28/10/2008 by Dick.

Now Snowdon from a first-time runner’s viewpoint:

Saturday morning! Rise and Shine!!! Had a lovely nights sleep, only banged my head on the bunk bed about 8 times. I know, I might knock myself out if I keep this up and then I will not be able to do it!!No chance! Breakfast was a YHA version of porridge brought on a plate. Never mind we won’t moan as Suzie tucks into her toast smothered in peanut butter!
 We arranged to go on the double decker bus to take us all to Nant Peris at 9ish as the race starts at 10.30am. The weather was horrendous! gail force winds and torrential rain. The last time it was like this it got cancelled said one happy competitor!! If only we’d known I said to myself!!!!
On the bus to the start, shivering with cold.  I knew I should have put on my long sleeve top instead of braving it in my sleeveless Harriers top!! Too late now!
Suzie sat down next to marathon photo man who takes the official pics of the course. “Now! don’t forget to look out for me and take some lovely pics of us and I might just give you a couple of welsh cakes!!!” He smiles in disbelief at this woman who looks slightly insane. Wind, rain, gale force winds are in full force as we stand at the start. It’s amazing what protection a bin bag will do!! (Got a lovely pic of myself, Roberta and Richie modelling one!)
5, 4, 3, 2, 1… we are off!! A big smile at the S4C cameras as we run past, you never know your luck!!
The wind was in full force and I was  fighting against it for the first 4 miles! I was determined not to walk especially at the start. I could have hugged Suzie as all that hill training paid off! I was at the top in no time and then for a lovely downhill. I remembered to not go to fast at this point (Andy Meek-Welsh’s words rang in my ears) remember the knees and still a long way to go! A steady 9.5 m miling from the Garmin as I glanced down. (Off came the bin bag to reveal my very proud Chepstow Harriers vest!!) We decided at the start that we would all run our own race. I knew that Suzie was ahead of me as she is doing amazing at the moment and I could see Roberta in front of me and thought that Claire and Tash were behind me!!
Halfway mark was an incline through the village of Beddgelert and I could see Roberta just in front of me. Pushing my legs and arms up the hills, before I knew it I was level with Roberta and then a quick chat and I felt good so pushed on. Bev Meek-Welsh and Gareth Jones did an amazing job and kept popping up every now again and it really kept me going.
Wind, rain, wind and more rain!!!!! The scenery despite the horrendous weather was spectacular with lakes and mountains on either side. What more could you ask for?
I still felt good and mile 20 was my goal!! Get to that and only another 6.2 miles to go!!
The dreaded mile 21, which was practically vertical for 2-3miles, was looming. I along with everyone else halted to a quick walk at this point. Gareth Jones met me at the bottom of the hill. “Grit your teeth Gill,” he said  “and just get up there!!” Wise words from an experienced runner, he can’t be lying to me, surely!
Nearly at the top now and the wind was blowing me from side to side. OMG where is the  downhill. I kept going, pushing my legs and arms and then I could see the top of the horizon. Wow! I’m at the top. Downhill now for a couple of miles, through the slate quarry, off road. The wind was really strong here and kept trying to push me off the track. I plunged on heading for Llanberis  which I could see in the distance. A slight incline at mile 25.5 . Just round the bend said one supporter saturated in rain! Now! where have I heard that one before!!! She was right though, a quick spurt over the road and I could see Suzie and Tony shouting my name. Through the finish line at 5:15:45
I was thrilled, it was all over!!
What a fantastic weekend!!! Back to Petes Eats then with everyone else for a big nosh up but unfortunately had to forego the sticky toffee pudding and custard as tooooo full up!
Thanks to Suzie who offered to drive home.  she needs a bit more practice with that reverse gear!!!)

I am still walking on air today, although stiff and sore!!
Would I do it again? Of course I would, it was brill despite the weather. Next time though I am going for just under 5 hours.

Thank you Suzie for another great weekend away, although I am definitely booking the accommodation next time if you don’t mind!! Well Done Claire as well for doing so well after her treatment last year!! Amazing woman or what!! Thanks to all the other Harriers for their fantastic support as always especially Tony, Bev and Gareth.
And Yes! I got my Snowdonia sweatshirt and Petes Eats mugs!!! Got to be worth it! And of course the t-shirt and coaster at the finish!!!   Roll on the next one!!Apologies for the long blog but got a bit carried away with excitement.

