October Handicap results and final standings

Posted on 26th October 2021 by admindh

With the nights drawing in, the ground getting decidedly muddy in places, and cattle (both small and large) causing obstructions to some, the handicap season drew to a close on 5th October

Another decent turnout of 16 people both virtually and on the night led to some close finishes (Elen and Katy one second apart, and all 4 Baughs separated by less than 50 seconds), but Tom Jones , who has not run the handicap for years, finished in first place, Tony Wood and Menai finishing second and third.

Also a welcome to her first handicap race for Clair Atterbury, hope to see you next year too.

Overall for the season, 47 people did the race at least once, however only 12 did the required 6 races to be in the official standings, with the overall chance of glory.

A special mention here has to go to Menai Baugh, who was the only person to have completed all 10 of the races in what was a very long season.

The overall winner for 2021 is Paul Jones, who took October off, having an unassailable score of only 20 points for the entire year in spite of only doing 6 races. He has consistently improved through the year, fighting off the handicapper’s determined efforts to pull him back into the pack.

For the minor places, it was all to play for, with a number of people in with a shout if they could make a last lunge for the finish line.

However, it was Melina Morris who finally managed to secure second, her 11th place on the night meaning she got to drop a 15th place from way back in February, leaving her with an overall 35 points.

Coming home in the bronze position for the season is David Baugh, with another consistent race, leaving him on 36 points.

Ed Brown and Gareth Jones finished on 39 points, Menai Baugh and Peter Lester-Owen finished on 40.

Many thanks to all those who have taken part throughout the year (without whom I’d be standing in a field on my own), and also thanks to those who’ve come down to support, take photos, and just for a chat on the race nights

The intention for the 2022 season is to go back to ‘normal’, with the first race happening on Sunday 6th March, and after that races going ahead on the first Tuesday of each month.

Rob Parry

October Results

Position Name Finish time Actual time
1 Tom 18:43:13 00:27:13
2 Tony W 18:44:52 00:23:22
3 Menai B 18:45:06 00:33:36
4 Peter L-O (v) 18:45:22 00:31:22
5 Katy B 18:45:38 00:29:38
6 Elen B 18:45:39 00:30:09
7 Iwan 18:45:43 00:24:13
8 David B 18:45:55 00:27:25
9 Vic 18:46:12 00:25:42
10 Ed 18:46:41 00:35:41
11 Mel 18:46:51 00:28:21
12 Bob 18:47:30 00:35:30
13 Clair 18:47:48 00:40:48
14 Gareth J (v) 18:47:51 00:30:51
15 Lucy (v) 18:50:16 00:37:46
16 Rob P (v) 18:53:47 00:43:17

Final Standings

Final Points from best 6 Races Number of races Position
Paul J 20 6 1st
Mel 35 9 2nd
David B 36 9 3rd
Ed 39 9 4th=
Gareth J 39 7 4th=
Menai 40 10 6th=
Peter L 40 9 6th=
Tony W 43 9 8th
Elen 43 8 9th
Lee 52 8 10th
Rob P 62 7 11th
Bob 68 6 12th
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Weekly report 04/10/2021

Posted on 8th October 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

On Saturday 25/09/2021 Victoria Whitehead ran the Endurance Life North York Moors Trail Marathon. This route was on lovely coastal paths, old railway tracks and fields, with over 3500ft of climb. Conditions were very warm on the day, but Victoria had a fantastic run finishing 5th lady and 1st in her age group in a time if 05:51.00. Jon Whitehead ran the Half Marathon in the same event, though it was slightly over half marathon distance at 15 miles!! Jon finished in a great time of 03:39:44.

