Quite a lot on last weekend, and very much spread over a wide area, from marathons and mountain climbing to cycling and turbo ssessions. Lots to talk about and for people to help out with.

Tour of Pembrokeshire

The annual Tour of Pembrokeshire which lots of the locals and Aces like to complete was held last weekend. And with the nice weather, it certainly proved to be very successful.

The Tour was originally launched by a group of avid cyclists who thought that our beautiful county deserved an event that would attract riders from all over the country to come and challenge themselves against the climbs and experience the raw beauty of the area.

It initially attracted around 400 riders, but has grown over the years to approximately 1,500 riders.

The location and routes of the Tour have also changed as it was originally based at Folly Farm, then moved to the Regency Hall in Saundersfoot, but four years ago, the decision was made to move the home of the Tour up to St. David’s. The new route showcased more of the north of the county, and provided its riders with spectacular coastal and mountainous scenery.

The Tour has different distances available to attract as many riders as possible, without ruling out on ability. The routes available are 50 miles, 75 miles or 100 miles, with the 50-mile route having 3,412 feet of climbing, 75 mile route having 7,303 feet and the 100-mile route 10,379 feet.

All routes leave from the Crug Glas Country House, St. David’s, and are operated over a staggered period from 7 am in the morning until 9 am, depending on the route and distance being covered, with them all ending back at Crug Glas throughout the day.

Four Aces elected for the 50-mile route, with Andrea Craig, David Llewellyn Bowen, Gareth Hunt and Adam John taking part; Julie Andrasko, Steph Waring, John Hubbard and John Badham elected for the 75 miles, while Colin Barrett, Joel Hender, Hayden Johns, Gareth Rees, David Gosling and Tim Beck took on the 100 miles. Well done to all.

London Marathon

Over the years the London Marathon has been iconic and grown from year to year, but do we know how it started. Well it started in the pub, according to John Disley and the late Chris Brasher, the co-founders of the London Marathon. After taking part in the New York Marathon, they set about creating one in London. The first race was held on March 29, 1981, and 20,000 entered, but only 7,747 were accepted, with 6,255 finishers. The event was a massive hit with the runners, and spectators who lined the course.

In 1982, 90,000 applications were received, but the entry was limited to 18,059. The race has grown in size and popularity ever since. Now established, the London Marathon is shown on television in nearly 200 countries around the world.

Over one million runners have completed the London Marathon (1981 to 2016), while a record 39,140 people finished in 2016.

Chris Brasher CBE died in 2003, and John Disley CBE, the president of the London Marathon Charitable Trust, died in February 2016, but the legacy of the London Marathon will live on, and continue to grow year on year.

This year the Aes had three members taking part, with Lana Brace and Caroline Cumberlin running it together and Rhianydd Gardiner taking over from husband Richard to keep the tradition of the London Marathon going.

Lana and Caroline have been running very well and decided to run the London together, coming over the line in an excellent time of 3:46:42.

Now to Rhianydd, and we have all seen how Richard has developed in the world of triathlon, and how good a runner he is, then surely Rhianydd would be quite good at running as well. But there was more to her story, as she was told by a specialist last year that she should never run again, but not wanting to be stopped, she completed the London Marathon in a time of 4:37:36, on her first attempt, whilst raising money for the British Heart Foundation.

I know Richard and their boys are very proud of how her sheer determination over the past eight months has got her through. Well done to all three of you.

Shakespeare Marathon

With not everybody able to get into or qualify for the London Marathon, there are always other marathons around the country that can be completed, and with it being the 400th anniversary of Shakeaspeare’s death, it would be wrong not to have an Aces member there to take part.

And with Mandy Draper competing in her 50th marathon, it would seem the perfect combination. Having completed Ironman last year Mandy knows all too well what the finisher chute is like and the atmosphere when you are trying to get into a certain time bracket.

Now we cannot comment on the atmosphere last weekend, but Mandy certainly must have been pushing for her time to be under four hours, as her finishing time was 3:59:59, very close Mandy. However, very well done on getting to the milestone of 50 marathons.

Khumbu 3 Peaks Challenge

Over the last month, Aces members Giles Birt and Johny Elston, along with Ray Davies from Tenby, have been completing something totally different to cycling, by taking on the triple crown of the Khumbu Valley. Quite simply to spend a month out in Nepal climbing three peaks in the Everest region.

