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- Swansea Harriers Sweep To Welsh Road Relay Double
By Owen Morgan
Swansea Harriers’ men’s and women’s teams retained their Welsh Road Relay Championships at a wet and windy Pembrey Country Park.
Wales Commonwealth Games stars Josh Griffiths and Jonny Hopkins led the way for the men, jointly clocking the fastest leg time of the day for the 5,480m loop of the coastal park near Llanelli.
Marathon man Griffiths and steeplechaser Hopkins both registered 16:52 as they ran the second and third legs for the Swansea club.
They were backed up by solid performances from team-mates Marc Hobbs (17:27) who gave them the lead from the very start and Elliot Lawrence (18:05) who rounded off the quartet’s effort in fine style to bring the team home as comfortable winners in an overall time of 69:16.
Griffiths, who is preparing for next month’s Commonwealth Half Marathon in Cardiff where he will run as part of a strong Welsh team, said afterwards: “It’s a nice event here at Pembrey, I don’t live far away so it was good to come down and be part of it.
“We had a good team, we won, and it was good preparation for the Cardiff Half. Swansea won here last year and now this year. I’ve been part of the team both times, so it was nice to win again.
“I was hoping for a bit of sun today, but it was typical Welsh weather. When you’re racing in Llanelli you know you’re going to have some wind – it’s always here, it doesn’t leave! So we knew what to expect. It was a tough run and a good effort by everyone.”
The Cardiff AAC team of former GB middle distance international James Thie, Dan Nash, Owen Locke and Welsh Cross Country Champion James Hunt finished second in 73:43, while Aberdare Valley AAC’s team of Samuel Gregory, Adam Bull, Owain Morris and Daniel Bodman were third in 74:40.
Swansea were equally impressive in the women’s senior race, where Alaw Beynon-Thomas got her team off to a flying start by clocking the fastest women’s time of the day – 19:42.
She was ably supported by team-mates Sian Kirk (22:35) and Rachel Davies (21:32) and Kate Roberts (19:52), who registered the second and third fastest women’s times of the day.
Swansea’s time of 83:41 saw them finish well ahead of the Lliswerry Runners team of Sandra Chipper, Emma Wookey, Rachel Brown and Nicky Collin, who clocked 91:35, while the Bridgend AC team of Katrin Higginson, Gina Hardman, Helen Andrew and Hayley Coburn were third in 98:48.
Despite Saturday’s cold and wet conditions on the exposed coastal course, which incorporated the newly built National Closed Road Cycling Circuit, the 51st staging of the event attracted its largest field for many years.
Almost 200 teams from more than 20 clubs travelled to Llanelli from as far afield as Menai Track and Field, Pembrokeshire Harriers and Newport Harriers.
Age group races were held from Under-11 primary school pupils right up to Masters 55 classes.
Welsh Athletics Competitions manager Tom Marley praised everyone involved in making the relays such a success despite the weather. “We are delighted to see so many clubs and athletes competing, especially Menai for travelling all the way down from North Wales and winning medals.
“We’d also like to thank Pembrey Country Park and Carmarthenshire Council hosting us at this excellent facility and all the volunteers who stuck at it in very wet conditions to make it such a great event.”
A full list of individual and team results can be found on the Welsh Athletics website.
