Tough challenge for brave runners at the Conwy Fell Race.

*The NWRRC team at the tough Conwy fell race (l-r): Helen Hannam, Nia Lister, Charlotte Rose Wilton Jones, Nicola Wylie and Adam Lemalle.

Tough challenge for brave runners at the Conwy Fell Race.

Report by Don Hale.

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk

 

Five North Wales Road Club members braved the tough challenge of the Conwy fell race last Saturday afternoon in cold, misty, and drizzly conditions which tested stamina to the limits.

Amidst a quality field of 106 finishers, mainly of experienced fell runners from clubs across the country, they all battled well despite the testing conditions.

Adam Lemalle was the first NWRRC man home in 71st place in 71 minutes and 15 seconds, with Charlotte Rose Wilton Jones 2nd in 87th place overall in 85.46. She was closely followed by Nicola Wylie in 94th place in 89.45, with Nia Lister 104th in 123.38, and Helen Hannam 105th in 130.05.

*Nicola Wylie (*above left), with Nia Lister, and (*below), Charlotte Rose Wilton Jones (*left), tackled the tough terrain, with Helen Hannam.

Mixed emotions: After the race, they all revealed mixed emotions following their efforts, with most runners making their debuts at this highly competitive, gruelling, and perhaps specialised event. Adam Lemalle admitted: It was brutal, and I’ll be having nightmares about those climbs tonight.”
Helen Hannam also claimed it was brutal, but with a true fell running attitude, she remained determined to finish, and confirmed: “I came last. I moaned and I cried a lot! I wanted to quit but I didn’t, thanks to the amazing, and very tolerant tail runner.”
Nia Lister inquired: “Who said it was going to be fun? Sliding on my bum down a mountain so I can climb back up it!” And Nicola Wylie said: “That was some experience. I was 3rd in my age cat. It was very hard, but somehow, I enjoyed it!”

*The Conwy trail crew are pictured (*above) at the fell race.

GOG Triathlon members confirmed: “Saturday saw the Conwy Fell Race take place in some of the most challenging conditions we've seen for many a year. With a combination of poor visibility, very greasy rock, and plenty of mud, making it slippery underfoot, athletes were pushed to their limits.
“However, this did not deter the three GOG squad athletes of Dan Wellings (60.08), Andy Jones (64.11) and Lizzie Irvine (77.22) from delivering excellent performances.”
And one member of the Conwy Trail Crew added: “Fantastic Saturday outing with awesome people and good vibes. Short fast fell races are completely out of my comfort zone, but leaving the comfort zone is the only way we grow. I loved it!
“Final descent to the caravan site was one long muddy slide before the steep final ascent to finish! Thank you to the race organiser for this fun race and big well done to everyone including these beautiful humans!”

*The race winner was Math Roberts (CVFR) M40 in 42.17, with Joe Gomes (Run Free Fell Runners) M40, 2nd in 44.06, and Gavin Roberts (CVFR) MO, 3rd in 44.30. 
*It was a very close contest for the ladies with three members from Eryri Harriers in contention, but the 1st first female finisher was Kasia Osipowicz (Eryri), FO, (18th overall) in 58.21, with Efa Baines (Eryri), FU23 (20th overall) in 59.09, and Nia Albiston (Eryri), F40, (22nd overall), who finished 3rd in 59.50.

OFFICIAL RESULTS & REPORT FROM THE CONWY FELL RACE.

Saturday 3/2/24. Report courtesy of the race organiser: Michael Corrales.

 

First of all, I want to thank you all for coming on a challenging day, especially the marshals, Alan, Felicity, Sean, John, Stephen, Keith, Paul, Hoppy, the dream team at registration and Conwy Cricket Club. Thank you.

Today we saw a total of 106 runners taking on the course. The conditions were challenging due to a combination of poor visibility, a very greasy rock and plenty of mud, making it very slippery underfoot. This forced one runner to retire, which is a first for the event. After a visit to A&E he's ok and at home. We wish you a quick recovery Rob.

Navigating the course proved to be very difficult for some runners that took a little detour between Check Point 3 and Check Point 4, as some tape was missing, presumably due to some walkers thinking they were clearing rubbish. Sadly, it's not the first time.

In the male race we saw another great performance from Matthew Roberts, taking the win, and a good battle between Joel Gomes and Gavin Roberts for second place. Joel looked stronger today, but Gavin's local knowledge kept him in the battle with Joel taking second place in the end to current course record holder Gavin.

In the ladies, there was a great battle between Kasia Osipowicz and Efa Baines, closely followed by Nia Albiston. After changing positions a couple of times they finished in that order with just 90-seconds separating the top three ladies.

Well done to everyone today, tackling those climbs and descents on a day like today is a real achievement. I hope you had a great muddy experience and I'll see you on the hills soon.

Michael Corrales.

*LOST PROPERTY: WE HAVE FOUND A RING, IF YOU ARE MISSING IT, SENT US A MESSAGE.

*This is the link to the provisional results from the Conwy fell race:

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=876955247773168&id=100063761011983