31/12/09.
Happy New Year to all our members.
Please note that the Tyn y Groes is closed for a couple of weeks so the Wednesday evening get-together after the training run will be at The Ship on 6th and 13th January.
Congratulations to Juliet Edwards for winning, by a considerable margin, her age group in the North Wales series of the WFRA and coming 3rd in the Open Welsh Championship!!
28/12/09.
Tyn y Groes Hill Race.
Congratulations to Ifan Richards for setting a new club record of 20mins 11 secs in Saturdays race.
Conditions were quite good with just a little snow still lying on the ground. 12 MRC runners competed with Huw Brassington coming in 2nd and Kevin Jones and Adam Preston joint 3rd.
Full results and photos are on the Bro-Dysynni website. Click here.
16/12/09.
Welsh Inter-Regional Cross-Country - Builth Wells.
In the Seniors category excellent performances and impressive packing by MRC runners saw Ifan Richards finish in 20th position, closely followed by Darren Cole 22nd and Huw Brassington 24th.
Alex Lanz was 13th in the under 17 category.
Congratulations are also due to Alex for his performance in the under 17 category in the McCain Cross Country Challenge held in Sefton Park Liverpool recently, again competing against runners who are up to 2 years older than he is.
Aberystwyth 10k.
Congratulations to Tom Roberts for setting a new club record for 10k with an excellent time of 37min 18 secs. It was a lovely sunny day no wind, ideal for running. 5 runners from the club took part first home in 12th position in a time of 37:18 was Tom Roberts the next two finishers where new club members Ricky Francis in 42:25 and Glyn Rowlands in a time of 44:29 next home was veteran Nich Bradley in a time of 49:23 the final runner was Gaenor Smith in a good time of 54:17 well done to all.
04/12/09.
Deadlines!
As Douglas Adams said "I love deadlines, I particularly like the whooshing sound they make as they go past".
The deadline for entries to the caption competition in the last newsletter has passed and I have been swamped by one entry, and that was from me!
The deadline has therefore been extended to Christmas, so get thinking!
Training Runs.
The Wednesday night training runs are getting ever more popular.
We had 26 runners this week, one third of the club members.This is excellent for a drizzly night in December.
All abilities are represented so if you want to give it a try come along to the Leisure Centre for 6.30 on a Wednesday.
MRC Men remain 3rd in Division 2 of the North Wales Cross-Country League after 3 events, the Ladies remain 5th. Click here for details.
Full results can be seen here.
22/11/09.
We are saved, your webmaster has got his connection back. The nice man from Openreach blamed the problem on wind and squirrels!
Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud.
The North Wales Cross-Country league event at Bangor was a very muddy affair with lots of wind and rain to add to the occasion. Another excellent turnout by club members in the circumstances with many being away at Lanzarote.
Alex Lantz came in second in the junior race. In the ladies race Andrea Vaughan was first member home followed by Juliet Edwards, Andrea Edwards and Gaenor Smith. In the mens race Ifan Richards was first member home, followed by Huw Brassington, Tom Roberts, Mark Atherton, Frankie Vaughan, Pete Nicholls, John Smith and Kevin Evans.
Team results will be added here when they are available.
19/11/09.
MRC runners selected for National and Regional teams.
Alex Lantz has been selected to run for Wales U17 in the forthcoming cross-country international in Liverpool.
Alex plus Ifan Richards, Darren Cole and Huw Brassington have also been selected to run for North Wales in the inter-regional cross-country meeting.
Congratulations to all of these.
15/11/09.
Corndon 3 peaks Classic fell race.
A trip to Shropshire was on the agenda for Ifan on Sunday.
The Corndon 3 peaks fell race was the second round of the mid wales winter fell race series. Conditions were excellent for the 5.5 mile, 2000ft ascent course and a quality field of 83 athletes lined up for the start. The three main obstacles were the summits of Corndon Hill(513m), Roundtown hill (428m) and Lan Fawr(278m).
The race was won by in-form Welsh international Tim Davies of Maldwyn Harriers in a time of 41:18.
Ifan continued his fine form, crossed the line in 4th in a time of 46:19 and keeping his second place ranking in the series, with one more round to follow.
NOTE: This race will be a counter in the WFRA N.wales fell champs and WFRA Welsh champs for the 2010 season.
08/11/09.
I have put links to the Newsletters on the LINKS page.
If any member has not received an e-mail copy of the Autumn Newsletter by now please send me an e-mail from your preferred e-mail address and I will investigate.
07/11/09.
Rhobell Fawr results are now on the Results page.
Adverse weather conditions greeted the 62 hardy athletes to take on the first round of the Meirionnydd Winter Series and the 6 mile, 1,900 ft ascent of Rhobell Fawr. Conditions under foot were very slippery and with rain, wind, hail and even light snow reported on the summit!!
Again it was very pleasing to see a strong Meirionnydd turnout with 15 members taking on the race. Many of our runners beat their times from last year which is very pleasing to see, 3 new age-group records were set (see Club Records page) and some took on the race for the first time.
However to brighten the day were two wins for Meirionnydd with Ifan claiming 1st overall in the main race with a time of 52:56 and a new club record for the race, and Danny Evans victorious in the junior's race (see how it's done Kev!!)
