Parkrunners brave storms
WET and windy conditions hit competitors last Saturday in the 177th Porthcawl Parkrun, writes Tony Poole.
The atrocious weather conditions that hit the seaside town made 171 finishers relieved that the course from the promenade to Rest Bay and back was flat.
And because of the poor weather conditions, a contingency course was utilised and race organisers were grateful to volunteers for sorting things out.
Victorious on a first appearance in Porthcawl was Jake Waldron - a member of the Exeter Harriers club – and his winning time given the weather conditions was a superb 16mins 53secs.
Cwm Ogwr, who were celebrating a fourth birthday, were delighted to see Neil Jones finish second in a personal best time of 17:21.
Three unattached runners – Ben White (17:47), Morgan Freeman (18:18) and Lawrence Gooch (19:20) occupied the next three places.
Another Cwm Ogwr member, Nick Harris, on a 100th run appearance clocked 19:23 for sixth place.
Dave Moore (Brackla Harriers) was next home in 19:57 with the first female, Julia Bailey (Ranelagh Harriers) next across the finishing line in 20:04.
Two more unattached men, Chris Williams (20:10) and John Audsley (20:13) clocked good times, as did Dave Evans (Cwm Ogwr) 20:20, Adrian Phillips 20:22 and Porthcawl Runners competitor Mike Furness 20:37.
Meanwhile, the Sandy Bay 5k is being staged on September 7 and is open to runners from Bridgend County Borough clubs.
Competitors congregate in the Hi Tide Car Park for a 6.30pm start.
An entry fee of £6 can be paid on the night and the organisers are also looking for volunteer marshals.