Various news updates are posted below.
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Last Saturday, we sent three teams to take part in the Cotswolds Way relay. Starting in Chipping Camden, the relay takes place entirely on the hills and trails of the Cotswolds way, finishing in Bath!
This has been the fourth year we have sent teams, a huge thank you to James Bruce for arranging all of it π
Hereβs how our teams placed π
Open Team (number 22) - 16th
Open Team (number 23) - 23rd
Vets team (number 60) - 9th vets team (due a slight correction)
A couple of notable individual performances from our runners too:
James Vassallo π₯ Vet stage 1
Phil Hodge π₯ Vet stage 2
Georgia palmer π₯ woman stage 2
Karl James π₯ Vet stage 8
A huge thank you to Team Bath for putting on another fantastic event π
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Whilst the most popular race for the club this weekend was the Cotswolds Way relay, a separate roundup will follow detailing our successes. There were still however plenty of croups in action over the past week:
We start last Thursday night, where lots of croups were participating in the Tintern Trot! This is a 5.5 mile multi terrain race organised by Chepstow harries, and is always popular with the club!
A summary of the results:
Rachel Lammin π₯ Woman π₯ F Senior
Angela Lewis π₯ F45
Michelle Amblin π₯ V50
Lolly Evans π₯ V55
Nat Palmer π₯ M55
Clive Osmond π₯ M65
Mick Tabor π₯ M70
Geoff Wright π₯ M75
Turning to Sunday now, and we had lots of Croups in action at the Porthcawl 10k! A warm morning didnβt slow club members down, and we had some amazing results:
π Phil Hambleton finished a brilliant 9th overall and π₯ M35 in 32:34!
π James Prosser was next home in a brilliant 34:00, a big PB π
π Angharad Mair continues her scintillating form, finished an amazing π₯ F65 in 41:13!
π Angela Weeks put in a brilliant performance, finishing π₯ F80 in 1:55:09! Inspiring!
We also had several other brilliant age category results:
- Judi Rhys π₯ F65 in 50:03
- Wayne Humphries π₯ M50 in 37:53
- Rob Evans π₯ M70 in 47:35
- Sarah Hamill 4th F40 in 43:17
- Lauren Green 5th F40 in 43:20
- Telor Gwyn 4th M40 in 36:26
- Gareth Cardiff 4th M55 in 42:56
Lastly, but very much not least, Cassie Summers took part in the PIGUM ultra over the weekend. This is a 30 mile ultra starting an ending in Abergavenny. No results have been published yet, but we wanted to mention Cassieβs achievement, ticking off yet another ultra! π
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Starting at the Long course weekend in Tenby, we had several members in action over the different distances:
In the Marathon, Susan Watson was home in a brilliant 3:43:43, finishing a brilliant π₯ F60!
Lee Dando was also in action, finishing the marathon in 2:59:52, coming home in a fantastic π₯ V40
In the 10k, Ceri Hooper was in action, finishing 4th F50 in a cracking 52:13!
Looking at track racing now, and we head to the Welsh Masters Championships.:
Welsh Masters Championships:
- Gabrielus Stuokus π₯ M35 800m and 5000m.
- Kieran McDonnell π₯ in the 800m and 100m. A stunning M70 time of 14.68 in the 100.
- Colin Williamsπ₯ M60 in the 800m.
- Gary Brown π₯ M45 in the 1500m
- Clive Osmond π₯ M65 in the 1500m
- Mel James π₯ M80 in the 100m.
We next turn to the Llandudno Triathlon, where Lucy Marland, Sam Griffiths and Emily Musgrave were in action. Sam Griffiths was back in 10th overall in what was his first time completing an open water swim π
In the Llandudno Duathlon. Gafin Griffiths was competing, finishing a brilliant π₯ V40 in the event which involved a 5k run, 35k bike, and then a 10k run!
