Swim, bike, and ‘RUN’
A mixed bag of results this week, showing off our various talents. We’re not just a running club, as some might believe. Please send us your result with a few words to help us plug the gaps.
Canine corner - Maverick Terrex Trail – 14th May
What follow’s is Laura’s report on her and Welly’s race. It’s a club record – for writing a report. It stands at 41 minutes – from the b of bang (being asked to write something) to crossing the line (sending this through). Can you beat it?
“On Saturday, I ran the Maverick Terrex trail race in the Forest of Dean. They put on a series of races, mostly in the South of England and a few across Europe. They returned to the Forest of Dean in 2022 after 7 years. A low key, friendly race; they offer three distances - short (7km), middle (12km), and long (22km) course.
In true trail fashion, the long was more like 23km but I can't comment on the others. I ran with Wellington (the Vizsla), setting off at the front because he always goes off like a rocket (probably taught well by poorly-pace-it me). After about a mile, the short and medium course runners headed straight on and we turned left, so the field thinned out. We probably maintained 1st lady, 1st dog position for about 5km, but it was quite hot and hilly and his longest race to date, so I made sure he had some puddle paddle stops to cool off, and we walked up the gnarliest hills (and the hairy scary biggest downhill). It is mostly wide undulating forest paths and not too technical, but with a couple of very uneven sections, and a downhill or two made scary by a complete lack of ankle stability and a strong dog pulling ahead.
The aid stations were well stocked for both human and canine, and at the finish line we were both presented with a medal and some snacks.
There were around 300 runners across the 3 distances and probably just under 10% running with dogs. Having finally made it to a Maverick race after seeing many friends do them, I would agree with the hype, and recommend this race to others next year.”
Laura Gush and Wellington
And, they’re off.
South Wales track and field champs – 14th May, day 1
We haven’t heard from anyone on the ground, but saw a snap of the club branding on show:
The results are split by event and age groups, and include East Wales competitors – take a hop, skip, and a jump through them for yourselves.
Walking wonders
Gemma Price and Fraser Higginson gatecrashed the West Wales regional championships in Neath for the combined regions 1km race walk event! Both donned the Bridgend vest with pride and both came away with regional titles and PBs - what more could any coach ask for?
Fraser 5:07:52
Gemma 5:53:25
A huge thank you to Martin Bell who ventures to Bridgend on a weekly basis to ensure the walkers are put through their paces and perfect the walking wiggle and build on their endurance!
BCRL – Rest Bay – 10th May
May 10th saw the return of BCRL after 978 days away due to the pandemic.
The first race took place on Rest Bay, the same location as the previous race on 5th Sept 2019.
It was a sunny evening with a fresh onshore wind and the course was 1 small lap followed by 2 large laps. Each time the runners ran away from the start their feet would get more wet as the tide came in but this produced some spectacular photos and a very smooth and flat albeit damp terrain.
Of the 284 finishers, just 23 were from Bridgend. However we still managed to sit in a very commendable 3rd place overall behind Porthcawl Runners and Ogmore Phoenix.
Tom Wright was 2nd overall, with Richard Dando 6th, and Mark Emery 7th. The first Bridgend AC female was Mia Allen (36th) beating Georgie Dando (37th) by just 3 seconds. Ruth Davies was 3rd Bridgend lady finishing in 81st place.
‘We need you’. The more numbers we get out, the fewer points we get.
Put Tuesday 24th May in your diaries - Kenfig Nature Reserve.
Bridgend team snap.
Welsh 10k championships – Caerphilly – 15th May
An individual shout-out from the man-on-the-ground, Stuart:
“Well done Simon Osborne only BAC VEST at Caerphilly”
Simon cut the sub 40 as close as it can get with 39:59. But his chip time gave him a little more breathing space, 39:56 for 72nd.
And escaping Stu’s eye, Kristofor Powell was out too (possibly not in a club vest!?) 69:59 on the clock.
In the 2k event Bella Thie put in a commanding run, with 8:39. 30th overall, 8th female out of the 307 finishers.
Bryn Meadows Caerphilly 10k results
Running+
Outlaw, Nottingham – 15th May
We know Beth Lance was taking on the 70.3 in Nottingham. This is a space left for her words, once she’s rested.
19th female, 5:07:24
1.9k swim 32:32
Transition 3:40
90.12k bike 2:41:33
Transition 4:02
21.3k run 1:45:37
Llanelli Sprint Triathlon – 15th May
Over the 750m swim/ 30k bike/ 5k run we had Sean Petty, Jon Parry, and Tom Graham were in action.
A race debrief from Sean:
“I thought it was going to be rainy, but luckily it held off. The race went really well. I swam well (I think) and came out the water with a little group. I pushed on the bike, cycling with Tom all the way more or less, until he made bit of a gap at the end. I worked on the run, managed to catch him up and then ran with him then. No watch, so will have to wait for the official results.”
And the results are in:
Tom 6th 1:16:30
Sean 7th 1:16:32
Jon 126h 1:34:03
Most recent parkrun results
17 Bridgend Athletic athletes took part in parkrun this Saturday – with Jack getting closer to his parkrun (aka Porthcawl – his parkrun record is 100% at Porthcawl) best. He’s now within 25 seconds of it.
Let us know if we’ve missed your result, and if you’re up for writing a report sometime – it’s a team effort.
Race report pieced together by Leigh James
Photos by James Evans, Clout, Josh Morgan.