Various news updates are posted below.
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The main race on Saturday for the Croups was the cross country in Blaise Castle, but this will be covered in a future post pending official release of results!
Therefore, we turn instantly to Sunday, which saw the return of the hugely coveted Valencia Marathon. We had Owain Zerilli racing for the Croups, finishing in a huge PB of 2:33:46! Vamos! 🫶
From Valencia Marathon to Lanzarote Half, James Bruce was putting his paces in the sun, finishing in an impressive 1:35:55! 😀
Elsewhere on Sunday, was had two members in action in the Aberystwyth Charity 10k! Gafin Griffiths was first back in an impressive 42:17, with Selina Griffiths finishing in a brilliant 52:16, which secured her 12th F40-49! 🥳
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It’s the time of year when things start to get festive, the gifts kept on giving with Croups picking up some superb results this weekend!
Starting on Saturday in Machen, Jerome Edwards finished a brilliant 🥇 overall in the Machen Trail marathon, a tough slippery course with huge elevation and tough terrain! Sam Wilson also completed the marathon, coming home in 10th 👏
There was also a half marathon taking place on the day, Hugh Ollard aced the course finishing 🥈 Male and the Mountain Goat Math Llwyd was home soon after finishing 9th. A huge congratulations too, to Aileen Lyons, Carol Francis & Eve Gallop-Evans who also aced the half! 😍
Saturday was the day off off roading, as we had lots of croups donning the South Wales stripes in the inter regional cross country! In the women’s race, Nynke Kuiper finished an amazing🥉overall in 23:10!
- Emily Fell followed soon after in 23:54
- Louise Flynn in 23:57
- Laura Stark in 24:37
- Steph Hambleton in 25:07
- Caitlin Williams in 26:58
- And, Andrea Webster in 32:04
They all helped the South Wales Ladies team take the 🥈 prize on the day 🙌
For the men, Phil Hambleton was first home with a strong run and finished a brilliant🥇 V35, Daniel Pettit followed closely behind finishing 🥈 V35 🤩
- Tris Rees was third back for the men in 32:15
- Tom Flitcroft in 32:34, Mark Price in 32:53
- Vaughan Edwards in 33:32
- Luke Starkie in 34:58
- Colin Williams in 39:19
Dave Coles and Clive Osmond were also in action in the V65 race, coming home in 27:02 & 29:28 respectively 😃
Swapping the grass of Wales for the sunny streets of Alicante, Stuart Reeves was in action in Sunday in the Marathon. Coming home in a brilliant 3:12:19! A brilliant result given he also did Eryri Marathon not too long ago! 😮
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We start our roundup with a rare midweek winter race! Matt Davies took part in the Severn bridge 5 miler, finishing 🥈 overall in 27:53! Matt was the 🥇 Male Senior finisher, continuing his amazing form on from his Mug of the Month win over the summer.
Starting the weekend off with a marathon, congratulations to Sioned Powell for completing the Marathon de Beaujolais in Fleurie in a brilliant time of 4:36:55! Hope you celebrated with some wine 🍷 🇫🇷
Elsewhere on Saturday, we had several runners taking part in the Elan Valley 10 miler, a race which forms part of our club championships.
Julie Scholey was first back for the women, taking 🥇 F65 in 1:31:58! Claire Johnson secured 🥇 F75, with her efforts being awarded with a well earned bottle of wine! First back for the men was James Bruce in 69:58, finishing 5th overall in his age category 😍
From the hills of mid Wales to the shores of southern England, Shannon Walker had an amazing race at the Bournemouth Coastal 10k, taking 🥈 F30-39 in an impressive 46:42! 👏
Starting Sunday in San Sebastián, Louise Flynn continues to put the club on the international map, finishing a brilliant 🥈 woman overall in the Donostia Marathon in 2:48:38! Louise, you are a true legend 🔴🟢
Elsewhere on Sunday, Dave George swapped Alicante for Wiltshire, competing the half in 1:47:58, an incredibly impressive half marathon streak! 👏
Final shoutout must go to another club legend, Tom Flitcroft, who managed to do a parkrun before getting married on Saturday. No better way to celebrate a big day, although sorry to hear Ben beat you!
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We start this week’s roundup in Leeds, where we had four runners representing Wales at the Masters International Cross Country!
Dave James was part of the M65 team that took home 🥇! A huge well done to Louise Flynn, Laura Jones, Dave Cundy & Mick Tabor for also competing in their respective age groups. You all are amazing ambassadors for the club on the national stage 🫶
From Leeds to Conwy, we had 5️⃣ runners participating in the half marathon! Alice Johnston took 🥇 female in an incredible 1:20:39, followed closely by Emily Jones who took 🥈 female in 1:22:05, an outstanding result! Congrats to Tomos Parry, Howard Owen & Sara Louise-Davies for also running!