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14/10/2008 by Dick.

In this month of hill training it’s School Hill’s turn to take the weight of pounding Harriers’ feet on Tuesday.

Fed up with hills?  Come to the Link Road for 6 X 800 metres. The same alternative is also available for Thursday - PROVIDED THERE ARE ENOUGH WANTING TO DO IT - with the run being the Hayesgate 7.

We have advertised cross-country training for Saturday morning 9.30, BUT if there is demand we’d like to put on a recce of the Sugar Loaf hill race which is fast coming up as the next Club Champs race on Sat 1 Nov at 2pm from the Crown Inn, Pantigelli, just north of Abergavenny. This is quite a beginner’s introduction to fell racing, with some uphill obviously, but also some nice flat stuff on a green ‘carpet’,  and some exhiliarating but safe descending. The plan is to do a gentle jog round this weekend and/or the next - ideally on a Saturday so as not to spoil anyone’s racing or long run on the Sunday. email me on dickfinch@talktalk.net or phone 01291 627569 if you’re interested.

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29/09/2008 by Dick.

Tuesday for most is the Bridge Inn 5k over in Shortwood,  Bristol - the latest Club Champs race. 7.30 enter on the night. Meet at Leis Ctre at 6 to share cars.

If you can’t make it, come to the Leis Ctre at the usual time to meet up for a run.

Thursday’s main run will be the Tour of the Town (see website under Training & Coaching for the route). If you’re looking for some speedwork, you can do 4 X 1600 metres on the Link Road with 2 mins recovery.

No cross-country training on Saturday as Sunday is the real thing. Meet at Leis Ctre at 9.30 to share cars to Pontllanfraith near Blackwood. Remember to bring your Leisure Centre League race number. If you haven’t got one see Dick on Thursday, or if you must on Sunday morn.

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24/09/2008 by Dick.

Back to the Link Road Tuesday after 6 months off road. A speed pyramid sharpener to get your legs ready for Thursday and your last chance to post that really fast 5k that you know is in there somewhere. The Sedbury run awaits those who prefer the quiet life.

Either way report to the Leisure Ctre at 6.50 and don’t forget your shiny top or bring your fiver to buy a cost-price one from Dick.

We had a 200% increase in turnout for last Saturday’s cross-country training over Piercefield. Those who made the effort found it a great session that compresses a typical XC course into a really effective half-hour session. The beauty of is that you can be of any standard and yet you never feel alone at the front or back. Berna and I had quite a tussle, with Calum passing us every now and then. You could even bring the kids along for some healthy exercise and know that they’ll never be far away. So 9.30 in the top car park. The more the merrier and the XC season starts next week.

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15/09/2008 by Dick.

Tuesday’s speedwork will be a new session devised by Andy Meek-Welsh using the park in the middle of the Danes estate. It sounds different and interesting, and likely to become a favourite in our training calendar. Or it’s a fartlek session over Piercefield Park.

Thursday is the final 5k on the Severn Bridge. This has proved very popular. If you haven’t done one yet, come down and have a go and post a time for your Club Champs points.

Then celebrate with our monthly visit to Wetherspoons in St Mary’s St for a nice supper and drink and chinwag.

Finally, cross-country training in Piercefield Park on Saturday at 9.30. Last week’s session attracted a grand total of one, Kevin, who nevertheless had a hard but lonely workout. Kev is rather hoping that a few other Harriers will join him this week! The first race is in two weeks remember.

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24/07/2008 by Gerry.

Syd has been busy going over his personal records and these have been the basis of a major update to the club records. Please have a look and advise me of any errors - use the form to claim your records.
Men’s Records
Women’s Records
Claim Form

(Apologies but when you close the form you get left on Club Events and Results Page)

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29/06/2008 by Dick.

Our ace reporter, Ivan, found time during the following week to write these impressions, but left the last four stages to be completed by Lou and Dick. So here it is.

Welsh Castles Relay 2008
 
Before anything else in this report, a huge thanks must be given to Les Croupiers for putting on a fantastic event: this was the 26^th year of the event and my first time of participation. The whole weekend is brilliantly organized and no doubt a huge amount of man hours go into the organization of the event not only on the day but in the many months prior to the actual day.
 