The Bespoke Denbigh 5k on Wednesday 29/09/2021 saw a great turnout of Denbigh Harrier members, with great results all round. Taking first place overall was Shaun Hughes in 17:57, with Mel Morris first lady and 5th overall in 22:38. Followed by Phil Hayes (6th 22:53); Gareth Jones (7th 22:57); Simon Nixon (8th 23:27); Abdul Pasha (9th 23:27); David Jones (11th 24:16); Lee Evans (12th 24:59); Paul Jones (15th 26:10); Peter Lester-Owen (16th 26:27); Bob Neale (18th 26:59); Alys Griffiths (20th 27:12); Hayley Scott (22nd 22:12); Sali Powell (27th 28:58); and Helen Davies (31st 31:27).

For the past month of Tuesday evenings, 4 Harriers have made their way across the border to take part in the Wirral Multi Terrain League. The series is held each year in September with each of the 4 races being held over various terrain including sandy beaches, rocks, mud, forest trails and hills at distances between 7.5k and 10k.
Maybe it was post lockdown excitement but this year the series attracted more runners than ever before; with over 400 competitors in each race; and they were competitive! Organised and hosted by 4 big Wirral clubs, Wallasey, Pensby, Birkenhead and West Cheshire the races attracted some of the area’s best, including some international runners, which made for an exciting, challenging and yet really friendly atmosphere. The Harriers did well to meet and sustain the challenge and came away with results to be proud of. Series Results – Emma Collins 1st V50 (10th Female overall); Mel Morris 2nd V40 (9th Female overall); Tony Wood 7th U40 (18th Male overall); Vic Belshaw (188th Male overall).

The Cross Country season started on Saturday 02/10/21 with the first fixture hosted by Wrexham on the playing fields at Ysgol Morgan Llwyd. There was a good representation from Denbigh Harriers members with great performances. The Women’s team finished 3rd team in Division 1, only 8 points away from 1st which is a fantastic start to the season. The Men were 7th in Division One – but not far off mid table, which bodes well for the rest of the season. The Over 65’s Men were 3rd team out of the four to finish, with again great performances on this flat, fast course.

Sunday 03/10/2021 saw some members lucky enough to run in the London Marathon – some in London and some virtually!! Joe Welch and Daniel Jones made the trip down to London, running in what were perfect conditions on the day. Joe Welch had a brilliant run managing to break 3hrs in a time of 02:59:21. Daniel Jones had an equally impressive run finishing in 03:03:17. Running ‘virtually’ was Caroline James after being approached by Hope House & Tŷ Gobaith to run the virtual London Marathon for them, and jumped at the chance to be able to support this wonderful charity. Caroline started 5am from Ruthin Rugby Club, running the first 10 miles in the dark which she described as being quite enjoyable! The virtual London App was great and kept Caroline updated every half mile and even played the official music at the start and finish! Caroline managed to get back to the rugby club bang on 26.2 miles in time to watch her son play his match. Caroline has set herself the challenge of running 2 marathons in 2 weekends for the charity, her next marathon being in Manchester next week.

Also running a marathon on Sunday 03/10/2021 were Shaun Hughes and Eleanor Ashcroft in the MBNA Chester Marathon. Shaun had a storming run, finishing in 02:51:28, 32nd overall and 15th in his age category. Eleanor had an equally brilliant run finishing in 03:35:22, 32nd female overall and 12th in her age category.

Choosing an even longer distance were Rachel Evans and Jenni Richards, who raced in Out-fit’s Brenig Way 50k on Sunday 03/10/2021. This was a linear route staring at Corwen and following the Brenig Way over varied terrain to finish at Llyn Brenig. After a rainy start from Corwen the weather brightened, with the sun shinning on the final descent and run in over the Llyn Brenig dam to the finish line. Rachel had a brilliant run, finishing 10th overall in 06:56:45. Jenni Richards also had fantastic run, finishing 14th overall in 07:02:21.

