SPIRIT of Monmouth duo Jeremy Creasey and Martin Blakebrough joined friends from the Forest of Dean AC in the Caernarfon Half Marathon on Saturday, reports VICKY ROBERTS.

Martin came in with a time of 1 hour 40 minutes 49 seconds to take third in age in his category as he completed his sixth half marathon of the year.

The scenic run started and finished next to the majestic Caernarfon Castle, and Jeremy also stormed it with a season's best 1 hour 51 minutes 38 seconds after an intensive training programme, as the scenic route took runners on a few small ups and some long fast downhill sections.

Nick Sloper travelled to Estonia and took on the Swedbanki Tallinna Maraton 2024 on Sunday which celebrated a milestone 35th anniversary year.

With lots of training under his belt, Nick flew through the marathon course consisting of a one-lap route around Tallinn’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town, combining majestic views with rich history.

Nick Sloper
Nick Sloper ran the Tallinna Maraton in Estonia. Photo: Spirit of Monmouth RC (Spirit of Monmouth RC)

Nick said it was a lovely event but very warm which made it rather tough. But despite some challenging points, Nick smashed it and finished in 4.41.37.

Even further afield, MonRoss Trailblazer Kieron Brown headed to South America for the Patagonia International Marathon.

The 42km race in Chile takes in stunning views with a daunting 1000m of ascent, but he ran a great race finishing second in the 18-29 category and eighth overall in a time of 3.47.49.

Club mate Gavin Jones also took part in the Blaenavon Heritage 5 Miler, organised by Pont-y-pwl and District Runners at the weekend, finishing fifth overall in a time of 30.48.

Meanwhile, Team Bath runner Arnold Weston set a blistering 17.13 at Monmouth Chippenham park run on Saturday, followed by Matthew Cant in 17.56, over-45 Alex Tanner in 18.01 and U17 Ryan Johnstone in an amazing 18.16.

Fastest woman was Wiltshire’s Anne Marie-Brazier in a sizzling 19.32, followed by U14 Bella Pillinger in a superb 20.22, also from Chippenham.

Anyone interested in running can take a look at Spirit of Monmouth’s website spiritofmonmouth.co.uk or contact [email protected].  

Whether you’re an experienced marathon runner, 5K lover or you prefer to just run for fun, you’re welcome to join.