A Shrewsbury Athletic Club relay team were 1st Mixed Team in the Chirk Castle Relays, a multi terrain event comprising 3 x 2 mile legs run in the grounds of the historic Chirk Castle, with Calvin Hignett 10/46, Lauren Morley 13/45 and Stewart Farley 12/08, winning in 36/40. A team comprising Pete Savill 12/36, Graham Jones 13/16 and Martin Hargreaves 12/58 finished 8th Male Team in 38/50 and a team comprising Carole Morgan 19/09, Sue Pryor 22/26 and Grace Hough 24/20, all Lady Veterans Over 70, finished 24th Female Team in 65/55.
In other road races, Paul Jones finished 49th in the Mid Cheshire 5K in 15/45, Pete Middleton 220th in 18/12, Lauren Morley 52nd in the Womens' Race in 19/54 and Naomi Cook 63rd Woman in 20/36. In the Ellesmere 10K, Martin Hargreaves finished 39th and 2nd Veteran Over 55 in 41/19 and Jemma Brown was 3rd Woman and 1st Senior Woman in 42/52, Colin Perry finished 62nd in the Kenilworth Half Marathon in 1/26/47 and Richard Jones was 592nd in the Cardiff 10K in 44/26.
The Club's ultra marathon runner, Monika Oparka-Hickinbottom has successfully completed the CCC Race of the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc, a 101Km race with 6100m of ascent in 20 hours and 58 minutes. The race, which traverses the mountainous region around Mont Blanc through Italy and Switzerland before finishing in Chamonix, France will provide the Shrewsbury AC athlete with International Trail Running Association points towards her goal of eventually qualifying for the full 170Km Ultra Trail Mont Blanc Race.
On the fell running scene, Gill Evans was the sole Club competitor in the Ragleth Inn Race, the last event in the Shropshire Hills Summer Series, finishing 58th and 1st Lady Veteran Over 55 in 43/17, making her 1st Lady Veteran Over 55 for the Series, a category she has consistently won in both the Summer and Winter Series since 2016. In the Stretton Skyline, a circular race around the Stretton Hills of 19 miles and 4500 feet ascent, Stuart Proctor finished 17th and 3rd Veteran Over 50 in 3/11/47, Simon Cole 33rd in 3/20/09 and Gill Evans 6th Woman and 1st Lady Veteran Over 55 in 3/20/09.
Photo of Chirk Castle Relays Mixed Team winners Shrewsbury AC:
Left to Right: Oli Blake(Optimal Movement – Race Sponsors), Calvin Hignett, Stewart Farley, Lauren Morley, Joe Brocklehurst(Race Sponsors – Optimal Movement).
Report compiled by Tony Scales