The next thanks has to be to all of the other clubs The camaraderie of the event is brilliant, with every team cheering on every runner when they happen to see them, giving out much needed water and shouting and cheering from mini-buses and cars as they drive by.
 
58 Teams took part this year and the results are up on the Les Croupiers Website, In the open category Les Croupiers themselves took the honours ahead of Serpentine who also won the Ladies prize.
 
So then, the Castles experience…
 
The weekend for the bulk of the Chepstow team : Andy (Captain & Organiser), Chris, Geoff and Dick (Drivers), Lou, Mark.H, Jane.B, Calum, Jan, Sian, Ivan & Sue O (chief whip), began at the Leisure centre on Friday afternoon, cramming the minibus with tents and provisions, and then trying to find some seats for their owners.Then followed a scenic drive up through Wales via Abergavenny to rendezvous with Lorna, and then on in convoy to Rhayader for a pit stop at the Chippy before a final blast up to Caernarfon.
After a sleepless night for most in the Leisure centre with some lights that weren’t turned off and a constant air-con fan we packed up our stuff and headed in search of breakfast. The exception to the sleepless night being Sue who “had the best night’s sleep for months”. For those who camped out on the field for the evening the reports were mixed, some slept well and some were too cold to sleep properly. 
We met Andy B & Alison at the camping field. The initial plan was that they would be bringing Sam & Steve H with them but unfortunately Sam came down with something during the week and after a night in Hospital had to pull out.  It was Sam’s birthday and she was due to run the first leg so that she could then ‘celebrate’ for the rest of the day. (Judging by her run at the Caerleon LCL she’s getting back to full fitness.)
Leg 1 (9.1m), Geoff.B stepped into Sam’s shoes and headed off from Caernarfon Castle and on down the cycle tracks/road to Penygroes.
 
Leg 2 (10.7m), Chris took over and set off down the road hoping his calf was going to hold up.  Unfortunately 2 miles in it was giving him problems, but hemanaged to keep going to the finish. Hope it recovers soon Chris.
 
Leg 3 (12.1), saw Mark heading off to tackle the first ‘Mountain Stage’. Lorna with Calum on board managed to support Mark, and whilst waiting at the finish reported that Mark had appeared to be running well and was looking good at the 3 miles to go point. Unfortunately as we realized afterwards when checking out the course profiles, this was the point at which the ‘mountain’ began, This took its toll on Mark and he was suffering at the finish. Well done Mark.
 
Vehicle swap time, not sure where everyone went, but I jumped into Lorna’s car with her and Calum and off we went chasing…
 
Leg 4 9.4m and we caught Andy.B after a few miles who called out “Where’s my Car?” We found out later that he’d passed Alison holding a cup of water for him, with no sign of his car or the temporary driver, Dick, who had obviously abandoned her and run off with his Citroen. He must have been so relieved to arrive at Harlech to find Dick waiting with Alison and the traditional ice cream.

Leg 5 ‘apparently flat’ 10.7m leg to Barmouth, Jan drew the short straw on this one, the leg starting with a mile long climb out of Harlech and continued to ‘undulate’ until a steep descent down a narrow alley to finish near the beach. More ice creams were consumed here along with a quick dip.
 
A bit more transport swapping during Jan’s leg (it’s all about going with the flow and changing plans on the move at the Castles), had seen Sian join us in Lorna’s car to be delivered to her start.
 
Leg 6 to Dolgellau (9.75m). Carl’s leg is notoriously hard to get support to. He had travelled up for the day with Luke, so we left Luke to supply support (and the minibus to meet them at the finish – I think) and headed towards Dolgellau to try and meet Martin & Steve.C for some more car swapping. Carl unfortunately sustained an injury during his leg (Achilles or calf I believe), but pressed on and still put in a good performance.
 
Leg 7, Mountain two, Dolgellau to Dinas Mawddwy with Martin. Lorna and Calum finally managed to find the cup of tea they had been dying for all morning, have a brief rest at the start and watch Martin head off before taking Sian to the start of her leg, whilst supplying some water to Martin on the climb!. I jumped into Martin’s Car with Steve.C to try and head to the end of the stage. Leg 7 is about 9 miles, half up half down, pretty steep both ways, you have to see it to believe it. Apparently last year a fair few runners failed to complete the leg and collapsed in the heat on both the ups and the downs.
 
