There are many things that can make races appealing to runners – the medal at the end, the crowd on the roads cheering you on or a field of top class runners. But the Village Bakery Wrexham half marathon beats all those hands down as cakes and crumpets are on hand for all finishers, courtesy of course of the local sponsors.

Five Aber Athletic Club runners travelled eastwards and although the forecast was for a very wet and miserable day it was actually a hot and dry race.

Gary Wyn Davies led the Aber contigent home in a time of 1.18.00. Wendy Williams finished in a time of 2.26.01 with Cara Nisbet not far behind in 2.33.09. This was Lyndsey Wheeler’s first outing after recovering from Covid and she finished in 2.43.18 with Helen Williams by her side in 2.43.20.

According to Cara it was a lovely day out,

She said: “There was a great atmosphere on the day itself and the event was very well organised with plenty of support from friendly marshals along the route.

“Travelling around to these races also allows us to see different parts of the country, places we would possibly not visit otherwise. The best bit though of the Wrexham half is the finish as you’re given crumpets and cakes – that makes the hard work all worthwhile.”

Back in Aberystwyth and while the focus was very much on four wheels in Rali Bae Ceredigion, Aberystwyth AC took advantage of the closed roads and organised a few races for adults and juniors. For the adult one mile race the route took the runners from the harbour, around Laura Place, back to the prom and looping back to finish by the Pier.

Aber AC’s Janos Vranek continued his excellent recent form finishing first in a time of 4.50 with Euros Evans of Cardiff second in 4.57 and Aber’s Ed Land coming third in a time of 4.59.

It was Aber AC all the way in the women’s podium placings with Catrin Roberts finishing first in 8.13, Lyndsey Wheeler second in a time of 8.20 and Wendy Williams coming third in 9.19.

In the junior 1km race which followed a similar, albeit slightly shortened route, the girls race was won by Gwen Tompsett in 3.57, followed by Emiah Williams in 4.09 and Yasmin Evans coming third in 4.11.

The boys race was won by Thomas Career in a time of 3.42 with Oli Lerigo in second place in 3.44 and Tomi Jones coming third with a time of 4.03.

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.