All the marshalls on the day deserve a medal for enduring the weather, the soup and food were a welcome sight and certainly hit the spot.
A big well done to all that took part, and a big thanks to all the marshalls and the catering crew.
Click here for photo's.
05/11/09.
Congratulations to Jacqeline Fowler on completing the Cardiff Half Marathon in a time of 2:08:39.
03/11/09.
Abergele 5.
Tom Roberts wins the North Wales Championship at U/23.
The rain had stopped in time for the race but it was very windy. Representing Merionnydd R.C. were Tom Roberts, Frankie Vaughan and Gaenor Smith. Despite the strong head wind it was a fast race. First of the club runners was Tom in a time of 31:40 (16th) overall, second home was Frankie in 35:30 (60th) who did very well considering that he ran the Snowdon marathon last weekend. In her first ever race Gaenor finished well in a time of 47:40, she really enjoyed the race and her Tshirt!! Congratulations to Tom on winning his age group in the North Wales Championship.
02/11/09.
To reduce the amount of data which is downloaded when you click on the NEWS link I have created separate pages in which I have archived the news from 2006, 2007 and 2008. Links to these pages can be found by scrolling down to the foot of the current News page.
If anyone finds a problem in this please drop me a line.
31/10/09.
On Tuesday 10 November at 7pm at the Railway Cafe on the spit at Fairbourne there will be a firework display in aid of the RNLI. Admission is free, but donations for the lifeboat would be gratefully received, there will be someone going around with a bucket! The train ride from Fairbourne to the display is also free and leaves at 6.30pm , please take advantage of this as parking is limited at the site of the display. The train will take you back once the display is over!.
25/10/09.
Snowdonia Marathon.
Congratulations to all those who competed. Conditions were quite foul so just finishing was an excellent performance.
Times were as follows.
Andrea Vaughan 03:50:24 4th in age category!
Frankie Vaughan 04:04:18
Iori Jones 04:17:10 with a very impressive sprint finish!
Juliet Edwards 04:36:50
Kevin Evans 04:40:22
Pete Nicholls 05:12:05
Mention should also be given to Barrie Jackson, second in his age category with 04:50:13
Coed y Brenin Duathlon.
The Coed y Brenin off-road duathlon has grown in popularity, now in it's 4th year it attracted a strong field of 130 with many seasoned triathletes. The course consisted of a tough 5k off-road run, an even tougher 20k bike that saw athletes struggle with the ascent and the final 5k off-road run.
Ifan produced a excellent performance to come 2nd overall. Mark Atherton ran and biked his way to a superb 18th overall and 3rd in the M40 category. Next For Meirionnydd was Tom Roberts, 58th and battling severe hamstring cramp!! Finally for Meirionnydd was Tony Hodgson with a sterling performance claiming 63rd.
HERE ARE THE SPLIT TIMES (including transitions)
Ifan = Run1 19:05 Bike 1:00:29 Run2 20:34
Total 1:40:08
Mark = Run1 21:20 Bike 1:14:29 Run2 23:35
Total 1:59:24
Tom = Run1 21:37 Bike 1:25:49 Run2 27:51
Total 2:15:17
Tony = Run1 24:20 Bike 1:26:40 Run2 25:58
Total 2:16:58
20/10/09.
Advice on how not to pace yourself in the Snowdonia Marathon. Ifan found this on youtube. click here to view it.
18/10/09.
Full results of the North Wales Cross-Country League are on their website, click here to link to it.
16/10/09.
Triathlon Training Weekend.
Harlech Triathlon Club are running a training weekend, Oct 31st to Nov 1st.
Click here for details.
11/10/09.
It's a wet Sunday morning so I have been fiddling about trying to get a Picasa web album working. Please drop me an e-mail so say whether this is OK or not.
Click here for Pen 10 photos supplied by Rotary Club.
14/10/09.
Cross-Country League.
The updated league table is now on the results page of the website.
The MRC men's team has consolidated it's third placing in Division 2 and the women's team has moved up to fifth. Alex Lanz still leads the junior section.
Congratulations to everyone concerned!!
11/10/09.
Aberystwyth Twin Peaks Race.
A drizzle-soaked Promenade greeted the 110 athletes who gathered to take on the Twin Peaks race. Confirmed on the day as 7.5 miles and 950ft of ascent.
Representing Meirionnydd RC were Ifan Richards and Tom Roberts, (obviously with something left in the legs after yesterday's xc race) The race started at a blistering pace that quickly strung the field out. With two leg-burning climbs up Pen Dinas Hill and the 30% gradient Constitution Hill on the 5.5 mile mark it was Ifan who emerged down the home straight first for Meirionnydd, claiming a excellent 4th overall in a time of 48:33. Tom followed in a well deserved 19th overall in a time of 55:07.
Cross-Country League.
Well done to one and all who went to Bridgenorth for the second event in the North Wales Cross-Country League, another superb team day out. Thanks to the club for supplying the minibus and to Gareth for driving.
Alex Lanz once again beat all comers in the junior race, literally running the opposition into the ground!!! phenomenal to watch!
In the senior mens race Darren Cole, who only joined the club this week, led the team home finishing 23rd, followed by Ifan Richards in 29th, Huw Brassington in 37th, Oliver Gallop in 78th, Tomos Roberts close on his heels in 84th, Frankie Vaughan in 122nd and John D Smith in 138th.
