On Saturday 21 September 2019, the Black Mountains Fell Race, hosted by Mynydd Ddu Fell and Mountain Running Club took place, starting and finishing at Llanbedr village, near Crickhowell. The route included checkpoint Pen Cerrig-calch, Pen y Gadair Fawr, Chwarel y Fan, Bal-Mawr and Crug Mawr, and attracting competitors from across Wales and beyond. Sarn Helen’s Nigel Davies took on the challenge of the 27.4 km (17 mile) course, with an ascent of 1586 metres (5200 feet), completing in a time of 04:30:41, 49th in a field of 71.
The following day, the Admiral Swansea Bay 10k took place along the beautiful and iconic sweep of Swansea Bay, beginning by St Helen’s Rugby Ground. Swansea, celebrating 50 years as a city this year, provided a warm welcome, despite several heavy rain showers during the event. 3522 runners completed the route, with the fast and flat course providing the opportunity for Sarn Helen’s Dawn Kenwright to achieve a fantastic time of 00:48:21 in the V60 category, followed by Rebecca Doswell (F45), 00:59:46 and Lorraine Davies (F45), 01:12:08.
This year’s Cardiff Half Marathon, the second largest half marathon in the UK, dawned bright and sunny; providing warm and clear conditions for 20,304 finishers whose route took them from Cardiff Castle, through the streets of the city and the marina, past iconic buildings such as the Norwegian Church and Millennium Centre, across the Cardiff Barrage, past Roath lake before turning back to finish in the heart of the historic municipal building district. Supporters were out in force along the route, with family and friends dotted along the course keeping people going and contributing to a fantastic atomosphere. Sarn Helen Running Club was well-represented, with members achieving a number of personal bests and twelve sub-2-hour results. In addition, a number of members raised funds for charitable causes including Velindre Cancer Centre and Motor Neurone Disease; and Graham Penn completed the course in national service uniform in memory of his father who served in the Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers. Results were: Sion Price, 01:19:20; Irfon Thomas, 01:29:50; Tomos Morgans, 01:37:34; Carwyn Thomas, 01:38:26; Carwyn Davies, 01:30:12; Eleri Rivers, 01:40:14; Eilir Evans, 01:42:14; Sian Roberts-Jones, 01:44:08; Alexander Price, 01:42:35; Matthew Walker, 01:47:19; Nia Venville, 01:50:44; Pamela Carter, 01:58:11; Liz Pugh, 02:02:28; Sian Bela Jenkins, 02:06:09; Rhys Burton, 02:06:09; Nicola Davies, 02:08:29; Rebecca Doswell, 02:13:32; Elisha Leigh Jones, 02:05:52; Jane Holmes, 02:23:25; Emma Gray, 02:31:29; Lisa Naden Hughes, 02:23:00; Lorraine Davies, 02:46:30; Jane Burtenshaw-Jones, 02:39:26; Graham Penn, 03:10:07 and Steven Holmes, 03:26:40