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On 9th September 2018, six plucky Ystrad Runners - Amy, Mark, Jenn, Mike, Graham and Dave, took on the 11 mile Castle to Castle. This fantastic charity event run by Velindre saw 500 supporters run from Caerphilly Castle to Cardiff Castle along the Taff Trail. With the Cardiff Half Marathon in less than a months time, this run was a great warm up and in support of an excellent local charity.
We loaded up the lovely Lynne, our travelling support and cheering section, with our gear to meet us in Cardiff and then after a 5 minute warm up we were sent on our way by none other than Wales rugby legend Sam Warburton. Then it was straight uphill into Caerphilly centre until we could make our way out of the town and onto the bike trail to Cardiff.
A really bright but cool day made for good running conditions and all of our runners did themselves proud, making it to Cardiff in great times. Though, Graham and Mike decided that 11 miles wasn't far enough and decided to get a little lost. That wrong turn added a few hundred yards to their race, having to pass runners that looked a little confused to be passed by the same people twice in a straight course.
The course brought us down into Cardiff along the river and into the big open green spaces of Cardiff's parks. It was a welcome change to running along the roads in the city races and there were plenty of other runners and cyclists shouting encouragement to us all along the way.
Velindre do a great job of organising these runs. Other than a bit of a queue to get registered, the marshals and volunteers at the water stations were really friendly and kept all the runners safe, crossing roads and even the exit of the A470 into Tongwynlais. This isn't a closed road race so we had to negotiate with traffic at times but whenever possible, road marshals held traffic so we could pass safely. It's a really fun event and in support of a great cause.
Looking forward to next years!
There was an official photographer on-site and all proceeds from the race photos go to the charity. Daz Martin Photography
Amy, Mark, Jenn, Mike, Graham and Dave after completing the 11 mile challenge.
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