The majority of us visit England’s Lake District to relax and indulge in the area’s beautiful scenery. But for Aberystwyth Athletic Club’s Gary Wyn Davies, relaxing was the last thing on his mind as he ran the Windermere Marathon, supposedly one of the toughest road marathons in the UK.

It is one of a handful of marathons run entirely within a UNESCO World Heritage Site but there was no time for Gary to enjoy the sites as he raced around the scenic course in a time of 2.50.35, securing fifth place overall out of a field of close to 600 runners and naturally he was delighted.

He said: “I had heard about this marathon and knew it was a pretty tough one, but everyone also said it was a lovely race to run with so many supporters out on the course and a really friendly atmosphere.

“It is also a beautiful course – a single anti-clockwise circuit of Windermere, taking in popular hotspots like Hawkshead, Bowness-on-Windermere and Ambleside along the way.

“Unfortunately, I did not have much time to savour those places as I was focussed on securing a good time and coming in 5th overall out of such a strong and large field was great.”

Moving slightly closer to home, albeit to a similarly picturesque setting, the ‘Brutally Beautiful’ Penllyn Coastal & Trail Series 10k took place recently in north Wales.

A fast, runnable course which utilises the All Wales Coastal Path from Pwllheli to Carreg y Defaid, an out and back course with a turnaround point on Llanbedrog beach before heading up a steep climb back onto the coastal path, finishing the last 2km on the sands towards Pwllheli beach.

From the contingent that travelled up from Aberystwyth, Ivan Courtier came in 4th overall and first in his age category in a time of 47.34.

Rachel Lilley came in 3rd in her age category in a time of 1.17.18 with Rachel Richards finishing in a time of 1.43.26.

To hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit aberystwythac.wordpress.com or find the club on Facebook.