THE Dyffryn Cledlyn five-mile race, organised by Sarn Helen is fast becoming a firm favourite on the local running calendar. 89 runners took part on a fine bank holiday Monday with five runners representing Aberystwyth Athletic Club.

A familiar name, Edd Land, led Aber home, securing 2nd place overall in a time of 30.21 with Shelley Childs 6th overall in 32.09. Jason Martin fished in 34.39 with Lina Land in 44.08 and Theresa Sharland completed the course in 48.36.

A great race but pretty tough according to Jason Martin: “We should know by now that any race in Ceredigion is going to have its fair share of hills and this one is no exception. The one benefit though, if you go uphill, there is always going to be a downhill, and as you’d expect from Sarn Helen, this was once again wonderfully organised.”

The second in the summer series of midweek races was the popular Hafod race and there was a strong representation from Aber AC among the 62 runners in the adult race.

Ian Evans came 3rd in his age category in 40.38, Stephen Thomas finished in 45.14 with Damian Sidnell coming second in his age category in 45.15 and Ivan Courtier securing 3rd in his category in a time of 45.41. Iain Barber finished in 46.51, Will Lerigo 47.23, Mel Hopkins 47.31 and Toby Driver 48.04.

Clive Williams completed the course in 50.51, Michael Harris a second later in 50.52, Cameron Pope secured 3rd in his category in 54.24 with Dave Humphreys finishing in 56.09. Michelle Totterdell completed in 57.38, Hannah Dee came 3rd in her category in 58.33, Jennie Thomas 1.06.37 and John Evans crossed the line in 1.10.42.

With a good field of runners Ian Evans was delighted with his 3rd place finish: “These midweek races have certainly proved to be popular as they offer challenging terrain in some of the most spectacular locations in Ceredigion. It is no mean feat to stage these events but it is good to see such strong, local support and I was personally delighted to finish in 3rd place.”

Crossing over the Ceredigion border into Pembrokeshire and the infamous Preseli Beast race was run recently – 24.3 miles with over 5,000 ft of elevation through the majestic Preseli hills. Karen Kemish duly took up the challenge on behalf of Aber AC and came away with an age category win in a time of 5.54.33.

She said: “This is a brutal race and on the one day where I wished for some of the recent cold and wet weather we had a scorching hot day. There are plenty of hills, and when you consider one of them is called The Wall of Death, think that says it all. A great event though in beautiful countryside.”

Finally moving slightly further afield to Hungary where Balazs Pinter ran the Ultrabalaton 2024, a 131 mile race around Lake Balaton, in a time of 30 hours and 18 minutes.

He said: “This race is not as hilly as some of my previous mountain runs, but the short cut-off time made it quite challenging. I had to push myself all the way from start to finish. The race circles Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Hungary and a popular tourist centre in the summer. It was a great experience.”

If you would like to hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit aberystwythac.wordpress.com or find the club on Facebook.