Leg 8, Dinas Mawddwy to Foel, 11.2 miles, it was up to Steve.C to fend for himself on this one, the rules of the relay state that teams may not service runners on this leg due to the narrow lanes with many blind corners and an accident in previous years. Steve.C put in a great performance and had the highest position on a leg for the weekend.
 
Leg 9, Foel to Llanfair Caereinon (8.6m), Sian took on this leg and we had to chase her down with the Mini-bus, catching up with her about 3 miles from the end, to give additional support and offer more water. Andy B had been continuing his sterling work of supplying water throughout the leg. Leg 9, has a nasty little sting in the tail of a very steep climb to the finish line - it looked practically like a 1in1!
 
Leg 10, Luke took on the last leg of the day the longest of the relay and also one of the of the ‘mountain’ stages, involving a quick steep climb over the first 1.5m from 400ft to 1000ft then practically followed by a half marathon to the finish! Luke put in a great performance (according to the overnight results, this was his second of the day having apparently run leg 8 just earlier - I’m sure it was Steve.C I saw starting that one!), and was supported by Carl, Calum & Lorna and no doubt all of the other castles teams, while the minibus headed for the supermarket to get the evening’s barbeque ready.
 
Newtown overnight….
Basically involved tents / showers / barbeques / bit of alcohol for some / more for others and whatever sleep we could get. The girls will claim the showers were cold, but they seemed fine to me!!
 
Newtown Morning….
With the leg 11 start being at 7.00am it has to be an early start for everyone, support crews endeavour to leave before the race starts so that they don’t get stuck in traffic (most of it being race traffic, when you think that all teams have at least 1 minibus and a couple of cars each that means a minimum of about 180 vehicles trying to leave at the same time down a relatively small road), most importantly they have to make sure that they are going to be able to get the leg 12 runners to their start in time. This meant Lorna heading off early with Dick & Jane .
 
Leg 11, Newtown to Llanbadarn Fynydd (12.3m), I had the pleasure of running this leg, the 4^th of the mountain stages. The profile of the leg is up hill for the first 8 miles, a long steady climb from about 400ft up to 1200ft (I think) then downhill for the last 4 miles. I can’t quite decide which part I preferred: the down meant trying to run hard and keep up the pace and maintain position, whereas the up had just meant trying to pace it right… dilemma!  All in all the leg went pretty well, and I just let the guy in front get a bit too far ahead of me before the finish straight with not quite enough room to catch him. Well done Clevedon AC. There also happened to be a second renegade Harrier on this leg, Paul Lidgett running for his work team. It’s ok though, he let me beat him.
 
Leg 12, to Cross Gates (10.6m), Lorna’s leg, an overall downhill leg, she ran very well and we spotted her a few times from the minibus before heading to watch her finish. My memory of the actual leg is a bit non-existent as I was changing & recovering en-route. What I do remember is that this leg finishes at a petrol station, and it had fuel - apparently unaffected by the strikes/blockades!
 
Leg 13, to Crossgates to Builth Wells (10.6m), now this was an exciting one, it almost escalated to fisticuffs between all harriers in the vicinity on this one after a celebrity was spotted. Eventually Jane exerted her authority and lined up on the start line along side Sonia ‘O’ Sullivan. Jane ran a great race, tussling with one of our LCL friends from Lliswerry.
Leg 14, Builth to Drovers (11m), Start level 400ft, finish 1400ft, with a peak just before of 1500ft. I think Mick McGeoch (Les Croups) described this best in the race programme “Life was never meant to be easy and the Castles never is. There are two types of stage - hard, and very hard. And then there’s Drovers. Running the Drovers, in my opinion, is something everyone should do once. After that you learn never to complain again.” Nick Davis has now completed this for the second time and he did a great Job. He seems to be getting all the ‘good’ legs recently!!! Well done Nick, don’t know if you had a chance to look at the view - it was pretty impressive.
 
Leg 15, down into Brecon (12.8m), Gareth Jones took this one on, the start being from the Red Kite centre, just down the road from the drovers finish. Gareth ran well finishing in Brecon looking good. This was a busy leg for the Harriers as it was our turn to do some marshalling, luckily the mini-bus wasn’t too empty as a couple of ‘locals’ Matt & Marianne were drafted in for a couple of hours of duty.
 