The performance should hopefully see us at least consolidate our third place in Division 2.
The ladies were led home by Andrea Vaughan in 22nd, with Judith Cole in 43rd, Alison Price in 67th and Andi Edwards in 78th. A result which will hopefully see the Ladies move up from their current 7th place.
Hope to see you at the next event which is on Saturday Nov 21st at Bangor.
08/10/09.
Pen 10 results are now on the results page.
04/10/09.
Arenig Fell Race.
Five Meirionnydd athletes headed for the fells for the Arenig Fawr Fell race.
The race was the final round of the North Wales fell running championships and therefore produced a high quality field.
The course was run over 7 miles and 2000ft of ascent, the blustery exposed fells proved to be a major factor,(but for those who had time for a look round, the views were magnificent.)
With less than a minute separating the top 3, the race was won by Sam Smith of Eryri in a time of 58:41 out of 76 starters.
Running strongly to compete with the strong field, first for Meirionnydd and claiming 3rd overall was Ifan Richards, in a time of 59:30.
Next for Meirionnydd was John Smith,running strongly and recovered from injury, 54th in a time of 1:23:33. He was followed by Iori Jones after a busy 24hrs of running Pen 10 then rallying all night then straight to the race!!!! 61st in a time of 1:26:10.
Next was Kevin Evans, also with a busy 24 hrs running the Pen 10 then "relaxing" in The Stag, suffering with major cramp in the last mile fought hard to come in 64th in a time of 1:27:40. Finally the evergreen Victor Gretton came in 74th in a time of 1:48:45..
More Pen 10 photos courtesy of Bob Chilton
03/10/09.
Penmaenpool 10.
The weather was interesting to say the least for the Pen 10, a strong headwind on the way out, changing into more of a swirl on the way back then torrential rain luckily just after the presentations had finished.
The results will appear shortly but in the mean time here are some photos. Apologies to Huw and Adam, the first two home for MRC. On the way out they were cunningly tucked in behind other runners and on the way back they were going so fast that the photos came out blurred.
Double click to enlarge the image.
28/09/09.
Please note that the social get-together after the Penmaenpool 10 on Saturday will be at The Stag, Dolgellau at 8.00.
North Wales Cross-Country League.
The Meirionnydd men came third in Division 2 of the league race at Colwyn Bay (and came ahead of two Division 1 teams). The Women's team came seventh and the Club is leading in the Junior Men section.
A new section has been added to the Results page of the website to contain the League tables.
North Wales Cross-Country League, report by Ifan.
There was a good turnout of club runners for the first race of the league at sunny Colwyn Bay on Saturday 26th.
The hard ground made for fast-paced races with bumper entries in the all categories.
The highlight of the day for Meirionnydd RC was 15yr Old Alex who destroyed the field and claimed victory in the 5k junior race.
In the womens 5k race the Meirionnydd team were Andrea Vaughan, Janet Preston and Sioned Jones. First in for Meirionnydd was Andrea followed by Janet and then Sioned, the three running strongly in a field of over 100 competitors.
Next was the mens 10k race with lightning speed from the gun and a field of nearly 200 athletes. The race was won by Chris Davies of Telford AC in a time of 28:17!!!
First for Meirionnydd RC was Ifan Richards in 21st and hot on his heels in 23rd was new club member Huw Brassington. Next was Kevin Jones followed by Mark Atherton, Adam Preston, Oliver Gallop, Tom Roberts and Dave Seabourne. Unfortunately we do not yet have positions and times of everyone but will update when available.
All ran excellent races and it's looking good for the team in the men and womens and of course the junior.
A big thanks also to Graeme for his encouragement around the course and to Esyllt, Ella and little Anna for their support out on course. Overall a very good and enjoyable day for the club.
26/09/09.
The next Wednesday evening training run (Sept 30th) will be from Llanelltyd National Park Car Park.
Meet at 6.50 for a 7.00 start.
Drinks at the George 3rd afterwards.
15/09/09.
5 club members ran the Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon at the weekend.
First home was Kevin Jones in a club record time of 01:25:30, followed by Adam Preston in 01:29:18, Kevin Evans in 01:42:20, Jan Preston in 02:08:30 and Tracey Evans in 02:32:05.
13/09/09.
Dyfi 8 results.
MRC Runners come first and second in Dyfi 8.
The 8 mile course with A LOT of climbing, and the heat proved a tough test for everyone.
Ifan Richards was the first to cross the line for the overall win and breaking Dysynni AC athlete Steve Gilliland's 2008 record of 54:51 with a finishing time of 51:42.
Second Overall and second for Meirionnydd was Mark Atherton. Mark won the battle on the 3 mile climb to the summit with a Buckley AC athlete and ran strongly to the finish in a time of 57:24.
Llyn Brenig 9 mile trail race results.
A competitive field of 72 turned up for the event and with exposure to a blustery wind added to the mix.
In first for Meirionnydd was Mark Atherton, crossing the line in a excellent 13th overall in a time of 1:02:42 which also gave him a well deserved 3rd in the M35 category.
