Llyn Llydaw New years Race 2012

Plenty of doubt if I should sign up to this beauty but having somehow managed to be nominated as the Dez driver for the night the 10.00am race was on. Shoes on I headed from Nant Gwynant to Pen y pass to find the conditions absolutely shocking. Gale Force winds and howling rain, lovely. Tricky conditions to decide on clothing but settled for 2 under layers, 1 t-shirt and shorts but without any snow on the peaks in a new year race this was a rare sight. Staggered start with each group heading off in 4 min intervals. Nominated myself in the Fast group which was the last to head off, leaving Pen y pass and turning the first corner i was struggling to even move let alone run. Left my group within the first 1/2 mile and settled into a leisurely pace. Leaving the footpath around Llyn Llydaw involved 2 miles of river crossings, bogs and stone jumping. A quick stint back on the footpath before another off road stagger for 3/4 mile, a quick touch of the green shed before blasting back to the Youth Hostel. Wind strong enough to push me off the footpath and hailstones which had me hiding my face. The worst thing was that Tina had come to watch and had been caught in the middle of the storm with only a Rain cat and my Fleece didn't do much to keep her dry.

Finished with a smile and the timekeeper announcing my time to be the fastest of the day so far. Having started last and passed both groups in front I thought I'd finally won my first event. BUUUUTTT Mr timekeeper had missed one name who would eventually take the prize by 2 min, with myself finishing 2nd. With the results out a couple of days later I'd already told half the family of my winning start to 2012, Dohhh!
Keep trying

   

Aberystwyth 10k 2011

Aberystwyth 10k 2011

So following a fantastic year of cycling, wedding planning and job rotation it was finally time to finish off the season with a bang. The Aber 10k is the perfect race to assess my year of running and with a quality field it usually pushes you to the max, and this year was no different. With the running shoes taking a gd hit over the last few months I was optimistic of a gd performance but knew i had to pace myself to get a strong finish. All 350 of us started off down plascrug avenue with rain clouds slowly making their way closer, I quickly hooked onto a pair of heels which would provide me with an excellent pace for the rest of the race. 5k gone i felt strong and was ready to push on and gain a few more places but knew that with 90 of football on the saturday that the legs would evetually call time. With a solid pace I felt strong enough to push on on the last 1km but did little to catch the pace of the runners in front. PB of 36min 56 sec. 
11th/340


The bike well and trully rested and ready to be picked up from Mach Holy Trail, new compact shimano 105 chainset on board ready for the spring commute.

Gwent cross country league - Swansea

Having avoided the cross country scene since school it was time to see what had changed in 15 years. As this was only an hour drive i decided to head down to singleton park, Swansea for the 2 round of the Gwent Cross country league. A stone throw away from my student stomping ground it was a familiar sight but didn't really know singleton to be a hilly park, where did they find them. Put my Sarn helen vest on and lined up for a 2.40pm start with former BB star Glyn wise standing alongside me in his Cardiff Uni running bib, random. The course was very moist and the 3 year old solomons where in the deep end and struggling many places required cutting corners and plenty of jumping to avoid the deep stuff, great fun. Little to hasty off the star and lost a handful of places coming into the final lap. Finished 63rd and felt completely rotten. Tough going.

Ras y Mast 2011 Nov

Sarn Helen race which has a real habit of getting your feet wet and muddy. 2 river crossings and a boggy climb gives the runners a real test. A fresh autumn day greeted 92 runners from around mid and south wales and we started off to the news about Gary Speed, big shock! Having hit the City of Swansea with the Barcelona boys on Friday night i was aiming for a clean run with as little pain as possible. Started off with a steady pace and let the runners go on their way. Once we hit the big climb to the mast my legs were strong and quickly picked off the other trainers one by one. Having introduced some higher mileage and hill sprints into my training in the last two weeks i found my fitness at a different level and i was up 7th and catching the runners in front. Could not make any ground over the last mileage but finished strongly passing another mountain bike on the last hill to the finish. Burger and tea finished a great day off.

7th Runner 46min 12 sec PB

Rhobell fawr Winter fell running series

1st round of the meirionydd winter series. 1900 ft and 6.5 miles. A superb day with the weather little on the warm side for a November fell run. First time the fell shoes came out since Ras yr wyddfa 2010, very promising climb which held me in 9th position but a few slippery moments had be back off and drop down to 13th with a solid finish. Got to love the mountains. Fantastic run by men from meirionydd ahead who could even manage a x-country race the day before. Eye on the top 10 in the next round in January on Tarren Hendre.

Aberystwyth Twin Peaks 2011

Great event which gets the best of local runners together and puts a real sting in the legs. Tough day out with some very heavy head winds which showed in the final results.  Downhill dash to the finish helping me claim 10th position. 5min down on the leader from Maldwyn runners (47.40min) who was just hold enough to hold a driving license, ouch. 52min 35sec 10th.

 http://www.onlineraceresults.org.uk/

Llanwenog Fun Run

Fun run which was hosted by the Local primary school to raise some much needed ££££. A 10.2k run which was routed through the endless narrow lanes around the village of Llanwenog. A poor turn out of local talent, but enough to get to put some speed in the legs
Gd fun and testing course. 1st Open male.