Parkrun results 02/10/2021
Bushy
481 Sian Pritchard 00:26:36
Conwy
8 Phillip Hayes 00:21:21
Nova Prestatyn
4 Vic Belshaw 00:20:38
54 David Baugh 00:30:40
75 John Llewelyn Thomas 00:56:04

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Weekly report 20/09/2021

Posted on 8th October 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Denbigh Harriers David Spencer and Gareth Rees Jones made the long trip up to Northumberland to compete in their first 50k Pilgrims Ultra Marathon on Saturday 18/09/2021. Setting off from Holly island the route took them over mixed terrain including road, forest tracks, fields, sand dunes and even railway lines finally finishing in the little village of Craster. The course was slightly longer than the 50k coming in at 33.62 miles. First Harrier home was Gareth in a very respectable time of 06:36:20 with David finishing in also in a great time of 07:42:28, both very happy to have finished and hoping this is the first of many.

Daniel Jones ran the Essar Chester Half Marathon Sunday 19/09/2021 on what was a lovely bright, clear day with over 3,200 runners taking part. The Chester Half is one of the UK’s longest established and highly regarded half marathon, starting and finishing in the historic city of Chester. Daniel finished with a PB of 01:25:28 in 86th overall position. A great atmosphere and great preparation for Daniel’s London Marathon run in 2 weeks.

Running her first half marathon as Denbigh Harrier also on Sunday was Eleanor Ashcroft at the Run Wales Caernarfon Half Marathon. This was a 2 lap route, mainly flat with very few hills on road and footpaths. Eleanor put in a great run finishing as 3rd overall female in a brilliant time of 01:40:00!

Local 70 year old hero Bob Neale put in an excellent shift at the Bespoke Running round the Alwen 11.5K race on Sunday. He finished in 62:52 in 26th position ahead of Chris Baldwin who finished 28th in an equally impressive 65:05 on this difficult route and terrain. Strong performances and preparation for the upcoming Cross Country season.

Making the most of the good conditions on Sunday Sioned Griffiths took part in Run Free’s Llangollen Trig Navigation Race. It was a roughly 8 mile unmarked route with approximately 1500” ascent from Llangollen up to the trig point on Ruabon mountain. This was a small field and Sioned finished 3rd overall and 1st female, also setting a new female race record, in 01:21:35. A great fell race on a lovely route, and very well organised.

Parkrun results:
Kingston
103 Sian Pritchard 00:26:28
Prestatyn
9 Emma Collins 00:21:56
14 David Baugh 00:22:30
19 Katy Baugh 00:22:53
40 Elen Baugh 00:25:37
59 Menai Baugh 00:26:50
132 John Llewelyn Thomas 01:01:01 (sweeper)

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Last Handicap Race 2021 – Tuesday 5th October Start Times

Posted on 19th September 2021 by admindh

Due to the nights closing in, the last race of the series on Tuesday 5th October will start roughly 30 minutes earlier than in the summer, please refer to the start time on the main Harriers site. You can, of course, run the race solo in the few days beforehand.

October Start Times

October Start Times

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September Summer Handicap

Posted on 19th September 2021 by admindh
The September handicap was another relatively quiet one, with only 13 participants, meaning that people with poor results from earlier in the season had the opportunity to improve standings in the table
A warm and quite humid evening with solid conditions underfoot, relatively short grass, and minimal bovine interference.
Paul, as expected, closed his vice-like grip on the trophy with his 6th finish. A 12th place meant that he stands on an unassailable 20 points (only 8 points from his first 5 races is incredibly impressive, as the handicapper has been trying to reel him in to the pack all season).
The chase for the silver and bronze medals is far more complicated.
David Baugh sits in second place on 37 points, but his best ‘drop’ from the last race would be a 9th place.
Mel is on 39 points, but has a 15th place still to drop – a top 5 finish in the last race would see her looking very strong, no matter what anyone else can do.
Ed (43 points) can get rid of a 14th place, and finish in second place for the season
Peter L (48 points) has a12th place still counting against him
Menai (48 points) can also still challenge for the podium if she can drop her 11th place from August
Elen (49 points) has a 12th place to potentially drop
Basically, all to play for. The maths gets complicated !
Due to the nights closing in, the last race of the series on Tuesday 5th October will start roughly 30 minutes earlier than in the summer, please refer to the start time on the main Harriers site. You can, of course, run the race solo in the few days beforehand.
September Handicap Results