Next was Andrea Vaughan with a very strong run crossing the line in 35th overall in a time of 1:10:59 and an excellent 1st female over the line and 1st in the F35 category.
And if it wasnt enough she went for a second lap of the course!!! The marathon training is well under way.
Source of the Severn fell race.
Ifan Richards took part in the Source of the Severn fell race.
The race was the first round of the Mid Males Winter Fell Race series.
On a blustery day, the exposed fells were hard going and made the 9.5 mile course and 1300ft of ascent even tougher.
Ifan had a good start, but the pace was very high due to the presence of Tim Davies the Welsh Team athlete who was in good form.
Despite the high tempo Ifan displayed excellent climbing ability to go from 4th to 2nd and maintained his position to the finish line.
Tim Davies won the race with a new course record of 54:53 and Ifan 2nd in a time of 59:37 and the only two to break the hour.
Half-Peris race.
Juliet Edwards represented the club in this race finishing 2nd in her age-group, 32nd overall in 2:33:54.
01/09/09.
With 2 races to go Juliet Edwards is leading the F40 category in the WFRA North Wales Series!
NO PRESSURE JULIET!.
30/08/09.
Another busy weekend for MRC runners.
6 members disappeared into the cloud and drizzle for the Cnicht fell race.
First to emerge was Ifan Richards after an excellent run in very slippy conditions in 2nd overall position in a time of 38.36mins.
He was followed by Mark Atherton in 43.45mins, Adam Preston in 44.08mins, Iori Jones in 53.00mins, Kevin Evans in 55.41mins and John Smith in 61.43mins; (he intends to run next years race on roller skates as it has got to be easier to stay upright).
4 runners travelled to Caernarfon for the 10k road race, first home was Kevin Jones in 40.42mins followed by Andrea Vaughan in 44.37mins, Graeme Stringer in 46.43mins and Sioned Jones 54.14mins .
Arwyn Jones ran in the Tryfan Downhill race (which sounds rather like mass suicide to me!) on Monday 24th, finishing 4th out of 12 in the 1 mile event which involves 680 metres of descent in a time of 11.42mins.
At the Committee Meeting on Thursday 27th it was decided to sign up for the North Wales Cross Country league.
Click here .... to link to their fixtures page, race entry is free with first 6 male / female to count.
Only first-claim full members are eligible though.
We would like someone to volunteer to check who would like to go to each race and arrange car-sharing / post race drinks venue etc etc.
16/08/09.
9 MRC runners entered the Tywyn Race the Train 14 mile race on Saturday. Conditions were fairly good, it was not raining but was very muddy underfoot with a stiffish headwind on the return leg. First home was Adam Preston in 1:51:22, followed by Frankie Vaughan in 1:57:04, John Smith in 2:01:33, Kevin Evans in 2:09:01, Juliet Edwards in 2:09:47, Sandra Williams in 2:22:27, Alison Price in 2:23:45, Victor Gretton in 2:37:09 and Sioned Mair Jones in 2:40:44.
Simon Cook completed the Dolgoch Challenge race in 1:24:33.
Ifan Richards was in further action on friday 14th. Montgomery was the venue for the final round of the Maldwyn Hariers summer series. The event being The Neil Howells memorial race, 4.5 miles in length, multiterrain and not far off the 1000ft mark of ascent.
The pace was pretty hot from the start with a group of 6 getting away on the 1 mile marker.
Ifan was in this group and it was he who produced a fierce attack on the first ascent and split the group. Only one competitor managed to keep with him and it was the two of them that fought hard throughout for the lead.
However a very strong decent by the Shropshire shuffler athlete saw him take victory in a time of 28:06, Ifan followed in a excellent 2nd in a time of 28:43 out of 62 starters.
13/08/09.
X-ray vision was required on Wednesday evening for the Ponderosa 4 mile fell race, with thick fog and rain blanketing the hilltops. Nothing was to dampen the spirits of the 130 strong field that braved the elements and the 951ft of ascent. A strong field with some Welsh team runners warming up for weekend action in the lakes set a fast pace up front.
Ifan Richards, still nursing tired legs from his 24hr Mountain bike race at the weekend, finished in a time of 28:52 and 15th overall, followed by Arwyn Jones in a time of 32:38.
08/08/09.
The beach barbecue took place on Friday 7th.
After a very hot day it got a bit chilly in the evening, but after a beach run and a swim the cooking quickly got going.
Kevin had his well under control.
The sun did make a brief appearance.
SPONSORS REQUIRED.
Graeme Stringer, Gareth the postie, his son Tomos and Huw Davis are cycling the Lon Las Cymru next week, attempting to cover the 255 miles from Cardiff to Holyhead in 4 days.
They are raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society Cymru and the Cancer Unit in Bangor Hospital.
All sponsorship will be gratefully received. Click here .... for a secure method of on-line payment through "just giving".
There was a lot of MRC activity last weekend.
On Friday in the Gobowen 5 mile Frankie and Andrea finished in 34.46mins & 35.47 mins respectively followed by Graeme in 36.21mins and Sioned in 42.45mins.
On Saturday in the Brecon 10 mile Frankie and Andrea finished in 1hr 15.10mins & 1hr 18.07mins respectively.
In the Y Garn fell race Mark finished in 34.33mins, followed by Juliet in 44.18mins, Nich in 44.50mins and Victor in 53.20mins.
