Abergele was the setting for the fourth round of the borders league on Sunday 3rd February. In windy and chilly conditions, 18 club members made the trip to take on this 5-mile (approx) course. The women’s team continued their current run of form to finish second in division 2 and narrow the gap to the promotion spots. First for the women in 13th place was Alison McDonald in a time of 35:27, closely followed by Alison Hughes 37:09 and Madeline Bird 39:20 who also secured 2nd place in LV50 category.
The men’s team continue to strengthen their position within the first division with a fine performance with the top ten counters all being in the first hundred. First home and making a welcome return from injury was Steven Crowe in 7th place in a time of 27:46. Not far behind was Simon Jeffs posting one of his best ever borders results finishing 13th in a time of 28:13, then Ian Cooper (28:38) who was second in the V45 age group. Completing the team was Denis Duret 29:11, Mark Dodd 29:52, Paul Robertson 30:44, Chris Marshall 31:00, Dave Nalder 32:23, Matthew Whitfield 32:44, Tony Hyland 33:12, Danny Legg 33:54, Roy Traynor 35:07, John Cole 35:40, new recruit and great prospect Jason Bennett 36:00 and Nigel Crierie 42:05.
Deeside AC member Ricky Challinor won the men’s race in a time of 26:53, while Isabelle Redfern from Prestatyn running club won the women’s race in a time of 32:05. In the overall league tables the men's team remains in 4th place in division 1 with the women in 3rd place in division 2. In the individual standings, Steve Crowe maintains second spot in Senior Male category, as does Ian Cooper (V45) & Madeline Bird (LV50). In The V50 age group, a real battle is forming between Matthew Whitfield 3rd and Dave Nalder in 4th Place.
Midwinter Marathon, Apeldoorn, Holland
On Sunday 3rd February, Stephen Laker as part of his training for the London Marathon decided to run this more challenging of the Dutch marathons. With the main objective being completing the distance rather than to record a fast time, he may have run this slightly faster than intended. In near perfect weather conditions Steve completed the course in 24th place in a new personal best time of 2:53:05. The winner was Tomek Chawawko in a time of 2:27:33, with the women's race being won by Kaminkova Petra in 2:39:19.
