ATHLETICS

HE Hardman family once again dominated a Welsh Athletics Virtual event, writes Tony Poole.

The talented family from Peterson-super-Ely – comprising Gareth Hardman, wife Gina along with children Rhys and Bethan – all clocked eye-catching times last month in the Welsh Athletics 5K Virtual Championship that replaced the scheduled Welsh 5K Championship in Cardiff over the VE Day Bank Holiday weekend.

However, over the Spring Bank Holiday, Welsh Athletics turned to a Mile Challenge that Rhys Hardman won in a fine time of 4:25.

And Bethan Hardman, who clocked 4:53, not only took the U15 Girls title but was also best female in 14th place overall.

Gareth Hardman was fifth in the Male 55 section via 6:02 while Gina came home in 6:30 for sixth female in the over-45 bracket.

Michael Lewis (Fairwater Runners, Cwmbran) was second to Rhys Hardman in 4:27 from Rhys James (Neath Harriers) U17 4:42, Tyler Cartlidge (Deeside) U17 4:43 and Joel Price (Blaenavon) U20 4:43.

The event was contested by 299 runners, who raised £594 for chosen charity the NSPCC.

Times had to be uploaded via Strava or Garmin platforms from Saturday (May 23) to the following Monday with runs conducted in strict accordance with lockdown restrictions that were in place at the time.

Other fine times came from other Bridgend County competitors with Adrian Pearce ( Ogmore Phoenix) completing his mile in 5:24 to take the Male 50 section, and the time was matched by Steve Hogan (Cornelly Striders) who came eighth at Male 35 level.

Carl Feiven recorded 5:39 to take fourth spot in the Male 45 group, Lucy Edwards (both Cornelly Striders) 5:46 (2 nd Senior Women), Deb Roberts (Porthcawl Runners) 6:06 (second female Over-45 section), Gareth Jenkins (Ogmore Phoenix) 6:07 (12th M35), Joanne Edwards 6:21 (4 th female Over-45), Anna Hurley 6:26 (2nd female Over-40), Sean Parry (all Cornelly Striders) 6:29 (12th M40), Claire Dunbar-Bowen (Ogmore Phoenix) 6:56 (5th female Over-40), Katie Ashton 6:57 (6th female Over40) and Louise Hogan (both Cornelly Striders) 6:59 (4th female Over-35).

Competition winner Rhys Hardman and his sister Bethan both launched their running careers with Bridgend AAC before moving to the Cardiff Archers club a few years back.

They’ve both benefited from being among a training group headed by Paul Hill and are both fine examples of late developers, coming up on the blind-side when no-one really noticed them.

The family all joined Bridgend AAC when they moved from Winchester in 2007 with Gareth and Gina already dedicated runners – and the children following suit.

“We left behind an exceptional set-up in Winchester and because I found it difficult to get from Peterson-super-Ely to Bridgend to train, I’ve become a member of Pontyclun

Road Runners,” explained Gareth Hardman. “And the move made sense because our third child, Seren, attends sessions at the Pontyclun Athletic club.

“However, Gina remained with Bridgend AAC, as she struck up a lasting friendship with Steve Brace, wife Jacqueline and Stuart Davidson.

“So from our base in Peterson-super-Ely we go to all points of the compass – east to Cardiff Archers, west to Bridgend and north for Pontyclun.’’

However, results in these virtual events have to be placed in context, and no-one is getting carried away by them, as similar age groups in the United Kingdom have registered superior times.

But Rhys and Bethan – who both attend Cowbridge Comprehensive School - are enjoying their running.

The pair are currently working hard towards the London Mini Marathon should the rescheduled October date for the event be given the green light owing to coronavirus.

Just before lockdown, 16-year-old Rhys had started training with James Thie, and he’ll soon have to make his mind up on whether to concentrate on road or track.

He’s shown a big improvement since linking with Cardiff Archers which is a junior set-up run by Cardiff Metropolitan University.

What generally happens is youngsters cut their teeth with Cardiff Archers – who have no Senior Section – before moving on to their next journey once they leave school.

There’s also an added attraction of joining Cardiff Archers, as they utilise facilities in the National Indoor Athletics Centre in the Welsh capital.

Since becoming a member of Cardiff Archers, Rhys has come on in leaps and bounds, and is now able to compete with peers.

Just ahead of lockdown he was training with fine runners of the calibre of Osian Perrin along with Ben and Jacob Reynolds, and now matches strides with them.

The hope now is once restrictions are lifted that James Thie will take Rhys to another level, and he’s excited at the prospect of challenging this elite group of runners.

And it was certainly a feather in Rhys’s cap that James Thie took him on, as he’s the youngest to be recruited of late.

Recent times of 4:22 for a mile and 15:54 (5K) last New Year’s Eve at the Nos Galan Road Races in Mountain Ash suggest the best is yet to come.

Meanwhile, Bethan, aged 14, benefits from a quality group at Cardiff Archers, and currently trains hard alongside older brother Rhys.

They push each other hard around the Peterson-super-Ely lanes with Bethan showing an equal improvement to Rhys.

A recent 5K Parkrun of 17:51 was the fourth best in the United Kingdom this year while Virtual events have yielded personal best times in 5K and 800m to place alongside a sub-five minute time for the mile.

They have given her a huge boost in confidence, but she’s now in need of proper competitions to take her to the next level.

Times during recent Welsh Athletics Virtual events have highlighted rich potential, and it’s true to say she’s heading in the right direction.