September Handicap Results

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Weekly report 13/09/2021

Posted on 13th September 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Another busy week of racing started with six Denbigh Harriers running the Bespoke Ruthin 5K on Wednesday 8 September. All had very strong runs with great results. First in was Shaun Hughes finishing 5th overall and just missing out on a 3rd SM spot in 17:29. Phillips Hayes was next in finishing in 22:13 (3rd V40), followed closely by Simon Nixon in 22:34 (3rd V60) and Abdul Pasha in 22:51. Jeffrey Jones was very pleased with his result finishing in 27:02 and taking the 1st V70 prize, followed by Ron Birch in 44:47 also taking a well deserved 1st V80 position!

On Thursday 9 September Denbigh Harriers Paul Goffey and Hayley Parkes took a trip across the border to Derbyshire for the annual PSUK 10 mile road race. This is a race organised by Derbyshire Constabulary and held at the beautiful Carsington Water, Ashbourne. An ‘undulating’ 10 miles around the Carsington Waters reservoir saw Paul get round in 1:20.28 and Hayley getting round in 1:30.31, great runs from both.

Though getting to the start of the King John’s Fell race turned out to be a challenge due to the “road closed” sign into the village, six Harriers did make the start line in time on a humid but blessedly sunless day. This race is 5miles with about 1100’ of climb up towards Moel Llanfair and up Moel y Plas. It was a slightly speedy start along a lane before hitting the fields and the first long drag uphill. As with many fell races the race then headed downhill before climbing Moel y Plas and heading back to the ruins of King John’s Castle to the very steep uphill finish. Chris Baldwin making a rare appearance in a fell race did very well to finish in 20th in 60.01. Melina Morris decided she liked Moel y Plas so much that she looped around it twice, finishing in 17th in 54.35. Menai Baugh got her fourth PB in 4 weeks finishing in 15th in 53.45 and was 1st F60. Lee Evans in her first fell race was 1st F45 one place ahead of Menai in 52.17. Aron Evans who was doing his second fell race probably set off a bit fast but stuck to it to finish in 10th in 47.28. David Baugh was 8th with a PB in 45.30 and 1st M60. Lovely chip butty for all finishers in the pub at the end. A great race and highly recommended for next year.

Wanting to ‘dip their toes’ in Navigation, 5 Denbigh Harriers entered The Clwydian Ranger navigation race on Sunday 12 September. This was a navigation race starting at Plas Dolben farm, Llangynhafal, where a map showing 5 checkpoints on the Clwydian Hills were given out at the start line with participants having to navigate the fastest route to all checkpoints in order. Tony Wood stormed the field finishing in 1st position in a time of 1:44:53. Taking a more cautious approach Mel Morris, Sioned Griffiths, Katy Baugh and Menai Baugh stuck together and finished 4th in 2:30:40 happy just to have found all checkpoints. A great morning in the hills in wet and misty conditions!

Parkrun results 11/09/2021
Nova Prestatyn
16 Elen Baugh 23:26
19 Katy Baugh 23:48
84 John Llewelyn Thomas 52:57

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Weekly report 06/09/2021

Posted on 13th September 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

Kicking off a week of racing was Vic Belshaw at the English Fell Championship Counter 2021 – Black Combe on 28 August held at the South west corner of the Lakes in good conditions. Men were set off at 1.00pm followed by the ladies at 2.30pm. There was one section that had 500m of climbing tussocks over about 2km which had most of the field spitting feathers, followed by a “hell for leather” descent. Vic finished 6th in his age category, pleased with his run and result and comfortably in the top half of the overall field. Wonderful event and camaraderie as usual.

