Glynneath 5 Event Reports

ANOTHER FANTASTIC EVENT AT THE GLYNNEATH 5 MILE

The 2010 report will appear here soon ...

The Boxing Day 5 mile run was set off by the brilliant, Max Boyce.

The young star runner, Welsh International and under 23 years Welsh champion, Tom Marshall from Cardiff A.C. Won in an exceptionally fast time of 24 minutes 39 seconds. He was over 100 metres clear at half-way and increased this to over 400 metres at the finish. This young star swept all before him on Boxing Day.

Over 270 runners entered the race and ran half the race in pouring rain and hailstones. Many had 'Fancy Dress Outfits' and were awarded special mementoes. Trainer-coach from 3M's, Philip Davies and Helen won the fancy dress prize donated by Barclays Bank.

Outstanding Local Female runner, Anne-Marie Hutchinson from Neath also ran a brilliant race. She left the rest of the women runner behind, finishing in a fine time of 29 minutes 01 seconds. She was also nominated and the outstanding performance of the race, jointly with super Tom Marshall.

Steve Rees (Port Talbot Harriers) came second in 26 minutes 09 seconds and Paul Richards (Neath) third in 26 minutes 32 seconds. Both are excellent local runners of outstanding ability.

Ifan Lloyd (Swansea Harriers) and Alan Davies came in the top ten – both in their 50 years and over bracket :- Super-Vets in action at its best.
Kelly Morgan (Pontypridd Rodents) and super athlete, Michele Cole (3M's) came 2nd and 3rd lady home.

Michele Cole led the 3M's Ladies Team to victory in a devastating sweeping manner. She was helped by a very competent group of runners – Deborah Reed, Louise Miskell, Del Eyre, Kathryn John, Eiri Evans and Linda Owens. They dominated the Ladies Event.

Port Talbot Harriers won both the Open and Veteran Team Events. The brilliant harriers easily won both events. Steve Rees, Gareth Ayres, Kieran Macintosh, John Hopkins and Charles Walsh formed the strong nucleus to win the Open Team Event. Aaron Jones, Alex Williams, Chris Fulcher, Alan Pritchard and Paul Rees ran away with the Veteran Team Event.

The "John Cronin' Memorial Trophy" was won by local runner Tracey Davies. This local nurse has trained in a disciplined manner , throughout the year, before and after work. This is her best performance to date and gives a terrific boost to her running career.

A young spark of a runner from Blackwood , set up a new record for a 15 year girl – 38 minutes 57 seconds. Stephanie Davies ran her debut race in fine style. Jonathan Barnes (Wye Valley Striders) only 17 years old, ran away with the under 18 years title. He posted an outstanding time of 28 minutes 56 seconds.

The Special Category Trophies are an essential part of the Glynneath 5 mile race.
The most fought trophy is the Father and Son Trophy. This was contested by nine pairs. It left the local area, and was won by Jonathan and Kevin Barnes (Wye Valley Striders and Hereford Couriers) in a combined time of 1 hour 4 minutes 31 seconds. Runners-up were the local, 3M's pair of Dean and Richard Webster in a combined time of 1 hour 5 minutes 50 seconds.

The Father and Daughter Trophy was won by a local pair – Howard and Jamie Lee Bodman in a fine combined time of 1 hour 14 minutes 08 seconds. The runners-up were Andrew and Stephanie Davies (Pontypridd Rodents) in 1 hour 14 minutes 50 seconds.

The Husband and Wife Title went to Alex and Andrea Williams by a huge margin, in a brilliant combined time of 1 hour 5 minutes 34 seconds – clear of the rest of the field. This pair, run the race regularly and are definitely one of the most improved pairs this year – what a dramatic improvement!

The Veteran Categories for Male Runners were won by Paul Richards, Ifan Lloyd, Alan Davies, Stephen Langley, Ronald Morris, Alan Evans and Gary Rees.
The Ladies Veteran Categories were won by Jacqui Brace, Jenny Phillips, Andrea Williams, Sian Phillips and Gwyneth Parry.

One of the most popular presentations is that of the Improver's T-Shirts. After each race, the results are compared with the previous year's results. Any positive improvement of the times, result in an Improver's T-Shirt.

There were 50 improvers this year, roughly 20% of the race entries. The majority came mainly from two clubs – Port Talbot Harriers and 3M's.

Local runners (Glynneath area) were superb. The star was Tracey Davies (local nurse) who won the John Cronin Memorial Trophy – for the best improver.
Aaron Griffiths was the fastest runner from the village. He also achieved a remarkable time improvement.

Ieuan Chattington (local driving instructor) improved by over 3 minutes – a determined effort. Tina Arthur gave everything, to record a better time than last year – Over 5 minutes better.

Julie Kemp (local nurse) also improved well. Lindy Beaton (medical member) defended her third place trophy, in her veteran category.

Back to top