Five NWRRC runners tackled tough Snowdonia half-marathon.

By Don Hale


Five club runners tackled tough Snowdonia half-marathon.

Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Jonathan Kettle.

 

NWRRC had five intrepid athletes competing in the gruelling Snowdonia half-marathon last Sunday, which is said to offer one of the toughest challenges in the country.

Run along a very scenic route and set in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park, the race included wild, and rocky-mountains, hidden valleys, and deep forests, and it both started and finished at Llanrwst, which hosted the World Trail running championships in 2013. 

Previous feedback from runners suggested the course should be a little more challenging, so event organisers took out a section of the course to and from Trefriw, and re-routed it straight up to Llyn Geirionydd, before travelling up and over Llyn Crafnant.

Stuart Culverhouse (*pictured top of page) was the first club runner back in 30th place overall in a very impressive time of 1 hour 44 minutes 41 seconds, and he later described the event as ‘brutal but beautiful.’ 

Jamie Tharme finished in 169th place in 2.19.54, and team-mates, Kay Hatton and Cheryl Frost ran well together finishing in 129th and 130th places but shared the exact same time of 2.09.18 and tied in 3rd place in their respective F55-59 age category; whilst Vicky Taylor completed the team placings with a great effort in 2.20.16 in 171st position.



*Kay Hatton and Cheryl Frost pictured during the Snowdonia half-marathon.


*Vicky Taylor put in another gritty performance in the tough half-marathon race.


*The race attracted 271 finishers and it was won by Daniel Quinlan (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) in 1.27.03, who the previous day had finished 2nd in the Conwy Parkrun. Daniel was closely followed at the Snowdonia race by Daniel Cook (Rugby and Northampton AC) in 1.28.47, and Richard Heath (Colchester Harriers) who was 3rd in 1.30.15. The Ladies race was won by Rosanna Andrews (Rugby and Northampton AC) in 1.38.45.


The full race results can be viewed via this link:

https://www.runwales.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Snowdonia-Half-Marathon-2021-Results.pdf

 

Don Hale is a best-selling British author and former investigative journalist. He has been Journalist of the Year on three separate occasions in the past. and his extensive campaign to help free Stephen Downing for a murder he did not commit, won him both the Campaign and National Journalist of the Year Awards, A former regional newspaper editor, he was awarded an OBE in 2002 for campaign journalism. He has also been a lead investigator in several other successful, high-profile, miscarriage of justice and human rights cases. He has written several best selling books including - Murder in the Graveyard a true crime mystery story. There is also Buster Crabb - Ian Fleming's Favourite Spy, and Mallard about the battle to create the fastest steam loco in the world against the challenge from Nazi Germany, and more lately, there is The Jersey Boys and Liberation, about the secret stories of occupied Jersey during WW2, told by several resistance heroes and historians.

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