PRESTATYN Running Club’s supervet Martin Cortvriend created a piece of club history at the weekend when he became the first member to win an individual medal on the world stage.
In fact, the 70-year-old came away with two medals from the World Masters’ Mountain-Running Championships in Clonmel, Ireland.
He finished in seventh place overall, but was second Great Britain finisher, and his strong performance ensured silver medals for the GB team.
The weekend’s other outstanding performance came from Lee Bailey, who took on the challenge of the 135-mile Ring o’Fire race on the Anglesey coastal path.
The gruelling event is held across three days and Lee did superbly to finish in sixth place out of 57 finishers, with an aggregate time of 27 hours, three minutes and 50 seconds.
There was a smaller field than usual for the fourth and final races in Deestriders’ Off-Road Grand Prix Series at Shotton on Friday, with Prestatyn providing almost a third of the total.
Alex Ryder, making his first appearance of the series, had a brilliant run, holding off the challenge of some powerful, experienced athletes to take second place, while another first-timer Steve Stocker also looked good in sixth.
Friday’s results: 2 Alex Ryder 24.12 (1st SM), 6 Steve Stocker 26.26 (2nd M45), 8 John Simpson 26.39 (2nd M55), 11 Dave Ellis 27.59 (2nd M35), 15 George Nicholls 29.19, 30 Steve Brown 33.59, 32 Ally Reid 35.14 (3rd L45), 35 Mandy Cartwright 36.29 (3rd L40), 36 Alan Jones 36.51, 40 Liz Martin 38.00, 41 Helena Cox 38.00, 43 Nicki Triggs 38.54, 47 Sophie Johnson 40.25, 51 Steve Hatfield 42.50 (1st M75), 52 Julie Evans 44.50 (3rd L60), 53 Nem James 45.25.
By contrast, there was a much bigger field than usual for the 50th annual Moel Famau race from Cilcain, in which Steve Brown led a quartet of Prestatyn ladies home.
Placings: 122 Steve Brown 54.21, 137 Sophie Johnson 56.35, 138 Mandy Cartwright 56.36, 148 Ann Claire Jones 58.48, 157 Helen Alefounder 62.18.
Less than 48 hours after the Deeside race, Steve Brown was in action again as the club’s sole representative in the Gladstone 9 fell-race from Penmaenmawr, which takes in the summits of Talyfan and Moel Lus.
Steve came home in 51st place, clocking 2-24.26.
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Two club members turned out in Sunday’s Caernarfon half-marathon when conditions were ideal, if a little warm.
The course was a testing one, with a sting in the tail.
Craig Smith took third prize in the M50 class, finishing in 1-33.46 and Ann Claire Jones, who is running the Run Wales Four Castles series of “halves” in aid of St David’s Hospice, was happy with her time of 2-04.27.
On their first visit to the Ruthin Memorial Fields parkrun, Roger Harrison-Jones and Gareth Hughes set new course records in the M85 and M75 categories respectively.
Parkrun results: Ruthin: 24 Gareth Hughes 25.27, 41 Roger Harrison-Jones 30.16.
Nova: 8 Dave Ellis 21.23, 35 Andrew Scott 26.36, 46 Grahame Shone 27.57, 58 Paul Brandrick 29.17, 79 Steve Hatfield.
Greenfield Valley: 2 Steve Weedman 21.45 (pb),11 Helen Ashworth 25.03 (1dt lady), 13 Andy Clark 25.12, 26 Debbie Weedman 29.50 (pb).
Wepre: 42 Sophie Johnson 28.31, 50 Mandy Cartwright 29.25 (pb).
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