THE TOR100 is a 100km race that spans the two most iconic mountains in the Alps – the Matterhorn and the Mont Blanc.

Add to that an 8,000 metre elevation and it is a challenge that only the most hardened athletes can consider.

Enter Aberystwyth Athletic Club’s intrepid adventurer Balázs Pintér who ran the race this year with a friend from Hungary and managed to complete the course in a time of 34 hours, 57 minutes and 47 seconds.

As Balázs explains, one of the biggest challenges was the night time running: “We were lucky this year with the weather, as it was generally very kind and no extremes of wind or rain.

“Besides the long and steep uphills and downhills, another challenging aspect of the run was that we had to be running on two consecutive nights, as the race started at 9pm on Wednesday.

“On Thursday evening, my friend and I decided to have a short sleep at a check point and asked the volunteers to wake us up at a set time. That helped us as we could carry on to the end with a fresh mind.

“Out of 399 runners, 116 did not make it to the end, so I was very happy to complete the race, and the views and varied terrain were great to experience.”

Coming closer to home and Cheltenham racecourse is more accustomed to four rather than two legs careering around.

It is home though to the Cheltenham half marathon and 10k races that offer a route around the beautiful regency town, with lively views of the Cotswolds and a grandstand finish at Cheltenham racecourse.

Owain Rowlands secured a pb and finished in a great 50th place overall out of over 4,000 runners in a time of 1.21.31 and Llyr ab Einion was not too far behind in a time of 1.23.58 and 77th position.

Joanne Walker completed the 10k race in a time of 1.15.42 with Martin Tranter finishing in 1.18.11.

Owain was delighted with his time: “This was a great race to run as it took in much of the beautiful Cheltenham town with plenty of spectators along the course, with even a few ‘Go Aberystwyth!’ cheers along the way!

“The finish at the racecourse was also great to savour and to top it all I managed to shave over four minutes off my previous personal best time.

“The relatively flat course, still, cool and dry weather definitely made ideal racing conditions. A great day 'At the races!'”

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