A long-standing record was broken on Saturday when the biggest ever field for a cross-country fixture in North Wales was recorded.
With 178 women, 15 youths and 54 men over 65 lining up the first race of the day in the North Wales Cross-Country League at Wrexham saw the old record beaten by some distance.
With 11 women and 13 men Prestatyn Running Club was well represented and once again there was cause for optimism, with Andy Parry and Meg Lewis making their cross-country debuts for the club, and Tim Cahill making a welcome return after rejoining recently from Abergele.
Gordon Jones, who, unsurprisingly, has been named in the Welsh squad for the Masters' International in Belfast next month, produced another superb performance in winning the M65 class.
Despite the absence of a couple of members the M65 team was able to retain its third place on aggregate, Reg Jonas and Arwel Jones both giving strong support.
As in Colwyn Bay two weeks previously, Leah Hughes was Prestatyn's first female finisher, and there was solid back-up.
- Senior men: 43 Tom Carter 34.07, 71 Jonah Armstrong 35.47, 99 James Williamson 37.54, 110 Andy Parry 38.42, 122 Dan Liddle 40.05, 132 Marc Jones 41.20, 151 Tim Cahill 44.13.
- Men over 65: 1 Gordon Jones 22.42, 24 Reg Jonas 29.47, 28 Arwel Jones 30.24, 39 George Nixon 32.25, 47 Grahame Shone 35.30, 50 Gareth Hughes 38.02.
- Ladies: 44 Leah Hughes 26.56, 80 Ann Claire Jones 29.10, 103 Meg Lewis 30.24, 122 Ally Reid 31.43, 129 Sophie Johnson 32.02, 131 Cara Jones 32.24, 136 Sue Hughes 33.07 (2nd L65), 143 Jo Lewis 34.17, 157 Helena Fox 36.04, 176 Clare Manley 49.13, 177 Julie Evans 49.17.
Thankfully, the weather on Saturday was much better than that which competitors in Sunday's Abergele 5k and 10k races had to ensure.
The only Prestatyn member in action there was Ceri Vaughan, who finished ninth lady overall in the 10k event with a time of 47.12.
The previous week Geoff Lloyd flew the Prestatyn flag in the Wirral 10k, clocking 47 minutes for 126th place.
Claudia Smith made her comeback on Saturday in the Sherwood Pines Park run after her recent accident. Wisely, she took it steady, finishing 186th in 53.06.
Other Parkrun results were:
- Nova: 6 Jamie Betts 20.23, 12 Darrell Jones 23.21 (pb), 26 Martin Gill 25.20, 54 Liz Martin 28.21, 57 Cathy Wood 28.45 (pb), 73 Karl Martin 30.48.
- Greenfield Valley: 72 Mandy Cartwright 37.18.
- Ruthin: 17 Andy Clark 24.18, 48 Debbie Weedman 28.52.
- Pont y Bala: 22 Helen Alefounder 28.01.
- Capestone Lake (Queensland): 7 Martin Cortvriend 25.03.
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