Weekly Roundup, February 19th – February 25th
Vests on Tour
Bobbie and Cerys Swift took their vests with them on a trip to Rome last week and grabbed a snap in front of the famous Colosseum. Katharine Collins was in Westendorf, Austria this week and had her vest on hand to get a snap on the slopes.
Half Term Half Marathon Training
Rather than having a lie in during half term week, Suzie Tew and Lisa Cook were up bright an early for a 13-mile run along the canal from Govilon to Pontypool in preparation for the Bath Half Marathon in March.
Hafod Half
Teresa Davies, Kath Price and Taff Palfrey headed out along the Hafod for an out and back half on Wednesday morning.
Forzas on Tour
Is it time for a Forzas on Tour section on the website? Huw Steadman was displaying his Forza on a sightseeing run around London and Kathy Collins was on a skiing trip in Austria.
Gary and Sarah Celebrate 2 Year Anniversary
Gary and Sarah celebrated their 2 year wedding anniversary this week with a stroll around Cardiff Castle followed by a 2 mile jog for cakes and finished off with a romantic 5 mile jog/walk around Roath Park and Alexandra Gardens.
Essex First to Equalise Cross Country Distance for Men and Women
After recent debates about whether women should be running the same distance as men in Cross Country (some men would prefer running the same distance as women), Essex Athletics Association has become the first to announce that women will be stepping up to 10k in their championships.
Last night Essex County Athletics Association voted unanimously to equalise their XC championship at 10K for both men & women - Essex leading the way - top work!@EssexAArunning @ELRunners @SEAACompetition @EnglandAthletic @BritAthletics @marathontalk @FastRunning_
— Maud Hodson 🇪🇺 (@maudhodson) February 20, 2018
On learning of the announcement there was a mixed response from Green Army members.
Bring It On!
Some were willing to don a frock if it meant running a shorter XC race.
Tredegar Quiz Wizards
Looks like only a hardcore few turned up to the last Tredegar Quiz Awards and the Misfits are still AWOL!
parkrun
With the Welsh Cross Country Championships and Pontypool 10k Home Run, numbers were naturally down at parkrun but there were still two PBs to report – Matthew Crowl and Nick Rhys Gregory.
parkrun Tourists
Elsewhere, Jonathon Astley was at a very sparse Merthyr parkrun, Alan Pritchard was in Penallta, Jill and Phil Matthews were in Lanhydrock and Mr Jolly was in Porthcawl (apparently they have cracking bacon sandwiches).
Welsh Cross Country Championships
A formidable army descended on Singleton Park, Swansea on Saturday with the aim of coming away with as many medals as possible and boy did we come up trumps. Despite running against some top runners we came away with the most team medals AND took away three individual medals too.
U17/U20 Men & U20 Women
Sam Jackson and Beth Jones competed in the U17/U20 Men’s and U20 Women’s races respectively with each race featuring very strong fields. Both did the Green Army proud!
Here Come the Women
Women Awards
Master Women 40 Team: Gold
Master Women 45 Team: Gold and Silver
Master Women 55 Individual: Bronze
Master Women 60 Individual: Silver
Master Women 65 Individual: Gold
The Winners
Here Come the Men
Mens Awards
Master Men 45 Team: Bronze
Master Men 50 Team: Silver
The Winners
There Was Team Support
As always, those not running or waiting for their race were out around the course supporting ALL of our runners. It’s what we do best!
There Was Cake
Cross Country isn’t complete if there’s no cake and Maricel came up trumps with hers. Some were clearly disappointed when it was all gone and resorted to licking the remains from the foil.
Snot Hill was Discovered
There Were Bush Wees
Picnics Were Had
Questions Were Asked
Pontypool Home Run 10k
The Green Army were out in force for the Pontypool 10K and whilst assembling for our team shot I overheard someone saying “Now that’s a team photo!”. We don’t do things by half.
Even though it was a little chilly, it was a perfect day for a race along the canal and there were many PBs to report including Ruth Butterfield who knocked a whopping 5 minutes off her 10k, Laura Hire who beat last year’s time by 90 seconds and was only 10 seconds shy of her 10k PB and Suzie Tew and Ceri Caswell also ran quicker than last year. Apologies if I haven’t mentioned a PB. Also, it was Julie Heal’s first time running a race in a Green Vest!
Our Superstars
Congratulations to Danielle Phillips who finished 2nd female, Helen Williams who was 3rd FV40, Stephen Williams who was 3rd MV50, Margrett Monk who was 2nd FV65 and Michael Lewis who was 2nd MV70+.
Post-XC Sunday Run
Rachel and Kim took a band of merry runners on a post-xc (for some 😉 long run on a sunny Sunday morning. There was grizzling, there was Stable Lane, but all enjoyed it.
AO, Let’s Go
Welcome to the Forza crew Arlene!
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