Five members of Denbigh Harriers turned out for a local fell race in Cilcain, organised by NEWSAR, on Bank Holiday Monday. This 5 mile/8 km race starts in the village and ascends 1,300ft/400 m to the summit of Moel Famau. Daniel Jones was 5th in the race and first Harrier home in an impressive 35 mins 33 secs. Owen Conry was the second Harrier home in a time of 43:53. Returning from injury but running well, first of the Harriers women was Kate Wilson in a time of 51:40, closely followed by Menai Baugh in 52:38 claiming the First Female 60 prize. Abigail Corfe finished in a very respectable time of 58: 05 for her first ever fell race.

The Gladstone 9 mile fell race Sunday 5 September was run by 3 V60 Denbigh Harriers. It was a hot one with 2800’ of climb over a mixture of trail, rocky fell up Tal y Fan, sheep trods, the inevitable Penmaenmawr upland soggy bits and the sting in the tail of Moel Llûs. Runners were set off in 5 second intervals which did not seem to be seeded by expected finish time making it hard to work out who you were competing with. Menai managed another PB (becoming a habit) to pick up the 1st F60 prize in 2:11:30. Mike (Michael Hobday) running his first fell race for 4 years put in a good shift and looked in good shape at the end finishing in 2:03:18. David Baugh finished in 1:42:47 and 2nd M60 (including prize) to a very speedy Russell Owen from Eryri.

Steve Gadd enjoyed a fab run at the Always Aim High Ynys Mon half marathon on Sunday 5 September. Gorgeous weather and no wind meant conditions were good. This is a road race with a steep hill at halfway, and was Steve’s first race back after spring injury so he was pleased with a steady run. Chip time 01:39:23, 8th in category MV45 and 50th overall. Nice to be back-ish!

On a busy Sunday for the club 3 members also ran the Village Bakery Half Marathon in Wrexham. This is a fast, flat course and conditions on the day were very warm. Adam McDonnell was first Harrier home in 01:38:34 (203), followed by Mel Morris in 01:40:48 (220), with recent new member Lucy Lewis finishing in 02:06:53 (327).

Parkrun Results 04/09/2021:
Bushy
380 Sian Pritchard 00:25:16 PB
Conwy
34 Emma Collins 00:22:26
277 John Llewelyn Thomas 01:00:16
Wepre
26 Katy Baugh 00:24:49
29 Elen Baugh 00:24:57 PB

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September Handicap Start times

Posted on 1st September 2021 by admindh

New members are in the process of being added. If your name is not on the list please mention it on FB and you will be given a time. New entries in Blue

September Start times

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August Summer Handicap results

Posted on 1st September 2021 by admindh

On another lovely evening (warm with light winds), a far smaller contingent turned up to do the handicap in August. Summer holidays and the return of ‘proper’ races, I suppose.

Paul J continues to outpace the handicapper’s best efforts to rein him in, and after this latest race his grip on the trophy looks to be unassailable – he’s still got to complete at least one more race, but it looks to be a mere formality to him now. Congratulations on such an impressive and sustained level of improvement through the year.
In the minor places, it is all to play for. Mel has dropped a couple of poor early results (24th and 19th) to shoot up the leaderboard, and still has a 15th place that she could potentially get rid of. Elen has a 21st place to drop, which would propel her into the placings. It’s tougher for Menai, David, Tony W, Peter, Ed and Lee, who’ve already dropped their poor results, and will have to have good races to improve much further. A number of people are on 5 (or even 4) results, which means they could come into play late on.
The September race will be at 6:30pm on 7th September, as usual this year you are welcome to race it on the night or virtually.
August Handicap Results
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Back to racing!