01/08/09
A good turnout of club members were in action thursday night at the 9th running of the Ras Hendre Wallog at Abergynolwyn.
The 3 mile trail race produced a win for Meirionnydd RC with Ifan Richards claiming victory in a time of 17:06. 2nd was Tad Dicker of Fleet & Crookham AC in 17:23 and 3rd was Dewi Roberts of Dysynni AC in 17:43.
In 4th & 5th the "inter club battle" continued from Dol 5 between team mates Mark Atherton and Adam Preston, Mark piping Adam to the line in a time of 17:58, Adam just behind in 18:14. (3rd time lucky Adam!!).
Next for Meirionnydd was Frankie in 9th at 20:32. Andrea was next, 13th and claiming the victory in the female category with a time of 21:15 Kevin Evans produced a fine run to claim 14th and victory in the male O/45 category in 21:51.
Nich Bradley was next in 17th with a time of 22:24, wining his battle against a 11yr old on this occasion ;-)
A trio of ladies rounded off for Meirionnydd with Cara Evans in 28th claiming victory in the girls category with 31:48, Janet Preston 29th, Tracey Evans 30th both in 31:49.
A big well done to all.
25/07/09
A very successful Dolgellau 5 was run in sunny but not too hot conditions.
112 runners finished of which 21 were club members, an excellent turnout.
Ifan Richards was 4th overall in 29:31, Sandra Williams was first club lady in 41:16.
Other features of the day were high-speed strimming of the finishing funnel and the pace car being overtaken by the winning runner!
Click here..... for full results.
As it is a new course, the old race and club records will be frozen and new ones started. The new club records are now on the website.
Photos from the Dol 5, click to enlarge.
23/07/09
The Summer Newsletter went out by e-mail last weekend.
This has so far revealed two members whose e-mail address was missing or out of date on our system.
If you or your household has not received a newsletter please send an e-mail to
operator@run-meirionnydd.co.uk
and I will sort things out.
19/07/09
Club runners travelled to Capel Curig for the Moel Siabod fell race on Saturday.
Mark Atherton was 15th overall in a time of 62.14; Nich Bradley finished in 77.31.
The Meirionnydd RC triathlon team travelled to Oswestry on Sunday to take part in the Oswestry Olympians Triathlon which was a round in the Midlands BTA series, attracting some top Triathletes.
A gloomy day with heavy rain and wind, but seemed to the liking of our athletes.
Donna took to the pool for the 400mtr swim and completed in 7:02 incl transition.
Next was William Haynes (Adam Haynes jnr) on the bike completing the 15 mile hilly bike course in a amazing 46:22 claiming fastest bike section of the day.
Ifan richards then took to the 5k run with one long drag of a climb on a course of 3 laps. Showing a return to form after injury, smashing his own 5k pb of 17:38 with a strong 16:24 (and new club 5k record) giving him 2nd fastest run of the day.
The peformance was rewarded with another win in the relay team category and second overall out of 110.
Well done to Meirionnydd RC for maintaining a 100% record.
16/07/09
Note that Pete and Sue Nicholl's garden is open to the public on Sunday 26th July.
Click for details.
05/07/09
Congratulations to Juliet Edwards for completing the 15.5 mile 5,200ft Rhinog Horseshoe Fell Race in a time of 4hrs 13.51mins.
03/07/09
Note that the beach BBQ has been re-arranged for Friday 7th August. More details to follow.
28/06/09
An excellent turnout of 10 club runners for the summer running of the Tyn-y-Groes Hill Race produced a win for Ifan Richards in a club record time of 17:16.
MRC runners accounted for 9 of the first 12 places and produced pb's for Kevin Evans, Pete Nicholls and John Smith.
Click here .... for loads of pic's.
22/06/09
More triathlon success for the club.
On Sunday 21 June was The Cerist Sprint Triathlon at Machynlleth. A popular Tri event that saw a full entry. It was made up of a 400mtr swim, 20km bike and 5km run. A challenging bike route with a stiff headwind and a far from easy 5k run.
First out for Meirionnydd RC was Adam Preston, completing the swim in 10:02, then out on the bike comleting the ride in a strong 35:26 and completing the event with the tough 5k run again in a very good time of 23:24.
His overall position out of 100 was 28th and 14th in his age category.
Next was the Meirionnydd RC relay team of Ifan, Donna and Dylan Jones.
Donna comleted the swim in 6:26 again giving her 2nd in the swim, Ifan was next on the bike completing the 20k in a quick 31:38 then Dylan on the run home in a time of 20:05 and 2nd fastest runner giving Meirionnydd RC the relay team win out of 12 teams and Meirionnydd's third Triathlon relay win this year.
Well done to Adam and the team. Keep it up.
14/06/09
A busy weekend for club runners.
A glorious friday evening provided perfect running conditions for the Newtown Carnival 5k road race.
Four Meirionnydd athletes travelled down for the race, Dave Seabourne, Adam Preston, Ifan Richards and his daughter Heledd Medi Who took part in the 1 mile fun run. Heledd who was the youngest competitor by far in the fun run at just 3 yrs old completed the course accompanied by Esyllt her mother to a loud cheer and a well deserved medal.
