The 2018 schedule of races from Always Aim High Events (www.alwaysaimhighevents.com) drew to a close on Sunday with the Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon, which also hosted the Welsh Cross Duathlon Championships.
2018 Odlo Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon is Muddy Marvellous!
The 2018 Odlo Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon at Coed y Brenin Forest Centre was a wet, muddy, Mountain Biking and Trail running blast from start to finish. Set in the picturesque surroundings of the Snowdonia National Park, Coed y Brenin Forest Centre was the ideal home for this event. Concluding Always Aim High Events 2018 Race Calendar, the Trail Duathlon was a great way to round everything off.
All the racing took place on Sunday 4th November over two distances, the Full Duathlon (Run: 9 km, MTB: 28 km, Run: 5 km) and the Sprint Duathlon (5 km, MTB: 15 km, Run: 1.8 km). The Sprint Distance was the Welsh National X-Duathlon Championships with some amazing athletes in attendance.
The Full Duathlon was a hotly contested affair with a little over two minutes separating the top three men. Gavin Roberts took the win a minute ahead of John Higgs in second and Always Aim High Events regular Arf Connell in third. In the women’s race, Michelle Bowen finished in first place nearly four minutes ahead of Catherine Connell who finished one place better than her husband Arf in second. The final spot of the podium went to Naomi Brewer.
The Sprint Distance was an extremely exciting race. GOG Triathlon’s, Rhian Roxburgh claimed first spot in the women’s race with Kim Baptista and Emer Sander in second and third respectively. The men’s race was very closely fought with less than three minutes separating the top three. At the finish, Gwynedd Jones emerged on top, with a sprint finish from David Woodsford and Mike Pfeiffer seeing David edge second on the finish line by a whisker!
Tim Lloyd, Director of Always Aim High, organisers of the Odlo Coed y Brenin Trail Duathlon, said: “We’d like to thank all of our competitors for coming to this stunning venue at Coed y Brenin Forest Park. Despite the weather the racing here has been fantastic and it’s been a pleasure to host. We’d also like to thank all of our competitor’s supporters and of course all the marshals along the way, our races simply wouldn’t happen without their tireless dedication and enthusiasm”.
“We’d also like to thank National Resource Wales for supporting the event, and all the staff here at Coed y Brenin Forest Centre.”
“Last and by no means least we’d like to thank all of our event partners particularly Odlo Sportswear who have been great support to us at this and our other events.”
Full Sandman race results by TDL Event Services, and the race photography courtesy of Sport Pictures Cymru can be found HERE.
For more information on Always Aim High Events 2019 race calendar, visit alwaysaimhighevents.com.
2018 Odlo Coed y Brenin Results
Full Distance:
Top 3 Men:
1: Gavin Roberts – 2:25:44
2: John Higgs – 2:27:02
3: Arf Connell – 2:28:01
Top 3 Women:
1: Michelle Bowen – 2:49:39
2: Catherine Connell – 2:53:29
3: Naomi Brewer – 3:11:03
Sprint Distance:
Top 3 Men:
1: Gwynedd Jones – 1:15:27
2: David Woodsford – 1:18:18 (and a whisker!)
3: Mike Pfeiffer – 1:18:18
Top 3 Women:
1: Rhian Roxburgh – 1:20:43
2: Kim Baptista – 1:22:02
3: Emer Sandham 1:32:49
