Marathon event at country park back up and running
CARMARTHENSHIRE welcomed the Great Welsh Marathon at the weekend which returned after an absence of three years.
Sunday saw runners descend on Pembrey Country Park and saw both male records smashed in the marathon by Cardiff triathlete Oliver Webb and in the half marathon by Swansea Harrier Dewi Griffiths.
It was the first time the event had been held since 2019 and organiser Front Runner Events was delighted.
There was a full and half marathon held and Tash Smith, race director, said: “It felt great to be back doing what we do best.
“It’s been a long time for us waiting in anticipation for this event and despite this being one of our smaller races it is definitely one of my favourites.”
She added: “Our volunteers pulled together fantastically after such a long time away from delivering this event and I’m proud to say they were brilliant. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings for our team, and I look forward to staging this again in 2023.”
In addition to the course records being broken there were hundreds of personal bests reported at this fast and friendly race.
In the male section of the marathon David Craig of Cardiff’s Les Croupiers running club and Swansea Harriers’ Michael Bryant recorded exact same times as they sprinted over the line for second place. Emma Wookey from Newport based Lliswerry Runners took first place in the female section of the marathon.
Runners enjoyed a fantastic route that offered the very best of coast and country, with miles of beach and woodlands that seemed to set them on their way to hitting their best times.
After starting at the country park the route took runners along the Millennium coastal path with half marathon runners turning near Pwll and full distance runners going on to Llanelli Wetland Centre. The event also attracted several international runners in both distance races from the USA, France, Zimbabwe, Sweden, Ireland and Finland.
A female runner from Finland explained that this event was part of her ambition to complete the alphabet of running events and she was pleased to finally add Wales to her bucket list.
David Martin-Jewell, managing director at Front Runner Events, added: “It was a brilliant event to kick off our season for 2022 and it feels fantastic to be delivering races once again for our running community. Events like ours have been sorely missed by athletes and fun runners alike. It’s a time where everyone can come together to achieve something very special, and I feel honoured to be part of it. I am excited to be adding to our calendar of events this season and I look forward to delivering our next event at Swansea in June.”
Entry to the 2023 Great Welsh Marathon is already open and organisers have a Race Month Special where entry costs currently start at £28 for the half marathon and £33 for the full distance, but entry fees rise on May 1.
Visit www.great welshmarathon. co.uk