Harry Driscoll was first Road Runner at Conwy Parkrun - plus other North Wales results...

*Harry Driscoll (above) with another good run to lead the club runners home.

Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.

 

North Wales Road Runner Harry Driscoll was the first club runner back at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning and he led home a strong team of fourteen seniors and two juniors amongst a holiday crowd of some two-hundred finishers.

The talented team of mixed ages and abilities also claimed six age category wins and five second places in addition to recording several personal best (PB) times.

Harry finished 5th overall and won his SM20-24 age cat in just 20 minutes and 6 seconds, and he was nearly two minutes ahead of his nearest rival, veteran Sean Butler who also won his MV60-64 cat in 21.56 and he was 18th overall.

*Jamie Tharme (*above) produced a good result despite a lack of sleep.

Jamie Tharme battled a lack of sleep due to work commitments, but still enjoyed a dream run to finish 22nd and 2nd in his MV40-44 cat in 22.13, and he was just six seconds ahead of equally troubled clubmate Gethin Wyn Jones who was 24th in 22.19.

*Gethin Wyn Jones (*above) ran well at Conwy after a rubbish week.

Jamie later admitted: “A tired parkrun today after a 15-hour shift and a bad night’s sleep.” And Gethin added: “Slow and steady after feeling rubbish all week.”

And it was good to see in-form Cheryl Frost back at parkrun, and she turned in another positive performance in 34th place overall and won her VW55-59 age cat in 22.51. Her running partner Kay Hatton also ran well to finish in 40th place in 23.26 and was 2nd in the same cat as Cheryl.

Newcomers Juana Hunter and Karen Butler made their mark with excellent runs. Juana won her SW30-34 age cat in 26.12 in 85th place, whilst Karen also won her VW60-64 cat, and she was just five-seconds adrift in 87th place in 26.17. 

David Spofforth ran with his son Ben again, and helped the youngster to his fourth consecutive parkrun PB, this time knocking more than a minute off last week’s excellent result, to finish 90th overall and 2nd in his JM10 age cat, sharing the same time of 26.37 with his father Dave.

Veteran Don Hale was still plagued by injury so took it steady during his 140th parkrun and finished 95th and 2nd in his MV65-69 cat in 26.59. And fellow master vet Mike Hayton was 102nd and 2nd in his MV70-74 cat in 27.45, with Rachel Morris continuing her marathon training, and included the parkrun as part of her build-up, finishing 147th overall in 31.33. 

*Pictured (above left) Mike Hayton and (above right) Ian Turner and (*below) Rachel Morris put in another determined effort amidst her marathon training.

Ian Turner made a welcome and an emotional return to finish in 173rd place in 33.52, whilst Youngster Elowen Spofforth and her mother Nicola celebrated their second family parkrun at Conwy, with both runners claiming new PBs, and Elowen also won her JW10 cat in 188th place and shared the time as her mother in 39.32.

*A generous tribute was additionally paid at Conwy parkrun on Saturday to the late NWRRC veteran athlete Gilbert Gillan, 69, who had previously completed 89-parkruns and 59-virtual runs, but sadly lost his battle with cancer the previous weekend.

*Tributes paid to the late Gilbert Gillan (*above) at Conwy Parkrun last week.

 

*This is the provisional results list from Conwy parkrun:

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

 

Krakow parkrun for Leslie: Lesley Goodson ran as an international tourist in the Krakow parkrun in Poland last Saturday amongst 95 finishers and claimed 2nd spot in her FV55-59 age cat. Lesley was 44th overall and the 8th female athlete in 25.33.

*Lesley Goodson (*above) pictured at the Krakow parkrun last weekend.

*Karl ran in Aber Falls fell race: Karl Morris took part in the Aber Falls (Aber Bach) fell race near Bangor last Tuesday night in 36.11. The event included a challenging route of 4.8 miles and 350 ft of elevation.

*Fundraiser for Snowdonia Search and Rescue: Gwennan Charlton enjoyed a steady 8-mile run around Llyn Trawsfynydd last Sunday in 1 hour 27 minutes as part of a fundraising event for the South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team. 

*Gwennan Charlton (*above) ran around Lyn Trawsfynydd during an 8-mile fundraising event for the Snowdonia Search and Rescue appeal.

*Easter Dash on the prom: Next Saturday morning marks the welcome return of the Easter 5k Dash on Llandudno promenade. This popular event has not been run since 2019 due to Covid-19 problems, and a bumper crowd is expected for this year’s race, and to cheer on athletes from all over the UK, whilst also fundraising for local charities.