NORTH Wales Road Runners Club (NWWRC) entered a quartet of hardy athletes in the SSART Trawsfynydd Multi-Terrain eight-mile race last Sunday afternoon (April 7) to raise essential funds for the South Snowdonia Search & Rescue team.

Described as a beautiful multi-terrain race starting from the Magnox Power Station and then around Trawsfynydd Lake in the Eryri National Park, the course was claimed to be fast, with just one challenging hill over a mixed tarmac and trail route.

The NWRRC team performed well despite the very blustery conditions, combined at times with hail showers.

Cheryl Frost led her group home in 68th place, as the ninth female athlete, with a chip time of just one hour, 12 minutes and 41 seconds, to claim third spot in her FV50-59 age cat.

Kay Hatton remained in close pursuit, and she had a strong finish in 70th place, and won her FV60-69 cat, as the 10th female in 1.12.53.

Nia Lister also performed well, and she was 166th overall and the 65th female in 1.28.24, whilst master veteran Mike Hayton put in a determined run to finish in 195th place in 1.36.20, and he was 4th in his MV70 age cat, and the 109th male athlete.

South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team is run entirely by volunteers, who are on call-out 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help those in need in the area.

The team is a charity, dependent on donations from the public.

Other club race results:

*Brighton: Tom Aindow ran in the Brighton Marathon at the weekend and recorded his second fastest marathon time of three hours and 27 minutes, despite suffering a slight injury.

*Berlin: Jon Evans enjoyed a good run in the Berlin half-marathon on Sunday and finished in 1.58.07.

*Wantage, Oxfordshire: Ben and Sarah Hudson competed in the White Horse half-marathon in Oxfordshire, as one of their last races before the London Marathon, but like so many other runners last weekend, their efforts were hampered by Storm Kathleen.

Parkrunners compete against gale force winds from Storm Kathleen

It was wild and extremely windy at Conwy parkrun last Saturday (April 6) as nearly 300 mixed ability athletes braved Storm Kathleen on this blustery riverside 5k course.

Once again, this popular event attracted a host of visiting runners from across the UK, but they all faced a swamp-like, waterlogged course, following several days of heavy and unrelenting rain, combined with 40-mph plus head and side winds.

NWRRC entered 11 members and Jonathan Kettle led the team home with an amazing performance considering the atrocious conditions underfoot to finish in third place overall, and he also won his VM45 age cat in just 18 minutes and 19 seconds.

Will Williams was also in good form, and he won his VM50 cat in sixth place in 19.02, with Steve Mason 10th in 19.45, and third in his VM45 cat.

Sion Thomas, meanwhile, had another consistent run in 39th place in 22.26, and Jamie Tharme was 42nd, and just eight seconds adrift of Sion in 22.34.

Master veteran Sandy Johnston turned in another excellent performance in 67th place, and he also won his VM70 cat in 24.36, with fellow master vet Don Hale finishing 90th in 26.17, and he was second in the same age cat as Sandy.

In addition, veteran Rob Fryer claimed the second spot in his VM65 cat in 97th place in 26.41, and Barrie Wells was 138th in 28.23, and his third place in the VM70 cat ensured the club secured all three top placings in this tough master vet section again.

Nia Lister was the only female club representative at Conwy this week and she enjoyed her result finishing in 149th place in 28.49 and claimed the 3rd spot in her VW35 age cat, whilst veteran John O’Shea was 193rd in 31.27.

Other parkrun results:

*Blackpool: Martin and Carla Green took part in the breezy Blackpool parkrun at Stanley Park on Saturday, with Martin finishing well in third place in 19.21, and he won his VM45 age cat, whilst Carla was the first female finisher in 15th place overall in 22.12, and she too won her VW50 cat.

*Prestatyn: Stuart Culverhouse ran with his young son Joe at the Nova Prestatyn parkrun, supported by several family members.

Stuart finished seventh in 20.25, and he was second in his VM50 cat, and Joe was also second in his JM11-14 age cat, and in 26th place overall in 24.17.

*Bala: Adam Lemalle finished 10th overall in the Pont y Bala parkrun with a good time of 21.51 and he was third in his VM40 age cat.

*Dunstable: Richard Scamans went on his travels again last weekend and ran in the Dunstable Downs parkrun, which he admitted was “very hilly, muddy, and run around boggy fields”.

Despite his problems, Richard still ran well and finished 10th overall, and he was second in his VM50 age cat in 26.15.