Pembrey Country Park, situated near Llanelli got the opportunity to showcase what it has to offer over the weekend as the re-named John H Collins Gwent Cross Country League, one of the most popular cross country leagues in the UK, returned to West Wales for the fourth year in succession. (Saturday 9th November)
Local Club, Carmarthen & District Harriers and Carmarthenshire County Council again worked in partnership to bring the fixture back to the county of Carmarthenshire which saw almost 1,450 competitors take part over the ten-race programme.
The league – formed in 1963 has continued across South Wales and the South West of England every year since then and attracts the best cross-country runners from Wales and the South West of England.
A fantastic venue in Carmarthenshire that hosted the first leg of the Tour of Britain Cycling Event in September 2018, the finale of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour in June and followed by the Welsh Athletics Road Relay Championships at the start of the winter season a couple of months ago, the latest sporting event to descend on the park was cross country running.
Set inside 500 acres of woodland, and alongside eight miles of golden sands near Cefn Sidan Beach, the facility was a great setting and provides a perfect family day out, activities, weekend camping break or a relaxing holiday in beautiful surroundings.
With races featuring the under 11 athletes right up to the seniors and master’s categories, almost 1,450 runners of all abilities and experience, as well as a big turnout of spectators and coaches descended on Pembrey Country Park on Saturday.
Competitors from over 30 clubs travelled from all corners of Wales including Pembrokeshire, Brecon, Swansea, Cardiff and Newport, and across the bridge from the South West of England such as Bristol and further afield.
This fixture was held just four weeks after the opening round at Llandaff Fields in Cardiff, where the league played host with round 1 of the British Athletics Cross Challenge series.
This was no basic course around a sports field. On a demanding course that showcased the counties park and the surrounding areas, the competitors aged 9 to 80 tackled fast grass sections, sand dunes, woods and paths with the course winning praise. Any mud was hard to find thanks to the excellent underfoot conditions with elements ideal for cross country running – early heavy rain giving way to showery and cool conditions for the event itself.
Neil Thomas, Senior Outdoor Recreation Manager at Pembrey Country Park, said: “Carmarthenshire County Council was delighted to welcome athletes and spectators to Pembrey Country Park for the second John H Collins Gwent Cross Country League fixture of the 2019/20 season. Its successful partnership with Carmarthen and District Harriers Athletics Club continues to jointly attract major events to one of Wales’ top visitor attractions.”
“It was a challenging but fast course through flat parkland, forest trails, man-made hills and a little bit of sand. It was designed to be accessible for all runners of all speeds and abilities.”
The course had excellent spectating views for those who came out to watch on Saturday afternoon, whilst participants had the chance to take in some breath-taking sights around the route overlooking Carmarthen Bay.
In addition to runners scoring points for their clubs, Pembrey also hosted the West Wales Cross Country Championships 2019 where regional medals were presented to the top three athletes from the region to finish in all races.
The action all got underway early on Saturday morning with the stars of the future kicking off the day’s race day programme in the novice age groups. This was followed by the under 13, under 15 and under 17 and 20 races completing either small, medium or large laps. In the latter part of the afternoon, the Senior & Master Women were out on show with the Senior Men & Master Men concluding the day’s racing and coming as no surprise, saw the biggest field go over the start line.
Over previous years, more and more seniors and masters have been introduced to the local cross-country races and here at Pembrey, numbers were up from 2018 as 359 finished in the women’s race whilst a bumper turnout of 429 men completed the 9.9km distance showing that the league is going from strength to strength.
The Senior & Master Women’s race winner Alaw Beynon-Thomas (Swansea Harriers) returned to where she ran her first cross country event.
She commented afterwards: “I was really pleased to take the win today. I felt good and managed to pull away towards the end after a good battle with the other front runners.
“As always the course and organisation were great. There was a nice mix of flat fast sections and some tricky hills. I loved coming back here as its where I did my first Llanelli Schools cross country competition back in the day.
“Congratulations again to Carmarthen Harriers and Carmarthenshire County Council for hosting a superb event.”
In the corresponding age group, it was Morgan Davies who came out on top for the men ahead of Cardiff Athletics athletes in 2nd and 3rd. This made it a Swansea Harriers double in the senior categories.
From a junior’s point of view, approximately 640 youngsters were also in attendance competing and enjoyed the race day atmosphere from under 11 to under 20 level.
Overall, the day was a resounding success with athletes and clubs commenting on their satisfaction with the venue and course. Pembrey Country Park have been successful in bringing the Welsh Athletics Cross Country Championships to the park on its three-year cycle. For the second year, The Welsh Athletics Cross Country Championships will use an identical course to the Gwent League in a few months’ time when the best from all corners of the Welsh nation will descend on Carmarthenshire’s park on Saturday 22nd February.
Hosting any sporting event takes a lot of work ahead of and on the day.: Carmarthen & District Harriers Athletics Club would like to thank all the club members and parents and organiser Neil Thomas in particular, Carmarthenshire County Council, Pembrey Country Park, Gwent Cross Country League, St John Ambulance Llanelli, local caterers and all Harriers course marshals, volunteers and set up/down team who all contributed towards a superb day!
Edward Morgan did an excellent job as announcer, interviewing a few of the winners and others which was a great way to get everyone involved.
The 2019/2020 John H Collins Gwent Cross Country League programme is set to head next to the brilliant Blaise Castle in Bristol on December 7th, before in the New Year there will be a new course at Chepstow Racecourse and a grand finale to the league at Singleton Park in Swansea next to the Mumbles seafront on the first day of March 2020.
Event Reporter & Photos at Pembrey: Nathan Jones
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