Apologies for there not being a report last week. I have to take responsibility as the deadline was missed.
So a number of events to catch up on, including the World Championship Half Marathon held in Cardiff, which a number of members took part in. Open Water Sea Swims have also now started, while there was another marathon for Mandy Draper, the Crymych Duathlon and the Carmarthen Sprint Tri.
The weather has also improved considerably so club rides have started, with riders taking some of the new routes that John Hubbard has designed for us.
The AGM was also held last week and thanks have got to be said to our outgoing chairman, Pat Currie, for all that he has done for the club over the years and with no responsibility now on his shoulders it will be great to see him out on the rides again enjoying them.
Thanks also to Adam Brown and Cath Graham, who have stepped down from the role of social secretaries.
We would like to welcome our new chairman, Oliver Brace, to the post and also our two new social secretaries, Billy Connor and Andrew Burgess.
Cardiff Half Marathon
The Saturday before last saw Cardiff play host to the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships, in what was hoped to be one of the most prestigious and enthralling UK endurance events of recent years.
It gave runners the chance to take part in the same race on the same course as the world’s best athletes and earn your own world championship medal.
Some of the world’s best runners descended on Cardiff’s streets, giving them a great opportunity and warm-up for the Rio games. It was also open to mass participants and if not to run alongside the greats of the modern game, to at least be running in their footsteps, it offered plenty of excitement and entertainment for spectators and runners alike.
There were a number of Aces members taking part in the event, with some excellent performances, with Emil and Wendy Chwistek taking part as husband and wife with excellent times of 1:24:52 and 1:49:56, respectively. Ben Blake with a great time of 1:34:57, Gerald Brace in 1:37:27 and then Cath Graham, running as part of the Hedge Crashers group raising funds for the Air Ambulance, in 2:22:08. Well done to all.
Open Water Sea Swimming
Back on The Agenda
Good Friday saw the first official sea swim of the year, and a few brave souls decided that it was time to get back in the water. And I have to say that it was cold, very cold, but we managed to swim back and forth across the north bay. We stayed in the water for about 30 minutes, and then thawed out for the next few hours.
Sea swims will be taking place now, but please see updates either in the paper or on the Facebook page for further details.
Marathon
Last weekend saw Mandy Draper taking on another marathon; they seem to be getting even more frequent than last year.
This time she was taking on the Taunton, which was hosting its 33rd marathon.
The course took runners from Taunton in the main streets, out into the Somerset country side. It is run on an undulating course with larger hills at miles 11 and then again at 22, just to try and finish you off with the line in sight, so to speak.
Mandy did very well, finishing as the 16th placed female runner out of a field of 34 with a time of 4:02:50.
Carmarthen Sprint Triathlon
Healthy Life Activities ran their latest event last weekend with the Carmarthen Sprint Triathlon, the format of this being a 400m swim in the eight-lane Carmarthen pool, followed by the cycle leg, this being a 23km ride down to Llansteffan, looping back to Carmarthen, then comes the run leg, with this being a 5km run along the Tywi river.
This is an out and back run course, with a grandstand finish back at Carmarthen Leisure Centre.
Three members took part, namely Mike Lindsay, Harry Goforth and Kyle Wheeler. All were extremely close in their times, with Mike leading the way, coming home in 16th place with a swim time of 8:47, bike 40:17, run 19:47 and a total time of 1:11:21, next was Harry Goforth in 19th place with a swim time of 7:30, bike 42:17, run 19:55 and a total time of 1:11:54, and then Kyle in 24th place with a swim time of 7:26, bike 41:54, run 22:38 and a total time of 1:14:02. All very good results out of a field of 214 participants.
Crymych Duathlon
Pembrokeshire County Council were up and running last weekend with the Crymych Duathlon, with it taking the form of a 10km run to start, followed by a bike leg of 40km and then just to finish the legs off, a further 5km run. After the club taking part in the Team Pursuit up at Crymych earlier in the year, we all know how challenging it can be there. Sion Jenkins took on the challenge, unfortunately no times were available at the time of going to press.
Activities for the coming week
Friday, April 8 - Pool Swim Session with Slacky for those booked in. Tenby Leisure Centre at 7 pm.
Saturday, April9 - Colby Parkrun, a great local event and well worth supporting, lots of members taking part on a regular basis.
Sunday, April 10 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 9 am.
Tuesday, April 12 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm. Route detailed below.
Wednesday, April 13 - Aces Run Session, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm.
Thursday, April 14 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm. Route detailed below
Route for Tuesday: Route 1 (Pembroke loop) - Lydstep, Hodgeston, Lamphey, Lower Lamphey Road, Pembroke Castle, Upper Lamphey Road, Lamphey, Hodgeston, Jameston, Lydstep, Tenby (approx 21.5 miles). Sweepers - Huw Bridges/Anto O’Hara.
Route for Thursday: Route 11 (Canaston) - Penally, The Ridgeway, Stephens Green (Milton Hill), Carew, Whitehill, Cresselly, turn right at Canaston Bowl, Molleston, turn right for Reynalton, Jeffreyston, Broadmoor, Templebar Rd, Pentlepoir, turn left, then right into Station Road, Straight down into Saundersfoot, St. Brides Hill, Tenby (approx 26 miles). Sweepers - Steph Waring/Gareth Rees.
Rides leave Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm and helmets must be worn.