Leg 16, Brecon to Beacon’s Reservoir (8.8m), Calum happily took on this the last of the ‘mountain’ stages, I believe the thinking was that he was more likely to get injured on the down hills than the ups. Calum ran well and apparently slightly misjudged where the finish was and started his sprint slightly early, turned the corner near the top before realising there was about another 800m to go!!
 
From here onwards its over to Lou/Dick to finish off this report, it seems like a good place for me to finish as here starts her leg and I need to go to bed. Another big weekend for me, off to the lake district to support a friend doing the Bob Graham Round - anyone who’s interested take a look at http://www.bobgrahamround.co.uk/ and have a chat to Andy Creber.

Leg 17. Down to Merthyr (9.2m), and Lou despite a poorly foot put in a good run despite the pain. Regrettably it aggravated the tendon injury to the point that she’s still limping and had to drop out of the Cotswolds Relay.

Leg 18. Merthyr to Navigation Park (9.1m). Capt Ost took this one also carrying an injury (hip) and was  pleased to run strongly with no ill effects. Super supporter, Andy Creber, used his navigational skills to reach Andy O with water on a course that largely avoids public roads.

Leg 19.On to Caerphilly (10.4m). Gerry also tested Mr Creber’s ingenuity on another mainly off road route. Good to see Gerry going well, and putting in a strong finish down the avenue in Crescent Park.

Leg 20. Glory leg into Cardiff Castle. Yet another difficult-to-get-support-to stage, but Steve Harris was unfazed. He was initially competitive, but lived up to his Discussions Board nickname of ‘Excuses, Excuses’ with his post-race explanation of being led astray by the runners in front! 
 
So thanks to everyone for a great weekend, most of all our own team for the fantastic support. Extra thanks goes to those who joined us for the weekend, supported us and weren’t even running: Dick, Geoff (although drafted in to run leg 1), Sue, Alison Bray, Andy Creber (who left home at 4am Sunday morning to come and join us, there in time to help support me on leg 11), Eric (joined us Saturday night, ferried runners, supplied water, and provided directions for the legs when Andy.O was off to run his leg and I was left in charge of guiding the bus!)
 
Finally thanks once again to Les Croupiers for organising a great event and all the other teams for the fantastic support throughout. 

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12/06/2008 by Dick.

Yes it’s the 2nd Thursday in the month, so it must be Chepstow Harriers night out!

You can choose between lots of different varieties of curry and lots of different drinks - all for the total price of £5.59 at Wetherspoons in St Mary’s St, Chepstow tonight.

And you can choose between the Sea Wall run, Fryth Wood laps or a fitness-winning track session.

Yes Chepstow = Choice!!!

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10/06/2008 by Lou.

Rack Raid Stage Relay ( Apologies in advance for anyone i fail to mention and the fact that this may just appear to be a long rambling diaryesque type report)
Also please note that this is a biased Chepstow Harriers review of the event, apologies to the other teams if we upset anyone. To this end I have made some changes to the text in my “moderator” role. (Admin).

Yowser – what a great day – shame we had to go running, would have been far nicer to go and sit a in a river somewhere!

Those of us who had the earlier legs had the mere problem of getting up early, after that we were all quite happy to not be running in the mid-day/afternoon sun.
Andy Chauffeur & water boy Ost, Dick Routefinder Finch, Lou Almost first lady to win a stage Summers and yep you guessed it, SatNav, headed up the road at 5:30 am to Grosmont, for the start of the first leg. Little did they know that Jane and Geoff were already in place following the 4:30 alarm call (sorry Jane

The other, as ever, main support unit was Syd ‘Two Cars’ Wheeler, who was at the start of every leg to make sure all the runners were present and ready for the off.

Leg 1/2

I managed to get up at a far more reasonable hour and arrived ready at Skenfrith just before 7:30. Geoff was already there. A quick wander round the castle to absorb a bit of culture then time to get changed as hoards of cars/runners started turning up ready for the off. A short warm up jog and use of the local facilities and we were being ushered towards the start line.

