THE Nant yr Arian Silver Trail is one of the first dates to fill in local runners’ diaries, the annual half marathon race offering challenging terrain coupled with spectacular scenery in a beautiful location.

Once again this year there was an added incentive as it was awarded Welsh Championships Short Trail status and as a result attracted a high calibre of runners.

This was underlined by the course record being broken by Welsh international Josh Griffiths completing the 13.1 mile course in a record time of 1.22.52.

The 10km race continues to go from strength to strength. Now in its third year, close to 100 runners completed the race, proving the increasing popularity of this distance.

Considering the recent inclement weather, it was a pleasant surprise to see blue skies and sunshine at this year’s event, but unsurprisingly, underfoot, there were water features aplenty to test the hardened runners.

As a local race there was strong representation from Aberystwyth Athletic Club with Owain Rowlands leading the Aber contingent home in a time of 1.42.12 with Iain Barber finishing in 2.10.22 and Ivan Courtier in 2.17.16. Rabi Thapa crossed the finish line in 2.22.10 just ahead of Stephen Thomas in 2.24.54 and Kevin Holland in 2.25.01.

Chelsey Morris finished in 2.31.12 just ahead of Bethan Rees in 2,32,06 and Kirsten Hughes in 2.32.07. Neil Jones completed the course in 2.42.56, Sarah Purdon finished in 2.46.46 with Dave Humphreys in 2.51.19 and Billie Atkins in 2.52.44.

Michelle Totterdell crossed the finish line in 3.00.12 with Adam Cowdrey in 3.01.05, Richard Hobson in 3.08.42 and Jennie Thomas completing the course in 3.36.59.

In the 10k race Deian Creunant led Aber AC home in 1.06.04 just ahead of Ffion Bowen in 1.06.19, Peter Barber in 1.08.38 and Clive Williams in 1.08.49. Ruth Flatman finished in 1.11.03 closely followed by Linda Paasman in 1.12.21, Paul Tonkin in 1.14.40 and Charlotte Priddy in 1.14.51 and Helen Williams in 1.14.53.

Mel Gaul finished in 1.15.44 with Julie Williams in 1.15.58 and Cara Nisbet completing the course in 1.16.16. Brian Garrod, officially the most improved runner in the 10k, finished in 1.16.34, just ahead of Sioned Jones in 1.16.35 with Heather McCalman finishing in 1.21.54 and Helen Stretch winning her category in a time of 1.23.49.

Organisers Karen Kemish & Chris Ware were delighted once again with the response: “Our luck may be changing, as the weather was perfect for the second year in a row – and that makes a difference in this gorgeous location. We had very strong fields, especially in the half marathon, and the course record was absolutely smashed by Josh Griffiths.

“It is a great bonus to see the interest in the junior races also and there were some fantastic performances in those events in what is very challenging terrain, whatever your age.

“A bit of a break now before we start praying for good weather for the third year in a row!”