5️⃣ runners also jetted out to the Netherlands on Sunday to take part in the Seven Hills 15k! A route which does everything it says on the tin, it looks like an amazing race congrats to:
- Phil Hambleton finished in 50:39
- Craig Blake in 54:50
- James Bull in 55:34
- Emily Fell in 56:36
- Nynke Kuiper 57:10
Elsewhere abroad, Dave George completed his trio of Spanish Half’s, finishing the Media Maratón Nacional Orihuela in 1:49:35, and great to see Claire run the 8km race! 👏
From Alicante, to Gosport, congratulations to Lee Treadwell for completing the half marathon in a strong 1:50:10!
Steve Chadwell was also in action on the weekend, completing the Fulham 10km in a brilliant time of 46:46! ⭐️
From the flat streets of Fulham to the hilly trails of Bath, congratulations to James Bruce on finishing the Bath Hilly Half in 2:04:41! Looks like a brutal race 🙌
Speaking of brutal races, Mark Palser took part in the Maverick Dark Castle race in Dorset. A hilly and slippy course, let alone in the dark, Mark did an amazing job and finished 🥇
Lastly, but very much not least, Mia Goddard had an amazing race at the BUCS duathlon on the weekend, finishing a hugely impressive 🥉! A magnificent result from Mia who’s in impressive form
Cardiff Cross is one of the key fixtures of the year for many Croups members. Saturday was no different, we had a hoard of members competing in all different age groups.
No matter if it was your cross debut, or 50th cross race, it’s always so unpredictable, so well done everybody for getting out there and racing!
First home for the women was Georgia Palmer in 23:37, finishing a brilliant 🥉 overall in the Gwent League standings. An astounding debut in club colours! 🔴🟢
We also had a number of age grade results:
🥈 W35 Louise Flynn
🥉W23 Georgia Palmer
First home for the men was Tris Rees in a fabulous 31:30, finishing an impressive 7th overall!
The men also had some great age graded results:
🥇M65 Dave James
🥈M35 Phil Hambleton
🥉M45 Vaughan Edwards
Team wise, our Senior Ladies finished 🥇 and lead the way in the standings 😍 our senior men came 🥉 and are 4th overall in the standings! 🫶
We also had a number of age grade team successes:
🥇 F65
🥇 M45
🥇 M65
🥉 F35
🥉 M35
🥉 M55
Stunning achievements! 🙌
See you all at Blaise Castle on December 6th 😍
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We start our roundup in Puglia, with Lowri Morgan competing in the UTMB World Series. Lowri finished an amazing 4th place in a stacked international field, completing the 85km ultra involving over 1,800m of elevation gain in an amazing 9:38:16. Lowri was also 🥇 in her age group. A truly, truly amazing run from an inspirational woman 🫶
The key fixture for the club this weekend was the Cardiff Cross Challenge, this will have a dedicated post later in the week as we await the full results!
Elsewhere on Saturday, Danielle Phillips finished 🥇 Female in the Mo Run which took place in Bute Park. Great running Danielle! 👏
Turning to Sunday, Dave George was in action in Spanish half marathon 2/3. He completed the La Gran Carrera del Mediterráno in a fab 1:46:24, with a customary beer at the end to celebrate! 😍
From Gran Carrera to Marbella, congratulations to Emily Musgrave and Lucy Marland who completed in the half Ironman world championships in Marbella! Lucy finished an impressive 48th in her age category in an international field, with Emily finishing a fab 62nd in her age category!
Links to Paul Stillman's images from Sunny Llandaff Fields can be found below:
Howard Kent's footage of the senior Men's race is here:
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We start our roundup in Gloucester on Saturday, where Matt Hopkins indulged in his love for cross country by guesting at Gloucestershire XC in Cirencester! Hope you had a great run Matt! 😍
The most popular race for Croups on Sunday was the Richard Burton 10k, a dedicated post will be coming later this week!
Therefore, we start abroad in Porto, where Ryan was 🥇 Welshman in Porto 10k, finishing in an impressive 35:29! Although she is not a member of Croups, shoutout to Elle Farrah who’s not a member of croups (yet 😉) who completed the Marathon 👏
Taking a short hop over the border now, congratulations to Dave George who completed the Media Maratón Pilar de la Horadada. This is the first of a trio of Halfs he plans to complete during his time in the Sun ☀️
From Sunny Spain to the sunny hills of Caerphilly, we had several members running in the Twmbarlwm terror, a 7️⃣ mile multi terrain race involving lots of hills & mud!
Carl Nealon was first home in,60:41, followed by Nathaniel Palmer in 73:50.
Aileen Lyons was next in 74:05 finishing a brilliant 6th female Senior, with Cassie Summers following shortly after in 75:19! Da iawn Pawb 👏 🏴
To the streets of NYC, several members took part in the New York Marathon on Sunday! First home for the club was Susie Bowes in 3:21:06, followed by Claire Jacobs in 3:36:15. Phil Smith was home soon after in 3:51:59, with Owain Griffiths back in 3:58:31! The formidable Judi Rhys was in action too, finishing 33rd in her age category (W65) in 4:01:19! 😮
And finally, turning to Bergen, congratulations to Mark Palser who finished 🥇 in the Alphen Bergen 19k trail race, continuing his brilliant form from Cross Country 👏
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M65 in a brilliant 3:24:25! Steph finished in a brilliant 3:15:54, with Phil in a stunning 2:46:20! 
