TRUDGING through mud is something that all cross-country runners accept as one of the challenges, but the entire course in Colwyn Bay’s Eirias Park on Saturday (January 21) was a quagmire.

Adding to the “fun” in the fourth fixture of the David Alun Williams North Wales Cross-Country League was the fact that the courses for all races – junior and senior – were longer than anticipated.

Some Prestatyn Running Club members who might have run on Saturday were saving themselves for the Borders League race at Delamere the following day, but that was called off belatedly because of the icy conditions.

Injuries and illnesses also left them depleted.

It was a case of 3-4-5 for the club’s teams, the ladies finishing third overall in Division 2.

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With one race left, they now lie fourth on aggregate, the same as the senior men, who were fourth on the day.

The over-65 men’s team, meanwhile, lie third and look likely to take bronze at the end of the season.

Results: Senior men: 57 Lee Bailey 49.39, 90 Dan Liddle 54.17, 109 Steve Weedman 64.29, 116 Steve Brown 64.50.

Over 65s: 10 George Nixon 40.03 (2nd M70), 19 Gareth Hughes 45.01, 20 Grahame Shone 46.12, 22 Roger Harrison-Jones 50.44 (1st M85).

Ladies: 19 Lisa Johnson 33.55, 54 Helen Ashworth 38.32, 72 Ann Claire Jones 42.23, 73 Sophie Johnson 42.34, 76 Liz Martin 43.25, 86 Mandy Cartwright 44.18, 90 Cara Jones 45.57, 101 Julie Evans 58.25, 102 Emma Birchall 58.33.

Meanwhile, four of the club’s junior girls also braved the mud, which made several parts of the course very slippery, and they acquitted themselves admirably.

In the under-15 girls’ event Sorrel Blount finished 27.17, and in the under-11s race Freya Valerio, Olivia Standring-Jones and Tia Calland came 10th, 11th and 13th respectively in 17.25, 18.22 and 16.46.

That placed them fourth in the ream competition.

The only parkrun in the area unaffected by the weather was that in Wepre Park, Connah’s Quay, where Martin Cortvriend, who is currently taking things easy after a health “blip”, finished 28th in 28.54.

Prestatyn Running Club is currently holding a series of “welcome back” sessions for ex-members who have taken a break from running but would like to resume training at a gentle pace.