PRESTATYN Running Club’s Roger Harrison-Jones finished in 244th place at the Capenhurst 5k near Ellesmere Port, but his time of 29.40 was remarkable for an 85-year-old.

This consolidated his ranking of number two in Britain in his category.

The oldest class in the race was over-75 and Roger was second in that, a result that prompted the race organisers to break with tradition and give him an award.

The results were: 40 Steve Skates 17.32, 126 Steve Weedman 20.53. 176 Andy Clark 23.38, 208 Ann Claire Jones 25.43, 212 Gareth Hughes (1st M75) 26.09, 218 Helen Alefounder 26.26, 227 Alan Jones 27.16, 244 Roger Harrison-Jones 29.40 (2nd M75).

Meanwhile, two days later, Steve Skates took on a different challenge in which endurance, rather than sheer speed, was the key factor.

The Two Hill Forts Challenge from Llangynhafal is a nine-mile event involving 2,500 feet of ascent, and Steve finished third overall in 1-15.33.

The only other Prestatyn member in the event was off-road captain Steve Brown, who finished 34th in 2-02.53.

Martin Cortvriend flew the flag in a similar event, which had three summits instead of two – the Ras Tri Chopa on Yr Eifl.

The results were not available at the time of going to press, but Martin’s training partner Iwan Jones had the satisfaction of beating him this time.

The same day, supervet Philip Jones combined a family day out with one of his favourite races, the Race the Train event in Tywyn.

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Phil, now 80, was second over-70 in the 3.3-mile Tynllwynen Challenge, finishing in 33.29, while son Andrew was first over-50 in the 10k Quarry Challenge and daughter-in-law Jane ran the 5.5-mile Dolgoch Challenge.

Eight Prestatyn members also travelled to Oswestry for the Henley Wood Parkrun as part of the campaign to promote breast cancer research.

Results: 9 Dave Ellis 21.41, 14 Steve Weedman 22.46, 48 Debbie Jones 30.24, 49 Debbie Weedman 30.44, 55 Emma Birchall 33.27, 58 Nem James 32.54, 61 Julie Evans 34.13, 65 Linda Friar 34.31.

Other Parkrun results: Ruthin Memorial Playing Fields: 25 Arwel Jones 24.23.

Nova: 18 Martin Gill 24.38, 41 Grahame Shone 28.53.

Greenfield Valley: 8 Helen Ashworth 25.03 (pb), 21 Helen Alefounder 28.08, 22 Ann Claire Jones 28.21.

Long-serving club members were saddened to hear this week of the death of Brian Eckersley, who was a member for a limited period about 20 years ago after moving to Meliden from Salford.

A club spokesperson said: “Brian was an unassuming, modest character but had a superb pedigree as a runner with the prestigious Salford club.

“Among his achievements towards the end of his career was breaking three hours in the Snowdonia Marathon, which is acknowledged as one of the toughest.”

The club’s annual handicap race will be held on August 24 at Coed y Morfa, and those wishing to take part are asked to notify James Rogers of their estimated time for the 5k course in advance.