In the main race, a two lap course limping in first for Meirionnydd was Ifan with a below par time of 19:49 and 12th overall due to starting the race with an ankle injury from last weekend but had to race to keep a series placing.
Hot on his heels was Adam with a very good time of 19:51 and 13th with a good strong run on his first 5k outing.
Dave then crossed the line just over the 21 minute mark and to claim his age category victory, in a highly contested category.
Well done to all.
On Saturday another fine day welcomed 5 runners to Beddgelert for the Moel Hebog fell race.
The first member home was Mark Atherton, 9th overall in a time of 59.08, followed by Nich Bradley in 76.50, John Smith in 77.08, Juliet Edwards in 77.17 and Kevin Evans in 79.36. "Beautiful grouping" as they say in darts!
Photos of club members feature on the home page of the WFRA website, Click here .... and be impressed.
This was followed by a refreshing swim in the river and a free ice-cream, very civilised!
11/06/09 On Sunday 14th the second round of the Welsh Mountain Running Championship is held at Llanberis and is open to everyone. (Cader Idris was the first round).
Senior Ladies / Junior Men start at 11:30 from Victoria Terrace (4.5 mile / 3563 ft) finishing at the summit of Crib Y Drisgl.
Junior Ladies start at 11:45 (2.46 miles / 1414ft) finishing at the bottom of Moses Hill.
Senior Men start 11:45 am from the outside the library just off the high street,finishing at the summit of Crib Y Drisgl (6.8 miles / 3563ft).
Registration for all will be at the Legacy Royal Victoria Hotel Llanberis from 10:00 a.m.
Entries will be taken on the day.
Please note that this is a UP HILL race with a mountain top finish.
08/06/09 Photos from the Cader Race.
07/06/09
More triathlon success for MRC.
Another success was had at the Northwich sprint triathlon on Sunday 7/06/09. A blustery overcast day with the threat of rain but it held off. With 152 competitors and 7 relay teams there was a bit of competition.
The 400mtr swim was first with Donna Cartwright of Dolgellau again blitzing the swim in 0:6:27 and fastest female swimmer.
Next was Geraint Jones of Blaenau ffestiniog out on the bike for the 11 mile bike section, riding in to a stiff headwind for most of the course he returned in a time of 0:31:18 and 3rd fastest for the bike section.
Last but not least was Ifan out on the 5k run, a 2 lap course all on grass and a short sharp climb at the start. Ifan completed the 5k in a time of 0:17:38 including transition (five & half minute miles) giving him 2nd fastest runner and a 5k PB.
Meirionnydd RC won the relay team category by over 5 minutes.
Well done to the team.
The next Wednesday evening training run (10th June) will start from the Tyn y Groes Forestry Car Park.
Meet at 6.50 for a 7.00 PM start.
Drinks at the Tyn y Groes afterwards.
There was a record turnout for the Wednesday training run from Llanelltyd on 03/06/09.
17 runners enjoyed a beautiful evening with a run through the woods to the New Precipice Walk with some then continuing over Foel Ispri.
30/05/09
A great sunny day for the Cader Race and an excellent club turnout with 12 runners.
Ifan Richards set a new club record, finishing 25th overall in a time of 1:46:38.
Click here .... to see the results on the Cader Race website.
Congratulations to those who went to Cape Wrath for the various races, a good time was had by all. Hopefully some photo's will follow.
21/05/09
The club now has some very foxy running shorts in club colours, various sizes, men's and women's at £15.00 each.
Please contact Chris Owen if you want a pair.
14/05/09
If anyone can help with marshalling on the Cader Fell Race on Saturday 30th May would they please contact Graeme Stringer as soon as possible by e-mail to cader-race@run-meirionnydd.co.uk
He will arrange times and duties when he gets back from Scotland next week.
Two Meirionnydd RC members took part in the 5th round of the Great Arete midweek fell race series.
The race was held and ran on the Moel y Gest mountain that went from virtually sea level to a height of 262mtrs,then down the Criccieth side and just for a sting in the tale they sent the runners half way back up the south face before a good descent down to the youth hostel.
First home for Meirionnydd was Ifan Richards of Brithdir who completed the 4.5 mile course in a time of 35:30 with another strong display to give him 12th out of 40+ runners.
Next in was Arwyn Jones of Penmachno in a time of 38:40 with a good run to give him top 25 finish.
11/05/09
The photo's from the training runs are now on the Training Nights page.
07/05/09
There is a 10k at Felinheli on 1st July.
Click here .... to see more details.
The next Wednesday evening training run (13th May) will start from the Snowdonia National Park car park at Ty Nant.
Meet at 6.50 for a 7.00 PM start.
Drinks at the Gwernan Inn afterwards.
The Dolgellau 5 has a new sponsor, W D Pugh & Sons, Renault and Nissan dealer, updated entry form is now online.
Entry forms are also now online for the Pen 10, Rhobell Fawr and Tarren Hendre races.
Three local athletes headed South for the Newtown 10k road race on May the 3rd.
It was a new course from previous years with a little bit more up hill. Ifan Richards of Brithdir was the first competitor to cross the line for Meirionnydd in a competitive time of 38:52 and 8th possition in his first 10k outting. Team mate Graeme Stringer was next in for Meirionnydd in a time of 47:01 sporting his bling new trainers. Janet Preston of Dolgellau was the 3rd Meirionnydd competitor to cross the line in a time of 50:34 which gave her 1st female in the over 35 female category.
