The Borth Beach 10k, on the west coast of Wales, is run every August on a Sunday during the afternoon low tide. It is a small race, with around 140 runners, many of whom are on holiday, although Aberystwyth AC has a large presence.
The race is run from one end of Borth along the beach towards Ynslas, straight out and back. This year the weather was warm with a slight breeze, ideal for running. The sand was hard except for a softer stretch around the turning point, with some patches of water to splash through on the way. There is not much variety – you are running to the horizon, but at least there are no hills.
There was a drinks station half way, with encouraging marshalls, and plenty of support around the start/finish line. The reward for finishing was a medal, satsuma and some flapjack.
Newport’s runners have been to previous years’ races, but this year it was only Elizabeth and Richard Bennett there. Richard finished in 32nd place in 48:07, and Elizabeth in 39th place in 48:58 (taking second place in her age category).
There was also a mile fun run for children, started after the main race, which was won in an impressive time of 06:14.
Photo: Richard and Elizabeth Bennett at the Borth 10k.
Burton 10k: 11/8/19
On what was a quiet weekend on the local race calendar, Newport & District Running Club’s Neil Fairbrother was the sole Novaportan to make the journey east to Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire to take on the 13th annual Burton 10k road race, organised by Hatton Darts Running Club. Due to local roadworks, and people being stuck in traffic, the scheduled 10am race start was delayed by 10 minutes to allow runners to arrive at the start on time, making for a slightly less-than-satisfactory preparation for the start for many runners.
The race route started on Belvoir road, just north of the A38 in Shobnall, and the first 2km of the run was almost constantly uphill, making for a very tough start to the run. As the terrain flattened out (relatively) at the top of the hill, runners left the built-up area, and took in country lanes to the north of the town, with fine views in most directions, including a very large black cloud to the west, which waited until about half the field had crossed the finish line to unload its contents over the town. After passing through the village of Anslow, and getting past the 6km point, the route dropped back downhill into the other end of Shobnall, finishing with a lap of the running track at Shobnall’s leisure complex.
After finishing the course, despite not threatening his PB, Neil was happy enough with his time of 49 minutes, 11 seconds, crossing the line in 128th position out of a field of 312 runners. Finishers were presented with a “Hatton Darts Burton 10k” neck tube and a chocolate bar for their efforts. Despite the threat of rain and roadworks, the locals were out in force to support, and the finish on the running track made for a great atmosphere on the final straight.