From the shores of Llandudno, to peaks of Switzerland. Howard Owen was in action at the Aletsch Half Marathon. An event with huge climbs and over 1000m of elevation gain in a UNESCO world heritage site, Howard finished in a brilliant 2:51:50! π¨πβ°οΈ
Elsewhere in the Alps, Mark Palser completed the infamous Marathon du Mont Blanc. The gruelling race involved over 2,500m elevation, with steep and slippery terrain. Mark completed the race in just over 7 hours, amazing!
Finally, turning to Sprint triathlon, Luke Starkie, was in action at the Welsh sprint Triathlon Championships. He took homeπ₯ M45. Fantastic performance Luke! π
We have had croups out racing across lots of distances over the past week!
We start with the summer series 3 miles last Wednesday. We had some great results in the gender and age categories:
Cheryl Evans π₯ F35 in 21:57
Janneke Van Beijnum π₯ F45 in 20:24
Carol Rees π₯ F55 in 22:03
Julie Scholey π₯ F65 in 27:37
Telor Gwyn π₯ M40 in 17:04
John Craven π₯ M45 in 19:03
Emyr Morgan π₯ M50 in 18:10
Andy Blair π₯ M60 in 18:20
Clive Osmond π₯ M65 in 22:26
Rob Evans π₯ M70 in 22:18
Jeff Aston π₯ M75 in 38:56
Oli Williams π₯ overall in 15:45
Julie Chamberlain π₯ Female in 18:43
Torfaen Relays
Also last Wednesday evening, we had a number of runners taking part in the Torfaen Relays. Strong showings from all of the teams:
π₯ Senior Men's team,
π₯ Senior Womenβs senior
π₯ Senior mixed team
Congratulations everyone π
We turn next to the inaugural Stow on the Wold 10km in Gloucestershire!
Carol Rees finished a brilliant π₯ F55 in 51:01!
Donna Hamer was home soon after, finishing π₯ F50 in a brilliant 51:28!
Elsewhere in the 10k race distance, Phil Hodge was in action at Thornbury 10k. Finishing in a fantastic 40:13, the time earned him π₯ M60 π
Neil Hodge also ran, coming home in an impressive 51:45, 7th M60 π
Turning finally to trail racing where Peter Heath was in action West Yorkshire trail half marathon in Leeds! A race with lots of elevation and a huge variation in terrain, Pete finished strong πͺ
We begin with a couple of results from mid week last week:
Rose Inn Race 2 (Tuesday)
A superb evening of racing saw Les Croupiers runners collect an impressive haul of category prizes.
π Louise Flynn continued her remarkable winning streak, taking 1st Woman and recording her 10th victory and 9th consecutive win at the series.
Category winners included:
* π₯ Susie Bowes β F45
* π₯ Howard Kent β M70
* π₯ Bryony Eames β FSNR
* π₯ Angharad Price β F45
* π₯ Lolly Evans β F55
* π₯ Matt Jones - M35
* π₯ Rich Baker β M55
* π₯ Julie Scholey β F65
* π₯ Pete Warren β M65
* π₯ Carol Rees β F55
* π₯ Rob Evans β M70
Caerleon 5 Miler (Wednesday)
At the Caerleon 5 Miler, Joseph Mordey was first home for Les Croupiers, finishing an excellent 17th overall and 14th Male Senior!
Meanwhile, Nicola Mason produced another outstanding performance, claiming 1st F70 in a superb 52:33.
Tonypandy Track Classic
There were some excellent performances on the track, including a personal best and a standout international appearance.
In the 5,000m races:
* Sam Griffiths β 15:00
* Owain Morris - 16:08
* Anthony Smets β 16:48
* Carl Nealon β 17:32 (PB π)
* Caitlin Williams - 20:33
In the Masters International 3,000m race, Vaughan Edwards ran a fantastic 9:14.25, earning a well-deserved personal best. Congratulations Vaughan on a brilliant run.
Comrades Ultra Marathon, Durban
A special mention goes to Dave Coles, who was representing GB Vets at the world-famous Comrades Ultra Marathon in Durban.