Fantastic results for Meirionnydd once again.
There will be more races in this Maldwyn Harriers Summer Series if anyone else fancies a go, also there is a Fun Run for those who would like to give running a go.
Here are the dates:-
Carnival 5k Road Race and Fun Run - Friday 12th June 2009,
the fun run starts at 7p.m. and the Main Race starts at 7:30 p.m.
Bar-B-Que 5k Road Race and Fun Run - Friday the 10th July 2009,
Fun Run 7pm, Main Race 7:30p.m
Neil Howells Memorial Race and Fun Run - Friday the 14th August 2009 -
Fun Run 6:15 Main Race 7:15pm
Click here .... to see more details.
01/05/09
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
Anyone who has not yet paid please contact Juliet the membership secretary as soon as possible.
Don't forget that there is a walk / run group for those who are maybe just starting running or making a comeback at the same venue as the Wednesday evening training run.
The walk / run goes as far and as fast / slow as you want and concludes in a pub!
26/04/09
Congratulations to Nia Brown, Katie Woods, Kevin Evans and Pete Nicholls for completing the London Marathon.
If you are looking for a rather different challenge then try the "70 Wild Miles", which is a 47 mile cycle, 10 mile canoe and 13 mile run around Bala Lake.
The Challenge is held in aid of Tenovus, the cancer charity and takes place on 4th July.
Click here..... to see more details.
If any member would like to take part but has not got a canoe, please contact John Smith who has a kayak you can borrow.
19/04/09 Harlech Triathlon
Glorious sunshine and a large crowd greeted over 300 athletes at Harlech on sunday to compete in this very popular triathlon.
Nothing was to dampen the performance of our athletes.
Amanda Wilde had a cracking result of 175 overall out of 300+ and netted her the female over 40 novice award. She swam 400mtrs in a time of 0:9:05, biked 18 miles in 1:00:37 and ran the VERY,VERY tough 6km which took the athletes through soft sand dunes and finished off up the brutal Twtil hill at 400mtrs and 25% gradient, her run position 177th out of 300+.
Next award for Meirionnydd was the mixed team category which consisted of Donna Cartwright of Dolgellau (swimmer), Geraint Jones of Blaenau FFestiniog (biker- instead of Ifan Richards of Meirionnydd rc, Brithdir, because of broken thumb) and Dylan Jones of Aberdyfi (runner). The team won the mixed team category and were second team overall out of 12 teams. Donna swam 400mtrs in an amazing 0:6:29 giving her a top 20 overall in the swim out of 300+, Geraint biked 18 miles in 0:49:53 wich gave him top 10 out of 300+ and Dylan ran the tough 6km in 0:26:22 wich gave him top 10 out of 300+ in the run and a powerful thrust up the brutal hill at the end.
An awsome result for Meirionnydd rc and for all the athletes that took part.
18/04/09 Moelwyn Fell Race
Kevin Evans fine-tuned his preparations for the London Marathon by putting in a fine time of 2.00.00 in the Moelwyn Race, followed at a respectful distance by John Smith in 2.02.50.
Conditions were near perfect with beautiful views from the summits.
09/04/09
Congratulations to Frankie, Sioned and Kevin Jones on their performances in the Chirk 10k last Sunday.
Kevin cracked the 40 minute barrier and was first in his age group!
24/03/09
MEIRIONYDD RC WINS CERIST AQUATHLON PAIRS
Ifan Richards and team mate Donna Cartwright won the pairs category at Cerist Triathlon Club's aquathlon event on Sunday.
A popular 4 race event that attracted over 150 athletes. Ifan had competed in the first and second events with a different swimmer, posting 18.46 for the 5k at Machynlleth on the first event and at the second event in Tywyn posted 31.09 for the 9k run. He missed the third event due to illness (over training!!).
On Sunday he paired up with Dolgellau's Donna Cartwright who swims like a baracuda, she nailed the 400mtr swim (20 lengths of Mach pool) in 6min 30sec which gave her an amazing 4th overall in the swim out of 57, beaten only by Elinor Thorogood (Team GB junior olympic silver medalist) and two guys that compete in Ironmans.
Ifan took over and ran the 5k course in 18min 12sec beating his pb for 5k and finishing 7th out of 57 in the run.
They beat the second placed pairs by a narrow 6 seconds.
Well done to both.
22/03/09
Ras yr Aran 2009
In the main race Tim Davies of Mercia and Richard Roberts of Eryri battled all the way to the summit and were still only 8 seconds apart when they got back to the finish line. The victory went to Davies in 1.23.26, a full 8 minutes inside the course record while Roberts’ time of 1.23.34 was 15mins faster than his previous best for the course. Roland Stafford of Mercia came home third in 1.31.41.
Age group wins, and new records were set by both Alan Ward of Dark Peak (0/40) in 1.34.02, Adam Haynes of Eryri (0/50) in 1.38.42. Mike Blake of Eryri was first man 0/60 in 2.00.19.
