After all the excitment of Ironman, it is now time to get back to other events, with the Cardiff Half Marathon last weekend, but also to catch up on the first Saundersfoot Triathlon which took place on the Saturday before Ironman, and also to look forward to the Ironman World Championships taking place this weekend.

Saundersfoot Triathlon

With Ironman Wales being the main focus for the area on Sunday, Activity Wales organised the first Saundersfoot Triathlon on the Saturday, which gave family members of Sunday’s event and anyone else the chance to race a sprint triathlon in the beautiful resort of Saundersfoot, with the sprint distance being a 750-metre open water swim, a challenging 20k bike leg and then a 5k run.

The swim was held over a one-lap course, the bike over a two-lap course and the run also a one-lap out and back course.

With so many triathletes around for the weekend, there was a great level of support for the competitors. The Aces had quite a number of members taking part, with the juniors being represented by Ryan Semper and Fin Bowie and then our seniors who turned out were Luke Burton, Dan Mumford, Hayden Johns, Nalda Wainwright, Ceire Merrison, Gareth Jones, Jo Brace and Jo Balkwill.

All took the course by storm, with Ryan finishing the course in 12th place overall and as second junior with a time of 1:07:19, closely followed by Fin in 1:09:10 in what was a great showing from the juniors.

Next in were Luke in 1:14:09, Dan in 1:14:35, Hayden in 1:17:41, Nalda in 1:27:24, coming in first position in her category, Ceire in 1:29:12, Gareth in 1:31:15 and then followed up by the two Jo’s, with Jo Brace in 1:33:57 and Jo Balkwill in 1:41:27. Well done all.

Cardiff Half Marathon

Last Sunday saw the second Cardiff Half Marathon of the year take place, and after hosting the international event earlier in the year and with their past experience, it was sure to be a great event. The weather was glorious and in fact felt a bit too warm, with runners looking for shade along the course.

The route, which is well practised now and held over closed roads, takes the runners past the capital’s most iconic landmarks, with beautiful scenery and historic buildings, and gives participants a predominantly flat and fast course, although there are a couple of cheeky climbs, especially one at mile 12, giving a challenge just before the end.

With the race starting outside Cardiff Castle and then passing the Cardiff City Stadium on the way to Penarth, the route takes in the beautiful Penarth Marina, before running across the barrage and heading to Cardiff Bay, taking the runners through the heart of the bay, past the Norwegian Church and Wales Millennium Centre, then completing a loop of Roath Park, before finishing in the heart of the city at the civic centre.

The course is a great one for experienced and novice runners alike, and also a great cool down run for some of the Aces who took part in Ironman Wales two weeks before.

There were loads of Aces who took to the course and they were treated to a great experience, with bands playing at most of the mile markers, which gave a great buzz when you were passing.

Taking part were Luke and Gemma Burton, Hayden and Lauren Johns, Anto O’Hara, Jo Brace, Kara Ellard, Andy Adamson, Bethan Osborne, Dave Gosling, Donna Bradley, Sophie Thomas, Dave Kent, Vicky Jones, Rhianydd Gardiner on her birthday, Harry Goforth, Alex Rees and myself.

With the weather and conditions being so good, there were loads of personal bests set out on the course which made the trip very worthwhile, and with the annoucement that there will be a full marathon held in Cardiff next April, surely there will be some from the field who fancy a go at going over the longer distance.

Chester Marathon

Last Sunday also saw the running of the seventh Chester Marathon. It has developed an enviable reputation with runners of all levels and abilities. Organised by runners themselves, it has been organised with runners in mind and the course has been put forward to deliver a great world class mass participation race.

The course is fast and predominantly flat, and is held on closed roads covering two countries, with 19 miles in England and seven miles in Wales. The run takes you past all of Chester’s iconic landmarks (Roman Walls, Cathedral, Medieval Rows, Eastgate Clock, Amphitheatre), before heading out to the stunning Cheshire and North Wales countryside and villages; returning alongside the River Dee for an unforgettable finish at the Racecourse.

The course promises to give support in the villages and communities along the way and certainly is one of the highlights of the race, and helps runners along.

Dave Poole and Tracey Thomas had decided that they were going to make the trip up to Chester and the course didn’t disappoint, with them both coming across the line together in a time of 4:27, a fab time and I am sure that Tracey will look to get Dave a similar birthday present.

Ironman World Championships, Kona

This weekend sees the pinnacle of the Ironman season, with the World Championships being held in its iconic home of Kona. Hawaii.

And from Ironman Wales last year we had Claire Stubbs qualify. This is an amazing achievement and one that very few of us will ever get to experience. She has been raising funds for her quest all year to put to the RNLI.

The coverage of it is shown live online via the Ironman website, if anyone would like to follow and possibly catch a glimpse of Claire.

The club wishes Claire all the best and also to her family who will be supporting her over there.

Club Ride on Sunday

The club is planning to hold a Kids Bike Ride this coming Sunday, October 9. Planning to meet at Neyland Marina near the café at 10 am to take kids on the cycle path over to Johnston or Haverfordwest and back, ending up at the café on Marina. Ride out from Tenby LC at 9 am and join us if anyone fancies it!

Activities for the coming week

Friday, October 7 - Slacky’s Swim Session for those booked in. Tenby Leisure Centre at 7 pm.

Sunday, October 9 - Club Ride, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 9 am, to ride over to Neyland.

Monday, October 10 - Turbo with Rhys at Tenby Bowling Club, 6 pm to start for 6.30 pm.

Wednesday, October 12 - Aces Run Session, meet at Tenby Leisure Centre at 6.30 pm.

Thursday, October 13 - Turbo with Mike Lindsey at Tenby Bowling Club, 6.30 pm to start for 7 pm.