WITH SPRING marathons just over a month away Penarth runners ramped up their training with the San Domenico 20 Mile Road Race.

A strong turnout from Penarth and Dinas Runners took part in the challenging race along the Taff Trail.

It served as perfect preparation for the runners as they look forward to the London and Manchester Marathons

The race started near the Rhydacar Leisure Centre, looped around Merthyr Tydfil town centre for the first two miles, then returned to the Taff Trail.

At the eight mile mark there was a long and fairly steep hill, followed by a sweeping downhill section and a number of undulations along the course.

The race continued along the Taff Trail until around 12 miles, before looping back to the finish line.

At the 15 mile mark there was a tough series of steep steps to tackle under a bridge, which sapped the energy of many of the runners, with a number of minor undulations in the last few hundred metres also proving to be a sting in the tail of the race.

Richard Jackson-Hookins and Ben Butler-Madden, who are set to take part in the Manchester Marathon next month, were the first Penarth runners to cross the finish line.

Richard clocked up a time of 2.26.31 in 27th, with Ben not far behind in 2.27.01.

Chris Nellins, who was 1st in his age category, was 56th overall in 2.36.20.

Ian Warburton and Debbie Evans, who ran the race together, smashed their target time and crossed the line in 2.42.26. Debbie was also the 8th lady overall to finish.

Malcolm Bradley was next up in 2.46.07 to notch up a personal best time.

Chris Seal, in his first attempt at a 20 mile race, was next up in 2.50.46.

Paul Mitchell was not far behind in 2.52.23, with Louise Hunt next up in 2.52.28.

Steve Goodfellow was the next Penarth runner in 3.07.06, Lindsey Hunt achieved a PB with 3.09.31, Yvonne Williams was 3.19.06, Andrea Goodfellow was 3.22.25 and Mandy Barrington was 3.25.16.

Justine Cass, fresh from her efforts in the Rhyadar Round the Lakes 20 the week before, finished in 4.19.00.

Sadly Knill Baird-Murray had to pull out of the race after the first mile after fracturing his ankle. Everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery.

Penarth and Dinas Runners meet every Monday evening at Penarth Leisure Centre at 7pm. Anyone is welcome to try out a few sessions.