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A team of twenty Abergele Harriers joined 58 other teams from across the UK to take part in the 28^th Welsh Castles Relay at the weekend. The 210 mile route starts from Caernarvon Castle at 10.30am on Saturday morning and finishes in Cardiff Castle at 4pm on Sunday afternoon. Competitors run stages of between 8.6 miles and 13.3 miles to take in seafronts, mountains, hills, towns, villages and our beautiful Welsh countryside (not forgetting the odd castle along the way). Cloudy skies and a cold blustery wind greeted the runners and supporters arriving at Caernarvon Castle at 9.30am on Saturday morning but, as the first stage got underway at 10.30am, the sun was out for the start of a fantastic weekend. Castles newcomer Vernon Pownell started the day off for the Harriers. Running from Caernarfon Castle towards Penygroes, straight into a head wind, Vernon powered his way through the 9.1 miles in an incredible time of 1hr 7mins 44secs to finish in 28^th position. Graham Shone, an old hand on the 2^nd stage, ran the scenic route towards Criccieth Castle. The team were pleased to see Graham back on form having only just returned to running after a cycle accident a few weeks ago. Graham ran the 10.7miles in a fantastic 1hr 12mins 50secs also taking 28^th position. Fell runner Ed Reid set off from Criccieth to Maentwrog on the first of 6 mountain stages. Stage 3 takes in a gruelling hill towards the end of a 12.1 mile route

but Ed, having run this stage before, took the heat and the hill in his stride finishing in a great time of 1hr 27mins 42secs and 40^th position. Stage 4 from Maentwrog to Harlech follows a flattish course alongside the river for 9.4 miles. Castles veteran Rob Spotswood coped well in the very hot conditions to complete the stage in a terrific time of 1hr 18mins 27secs for 47^th position.

Andy Goodson, running the relay for the first time, took on stage 5 in the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun. The 9.6 miles from Harlech to Barmouth provides little shade and starts with a long slog uphill before levelling out to follow an undulating course that finishes on Barmouth seafront. Andy completed the stage in a superb 1hr 18mins 27secs to secure 40^th position (but no ice-cream!)

The blistering heat didn’t deter Meinir Huws from producing yet another wonderful run on stage 6; the 10.7 mile route from Barmouth to Dolgellau that she has run in previous years. Taking in the scenic mountain range of Fairbourne before crossing the footbridge to join the Mawddach Trail, Meinir reached Dolgellau in1hr 36mins 03secs for 55^th position. Pam Grant faced one of the hardest runs of the first day, the mountain stage from Dolgellau to Dinas Mawddwy. Pam has been part of the castles relay team in the past but this was the first time she had braved the 9.75 mile 7^th stage. The run starts with a strength sapping 1200ft 5.5 mile climb before dropping 700 feet for a 4.25 mile undulating finish. Pam took on the challenge and completed the course in an excellent 1hr 32mins 17secs for 57^th position. Haydn Jones took on stage 8, a tough 11.3 mile route from Dinas Mawddwy to Foel. Haydn is well known for running up all the local hills, and on occasion taking some of us with him (desperately trying to keep up). The training obviously paid off as Haydn showed off his strength on the initial uphill trek of 7.5 miles and his speed on the descent into Foel. A great time of 1hr 22mins 34secs put him in 42^nd position. Stage 9 gave Jonathon Perry the opportunity to put all his training into practice as he joined the castles relay team to tackle the 8.6mile route from Foel to Llanfair Caereinion. Jonathon was rewarded with 47^th position after completing the stage in an excellent time of 1hr 13mins 29secs. Stage 10 from Llanfair Caereinion to Newtown is the longest stage of the relay with a punishing steep start that would overwhelm most of us. Fortunately for the Harriers Paul Thomas was ready and willing to take on the challenge of the last leg of the first day. Despite the distance and the hills he still managed to get to Newtown in an amazing 1hr 44mins 35secs for 55^th position. Dave Edwards volunteered for a triple whammy; an early morning start, a 12.3 mile run and the first mountain stage of the second day (for which the rest of the team are eternally grateful). Setting off at 7am from Newtown on Sunday morning he reached Llanbadarn Fynydd in a tremendous 1hr 43mins 23secs for 57^thposition. John Cody, a new addition to the team, proved he too could meet the castles relay challenge. Representing Abergele Harriers for the first time he ran the 11.2 mile 12^th stage from Llanbadarn Fynydd to Crossgates in a fantastic 1hr 35mins 08secs for 56^th position. Jeni Richards ran the 10.6 mile 13^th stage from Crossgates to Builth Wells in 1hr 17mins 27secs for 33^rdposition, picking up a lucky Mizuno spot prize as she crossed the finishing line. Enjoying the Castles experience for the first time she already has her name down for next year (but not for stage 14)

