Newport runners travel far and wide for latest taste of action

The event took place in Caorle near Venice with Walley having just nine weeks to train following his call-up.

Walley rose to the occasion as he ran his quickest 5k of the year and clocked his fastest 20k bike ride. He finished 122nd out of 432 athletes with a time of one hour, 12 minutes, one second.

“Standing on the starting line racing for GB in the European Championship is something I never thought I’d be lucky enough to compete in,” said Walley.

“It’s was an amazing four days packed full of great fun, hard racing, lots of laughs, great experiences and new friends as well. What else could you ask for?

“The next aim is to get below the one hour 10 minute mark, which would have got me in the top 100. This experience will be invaluable for future races and I know what I need to work on to help get there.”

Another Newport member, Chas Bickford-Smith, also headed overseas as he tackled the Lanzarote 70.3 Half Ironman race.

The race is often billed as the toughest ironman events in the annual calendar.

The bike course, with 1,000 metres of climbing in gale-force winds, is ridden on smooth roads through the middle of Timanfaya national park, past the black hardened lava fields left by ancient volcanoes.

“The 90-km bike ride was an endurance test like no other, and is one of the world’s great bike rides,” said Bickford-Smith.

“Cactus and palm trees sprout out of the black rock along with beautiful views of the sparkling blue Atlantic ocean.

“The best bit was swimming through the entrance of Playa Blanca marina. I really enjoyed it, but I did get stuck in traffic with the usual kicks and pushing.

“The bike was a different thing. Over 3,000 feet of UP with long hills and constant strong headwinds through the Lanzarote lava.

“After the final turn at 70km, the best bit was the downhill, with speeds of 65+kph on the 20km way back to town.

“My estimated finish time was six hours but 6:37 for me was ok.”

n Market Drayton Running Club’s Pauline Newton took on Sheffield’s infamous hills in the half marathon.

Newton ran for a charity close to her heart – BDFA, a charity that supports families who have loved ones diagnosed with Batten Disease. And she smashed the 13.1 mile course in a fantastic two hours 14 minutes.

Meanwhile, Ellen Deighton and Deb Scotcher completed the Ashby 20 miler.

Deighton crossed the finish line in 3:18:23 with Scotcher clocking 3:53:26.