The results in the ladies race were even more spectacular with the first four runners finishing inside the previous record. Kate Bailey of Meirionnydd and Anna Bartlett of Shrewsbury were neck and neck to the top of the mountain but Kate managed to pull out a lead on the descent and crossed the line first in 1.41.14, seven minutes inside the course record and a magnificent 9th place overall. Anna came home in 1.44.10 and Andrea Roberts of Eryri was third in 1.46.07.
Age group wins went to Sandra Rowlands of Clwydian RR (0/40) breaking her age record with a time of 2.05.00 while Maggie Oliver of Eryri shattered the 0/60 course record by a phenomenal 28mins finishing in 2.20.25.
There was also a good turn out of club runners. In addition to Kate, Kevin Jones, despite his dislike for down hill running, romped home in 1.49.24 with new club mate Ifan Richards not far behind in 1.54.58. Next in was John D Smith in 2.12.38 while a struggling Iori Jones completed the course in 2.29.24.
The Garth Fawr junior race was won by Owain Llyr James in 14.13 and first girl was Elin Edwards in 23.53.
Richard Roberts’ second place today was more than enough to secure him the Winter Race Series, finishing with a cumulative time of 3.04.49, a new record, nearly half an hour ahead of his nearest competitor. The ladies race however was a far far closer affair but Kate Baileys win on the day wasn’t by a big enough margin over Anna Bartlett, and the series win went to the latter by a mere 12 seconds. Anna’s finishing time of 3.42.27 was also a series record.
Results of the Aran Race and the Winter Race Series are now on the results page.
Race Records and Club Records for the Aran race are also updated.
22/03/09
2009 Membership Renewal
It's that time of year again!
If you have not already done so please contact the Membership Secretary to renew your membership.
Full members have to sign a new Welsh Athletics form, these are available from Juliet on 01341 450261.
22/03/09
Lanzarote 2009
Bookings are now being taken for this years trip to Lanzarote
Click here..... to see more details.
01/03/09
Training Runs
Click here..... to view the locations of the spring & summer training runs
08/02/09
A group of runners took part in the Nick Beer 10k race around the Great Orme on Sunday 8th Feb.
Conditions were good with a light snow shower during the race.
There were 563 finishers and Meirionnydd came 11th in the team competition with the first 3 home counting.
Results were
Kevin Jones 40:29
Frankie Vaughan 44:43
John Smith 48:08
Juliet Edwards 48:41
Graeme Stringer 50:03
Robert Thomas 53:25
Sioned Jones 55:17
25/01/09
Club Records
Club Records
spreadsheets are now online. Dol 5, Pen 10, Rhobell Fawr, Tarren Hendre
and Ras y Aran are complete. 5mile is populated just with Dol 5 results
and 10mile is populated just with Pen 10 results.
If you have
performances in 5 mile, 10mile, 20mile, 5k, 10k, half or full Marathon that
could be an age group record please e-mail the details to
john@tynllwyn.plus.com. Please include the name of the website where I
can check it. You must have been running for Meirionnydd at the time!
Also e-mail me if you see any errors or omissions.
24/01/09
Tarren Hendre
Results are now
online.A brilliant day for the race with a record turnout of 104
competitors and sunshine overhead. Richard Roberts of Eryri took nearly
5 minutes off his 2008 time to win the overall race in a time of 51.22,
with Ian Ridgway of Eryri second in 52.01 and Adam Haynes also of Eryri
setting a new 0/50 age group record finishing third in 56.53. Other age
group winners included Paul Howarth of Eryri, 1st 0/40 in 57.29 with
Don Williams again of Eryri 1st 0/60 in 1.03.20.
Today's results see
Richard increase his lead in the Winter Series to over 5 minutes with
Ian and Adam moving into second and third place respectively, and Paul
takes a slim 29sec lead into the final race of the series in the 0/40
section. Don maintains his lead in the 0/60 category.
Just over 4 minutes separated the first four finishers in the ladies
race which was won by Anna Bartlett of Shrewsbury in 57.24, giving her
a 5th placed finish overall. Jackie Lee of Eryri was second in 58.46
and Kate Bailey of the host club Meirionnydd third in 59.38. First
woman 0/40 was Sandra Rowlands of Clwydian in 1.09.44, first 0/50 was
Sheila Bennell of Eryri in 1.35.47 and first 0/60 was Maggie Oliver in
1.19.57. In the Winter Series Anna increases her lead over Kate to just
over 3 minutes with Andrea Roberts of Eryri (4th today) a further 3
minutes behind. Sandra, Sheila and Maggie lead their respective age
groups.
A total of 16 Meirionnydd Running Club athletes were included in the
field, congratulations to one and all.
The final race of the Winter Series, Ras yr Aran, could play host to
some serious battles for overall and age group titles in both the male
and female sections .... injuries and unforeseen circumstances
permitting ...
The Tarren Hendre short/junior race was won by Tecwyn Evans of
Criccieth in 10.06 with Bronwyn Jenkinson of Caernarfon first girl in
11.04.
Click here..... to see photo's of the race.
08/01/09
Xmas Party!!!!!
Happy New Year. The running club festive do will be held on Saturday 17th
January in the Rugby Club in Dolgellau. Food, band and disco, all for £10,
what better way to postpone the winter blues??!!? Tickets available from committee
members (see contacts). See you there.
