Over 200 runners take part in iconic village’s first ever trail race
For an inaugural trail race of 6km to over 200 finishers is quite an achievement. Add in the the world famous Portmeirion village in Gwynedd and you have a recipe for an event that will live long in the memory. That is what the lucky participants of the inaugural 6th Trail Race on got on Saturday, as they tackled a challenging 2-lap route that took in some of the most stunning coastal views that Wales has to offer.
With its idyllic seaside setting and network of woodland, lakeside and coastal paths, Portmerion is a perfect venue for any race, and with it’s attractions and architecture visitors were treated to a festival of running and culture as performances from the Cadwyn and Tenovus choirs, and bubble shows by Dr. Zigs also added to a day of trail running and family entertainment.
Race organiser Stephen Edwards was rightly pleased with what he witnessed:
“What can I say. To have over 200 runners take part in this first 6th Trail race is amazing. Every single finisher seemed to have a smile on their face, and the feedback on the location, route and atmosphere on the day has been overwhelmingly positive. The fact that over 160 entrants were female is also testimony to the attraction of the race, and the effort and sweat that was put in by all was fantastic to see.”
As with any trail race these days there were those who lined-up to be competitive, and the inaugural winners of the men’s and women’s races were Paul Jones and Catherine Williams. Jones’ time of 26mins 39seconds for the challenging 6km route was impressive, as the Oswestry Olympian was chased home by local men Ifan Richards (29:15) and Dafydd Roberts (30:12). Leading the women home Anglesey runner Williams was a superb ninth overall, and her time was an equally impressive 34:13. Second place went to Lisa Hughes (35:20) with Sarn Helen runner Caryl Davies (36:34) completing the top 3. Top Menai T&F youngster Ryan Cain (31:09) won the junior men’s race, with an excellent 4th place overall.
Speaking about the successes of the day Edwards continued:
“The main aim of the event is to get new runners into the world of trail running and in a way into the world of running, as some participants this year have not competed in a race before. There were groups of females who had traveled from as far afield as Shropshire to take part. The staff and management at Portmeirion have been amazing with their support, and I think that they were equally impressed with the day’s proceedings. The atmosphere was so warm, all day, with hoards of families coming out in support.”
Speaking about the future, he concludes:
“We sincerely hope that this will be the start of a great new event for North Wales, and have plans for 2015 already in the pipeline. We are pretty sure that the event will remain a 6km race, and hope that next year we can encourage even more beginners to get into the sport with a one lap (3km) race and 1km junior races too.”
Full 6th Trail results via the TDL Event Services website here, with further info via the 6th Trail website, Facebook page and Twitter feed, and for further information on Portmeirion visit www.portmeirion-village.com
6th Trail Race Partners
- Tyn Lon Volvo
- Trail Running Magazine
- Halen Mon
- Festival No6.
- TDL Events
- Gwynedd Council
- Mad Sound and Lighting
- Eryri / Snowdonia Outdoor
- Brandified
- CREAD events
- RunnComm
- Aberglaslyn MRT
- Portmeirion Ltd
- DJ Fruits, Criccieth
