THE second race of the Red Kite Summer Trail Series was held in the beautiful surroundings of the Hafod Estate.

Having kicked off with some great racing at Ras Nant yr Arian three weeks prior, the runners turned out in force once more to hit the footpaths of the popular and long standing local race.

As usual, the evening's proceedings kicked off with the junior races.

The Year 3-4 boys race was won by Aled Davies of Aberystwyth AC, with teammate Moli Tooze taking the girls’ victory.

Next it was the turn of the Year 5-6 age group and it was no surprise to see top local junior, Sarn Helen’s Elis Herrick take the win with Yasmine Evans of Aberystwyth AC first of the girls not far behind.

The third junior race of the evening was the Year 7-9 race which was won by Carmarthen Harrier, Gethin Thomas ahead of Sarn Helen’s Ben Hall in second place.

It was a very tight battle in the girls’ race which was eventually won by another Carmarthen Harrier, Page-lilly Williams only three seconds ahead of Ysgol Penweddig’s Gwen Tompsett in second place with Mia Lloyd of Sarn Helen not far behind in third.

The older secondary age group, Year 10-11 started with the seniors and had to complete one lap of the two lap course which was around 4k with almost 500ft of elevation.

First of the boys was Oli Lerigo of Aberystwyth AC in a fantastic time of 21:53, with Llew Schiavone and Rhuban Coleman-Long, also both of Aber AC in second and third. The girls’ race was won by another Aber AC athlete, Enfys Rowlands.

It was another strong field in the seniors race which is a challenging five-mile route with around 900ft of climbing.

Having finished second and third respectively in the series opener at Nant yr Arian, it was likely to be a close battle between Aberystwyth Uni Harrier Joe Robson, and Sarn Helen’s Dylan Lewis with Builth and District’s Phil Morris and James Cowan also likely to be in the mix.

Cowan set the early pace but Robson and Lewis were shoulder to shoulder at the lead as the runners completed the first lap.

However, Lewis forced a gap soon after and opened it up gradually through the remainder of the race to take the spoils, whilst smashing the course record in a time of 34:41. Joe Robson finished a full minute back, with Phil Morris running a great second lap to finish in 35:53.

In the women’s race it was a comfortable victory for 2022 champion, Dee Jolly of Sarn Helen, finishing in 42:18. Second place was Beth Saunders in 45:34 ahead of Matilda Wolstenholm of Aberystwyth Uni Harriers in 46:31.

There were also category wins for Beth Saunders (OF), Dee Jolly (F35), Lesley Lewis (F45), Liz Pugh (F55), Chris Thomas (F65), Joe Robson (OM), Dylan Lewis (M35), Phil Morris (M45), Glyn Price (M55), Paul Wise (M65).

“It was another great night of racing at Hafod and we’d like to thank everyone for turning out to support the race,” said race director Owain Schiavone.

“Ras yr Hafod is organised by the Red Kite Challenge and the committee are keen to thank the National Trust for their support in holding the event along with the St Michael Church Committee for providing refreshments for the runners, the Raynet crew for ensuring all the runners’ safety along the route, and all the volunteers who helped out on the night.

“The next race in the series will be held at Longwood in Lampeter on 3 July and we look forward to seeing everyone there for another fantastic evening of trail running.”

Full results can be found on the Red Kite Challenge website here.