After featuring in international races in past weeks, it was back to mid and north Wales for Aberystwyth Athletic Club runners with races in Rhayader, Machynlleth and Conwy.

The Elan valley 10 mile race is always a firm favourite and over 120 runners made their way to Rhayader for a race run in near perfect conditions.

It was certainly a perfect day for Aber AC’s Ed Land as he romped home to claim first position overall in a time of 59.19. Dave Powell won his age category in a time of 1.10.45, with Paul Williams following in 1.11.35. Tracey Breedon also won her age category in 1.13.12, Louise Barker crossed the line in 1.17.20, with Mark Bloomfield finishing in 1.27.57. Chelsey Morris finished in 1.30.40, Peter Hinxman 1.33.13, and Angela Self finished the race in a time of 1.42.53.

Over a challenging route, Tracey was delighted with her time: “This is a great race, although as you would expect in this part of Wales there are plenty of challenging ascents. But if you go up you have to come down as well and I tried to think of the downhills to come as I was struggling to make the climbs.

“The near perfect weather for this time of year made for a great event and as usual the organisation was second to none. Lovely to have another great race on our doorstep.”

l-r Ed Land, Louise Barker, Peter Hinxman, Tracey Breedon, Mark Broomfield, Paul Williams, Dave Powell in Elan valley
l-r Ed Land, Louise Barker, Peter Hinxman, Tracey Breedon, Mark Broomfield, Paul Williams, Dave Powell in Elan valley (Aber AC)

Another local race that is quickly becoming a firm favourite is the Dyfi 8, an 8 mile or 8 kilometre race in the beautiful Dyfi Forest, north of Machynlleth.

Three Aber AC made the short journey north and came back with category wins – so a successful day out.

Karen Davies secured an age category win in the 8km race in a time of 47.56 with Lynwen Huxtable securing a category win in the 8 mile race in a time of 1.04.56 and Cameron Pope crossing the line in the same race in a time of 1.22.34.

Moving further north and in a race billed as one of the five most scenic half marathons in the UK as voted by readers of Runners World, Conwy Half Marathon is now in its 14th year and welcomed over 3,000 runners.

The route runs from Conwy, out through Deganwy and on to Llandudno past the Pier where it then takes in the road around the Great Orme and the views of the North Wales coastline, before heading back to the finish at Conwy Castle.

Eight brave Aber AC runners faced the north Wales coast gales with Paul Scullon leading them home in a time of 1.38.50 followed by Maggie Collingborn in 1.49.56. This was Lyndsey Wheeler’s third outing in Conwy and secured a PB by 16 minutes finishing in 2.17.15 while Wendy Williams also secured a PB in a time of 2.22.14.

Karen Davies, Cameron Pope, Lynwen Huxtable at the Dyfi 8
Karen Davies, Cameron Pope and Lynwen Huxtable at the Dyfi 8 (Aber AC)

After returning from their New York marathon exploits, Ceirios Evans and Bethan Evans finished in 2.37.39 and 2.42.39 respectively. This was Helen Williams’ 33rd half marathon out of her target of 50 and she completed the race in 2.42.39 while Rachel Richards crossed the finish line in 3.20.34.

According to Paul Scullion, the course is very scenic: “Wherever we run in Wales the landscape is quite breath taking and we are very fortunate in that regard. The Conwy half marathon is no exception and that certainly helps, especially when you have to battle through the coastal winds as you circle the Great Orme. It is a wonderful event and great to see good representation from Aber AC.”

If you would like to hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit aberystwythac.wordpress.com or find the club on Facebook.