Bring a running light, glow sticks and your family and friends.
The route will take us from Llandaff Rugby Club, down the cycle path to the Castle, heading back up Cathedral Road through Llandaff fields and finishing at the club.
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A huge roundup greets us this week!
Starting in Madeira, Mel James ran leg 3 of the M80 4x100m! He helped the team achieve gold, and set a new British record 64.17!
Elsewhere in Madeira, Andy Blair helped GB to a team gold in the Half! Andy was second Brit home, finishing 6th overall in his age category in 1:24:55. A masterclass of a performance! 👏 Dave Coles was also in action in the half representing GB, finishing in a brilliant 1:36:56 🥳
More GB representation came in the form of Jen Coleman, who raced in the 24 hour ultra in Albi, France! A huge feat of endurance, and a future post dedicated to this will be coming soon! 😮
From one autumnal sun destination to another, Claire and James Bruce were in action in Toledo, with Claire taking part in the Nocturnal 5k, and James tackling the 8k! Looked like a vibey event 🤙
Janneke Van Beijnum & Emyr Morgan were also running at night, partaking in the Bilbao night half! Janneke was home in 1:33:44, 5th in her age category, with Emyr finishing in 1:25:28! 👊
Turning to the UK, we first head to Abingdon, where we had a number of runners starting in Abingdon Marathon! The race was also a Wales vs England Masters race, and we had Louise Flynn, Paul Francis & Angela Potter repping 🏴
Summarising the results:
- Louise Flynn was 🥇 woman in 2:46:41
- Paul Francis big PB of 2:48:43
- Shannon Walker big PB of 3:44:47
- Jim Horner finished in a brilliant 3:09:33
From one Marathon distance to another, we had 3️⃣ runners taking part in Amsterdam! TWK was first home in 2:50:57, a sublime result 🥹 Arwel Evans was next home in 2:55:50, his first marathon! 🤩 Eliana Basini - Gazzi completed the course in 3:19:07 👏
From Amsterdam, to Abergele a huge congratulations to Ella Jennings who achieved🥈 female in the 5k race, coming home in 19:56, a big new sub 20 PB for Ella! ⭐️
From North Wales to southern England, Yvonne and Richie Bullen braved the wet and wild conditions in the Great South 10 mile in Portsmouth! Yvonne was home in 1:20:34, with Richie not far behind in 1:20:40! 🙌
Closer to home, on the Taff Trail, we had runners taking part in the Half on Sunday morning! Emily Musgrave finished🥇woman in 1:28:05, with Tom Flitcroft winning the event in a mightily impressive 1:15:12!
Lastly, but very much not least, in Battersea, James Vassallo smashed his PB, achieving a sub 80 run of 1:19:49! 🥳
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The 2025 / 2026 Cross Country season began with the fixture at Margam Park on Saturday. We had Croups participating in the Women’s & V65’s race, as well as the Men’s race! Good running conditions saw croups absolutely smashing it on the day. Notable results include:
First home for the women was Lauren Kennard, and Tristan Rees was first home for the men!
🥈 F35: Louise Flynn
🥈 F65: Julie Scholey
Port Talbotside, to Stateside, 3️⃣ of our members were in action at Chicago Marathon!
Emma Wyatt-Haines achieved a wonderful new PB of 3:12:29! 🥳
James Heyman finished in a brilliant 2:52:53 🙌
Claire Johnson became the first EVER croups member over the age of 80 to finish a marathon! Her performance in Boston is also a Welsh record for 80+ marathon finishers, crossing the line in a super 6:22:56! 🤩
From Chicago to the Cotswolds, Rachel Walsh put in a brilliant time competing at the PSUK Marathon, running from Bath to the edge of Bristol and back! Rachel’s time of 3:31:36 landed her as 🥉 PSUK female 👏
To Oxford now, and we had two runners competing in the Half Marathon. Nicola Smith was first back for the club in 1:44:24, with Angharad Parry-Jones coming home in 2:27:53! Top work ladies! 👏
Finally, to Manchester, a huge well done to Owen Rivers & Rhys Thomas who competed at Manchester Half Marathon. Both ended their races with huge PBs, 1:21:20 & 1:16:13 respectively 👏
The following advice is intended to keep our runners SAFE at all times!
It is also essential that, whilst out running as a club, we are seen to be polite, responsible, set a good example & not put others at risk.
AT ALL TIMES BE SAFE BE SEEN! You can never be too visible! During the day, always wear bright or light-coloured clothing - fluorescent is good.
At night we would strongly recommend that people ALWAYS wear light-coloured clothing plus a REFLECTIVE (not just fluorescent) bib or sash.
Clip on flashers are a great way to be seen. NEVER ASSUME YOU'VE BEEN SEEN. Always be cautious with traffic.
We would like to remind people that they are responsible for their own safety and that they run at their own risk.