Club captain Darren Blazier took on the tough 11mile mountain stage from Builth Wells to the Drovers Arms. The 14^th stage is considered the most difficult mountain stage of the weekend with a very steep climb to the finish. Despite continuing injury Darren showed real spirit and determination to reach the Drovers Arms in 1hr 21mins 13secs for 35^th position and the admiration of all the supporting Harriers waiting to cheer him in. The 15^th stage from the Drovers Arms to Brecon is the second longest stage of the relay at 12.8 miles. Ben Pugh, on his castles debut, was spurred on by some very noisy and enthusiastic supporters in the Harriers minibus to race in for 43^rd position in an awesome 1hr 34mins 15secs. Mark Mayers, also running the castles relay for the first time, took on the final mountain challenge of the weekend (to the relief of his team mates). The 8.8 mile stage from Brecon to Beacons Reservoir is an unforgiving hill from start to finish. Mark proved his running talent by finishing the 16^th stage in a brilliant 1hr 09mins 22secs for 48^th position.Another new castles runner, Mike Carrighan, ran the next 9.2miles from Beacons Reservoir to Cyfartha Castle in Merthyr Tydfil. Downhill all the way spelt a fast pace that proved tough on the knees. Mike did the club proud by finishing the 17^th stage in 1hr 03mins 35secs for 27^thposition, the highest placed Harrier in this years relay. Lucy Jones ran the 18^th stage from Rhyd-y-Car in Abercynon to Navigation Park. Having spent the best part of the weekend supporting all the other runners the team were right behind Lucy as she ran the 9.1 mile leg in a superb 1hr 28mins 53secs for 56^th position. Lucy, we know you had at least 3 jelly babies in your pocket (we were counting!) Anthony Howe just made it to the start of the penultimate stage. With 10 minutes to spare Anthony was dropped off at Navigation Park to run the 10.4 miles to Caerphilly Castle. Staying cool under pressure Anthony ran his first Castles relay in a tremendous 1hr 23mins 42secs for 39^th position. Alan Lucas had the honour of running the final stage from Caerphilly Castle to Cardiff Castle. He ran so fast that most of the team failed to make it to Cardiff to watch him finish!!! 10.4 miles is really just a warm up distance for our super vet marathon man; Alan proved that youth and exuberance is no match for age and experience by finishing in 1hr 27mins 20secs for 54^thposition.

Thanks to Dave Edwards and Rob Spotswood for organising and motivating the team; to Jonathon Perry and Andy Goodson for driving the minibus; to Darren Blazier for taking his own car to get runners to their stages on time and to Lucy Jones and Jeni Richards for organising the overnight accommodation.

Well done to all who took part – runners and supporters alike, a really fantastic weekend. Roll on next year – the Harriers are ready!!

It was another successful weekend for Abergele Harriers as they completed their third Welsh Castles Relay which takes 58 teams from Caernarfon Castle on Saturday morning to Cardiff Castle on Sunday afternoon. On a weekend when team performance was more important than individual performance, the club finished in a highly respectful 29^th position overall and 22^nd in the King of the Mountains competition. This was a club record (34th last year), taking 29mins 11secs off their previous best time for the event. The honour of highest individual finishing position went to Sean McCormack who finished sixth in the 16^th Stage , a mountain stage from Brecon to Beacons Reservoir, in an outstanding time of 53mins 36secs, just 1min 45secs behind the winner. Also finishing sixth in his stage was second claim member Tom Watson who finished Stage 8 in an excellent 1hr 7mins 7secs, just over six minutes behind the winner. The bravest run of the weekend came on Stage 15, where Keith Elliott finished the stage despite aggravating a pre-existing injury quite early in the run, and still recorded a time of 1hr 43mins 13secs, for 53^rd position. The weekend was started off by Matthew Ashton who ran the first stage out of Caernarfon Castle, taking an amazing six minutes off the time he set for the same leg last year, finishing in 60mins 21secs for 11^th overall. The final, so called “glory” stage was run by Steven McCormack this year, who has returned to the excellent form of twelve months ago, running a tremendous leg, finishing in a time of 1hr 7mins 52secs for 15^th position. Last year’s final stage runner Darren Blazier swapped stages with McCormack this year, taking on the toughest mountain stage of all, stage 14 up to the Drovers Arms. Blazier produced a fantastic performance, finishing 10^th for the stage, in a club record time of 1hr 8mins 38secs. Others to take on Mountain Stages this year were Ed Reid who finished Stage 3 out of Criccieth in an excellent 1hr 21mins 10secs for 24^th, Haydn Jones who triumphed over stage 7 from Dolgellau in 1hr 12mins 23secs for 42^nd, second claim member Richard Watson who completed stage 10 out of Llanfair Caereinion in 1hr 22mins 42secs and Pete Smith who took on the 7am stage out of Newtown on Sunday morning, finishing in 1hr 40mins 41secs for 54^th. Also running superbly on Sunday were Alan Lucas, stage 12, 1hr 24mins 21secs, 49^th; Alex Dutton, stage 13, 1hr 27mins 47secs, 49^th; Stephen McCarten, stage 17, 1hr 13mins 9secs, 52^nd; Dave Edwards, stage 18, 1hr 9mins 9secs, stage 30^th; Katie Williams, stage 19, 1hr 31mins 53secs, 51^st. Fantastic Saturday stages come from Grahame Shone, stage 2, 1hr 10mins 19secs, 18^th; Rob Spotswood, stage 4, 1hr 11mins 30secs, 29^th; Pam Grant (second claim), stage 5, 1hr 17mins 44secs, 43^rd; Carol Willgoose, stage 6, 1hr 17mins 46secs, 30^th; Meinir Huws, stage 9, 1hr 9mins 39secs, 44^th.

