DEVILS Bridge played host to the Welsh Trail Running Championships on Saturday 27 April, and saw some fantastic racing over various age categories during the day.

The Red Kite Challenge, set up by local running legend Dic Evans over 20 years ago, has attracted the cream of Welsh trail running to mid Wales over the years. This was certainly true this year, with one of the strongest fields of runners seen by the race turning out to compete for the Welsh titles in the flagship senior half marathon race.

However, the day began in earnest with the junior races in the morning, with under 14, under 16 and under 18 races. It was a cracking start to the proceedings in the under 14s with Finlay Potter of Deeside AAC claiming the gold medal in the boys race, closely followed by Marthan Bown of Menai Track and Field who retained her title from last year.

In the Under 16s, it was another boys victory for Deeside AAC with Alfie Bartley-Rose taking the top step of the podium ahead of teammate Zac Campbell. It was a 1 - 2 for Carmarthen Harriers in the girls race as well with Nansi Griffiths taking gold and local girl Sali Owen taking the silver.

It was a close battle in the boys Under 18 race, with the lead changing hands on a few occasions. Ultimately, Brecon AC athlete Joe Murphy came out on top ahead of Iwan Froley of Cardiff AC in second and Finlay Bruce of Carmarthen Harriers third. In the girls race, Madison Hughes of Maldwyn Harriers took the gold medal with a strong run holding off Beca Bown of Menai who took the silver ahead of Millie Pierce of Swansea Harriers.

The Under 18s race was also a selection race for the Welsh team to compete at the WMRA International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Monta Palencio Region, Spain in June.

On to the senior races in the afternoon, with runners competing over two distances - the famous gruelling Red Kite Half Marathon, and the shorter but also challenging shorter race which was this year a Metric Half (13.1k).

Last year's male champion, Jake Tasker of Ogmore Phoenix was on the starting line hoping to retain his title, but was likely to face stiff opposition from Welsh internationals Math Roberts (Calder Valley), Owain Jones (Bristol and West) and Gavin Roberts (Calder Valley). Tasker was imperious though and led from start to finish to become Welsh Champion for the second year running in an impressive time of 1:26:36.

Next over the line was Owain Jones, over four minutes behind Tasker in second place (1:30:58) with Math Roberts taking the bronze medal in 1:33:08.

The defending champion, Builth & Districts Ffion Price, was also back in the women’s race but was unable to retain her crown for a third year running. Instead, it was Katrina Entwistle of Bristol and West who won the Welsh title with a fantastic time of 1:42:37. Second on the podium was Lucy Williamson of Mynydd Du ahead of Eden O’Dea of Deeside AAC who took the bronze medal.

In the non-championship Metric Half there were victories for Aled Breeze of Maldwyn Harriers and Emma Price of Aberystwyth University Harriers to round up a memorable day.

“It was a brilliant day of racing at Devils Bridge and we’re proud to have attracted such a high quality field of runners to mid-Wales,” said race director, Tom Roberts.

“It was an impressive run by both Jake and Katrina to take the Welsh titles in the half marathon, and we’d like to wish them all the best when they represent Wales in the Trail de Guerledan in Brittany in a few weeks, which this was a trial race for.

“It’s also fantastic to see so many junior athletes travelling from all over the country to compete, and we saw some big stars of the future over the weekend.

“As a small committee of volunteers, we’ve worked hard on this event and have been very grateful for all the positive feedback. There are far too many people to thank individually for helping us ensure the success of the race, but we’d like to express our gratitude to everyone who played a part in any way, and of course for all those who took part on the day.”

Full results can be found on the Red Kite Challenge website - http://redkite-barcudcoch.org.uk/

The proceeds from the Red Kite Challenge will be donated towards the Bronglais Hospital Stroke Unit and Chemo Ward.