The iconic race covered 53 miles (86km) from point to point and featured a gruelling 1,750 metres (5,700 feet) of climbing. Dave completed the challenge in an outstanding 9:47:21, a tremendous achievement in one of the toughest and most prestigious ultra-marathons in the world.
Summing up the experience, Dave said it was βepic and painful at the same timeβ.
From one ultra to another, Emily Musgrave took part in the Cotswolds Way ultra challenge on Sunday. Emily completed the 53k course in a brilliant 6:15:40. This meant she placed 10th overall, and π₯ Female! Absolutely brilliant run π
Whilst the last weekend has been dominated by Castles, we had Croups in action in other races across π΄σ §σ ’σ ·σ ¬σ ³σ Ώ
Swansea Half:
We had a total of 23 Croups in action at Swansea half on Sunday. There were fantastic performances throughout the field, a huge well done to everyone that ran π
Highlights below π
π First home for the club was Dylan Nazareth in 1:07:08, a hugely impressive 4th overall. He was followed shortly after by Sam Griffiths in 1:08:45, 9th overall π
π First home for the women was Julie Chamberlain in a brilliant 1:28:01, continuing her amazing form π₯
π We had a number of athletes competing for the Wales masters team. One of these athletes was Dave James, who finished a brilliant 4th M65 in 1:24:52!
π Judi Rhys was also in action, finishing a superb F65 in 1:50:02
Turning to the ultra distances, our regular ultra runner, Cassie Summers, completed the VOGUM 40 miler on the weekend. This involves a route all the way along the coast from Porthcawl to Penarth. Cassie was home in 8 hours and 25 minutes. Brilliant work π
Another regular ultra runner, Gethin Evans, completed the Pembrokeshire coastal 50k over the weekend. Gethin finished in a brilliant time of 6:39:21, which saw him place an impressive 9th overall, and 7th male. Great running π
Finally, turning to Weybridge, a huge congratulations to Normal Gibson, who took π₯ M70 at the Weybridge 10k. Norman recorded a brilliant time of 53:05 π
2026 was another hugely successful year for the club, with top quality performances put in across all stages π
Hereβs how our teams placed:
π΄ Womenβs team: π₯ (retaining their title from 2025, winning by 56 minutes and 34 seconds)
π’ Vetβs team: π₯
π΄ Open team: 6th
We also had a number of individual stage winners:
π΄ Leah Stephens π₯ Female Vet Stage 5
π’ Oli Williams π₯ Male Vet Stage 6
π΄ Dave Craig π₯ Male Vet Stage 13
π’ Lowri Morgan π₯ Female Vet Stage 14
π΄ Eliana Basini - Gazzi π₯ Female Stage 15
π’ Louise Flynn π₯ Female Stage 16
π΄ Lucy Marland π₯ Female Stage 18
Queen of the mountain:
π’ Louise Flynn for her Stage 16 π₯
Course records:
π΄ Louise also broke the Female course record for stage 16 by 52 seconds!
Another great weekend's racing through our beautiful land!
Links to Paul Stillman's images will appear below as they become available.
Lots of racing action over the weekend starts in the Newport Valleys, where we had a team participating in the Rack Raid relay, organised by Fairwater Runners Cwmbran. The team put on a fantastic showing, finishing an amazing 5th overall!
Although it was a team event, we wanted to shoutout some great personal performances:
π Julie Chamberlain π₯ Female Stage 10
π James Bull π₯ Stage 2
π Sarah Hamill π₯ Female Stage 13
Over to Manchester Half next, where Lauren Green was in action. She finished in a brilliant time of 1:33:26, a fantastic performance π
Also in Manchester, Sam Griffiths raced in the 10k. Sam ran a brilliant 31:42, an excellent performance π
From Manchester, to Cork, where we had two members taking part in the 10k. Stuart Crees finished in 42:45, coming 5th in age group. Libby Crees was home in 54:07, finishing 9th in her age group. Amazing π
Finally, we look to the Cortina Dobbiaco 30k race in Italy! We can always rely on Janneke Van Beijnum and Emyr Morgan to introduce us to some fantastic different races. Janneke finished in a brilliant 2:30:11, finishing 11th F45 on the day. Emyr was also in great form, running 2:15:58 for 6th Male 55 π
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It was another weekend of top racing from the croups, on an international scale!