In perfect timing the leaders of Stage 1 came flying round the corner. I am reliably informed that Lou had led right up until the last few hundred metres when the ‘Gentleman’ from Islwyn (i think) blast past for the stage win. Lou finishing just a few seconds behind. If only it had been a downhill finish - with Lou’s down hill speed he wouldn’t have stood a chance. Still something to train for Lou, race craft and a faster finish. Well done Islwyn.

Myself (A Team) & Geoff (B Team - or should it have been called ‘Team Bayliss’ at this point) set of up the road and were able to congratulate all those heading for the finish. I saw Jane coming the other way, looking very comfortable and smiling away - or maybe just laughing at us mugs heading out into the ever warming weather, or perhaps she new about the hills we were just about to embark on!

Into Leg 2

I quickly discovered Pontypridd were taking part in the Relay. I set off alongside the Ponty runner and decided his shoulder was the place to be. A bit of a different experience to that of my Chepstow-Calidcot leg from last year - at which I had felt strangely like a Kenyan runner trotting along at the front.

All seemed to be going pretty well, apart from the whole course seemed to be going be up hill!! In fact, Leg 2, is flat for about half a mile, then starts a long gradual climb until just before half way.

All seemed good on the Ponty shoulder, I was feeling confident. My first inkling that things might change was on our first short down-hill, when Mr. Ponty suddenly pulled out, I quickly gathered him back up and thought no more of it.

We had another bit of a hill, at which to my relief, we were due a long downhill section before the last climb up to Whitecastle. Once again Mr Ponty immediately pulled ahead a few metres. This time I was unable to close him down - even with the aid of a water cooling system (lou) and hydration package (mark) doing there best to keep me going.

Ponty pulled steadily ahead gaining 100m lead before the last climb. I put my best into the last uphill mile (which was strangely not as bad as i had expected) but couldn’t make any impression and had to settle for the 2nd place.

As soon as I crossed the finish line and managed to lift my head up, Leg 3 were on their way. Dave Somersall for Team A, and Nick Higgings taking over from Team Bayliss.

Leg 3

Unfortunately my coverage of this leg will be pretty much non-existent as i spent this leg getting a lift (via Andy.C) back to my car at Skenfrith. I hear however that Leg 3 went all to plan. Dave led from the start, with Nick in pretty close pursuit . The Leg finished in Abergavenny with Dave in 1st place and i believe Nick was 4^th. Thus extending Team A’s lead at the top, Team B must surely have been topping the B Team competition at this point.

Leg 4

Having found a suitable place to stop about a couple of miles into the leg I waited for the Chepstow runners of SatNav & Colin ‘I’ll get him if he goes the wrong way’ Prosser. Unfortunately it didn’t go quite to plan, Colin and Mark characteristically shot off as normal at the front, and un-characteristically didn’t go the wrong way! Mark passed by me looking strong, no other runners in sight. I decided I’d stopped to early to serve any use and drove on for a couple of miles to the top of one of the hills (it seemed steep in the car). After a short while Mark came running up the hill, I successfully delivered water, but wasn’t very successful in answering ‘how far behind’ - mainly because I couldn’t see anyone else!

Colin came through also looking pretty strong and happily took some water. Further on I happened upon Team Ost/Finch/Summers awaiting the arrival of Mark. Lou was deciding the best way to throw water at Mark, when he came round the corner shouting ‘on my legs, on my legs’, we all proceeded to thro/squirt water in his vague direction, some of it must have reached the legs…. Team OFS then proceeded towards the finish while I offered water to a few other runners and made sure Colin had a bit of water ready for the last 1.5 miles.
Mark finished in 1^st, with Colin chasing him to I think somewhere around 7^th or 8^th place.

Leg 5
Over to Ed Green & Brett ‘ between two 12 hour shifts’ Regulski. I missed the start of this one but chasing them off down the road I happened upon Brett and two other runners, all looking comfortable. Further down the road I found Ed running along at the front.

One quick stop to offer water on this leg and then I left Team OFS/Harvey to deal with watering while I headed on to Monmouth in search of toilets and food. Coming out of Waitrose, I saw Ed flying over the Mono-bridge pretty comfortably in the lead. He was shortly followed by the start of Leg 6 heading the other way. I quickly then happened upon ‘Photo-Finch’ and we awaited the arrival of Brett.