It is an enviable mission taking on Mera Peak, Island Peak and Lobuche East in one fantastic adventure of a lifetime. All three of these fantastic peaks breach 6,000m and take the participants up their respective glaciers towards their summits.

In addition to climbing the three peaks, they had an awe-inspiring journey from Mera Peak to Island Peak through the remote and spectacular Amphu Labtsa Pass at 5,780m, which tested everyone’s mountaineering skills as much as any of the summits that they were climbing.

After Island Peak, they were back on the trek up to their last climb at Lobuche East. After they had the last summit climbed, it was time to trek back down the Khumbu valley to Namche and Lukla, where they began there adventure four weeks previously.

The experience of climbing in these magnificent surroundings with a strong and loyal Sherpa team will have been unforgettable for the trio and I am sure the sense of accomplishment and achievement will be amazing.

Air Ambulance Charity Turbo Ride

The first major event for our charity of the year, Air Ambulance, will take place this coming weekend, with the club holding a fundraising event in Tudor Square on Sunday.

The club will be hosting a 10-hour turbo session, with four bikes spinning away throughout the time, lots of members will be taking their turns, and if anybody would like to turn up and help out, or indeed take a turn, then we can arrange this on the day.

The Air Ambulance has been selected as our charity this year due to the incredible work that they undertake, and the lives that they save. It has been especially important for us this year after two of our members, Mike and Paula Smith, very much needed the services of the Air Ambulance, just before Christmas, and indeed had it not been for this service, then they probably would not be with us today.

They had to spend a number of months in hospital after a prolonged period of time in intensive care at the Heath in Cardiff. On the day of the accident, two Wales Air Ambulances came to the scene and consequently flew Mike and Paula off to receive their life-saving treatment.

With a single call-out costing a minimum of £1,500, it is a large amount of money to get into the air, but nothing in comparison to the value of the lives they save. We should be proud to have such an asset at our disposal, but without the fundraising that takes place, we would be without it. Please contribute whatever you can to this amazing cause, you never know when you might need it.

Throughout the year we will be doing numerous fundraising events and activities and hope to see all members past and present, along with friends and family.

There will be people collecting on the day, or if anyone would like to contribute, they can visit our just giving page. www.justgiving.com/Tenby-Aces1

Activities for the coming week

Friday, April 29 - Pool Swim Session with Slacky for those booked in. Tenby Leisure Centre at 7 pm.

Saturday, April 30 - Colby Parkrun, a great local event and well worth supporting, lots of members taking part on a regular basis.

Sunday, May 1 - Air Ambulance Turbo Ride, in Tudor Square, from 8 am through till 6 pm. Please check your allocated time that you are down to ride through facebook.

Monday, May 2 - Sea Swim, meet at North Beach at 6 pm. Weather permitting, please see facebook or web site for further details.

Tuesday, May 3 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 pm. Route detailed below.

Wednesday, May 4 - Aces Run Session, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm.

Thursday, May 5 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6 p.m. Route detailed below.

Route for Tuesday, May 3: Route 12 (Cosheston) - Marsh Road, Trefloyne Lane, St. Florence, Coal Lane, The Ridgeway, Stephen’s Green, Paskeston Road, Cosheston, Slade Cross, Myletts Hill, Buttermilk Lane, Bush Hill, Pembroke, Lower Lamphey Road, Lamphey, Hodgeston, Jameston, Lydstep and back to Tenby. (approx 23 miles). Sweepers Tom Smith and Lloyd Goforth.

Route for Thursday, May 5: Route 59 (Stackpole and Maidenwells) - Tenby, coast road past Jameston, turn left up Jason Rd up to Fresh East, down Fresh East Hill, up Trewent, turn right for Stackpole church, right up and down big dippers, turn left to Maidenwells, right to Monkton, Pembroke main street, up Lamphey Road to Lamphey and then ridgeway and Ridgeway back to Tenby (approx. 27.5 miles). Sweepers Wayne Duigan and Nicola Coates

New ride time

Please note the new ride time. Rides now leave Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm and helmets must be worn on all club rides.