Weekly Roundup, February 12th – February 18th

February 18, 2018

Soggy Runs

When there’s training to be done, you can’t let a bit of rain stop you from getting out there.

Valentine’s Day

Rather than the traditional roses or chocolates, Ceri Caswell received some pink compression socks off Damian and Terry Watkins received a pair of socks of him and Kerri Young. Good to see that a green vest made it onto the socks.

Vests on Tour

Alan Nash continues his Vest on Tour in South Africa with a hike up Table Mountain. That has to be one of the best views featuring a PBBRC vest so far.

Julie Heal and Lesley O’Connell posted equally impressive Vest on Tour photos from Times Square, NYC and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Tredegar Quiz Awards

The Misfits have gone AWOL again in this week’s Tredegar Quiz Awards and Plan H have taken the lead. Apparently there were some tough music questions this week and something about Henry VIII being buried with Anne Frank?

Aneurin leisure Club of the Year

The Club were invited to participate in the new Aneurin Leisure Annual Awards and were delighted to be shortlisted. Whilst naturally disappointed not to win the Award, our congratulations were made to worthy winners Abertillery Excelsiors and also to fellow finalists Abertillery Pirnahas.

parkrun

There were 11 PBs to report at PBB parkrun with Sam Jackson finishing in 18:37, Ethan Sayce in 20:01, Rob Bennett in 20:27, Daniel Evans in 20:48, Neil Beynon in 20:55, Nick Osman in 21:28, Stephen Price in 23:29, Peter Hire in 24:21, Nick Rhys Gregory in 26:00, Andrew Marlog in 26:18 and Nick Smith in 26:27.

parkrun Tourists

Elsewhere, Danielle Phillips was in Cardiff for their 10th Anniversary, Shane Roberts was in Cwmbran (3rd overall), Bobbie (1st age cat) and Darren Swift were in Penallta, Dave Kempton was in Pontypridd (1st age cat), John Evans was in Colby (1st place!), Sam Lewis Jones and Sian were in Cirencester and Jill and Phil Matthews were in Liverpool.

Hoka Trail Half Marathon

A mini army was despatched to the Hoka One One Trail Half Marathon with Matthew Crowle choosing it as is first half marathon! Nothing like a baptism of fire. It was also Stephen Carter’s first trail half marathon and he did fantastic finishing in 28th place and 3rd in his age category.

Claire Sullivan got a 11 minute PB for a trail HM, Rachel Lewis was 2nd in her age category, Helen Williams 4th in her age category and together the three got 3rd ladies team.

“Massive thanks go to all the leaders over the last 8 months for the training runs and encouragement, and the team mates who make the club a joy to attend, I was proud to pull on the green vest and represent the Green Army.” – Matthew Crowle

Caroline’s Castle to Castle Birthday Run

16 club members joined Caroline Matthews for a birthday run between Caerphilly Castle and Cardiff Castle. The route followed the Taff Trail near Castell Coch and then along the River Taff into the centre of Cardiff.

With a variety of running abilities we made sure that there were regular opportunities to regroup along the way so that nobody got left behind which meant that there were plenty of opportunities to take photos. Some took a detour via Castell Coch but ultimately we all ended up at Cardiff Castle for a group finishing photo before heading to The Brewhouse for food and drinks (as athletes do!).

Well done to everyone that completed the run. Some were unsure whether they would make the distance but we all made it in one piece and everyone offered support along the way.

The Downside to Finishing First

There’s a downside to finishing first – you have to collect everyone’s bags and deliver them to Cardiff Castle!

Guess the Butt!

Llanelli Half Marathon

Eight club members were in Llanelli bright and early this morning for the Llanelli Half Marathon and there were some great PBs to report. Gary Bartram knocked 8 minutes off his PB to finish in 01:41:55 and Adrian John Markey finished his first half marathon in 01:57:17.

Brecon Rise’s #1 pulled off a superb run with a sub 1:30 PB and some impressively consistent splits. View the full results here.

Sunday Runs

Mike Williams took took a group out for a damp 13-miler and Kim headed out with Marcus and Delphine for an equally damp 12-miler.

Sarah’s Trainer-Spotting, Dog-Attacking, Bladder-Relieving 16 Mile Marathon Training Run

Sarah Jeremiah describes in her blog how she headed out for a routine London Marathon training run and ended up fighting off a dog, spotting some strategically placed trainers beneath a phone box (walk of shame for someone?) and learning the benefit of hindsight.

Up Skirrid Fawr

Sarah Lane Coote squeezed in a cheeky run up Skirrid Fawr (with a little whoopsie on the way down!)

The 7 Deadly Sins

Sam Standerwick completed her first marathon of the year with the Seven Deadly Sins race. The race is part of a 7 day series and this was the final race (The Envious Run). Sam was the first woman to complete the race.

BUCS Nationals Indoor Athletics Championships

Congratulations to Lauren Cooper for being selected for the BUCS (British University) Nationals Indoor Athletics Championships in Sheffield and making it through to the final in the 3000m.

Thank you all so much for the support, I can say for certain that I come from the best club, I’m not sure I’d have finished if I didn’t have you all behind me! Special thanks to Nik, Lee and Damian for pushing me to keep running, and forcing me to race the big girls! Never dreamed I’d make the final of BUCS, but I did, and managed a PB too!