THE Arthur Bebbington Twin Piers 10k race returned to huge acclaim last Saturday (January 13).

This followed an absence of several years due to the extensive renovation and flood protection works to the promenade at Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay.

Nearly 400 elite and mixed ability athletes celebrated the reinstatement of this popular yet challenging event from Llandudno Pier to Porth Eirias.

Despite the rather damp and dismal weather, they all welcomed a new course, which also included a closed section of the latest one-way road layout just below Cayley Promenade.

North Wales Road Runners Club (NWRRC) entered 35 athletes and claimed five “top three” finishes in the main race, in addition to winning six NW Championship medals.

This included a well-deserved silver medal for the club’s veteran chairman Kevin Slattery, who recorded an incredible time of 43.47 in his M65 age cat, and fellow vet Cheryl Frost, who also won a marvellous silver medal winner in her F55 cat in 47.11.

Llyr Ap Geraint Roberts was the first NWRRC club runner home following a superb performance in 21st place, and he was third in his M50 age cat in 37.05, and won a bronze NW champs medal.

Will Williams, who made a quick dash back from his holidays, gave chase to Llyr, and finished just one place and 22 seconds behind him in 37.27, with Iwan Evans 36th, and third in is M45 cat in 38.55, winning a bronze championship medal.

Steve Mason finished just behind Iwan in 37th place in 39.01, with Will Evans 45th in 39.47, and Harry Driscoll was 49th in 40.08, whilst Stuart Culverhouse was just eight-seconds behind Harry in 50th place in 40.16.

Richard Eccles also enjoyed a good run in 61st place in 41.01, and Sion Thomas was 92nd in 43.34.

Steve Gardner continued his impressive form in 67th place and won a NW bronze medal after finishing third in his M60 cat in 41.29.

Vet Kevin Slattery was on fire in his M65 cat finishing second with a silver medal in 43.47 in 96th place, and he was just 13 seconds adrift of winning gold.

Mal Preece finished well in 119th place in 45.03, and Steve Roberts was 127th in 45.39, followed closely by Steve Poupart, who was just one place and one second behind.

Dave Jones was on form in 133rd place in 46.18, with another holiday returnee, Jamie Tharme, finishing 138th in 46.29.

Cheryl Frost put in a determined display to win a superb silver medal after finishing 2nd in her F55 age cat in 149th place in 47.11, with Richard Scamans 158th in 47.45.

And vet Kay Hatton won a bronze medal following another good performance in 164th place, and she was third in her F60 cat in 48.00.

Adam Lemalle was 174th in 48.49, and both Sarah Jones and Daniel Hennell celebrated massive PBs after running together, with Sarah 185th in 49.56, and Daniel 188th in 50.15.

Veteran Tony Gibson was 217th with a good time of 52.20, and Hannah Griffith finished well in 219th in 52.23, with Nicola Wylie making a welcome return to racing in 233rd place in 53.40 and she shared the latter part of the event with colleague Helen Hannam, who matched the exact same time, and finished just one place behind.

Master vet Don Hale was pleased with his first 10k for years in 236th place in 54.03, but like several other NWRRC members, he just missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in his M70 age cat.

Gethin Wyn Jones continued his recent recovery in 245th place in 55.26, with Nia Lister running well again in 263rd place in 57.35.

Another master vet Mark Mason performed well in 265th place in 58.00, with vet Len Jackson in close pursuit of Mark, running home just 20 seconds behind, in 273rd place in 58.20, whilst fellow master vet Mike Hayton was only 19 seconds behind Len in 275th place in 58.39.

Gwennan Charlton and Samantha Williams ran the course together in 283rd and 284th places, and both shared the same finishing time of 60.04, whilst ultra-distance and marathon enthusiast Rachel Morris enjoyed another positive run in 321st place in 68.52.

Good attendance at Conwy parkrun despite a double date!

It was another good attendance at the Conwy parkrun last Saturday despite other events, including the Twin Piers 10k race held later on the same day, which offered a unique double date for a number of very keen athletes.

The parkrun event again attracted a good number of top club and social runners who were able to enjoy a picturesque 5k dash on an unusually dry but challenging course this week.

NWRRC were heavily depleted, however, due to this fixture clash with just five members taking the parkrun option, yet they still claimed three first place age cat wins, and two second places.

Master veteran Barrie Wells was in excellent form and finished 40th overall, winning his MV70 age cat in 24 minutes and eight seconds.

Elizabeth Driscoll enjoyed a positive run back on home soil again following her recent deployment with the RAF in the Falkland Islands, and recorded a time of 27.23, and she also won her VW55 cat in 86th place.

Veteran John O’Shea claimed the second spot in his MV65 age cat in 28.50, in 111th place, with another super-vet, Edward Garner, finishing in 159th place in 34.21.

He won his VM75 age cat, with Steve Mason and his dog Coco volunteering to round up the stragglers in 197th place in 52.10.