THE maxim that age is just a number was proved true by members of Prestatyn Running Club at the weekend when their youngest and oldest members picked up awards.
The North Wales Junior and Senior Cross-Country Leagues came to a close in Oswestry, with the under-11 girls' team collecting bronze and the over-65 men's team silver.
Conditions for the fifth and final fixture were ideal, with the normally muddy course the driest in living memory.
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An unfortunate clash with various other events left the men's and women's teams weakened, but there were still plenty of encouraging points over the season, including the high-placed consistency of Tom Carter and Lisa Lines, and the emergence of Dan Liddle.
End of season awards- M40: 2 Tom Carter; M70: 3 George Nixon; M85: 1 Roger Harrison-Jones.
Oswestry placings:- Ladies: 16 Lisa Lines 20.48, 40 Helen Ashworth 23.15, 77 Liz Martin 27.53, 93 Emma Birchall 33.29, 94 Julie Evans 33.30. Team: fifth, but fourth over the season.
Men over 65: 11 George Nixon 24.58 (third M70 and third over the season), 19 Grahame Shone 27.56, 21 Roger Harrison-Jones 32.43 (first M85 and first over the season). Team: second, and second over the season)
Senior men: 13 Tom Carter 32.11 (third M40 and second over the season), 78 Dan Liddle 39.16, 93 Steve Weedman 42.51, 102 Nem James 55.33. Team: sixth but fourth over the season. Masters' team: seventh, but sixth overall).
Under-11 girls: 10 Freya Valerio 7.49, 14 Olivia Standring-Jones 8.28, 16 Tia Calland 8.51. Team: fifth on the day but third overall.
Less than 24 hours after the Oswestry race, three of the ladies, Helen Ashworth, Liz Martin and Julie Evans, lined up again in the Nick Beer 10k in Llandudno, and again conditions were perfect for the run around the Orme.
A total of 13 members took part, and they were led home by Lee Bailey, who took third prize in the M45 class.
Results: 31 Lee Bailey 40.28, 154 Sian Beck 50.21 (chip time), 163 Helen Ashworth 50.05, 180 Sophie Johnson 51.52, 214 Ann Claire Jones 53.01, 261 Ally Reid 54.47, 311 Helen Alefounder 57.40, 337 Liz Martin 59.07, 371 Debbie Jones 61.02, 431 Karl Martin 65.26, 434 Eva Brewer 64.38, 476 Helen Baxandall 89.04m 482 Julie Evans 70.52.
Another member who doubled up was Olivia Standring-Jones, who, after racing in Oswestry, finished second overall in the Prestatyn junior parkrun, clocking a new pb of 10.15.
The increasingly popular event attracted 31 runners.
In Saturday's senior Nova parkrun, Alex Ryder chalked up yet another win, finishing in 18.24.
Other placings were: 17 Martin Gill 25.32, 18 Ann Claire Jones 25.55, 25 Mike Davis 27.32 (pb), 93 Debbie Weedman 29.15 (pb), 48 Ian Cummins 31.50, 88 Martin Cortvriend 59.42 (Tail walker).
Greenfield Valley: 4 Luke Bodman 25.25.
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The following day, Luke and Darren Thompson were the club's only representatives in the Village Bakery half-marathon in Wrexham.
Luke crossed the line in 596th place with a time of 1-41.44 and Darren was 599th in 1-42.20.
The club has once again been asked to host the British and Irish Masters' cross-country championships at Rhug, Corwen, in March, 2024.
It will be the fourth consecutive time for the club to host the event on behalf of Welsh Masters, the last time having been on March 14, 2020, the day before the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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