NINE MonRoss-Trailblazers headed for a windy and wet Rotherwas on Sunday for the third Herefordshire X-Country Winter League race organised by Hereford Tri Club.
Will Mynott was seventh out of 146 in 43mins 20 secs, in a 6.6-mile race blown away by Brecon AC's Brychan Price Davies in a sizzling 38.20, with Gavin Jones 11th in 43.59.
Hannah Thomas of Maldwyn Harriers was fastest woman in 46.02, with her clubmates achieving a one-two-three ahead of fifth-placed Trailblazer Lucinda Lumley, who was fastest over-35 female in 42nd overall in 49.50.
Club mates Laura Lelievre and Alice Gray were seventh and eighth fastest women and second and third over-35s in 50.54 and 50.57.
Matt Webb crossed in 51.13, Andrew Stephens in 53.31, Lowri Bennett in 55.40 and Vanessa Ward in 59.29.
Three other Trailblazers also headed for the Bourton Roadrunners 10km, a PB-friendly flat route in the beautiful Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-Water which attracted more than 600 entries.
Martin Turner ran 42.13, finishing 177th, while Emma Humphries ran a PB of 48.48, just ahead of Rosie Davies with 49.15.
Meanwhile, two Chepstow Harriers and one Spirit of Monmouth runner joined a 117-strong field in a soggy and windy Sorbrook Slog on Sunday, a tough eight-mile multi-terrain race in Cwmbran organised by Griffithstown Harriers, incorporating footpaths, open fields, country lanes and gullies, and made more difficult by the howling gale.
Harriers’ Tony Marshall impressed taking the men’s over-60s class in seventh overall in 1.01.15, while club mate Mark English came home in 1.15.22 and Spirit’s Nick Sloper in 1.37.34.
Nick said: "The route was made more interesting by some "light" Welsh drizzle and howling gales, making sure the marshals were as soaked as the runners who had to navigate deep puddles, rivers and mud baths. All in all a great muddy run."
Harriers’ over-40 Mark Gillet was second home in a superb new PB 17.10 in Saturday’s Monmouth Chippenham fields parkrun, just a second behind Croft Ambrey’s Eric Apperley.
In a really competitive 5k, Ed Gwynn-Harris was just behind in 17.16, followed by Forest of Dean AC’s Marcus Bennetto in 17.26.
Fastest woman in the 147-strong field was Spirit/Trailblazer runner Faye Johnson in 22.15, followed by Gemma Sanders in 22.35 and Stephanie Loveland in 23.45.
Other stand out times included Spirit over-55 runner Toni Merola in 22.17, over-65 Ross Runners’ Chris Hodge in 22.49, Fairwater Runners over-65 Phillip Allsopp in 23.28 and Monmouth Rock Up and Run over-55 Nick Kent in 24.11, while Trailblazer Tony Davies broke up a long training run with 24.17.
It was also hats off to RUR’s Dayna Morrow with a PB 25.04, FoDAC over-70 Jacqui Wynds with 27.55 and irrepressible Harriers’ octogenarian Syd Wheeler who crossed in 48.48.
A handful of Trailblazers also ran further afield, in Gary Griffiths’ case quite literally, as deep into Newport Marathon training, he ran from Ross to Hereford parkrun where he finished in 25.28., while Emma Humphries completed her 92nd parkrun in 26.39.