Posted on 27th July 2021 by Sioned Lloyd

On the hottest day of the year, Saturday 17 July, four Harriers took on the challenge of the 50th Welsh 1000s fell race which starts on the coastal side of the A55 near Abergwyngregyn and finishes on the summit of Snowdon after climbing the 5 of the 1000 meter peaks of Snowdonia. The route was often over open pathless ground and included several hard scrambles. In the heat there were 66 runners (around 25%) who had to retire with heat exhaustion, cramp or injury. All the Harriers successfully ran the same distance of over 20 miles and and climbed almost 9000’ even if they all had to summon extreme willpower to finish in the conditions. With the race finishing on Snowdon the runners then had to run or walk back 4.5 miles to Llanberis to collect their commemorative T shirts and find their cars.

In the long Long Fell Race Brett Jones finished 53rd in 06:24:21 followed in 99th by David Baugh in 07:16:41 and Peter Lester-owen 136th in 08:26:10. In the Long Challenge Race which started earlier in the day David Jones was 12th in 08:40:37.

Vic Belshaw took part in the second of the English Fell Championship Counters 2021 – Alderman’s Ascent on Saturday 17 July , this time in the West Pennines. This was a 5 mile course with over 1400ft ascent. Ladies went off at 11.00, which included fellow club runner Emma Collins, and men at 13.00 on a fast relatively short course although on the warm side. Another head to head race in the V60 age category (29 in total). Vic repeated his fourth race position from the Blencathra race finishing in 53:50’s, with Emma finishing in 59:33’s.

Sunday 18 July saw two Harriers run the 2021 ALDI Chester 10k . This fast course starts from the iconic Chester Racecourse and heads north-west out of the City along wide roads allowing runners to rapidly settle into race pace, then passing close to the picturesque village of Mollington, before returning to the heart of Chester City centre passing the historic Victorian town hall and Medieval Cathedral, before finishing on Eastgate Street with a spectacular backdrop of the Eastgate Clock. Joseph Welch had an early start being in the 7.45am wave of runners, however this did not make the conditions any easier! Shaun Hughes set off in the 10am wave start time and was the first runner through to the finish line. Both finished in impressive times with Shaun Hughes being the first Harrier home in 00:36:35, and Joseph Welch following in 00:40:04.

Also running Sunday 18 July seven Harriers entered the 2021 Nick Beer 10k. This popular annual event always attracts many hundreds of runners of mixed ages and abilities from across the UK, and beyond, to enjoy the scenic splendours of a hilly but picturesque course around the Great Orme. Starting and finishing on Llandudno promenade, opposite the Imperial Hotel, this was the 29th annual run to help commemorate the life of a well-known former local athlete, Nick Beer. Owen Conroy was first Harrier home in 00:46:08; Bob Neale was next with a time of 00:57:02, closely followed by Kate Wilson in 00:57:03; Ian Jones, Julie Roberts and Helen Davies were not far behind finishing in 01:00:01, 01:01:27, and 01:08:08 respectively, with Jessica Jones being the final Harrier home in 01:22:53. All great times in very hot conditions.

On Sunday 25 July, 4 Harriers ran the Helena Tipping Wrexham 10K. This is a fast and flat rural 10k starting and finishing close to ‘The Clubhouse’ Wrexham Industrial Estate. This race is in memory of Wrexham AAC member Helena Tipping. There were excellent performances by Mel Morris as 2nd W45 (43:48 PB), Emma Collins 1st W55 (44:36), Rhian Griffiths-Jones (47:44), and Lee Evans (50:01 PB). Lee was in her first 10K race and clearly destined for higher things.

Running was not enough for Denbigh Harrier Gareth Powell who took part in The Castle Howard Middle Distance Triathlon in Yorkshire on Sunday 25 July. The Castle Howard Middle distance (1/2 Ironman) triathlon started with a 1.2 mile swim in the Castle’s murky lake, followed by a 56 mile bike ride through the scenic Howardian hills (about 15 miles from York), to be finished by a hilly cross country 1/2 marathon (13.1 mile) made even more challenging by the summer heat. It was a very well organised event in a beautiful location. Gareth’s finishing time was 6 hours 48 minutes.

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