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- Dewi Griffiths Is Wales’ Best Cross Country Runner . . . For The Eighth Time
By Owen Morgan
Dewi Griffiths returned to winning ways at the Welsh Cross Country Championships in Brecon on Saturday – clocking
up a remarkable eighth senior men’s title.
The Swansea Harrier is now just one behind Welsh distance running legend Steve Jones, who has nine national cross
country crowns to his name.
The Carmarthenshire farmer’s latest triumph was a welcome return to form having not won at the event since 2019 due
to a mixture of illness, injury and the rise of new Welsh talent.
But he was back to his dominating best on the challenging 10.35k course in the shadow of the Brecon Beacons at the
weekend.
“It’s nice to win the title again. It’s been a few years since my last one. So it’s nice to come back and win
another one. I’m one away from Jonesy now.
“Hopefully I have a couple of years left in me to get level with him and maybe even surpass him. But I’m delighted
to get another title on the CV.
“When I’m old and can’t run it will be nice look back and think, ‘you know, I was alright when I was a bit younger’!”
‘Alright’ is a typical understatement from the modest Carmarthenshire farmer, who recently started passing on his
running experience and expertise to other local runners as a coach.
Griffiths isn’t just second to Jones – one of British distance running’s all-time greats – in terms of Welsh Cross
Country titles.
A marathon personal best of 2:09.49 means Griffiths is the second-fastest Welsh marathon runner in history. Only
former world record holder Jones is ahead of him at 2:07.13.
Griffiths Set to Take on London Marathon Alongside Elite Welsh Athletes
“I just want to run well, again. I’m not going to put a time on it but anywhere near my PB and I’ll be over the moon.
I want to be back in the ballpark of my best again, and then I can use that as a springboard to hopefully surpass my best.
“That would definitely be something to motivate myself over the summer and winter and springboard for the future.”
On the subject of the future, what are the 31-year-old’s goals beyond the London Marathon?
“Well, you know it’s the Olympics next year, isn’t it? So, I’m getting to that age now where if it’s not this one, it
might not happen. So yeah, that’s in the back of my mind.
“But in the past, I’ve set goals and they haven’t worked out. So I’ve stopped doing that.
“For now, I’m only focused on London and after that I’ll wake up on the Monday morning afterwards and we’ll see what
hand I’m dealt with and we’ll go from there.”
Impressive Performance by Olivia Tsim in Women’s Senior Race at Cross Country Championships
Joshua Sanders, of Cardiff Athletics, wins the boys under-15 race. Pic: Owen Morgan
Wrexham AAC’s Peter Norman, who will be 86-years-old later this year, claimed the gold medal in the M85 category.
By contrast, the first race of the day saw under-11 athlete Lewis Durston, of Bridgend Athletics, win the year 5 and 6 boys race.
In between scores of runners from all over Wales, of all ages and abilities, contributed to an entertaining day’s racing.
Amongst the other races, there was a fine win by Joshua Sanders, of Cardiff Athletics, who won the under-15 boys title
in 13:53. Oberon Kearney, of Welsh Anglo Athletes was second in 13:56 with Aberdare Valley AAC’s Garyn Tough third in 14:01.
The girls under-15 title was won by Cardiff Athletics’ Millie Gold, who crossed the line in 14:56, ahead of Abigail Doherty,
of Deeside AAC in 15:04 and Swansea Harrier Holly Humphreys in 15:16.
Joseph Rees Gara, of Wigan and District Harriers and Athletic Club, won the under-17 men’s title in 15:59, from
Carmarthen Harrier Iwan Thomas in 16:08 and Henry Evans, of Newport Harriers in 16.33.
The final race of the day saw Beca Haf Bown, of Menai Track and Field, claim gold in 18:48, ahead of Gwenno Goode, of
Cardiff Athletics in 19:08 and Caitlin Jones, of Aberdare Valley AAC in 19:19.
Full results from all the races on the day can be found on the Welsh Athletics website.
