SPIRIT of Monmouth Running Club's Keith Penny completed The Black Mountain 50-mile Ultra on Saturday, reports VICKY ROBERTS.

The race had nearly 12,000 feet of ascent, starting and ending in Llanbedr, and included  running up the beautiful Black Mountains, and views from the top of the Sugar Loaf. 

Keith finished with a magnificent time of 15 hours 22 minutes and came 29th.

Although training had gone well, with Saturday being such a hot day, Keith found the event very tough and the heat certainly  took its toll on all runners, but the views were stunning and made it worthwhile. 

Keith thanked everyone for the good luck wishes and is already  looking forward to another two ultras later in the year. 

Spirit runners also took part in the Rack Raid relay the same day, established in 1993  and  put on by Fairwater Runners.

 It is an all-day event consisting of 13 stages, covering some 100 miles around the picturesque countryside of Gwent. 

Starting  in Grosmont, the Rack Raid winds through Skenfrith, White Castle, Abergavenny, Moat, Monmouth, Raglan, Usk, Tintern, Chepstow, Caldicot, Penhow and Caerleon, before the close at the Castell-y-Bwch pub in Henllys, Cwmbran, some 12 hours later. 

Each leg starts and ends with either a ruin, amphitheatre, castle or keep!

Team A consisted of Alex Wilson, Stuart Morris, David Mather, Sarah Baker, Vicky Roberts, Brian Evans, Sarah Allan, Katie Adams, Matt Unsworth, Phil Chadwick, Julian Howe, Andy Jackson and Lucy Macdonald. 

Team B was Trina Sami-Brown. Nick Sloper, Linsey Holt, Ingram Wright, Andy Clifton, Rachel Waters, Sarah Jones, Robert Nelson, Kirk Hill, Maixent Gaillard, Renske Bowens, Jon Davies and Bernie Chase Cloete. 

They tackled some challenging legs ranging from five to 13 miles, with hilly and undulating routes, blazing hot sunshine and some very fast opposition. Both teams finished well , with Team A coming 19th in 13 hours 16mins 26 secs and Team B coming 26th in 15.05.52. 

The support from the club, family, friends and the other clubs involved throughout the day was amazing, and it was appreciated by all members taking part, especially the water stops. 

The day had a brilliant atmosphere and all 26 Spirit members that took part were honoured to do their bit and fly the flag. 

Team A captain Matt said: “A huge thanks to all who put themselves forward to take part and represent Spirit of Monmouth, the camaraderie and support within the club was fantastic from start to finish ”  

Team B captain Trina added: “Both teams did absolutely amazing and  I was so proud to be part of it and watch and support my  team mates give it their all, well done everyone “

Anyone interested in running who fancies joining a local club can take a look at Spirit of Monmouth’s running club website https://spiritofmonmouth.co.uk/ or contact  [email protected].  

Spirit are a friendly and fun club – with a nice competitive edge, and a great social heart. Also Spirit of Monmouth are affiliated to Welsh Athletics and cater for a wide range of running abilities. So, whether you’re an experienced marathon runner, 5K lover or you prefer to just run for fun, you’re very welcome to join.