NORTH Wales Road Runners Club (NWRRC) member Mark Jessett took part in a most unusual race last week where he quite literally ran his socks off – in addition to all his other clothing.

It was all part of a naked 5k fundraising event for the Naturist Foundation at Brocken Hurst, near Orpington.

Mark, who is a MV35 member of NWRRC, and is also one of the regular run directors at Conwy parkrun, was the first male runner home out of 130-completely naked entrants.

He won the race in style in a fast time of 18 minutes and 50 seconds, despite the hot weather, with temperatures hovering about 27 degrees.

After his run, Mark said: “A rather rare running appearance for me these days.

“The event was organised by the Naturist Foundation, and it was basically a trail course through the trees with a short section on the road.”

Runners were only allowed to wear socks and shoes, if necessary, due to some rough parts of the course, and were lined-up in accordance with their age and estimated abilities, with the faster runners at the front, followed by slower runners, social joggers, and even walkers.

The event, along with other unusual supporting fundraising activities, was watched by plenty of other equally naked spectators, and was expected to both raise the profile of the Naturist foundation, and raise thousands of pounds for this organisation, and for other charities.

Good performances despite a delayed start at Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon

NWRRC entered seven club members in the popular Lake Vrynwy half-marathon last Sunday (September 17), which was hit by some unexpected problems, with the start delayed for about 40-minutes due to heavy traffic and parking issues.

Despite this unfortunate delay, all the competitors still managed to perform well, and enjoyed the muggy conditions, with a pleasant breeze around the picturesque lake and relatively flat course.

Jonathan Kettle enjoyed a steady performance, and he was the first NWRRC man home in one hour, 18 minutes and 18 seconds to finish in 27th place overall.

Stuart Culverhouse was 153rd in 1.32,12, with his second-best time, and Ben Hudson was 176th in 1.34.18.

Ben’s wife Sarah Ferguson Hudson also competed well and finished as the 37th female, 214th overall, in 1.39.00, and just missed out on an age cat placing in 4th spot but she was pleased to get within 40 seconds of a new course PB.

Kelly Marie Alford and her partner Cai Roberts ran well together again, with Kelly finishing as the 199th female athlete, 641st overall, in 2.07.49, and Cai was 642nd in 2.07.55, whilst Vicky Taylor was the 352nd female, 881st overall, in 2.29.40.

Sarah later commented on the race: “It was all a bit crazy and started 40-minutes late. It was parking madness!

“They moved the parking back to the village but there were huge queues of people arriving late.”

Despite these problems she added: “The conditions however were good. It was a bit muggy with a light breeze, but a shame it started late.”

Other race results:

*Beaumaris: Gwennan Charlton took part in the undulating Beaumaris RunFest half-marathon on Sunday, and she enjoyed a strong finish in 19th place in 2.30.33.

After the race, she confirmed: “A great training run for Eryri… super hilly, but with stunning scenery and super support on the way round.”

*Penrhyn: Martin Green took time out to recover from last week’s spectacular win at the Caernarfon half-marathon with a steady run-out at the Penrhyn Castle parkrun last Saturday morning, where he finished 5th overall and won his MV45 age cat in just 17 minutes and 26 seconds.

Carla back to her best at Conwy parkrun dash

NWRRC member Carla Green was back to her best at Conwy parkrun this week as the first female athlete home, in 17th place overall, in a superb time of 21.15 to win her VW50 age cat.

NWRRC had 10 entrants and claimed three age category wins, one second, and one third place overall.

Steve Mason led the team home in fifth place, and he was second in his MV45 cat in 19.30, with Carla Green 17th, and the first female finisher in 21.25, and she won her VW50 cat.

Mal Preece was 21st, and he won his MV60 cat in 21.59, with Karl Morris 25th in 22.21, and Adam Lemalle finished in 36th place in 23.24, and he was third in his MV35 cat, with Stuart Culverhouse only five seconds behind Adam, finishing 38th in 23.29.

Will Evans had a steady jog around in 92nd place in 27.03, whilst master veteran Don Hale finished very close to Will in 93rd place in 27.23 and won his MV70 age cat.

Meanwhile, Rachel Morris was back in top form again after last week’s Great North Run, finishing 149th place in 31.00, with Sue Smith also enjoying her return to parkrun with another positive performance in 173rd place in 33.45.

There were 223 finishers, including a good mix of club and social runners, with many participants coming from all parts of the UK, and some even from as far as Australia.