It was the first event of the year for the team at Wales’ largest independent mass participant running organisation and what an event it was! With near perfect running conditions on the day, it was hailed a great success, with both male records smashed in the marathon and half marathon events by Cardiff Triathlete, Oliver Webb and Swansea Harrier, Dewi Griffiths.
Today was the first time the event has been held since 2019 and after a 1092-day absence. Organisers were delighted to be able to stage it today at the incredible Pembrey Country Park. Tash Smith, Race Director said:
“It felt great to be back doing what we do best! It’s been a long time for us waiting in anticipation for this event and despite this being one of our smaller races it is definitely one of my favourites! Our volunteers pulled together fantastically after such a long time away from delivering this event and I’m proud to say they were brilliant. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings for our team, and I look forward to staging this again in 2023.”
In addition to the course records being broken, there were hundreds of PB’s reported at this fast and friendly race. Runners enjoyed a fantastic route that offered the very best of coast and country, with miles of beach and woodlands that seemed to set them on their way to hitting their best times.
The provisional results from the event were:
Marathon:
| Male | Female |
| Oliver Webb (Cardiff Triathlon) 2:39:09 | Emma Wookey (Lliwswerry Runners) 3:10:26 |
| David Craig (Les Croupiers) 2:43:52 | Celia Boothman 3:12:33 |
| Michael Bryant (Swansea Harriers) 2:43:52 | Poppy Tanner (Hardley Runners) 3:12:47 |
Half Marathon
| Male | Female |
| Dewi Griffiths (Swansea Harriers) 1:08:11 | Kelly Bowen (Crofty Ambrey RC) 1:29:21 |
| Dean Summers 1:17:31 | Lou Summers (Torfaen Runners) 1:31:47 |
| Jordan Figoni 1:17:53 | Claire Phillips (Port Talbot Harriers) 1:32:12 |
The event also attracted several international runners in both distance races from the USA, France, Zimbabwe, Sweden, Ireland and Finland. One lady runner from Finland explained that this event was part of her personal ambition to complete the alphabet of running events and she was pleased to finally add Wales to her bucket list!
David Martin-Jewell, Managing Director at Front Runner Events added:
“Today was a brilliant event to kick off our season for 2022. It feels fantastic to be delivering races once again for our running community. Events like ours have been sorely missed by athletes and fun runners alike. It’s a time when everyone can come together to achieve something very special, and I feel honoured to be part of it. I am excited to be adding to our calendar of events this season and I look forward to delivering our next event at Swansea in June.”
Entry to the event in 2023 is already open and runners will be excited to know that organisers have a Race Month Special where entry starts at just £28 for the half marathon and £33 for the full distance. Entry will rise on the 1st of May so make sure you get your place to #RunCymru in 2023 today, just head to: http://www.greatwelshmarathon.co.uk To stay ahead of race day pictures and more, like the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/GreatWelshMarathon or follow @WelshMarathon #RunCymru #BeYourBest on Twitter.