Sunday saw the return of the Treforest 10k, always a popular event with Croups members!
A huge well done to all club members who raced. We had some great gender and age category results:
Ella Jennings π₯ Woman in 42:56
Janneke Van Beijnum π₯ FV45 in 42:41
Dave Craig π₯ MV40 in 35:49
Andy Blair π₯ MV60 in 38:21
Howard Kent π₯ MV70 in 47:57
Liv Overton π₯ Woman in 43:16
Carol Rees π₯ FV55 in 48:12
Phil Hodge π₯ MV60 in 39:57
Julie Scholey π₯ FV65 in 59:56
Bryony Eames π₯ Woman in 43:36
Wayne Humphries π₯ MV50 in 37:51
Richie Bullen π₯ MV60 in 43:49
Mick Tabor π₯ MV70 in 51:53
Clare Johnson π₯ FV65 in 1:21:33
A huge thank you to @pontyroadents for putting on another great event!
π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ Edinburgh MarathonοΏ½π James Dickinson smashed a massive PB with an incredible time of 3:11:39! Brilliant running and well deserved! πͺ
π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ Edinburgh Half MarathonοΏ½π Lucy John ran a superb 1:47:44 in the half marathon β a fantastic performance!
πΏπ¦ Cape Town MarathonοΏ½π₯ Over in South Africa, Sam Wilson produced a brilliant run at the Cape Town Marathon, finishing in a superb 2:58:34! Outstanding effort! π
Great West Run, Exeter
π Down in cider country, Megan McBrien was in action at the Great West Half Marathon in Exeter. Megan finished an amazing π₯ Woman overall in a brilliant time of 1:26:16! π
π΄σ §σ ’σ ·σ ¬σ ³σ Ώ Newtown 10k
Lastly, but very much not last, Gary Brown participated in Newtown 10k. Finishing in a time of 40:18, he wasπ₯ M45 on the day π
Ultra Trail Snowdonia
A huge well done to Lowri Morgan, who tackled the gruelling Ultra Trail Snowdonia 80k, finishing in an incredible 9:21:33. Lowri finished an amazing π₯ woman over the distance, a brilliant run from a true legend π
In the 57k, James Vassallo crossed the line in a superb 9:22:31. Fantastic endurance on the elevation and the trails!
Barry 10k
Les Croupiers were out in force at the Barry 10k with a host of excellent performances and podium finishes.
* Georgia Palmer was first home for the club in the womenβs race, clocking a brilliant 36:35, finishing 4th female overall and taking π₯ Senior Female.
* Sam Griffiths led the men home in a rapid 33:19, finishing an impressive 5th overall.
* Angharad Mair claimed π₯ F65 in 41:51.
* Oli Williams secured π₯ M40 with a strong 33:31.
* Susan Watson earned π₯ F60 in 46:02.
* Stewart Reeves took π₯ M55 in 40:18.
A fantastic set of results and age-category success for the club!
Salzburg Marathon
Congratulations to Wendy Cole, who completed the Salzburg Marathon in 5:15 β a wonderful achievement in a beautiful marathon setting.
Plymouth Half
Louise Flynn was in action at Plymouth Half, storming home to a fantastic π₯ woman in a brilliant time of 1:21:10 π
Hackney Half
Grace Kilpatrick produced a strong run at the ever-popular Hackney Half, finishing in an excellent 1:36:32. Well done Grace!
Worcester Marathon
A special mention to Pete Gillibrand, who completed the Worcester Half Marathon on Sunday, capping off his remarkable goal of completing 30 marathons before the age of 30. A tremendous milestone and achievement β congratulations Pete!
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.Β