ON Sunday 2nd October 24 Spirit of Monmouth runners took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon. More than 17,000 runners took part in the race around the Welsh capital, in glorious sunshine.

Club coach Allan Meek was first home in a time of 1:26 which earned him seventh place out of over 700 runners in his age category. Next was Jeremy Masters, setting a new personal record of 1:28:57 and 30th position among more than 1,000 runners in his age category.

Nerys Chaplin was next to finish for the club in a new personal best time of 1:39:54, placing her 76th out of more than 3,000 runners in her age category. Since joining Spirit of Monmouth Running Club, Nerys has lowered her half-marathon time by thirty minutes.

Luke Felton achieved a new personal record of 1:46. Tom Jones also gained a new personal best time of 1:47:25. Sally Williams knocked 10 minutes off her previous best time over the 13.1-mile course, finishing in a time of 2:21. 

Amanda Roberts was participating in her first half-marathon and completed it in 2:14:56. Rhian Chapman was also racing her first half-marathon, and her first race for Spirit of Monmouth, achieving a time of 2:19. Rhian raised money for Lymphoma Leukaemia Myeloma Fund Wales though her running. Helen Dunn was also running a half-marathon for the first time - finishing in 2:42 and raising money for Macmillan Trust in the process. Richard Rawlings raised money for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, completing the race in 1:40.

Anyone feeling inspired to join in should visit spiritofmonmouth.co.uk to find out more.