IT was good to see a new event added to the local racing calendar recently as the Aberaeron 10k and 5k charity runs were held. Organised by the Aberaeron Round Table the route took in the centre of Aberaeron and then followed the trail up towards Llanerchaeron before returning to the finish point at Aberaeron Square Field.

Aberystwyth Athletic Club was keen to support and 12 members made their way down the coast to join over 300 other keen runners in the 10k race.

Rhys Jeremiah led Aber home in 11th place in a time of 40.06, one position ahead of Ian Evans in 40.15 with Jason Martin also finishing in the top 20 in a time of 42.43.

Stephen Thomas finished in 47.10 with Mel Hopkins 48.30 and Kevin Holland 49.58.

Deian Creunant finished in 52.43, Michelle Totterdell secured a PB time in 53.35, Cara Nisbet in 58.11 and Heulwen Davies completed her first 10k race in a sub one hour time of 59.11.

John Gwynn Evans finished in 1.09.57 with Jennie Thomas 1.14.06.

Rhys Jeremiah said: “Aberaeron has a lot to offer with the potential of running around the town alongside the Llanerchaeron trail.

“Considering this was the first offering, I’d like to congratulate Aberaeron Round Table on a fantastic event and I hope many good causes will benefit as a result.”

Newtown was the destination for the cross country inter-regional match with five Aber AC members selected to represent west Wales and all came away with medals.

Damian Sidnell and Paul Scullion were part of the four-man team who secured gold in the male 55 category.

Tracey Breedon, Maggie Collingborn and Edd Land all helped their teams to silver in their respective categories.

Scullion believes it is always an honour to wear the red vest of Wales: “This was a good day for running with favourable conditions, but, in true cross country style, it was tough going! Luckily the rain held off with nothing more than a little drizzle.

“It’s always great to see Aber AC represented in these races and to come away with podium finishes is always a bonus.”

The Conwy Half Marathon has been voted in the top five most scenic half marathons in the UK by readers of Runners World and is the final race in the Welsh Castles series following on from Eryri, Bangor and Caernarfon.

Four Aber AC runners made the trek north to claim their Castles series badge with Edd Land finishing in 1.21.11, Paul Jones 1.29.13 and Lina Land completing the course in 2.06.39.

This was even more impressive for Edd considering he had run cross country the day before but the legs somehow kept on moving: “The Castles series is a beautiful four-race event, with fantastic scenery and wonderful views at all locations.

“The atmosphere is also great, especially considering there were over 3,000 runners at Conwy.

“I wasn’t sure how the legs would be after cross country the previous day but they kept on going – it was a case of feet up though on Sunday evening.”

To hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit https://aberystwythac.wordpress.com/ or find the club on Facebook.