FOUR intrepid ladies from Prestatyn Running Club took on a new challenge last weekend – the 60k Winter Wirral Ultra  - and all acquitted themselves well.

Ultra specialist Ann Claire Jones and Cathy Wood finished just two minutes apart, the former coming 164th overall in 7-30.30 and Cathy 165th in 7-32.10.

They were followed by Cara Jones (171st in 7-39.00) and Nicki Triggs (197th in 8-02.09).

Meanwhile, the Penmaenmawr fell-race, one of the longest established races of its kind in North Wales, is notorious for its bog, and conditions in Saturday’s race were among the worst in recent memory.

With persistent rain and poor visibility it was not surprising that several runners went astray between checkpoints 1 and 2, and everyone was glad to reach the finish line.

Prestatyn Running Club had three representatives among the 185 entrants, and not only did all three complete the 11-mile course, but two of them finished third in their age groups.

Their results were: 111 Reg Jonas 1-58.49 (3rd M65), 136 Mark Dakeyne 2-11.31, 157 Mandy Cartwright 2-26.56 (3rd L40).

In Belfast, Gordon Jones was the club’s sole representative in the British and Irish Masters’ cross-country international.

Gordon, who was seventh overall, was the second Welsh finisher.

Elsewhere, it was mainly the club’s women who were in weekend action, three of them representing North Wales at the Welsh inter-regional cross-country championships, and though the course was flat they, too, were confronted by mud.

Sue Hughes more than justified her selection by winning the L65 class in 32.51. Ally Reid (L45) was four places and 32 seconds ahead of her, and Sophie Johnson (L45) was 145th in 34.10). At the same meeting Jonah Armstrong made his North Wales debut, finishing 43rd in the senior men’s race in 33.37.

Andy Scott was the club’s sole representative in the MoRun 10k in Liverpool, coming 57th in 54.56.

There was another big field of over 2,700 in Sunday’s Conwy half-marathon, which fortunately avoided the bad weather later in the day.

Eight Prestatyn members joined the crowd and two of them claimed age-group awards.

The placings were: 103 Jamie Betts 1-28.39, 110 Oliver Birch-Jones 1-28.42 (2nd MU20), 245 Marc Jones 1-36.10 (2nd M60). 371 Craig Smith 1-47.09, 589 Patrick Haberland 1-47.39, 108th lady Ceri Vaughan 1-47.51, 115th female Eve Manifold 1-49.30, 1,118 Martin Gill 2-04.12.

Tom Carter completed an unusual hat-trick when he won the Conwy parkrun in 17.18, as it was his third consecutive win after victories in Prestatyn and Greenfield Valley.

Other parkrun results:

Nova: 12 Darrell Jones 23.20, 41 Paul Sanders 26.38, 42 Jamie Betts 26.39, 43 Marc Jones 26.39, 52 Andy Clark 27.45, 53 Liz Martin 27.49, 76 Martin Cortvriend 29.41, 97 Karl Martin 31.02, 191 Claudia Smith 44.18.

Penrhyn: 130 Debbie Weedman 30.19.

Dolgellau: 35 Ian Cummins 45.21.

Fortunately, conditions were superb for the previous week’s Penllyn Coast-to-Coast Ultra race, a 50-mile challenge with a total of 5,000 feet of elevation.

New recruit Daniel Williams had a very impressive outing, coming 35th out of 197 entrants, finishing in 7h 21m.

The same weekend, three club members joined the large field for the Always Aim High Anglesey trail 10k race.

Marc Jones finished 31st overall and third M60 in 53.26, exactly the same time as Patrick Haberland, who was seventh in the Cani Race. Jo Lewis crossed the line in 135th place, clocking 72.29.