Road Runners struck gold at super-fast NW 5k championships at Llanrug.

Road Runners struck gold at super-fast NW 5k championships.

Report by Don Hale.

It was an incredible evening of super-fast running at Llanrug last Wednesday for the North Wales 5k Road Championships, where 130 elite and top club runners competed for prestigious honours.

The eventual race winner was Ryan Davis (Wrexham AC) in just 15 minutes and 37 seconds, with Adam Jones(Eryri Harriers) just snatching 2nd place in 16.13, and he was only four-seconds ahead of Tomos Roberts(Meirionnydd RC) in 16.17.

And quite amazingly, the first twenty-eight runners all dipped under 20-minutes, and the first eight under 17-minutes, with a matter of seconds separating athletes in the top-ten placings.

Against this background, many NWRRC members celebrated a record-breaking night of glory, winning a total of seventeen NW championship medals, including five gold, six silver and six bronze!

The twenty-two club entrants all ran their socks off against top-quality opposition with many also claiming new course PBs over a challenging but scenic route that included a long and sharp hill climb.

Josh Keogh led the Road Runners’ team home in 6th place overall out of 130 finishers in 16.39 but bizarrely he didn’t win a medal as he was 5th in his MSen age cat, but Steve Forsyth, who was just 16-seconds adrift of Josh in 7th place, triggered the gold rush by winning his M40 age cat in 16.55.

Mark Jessett and Jonathan Kettle both claimed silver medals in 15th and 16th places respectively, with Mark finishing 2nd in his M35 cat in 17.38, and Jonathan 2nd in his M45 cat in 17.44. And Richard Eccles also confirmed his excellent form to claim gold in his M55 cat in 17.58 in 16th place.

Will Williams won a bronze medal in his M45 cat in 20th place in 18.58, and he was just ahead of Iwan Evans in 22nd place in 19.08, with Iwan winning bronze in his M40 cat. Stuart Culverhouse was another bronze medal winner in his M50 cat in 32nd place in 20.21, with Jon Evans hot on his heels in 34th spot, to claim silver in his M55 cat in 20.32.

Dave Spofforth ran well in 38th place in 20.42, as did Gethin Wyn Jones 40th overall in 20.50, yet both runners narrowly missed out on medals. Meanwhile, Steve Roberts and Sean Butler collected bronze medals in their age cats, with Steve 43rd in 21.29, and 3rd in his M55 cat, whilst Sean finished 50th overall and he was also 3rd in his M60 cat in 22.01.

Cheryl Frost, despite her surname, was on fire at Llanrug, and she struck gold after comfortably winning her F55 age cat in 65th place in 23.10, with club colleague Kay Hatton also enjoying another outstanding performance to win a silver medal in the same age cat as Cheryl in 23.29 in 71st place.

And it was very pleasing to note that two relative newcomers to the club both returned home with medals. Nicola Wylie was a very worthy gold medal winner after finishing 1st in her F50 cat and 74th overall in 23.33, with Karen Butler deservedly collecting a silver medal for finishing 2nd in her F60 cat in 90th spot in 24.42.

Hannah Griffith though seemed surprised to win a bronze medal in her F45 cat in 94th place in 25.06, despite another determined run, and Kelly-Marie Alford added the icing to her cake enterprise to win silver after finishing 98th in her W35 cat, but her partner Cai Roberts just missed out on a gong despite a good performance and running with Kelly in 98/99th places in 25.25.

 

Master veteran Rob Fryer was another worthy gold medal winner following his gritty recovery run and seemingly back to form after a long absence. Rob won his M65 age cat 100th place overall in 25.27, and Vicky Taylor also enjoyed her outing to finish in 107th place in 27.04.

*North Wales roll of honour: GOLD: F50 Nicola Wylie; F55 Cheryl Frost: M40 Steve Forsyth; M55 Richard Eccles; and M65 Rob Fryer. SILVER: F35 Kelly-Marie Alford; F55 Kay Hatton; F60 Karen Butler; M35 Mark Jessett; M45 Jonathan Kettle; M55 Jon Evans. BRONZE: F45 Hannah Griffith; M40 Iwan Evans; M45 Will Williams; M50 Stuart Culverhouse; M55 Steve Roberts; and M60 Sean Butler.