Leg 7
Roberta was all ready and in place, but Luke ‘thought he’d got away with it’ Malarz wasn’t around - we had a good 15mins (ish) to go so not time to panic yet. Fortunately Geoff&Jane were there so I figured I could’ve persuaded them to do another leg . Luke arrived, running over to the start line carrying trainers with about 7minutes to go - perfect timing.

We awaited the first of the finishers in Raglan. First was a Fairwater runner, 4^th or 5^th place saw the arrival of Pete, apologies Nick I’m not sure where you finished as it was time to get to Usk for the next start.
Heading down the Road towards Usk, Roberta was running well, in about 8^th or 9^th, Luke was chasing the 1^st place guy.

Leg 8 (boy am I glad I didn’t do this one)
Nick ‘I don’t drink water’ Davis & Gareth Creed set off on this one. We were just about to head off when Syd ‘2^nd Car’ Wheeler’ rocked up in some new wheels. After deliberating how good the AA must have been, he told us he dumped the broken one in Lidl (somewhere) and happened upon a certain Brett & Ed who delivered him home where he hot wired the car he’d left for his wife and drove off before she knew it was missing.
Lou and I headed off to intercept some runners, and took it on ourselves to chase Nick through the lanes (mostly up hill) leaving the Ostmobile to make sure Gareth had water. It was quickly apparent (after the first offer of water) that Nick doesn’t like the stuff and just insisted that we should keep chucking it over him. I wish I’d got a picture of Lou chasing Nick up the road holding a 5 litre bottle of water up-side down over his head.

After much water throwing we were confident Nick was going to hold off the guy in second place ( - he was the one with the great running style - just ask Lou & Elizabeta, - a great heel flick ) So we headed to Tintern for Ice-Cream - sorry I mean to cheer them over the finish line. Nick finished First, Gareth doing the gentlemanly thing didn’t sprint passed the girl who he’d run the whole way with.

Leg 10
Steve ‘calf/ITB/Knee/cold - take your pick’ Harris and Sian ‘I better not put anything here or she’ll kill me’ Griffith took over the mantle on the leg from Chepstow to Caldicot.

It was great to see extra supporters who weren’t running at all, turning up to watch the local legs, much appreciated by the runners. Steve had a very similar experience to me last year, in that in heading off up the Dell it felt very strange to be at the front and not really knowing what to do.

The route goes up the Dell, Welsh Street (that we all love) across Kingsmark Lane before joining the main road up past the Hospital. Then following the main roads to Caldicot. A nice leg to do if you live locally as It means have a great concept of knowing where you are in the leg. I was given charge of Dick’s camera and told to take pictures if possible as he needed to head with Syd towards the start of his leg later on.
I managed to catch up with the runners as they were heading past St Pierre, so I stopped the car just a bit further along and waited with water and Camera. Steve came into view with a good lead. Whilst taking a photo I noticed the Ost mobile parked on the other side of the Road with Andy & Mark delivering water. They headed off and I awaited the arrival of Sian, she was running very well and appeared to be keeping every water bottle that people kept handing her, interesting tactic - I suppose it prevented others getting their water!! - must remember that one.

Well done to all, and thanks to whoever supplied the weather. Fairwater Runners did a great job (as I imagine is usual) and provided a thoroughly enjoyable relay. A great warm up for the Castles.

Thanks to all those who supported me during my leg and congratulations to both teams, Job well done by all I think.
I’m sure the Team Captains & committee will be happy to receive any comments back from those who ran and anyone who has suggestions on how to improve the support.

From my perspective, it gets a bit hectic sometimes but it was great fun spectating / supporting down the length of the relay - it does lead to a long day, and the danger of falling asleep in front of the computer the next day at work is a distinct possibility!!
Thanks again & well done to all.

Ivan

Posted in Club News | 1 Comment »

19/05/2008 by Andy.

The first race in the all-new East Wales Road Running Championships will take place over 5 miles on 3rd June in Brecon as part of their “Llanfrynach road race series”.

The race is organised by Brecon AC (http://www.breconac.org.uk/) - and there are more details on the Welsh Athletics website (http://www.welshathletics.org/clubs/clubs-index/brecon-ac-club-page/).  

Posted in Races, Club News | No Comments »