Club Captain Geran Hughes specifically decided this year not to run a stage in order to concentrate on the organisational aspects of the weekend, once again proving himself invaluable, ably helped all weekend by wife Angie. Club President Mike Nolan also travelled with the team providing fantastic support all along the way.

The club are already planning next years’ assault on “The Castles” and would like to thank Edward Hughes Solicitors of Rhyl who very generously sponsored this year’s Castles Team.

Once again a massive thanks to all from the Les Croupiers Running Club in Cardiff for organising such a mammoth event.

It was another fantastically successful and enjoyable Castles Relay for Abergele Harriers with club captain Geran Hughes once again calmly and successfully leading the club from Caernarfon to Cardiff for the 25^th anniversary event. The Harriers took a total of 26 hours 8 minutes and 49 seconds to complete the 210mile course, an improvement of 1 hour 13 minutes 19 seconds over last year’s time, finishing 34th overall, a huge improvement on last years position. Even more impressively, the club finished 16^th in the “King of the Mountains” competition, again a club record result. For the second successive year the honour of achieving the highest finishing position went to Darren Blazier, whose time of 1hr 6mins 34secs gave him an outstanding 7^th place in the twentieth and final stage into Cardiff Castle. The “King of the Mountains” competition is made up of six of the toughest stages of the event with the team getting of to an excellent start when Sean McCormack completed stage 3 in 1hr 14mins 23secs for 10th position, his highest “castles” position to date. International fell runner Geran Hughes continued the good work on stage 7 in 1hr 3mins 10secs for 12^th. Richard Watson ran the final stage of day one into Newtown, in a tremendous 1hr 27mins 21secs to maintain the Harriers excellent position at the halfway stage. Hillary Jacques, following the difficult 7am start of day two, completed the next mountain stage in 1hr 44mins 34secs for 57^th place. Stage 14, universally accepted as the most difficult stage of the whole event, was this year run by the club’s youngest team member Steven McCormack, who ran an extremely powerful race, finishing in 1hr 16mins 41secs for 28^th. The final mountain stage, nine miles up the Brecon Beacons, was run superbly by Keith Elliot, in 1hr 10mins 45secs, giving him 49^th position. Another one of the many notable performances of the weekend came at the very first stage from Caernarfon, when Matthew Ashton started the whole proceedings with a time of 1hr 6mins 48secs for 15^th. This was followed up by veteran “castles” runner Grahame Shone, in an equally impressive 19^th position, with a time of 1hr 11mins 54secs. Angie Hughes, who suffered more than most from the midday sun, still managed a fantastic time of 1hr 12mins 59secs (31^st) while other excellent day one performances in mid-Wales came from Meinir Huws 1:39:25 (54^th) and the ever-improving Paul Thomas 1:04:01 (25^th), both of whom combined family trips with the event. Pam Grant 1:24:32 (47^th) and Tom Watson 1:14:58 (21^st) also did the club proud in the blisteringly hot conditions. Peter Smith, another early starter on day two, completed his “castles” debut with a superb 1hr 22mins 27secs (41^st), while Haydn Jones, a fellow debutant, completed the very difficult downhill section from the Drovers Arms to Brecon, in 1hr 31mins 19secs (38^th). Chief mini-bus driver for the trip, Steve McCarten, still managed to find the time to complete a stage himself, running wonderfully well, in a time of 1hr 10mins 18secs (45^th). Dave Edwards, who travelled down with his family to Merthyr Tydfil to run his stage, continued his recent excellent form, finishing in 1hr 11mins 5secs for 32^nd. On day two, Helen McArthur, completed stage 13 in 1hr 19mins 32secs (39^th) and Clare Johnson completed stage 19 in 1hr 41mins 36secs (58^th) rounding off a memorable weekend for all concerned.

Despite the intense heat, and thanks to superb teamwork, fantastic support and inspired leadership from Club Captain Geran Hughes, the weekend was a tremendous success, with the club already planning for next year’s attack on the event.

Leg 14; Steven McCormack, 1hr 16mins 41secs, 28^th, (11.0 miles, mountain stage):

Once again a massive thanks to all from the Les Croupiers Running Club in Cardiff for organising such a mammoth event.

Abergele Harriers completed their first ever Welsh Castled relay race over the weekend, completing the 210 mile course from Caernarfon castle to Cardiff castle, in a superb cumulative time of 27 hours 21 minutes and 58 seconds. The race was run in blistering heat, but despite that, thanks to superb teamwork, fantastic support and inspired leadership from Club Captain Geran Hughes, the weekend was a tremendous success, with the club already planning for next year’s event. The highlights of the weekend are too many to mention, with the emphasis on fun, good competition, excellent running and camaraderie between all 60 clubs participating.

Thanks also to the travelling reserves and supporters, Sara McIlveen, Jaime Ashton, Alison Guillemin and Majella McCormack.