfortable than fell races of late. The five Denbigh harriers managed to avoid getting bitten by farm dogs (two other runners were less lucky) and enjoyed what is a lovely route through fields to Clocaenog village and then onto forestry tracks and paths to the Pincyn. The return was through narrow paths and a long climb back to the Clawdd Newydd show ground. Menai Baugh was 1st VF60 in 1hr11, Elen Baugh finished in 1hr10, Duncan Jones finished just over the hour mark with Mathew Jones just ahead under the hour and David Baugh (3rd M50) in 56 minutes. As this was a village show and sports, David was also 1st equal in the Senior Couples Walking race with his partner Steve Toogood from Buckley winning the handsome prize of £1 each.
A quiet weekend on the Parkrun front. Jeff Jones ran another personal best for 5K at Conwy and was 3rd M65 and 142nd in 27m16 a quite remarkable improvement this year, Jeff woho competes in the VM65 category. Sarah Bayliss continued her attack on Wepre with another good run in 28m48 (63rd and 1st W50 and only 2 minutes slower than her extremely good recent PB on this course. Chris Baldwin set off for some parkrun tourism to Anglesey and was 29th in 25m41 at the new parkrun at Newborough beach which has the distinction of including a small sand dune after the first half mile and then a mile of climb of about 150ft on nice trails through the woods – another challenging parkrun nearly in our backyard.
Results
The Green Green Grass of Home Ceri Belshaw 37th & 5th lady 53:19 Mat Jones 53rd 57:07 Katy Baugh 67th 61:27 Menai Baugh 72nd & 1st VF60 63:44
Push Up the Pincyn David Baugh 3rd VM50 56m, Mat Jones sub 60, Duncan Jones 60+m, Elen Baugh 1hr10, Menai Baugh 1st VF60 1hr 11
Helena Tipping 10k Emma Collins 1st VF55 & 17th lady 45:16, Sharon Griffiths 63:12 PB, Lian Jones 63:17
Parkrun Conwy Jeff Jones 142nd 27:16, Newborough Forest Chris Baldwin 29th 25:41 Wepre Sarah Bayliss 63rd & 8th lady 28:48
