GB title for runner SPJ

ONE of the area’s top veteran runners has become a British champion.

Stephen Jones of Eglwysbach is the British Fell Running titlewinner in the Male Vet 60 category for 2015.

Known as SPJ to his friends and fellow members of Eryri Harriers, he turned 60 in November last year and embarked on a serious attempt on V60 crown in the FRA British Championships.

Jones, a very experienced fell runner and a member of Eryri for a very long time, had proven himself not so long ago when he was one of the few to complete the resurrected Dragons Back Race in 2012.

He showed the same dedication and application in training for this year’s British Fell Running Championships which got off to a winning start at the Ras-y-Moelwyn in Blaenau Ffestiniog back in April of this year.

He followed this up with wins at Durisdeer, Scotland in June and Lingmell in the Lake District in July to secure the vet-60 category with one race remaining.

Jones does not need to run the final race in Northern Ireland this month as the championship is based on the best three results from four races and his three wins give him an unassailable lead.

To become a British Champion at any age is no mean feat in the ever-competitive fell running scene, so SPJ can feel very proud of his achievement.