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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Nino Williams

Thousands turn out for the rescheduled Llanelli Half Marathon 2020

It was a month later than planned, but starting gun was finally fired for the Llanelli Half Marathon this morning.

Two thousands runners took part in the event, which saw runners set off from Parc y Scarlets to tackle a 13.1 mile course along the Millennium Coastal Path.

It is the fourth consecutive year the event has been held, although it was originally scheduled to take place on February 9.

But extreme weather from Storm Ciara meant last month’s earmarked date had to be postponed on safety ground, with gale force winds ands of up to 50mph and heavy showers forcing the hand of organisers. 

All those who had signed up, however, were automatically transferred to today’s event, which began at 9am, just minutes after the wheelchair race began.

The main event was preceded by a wheelchair race (Adrian White)
And they're off! Runners at the starting line (Adrian White / www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)
The race saw roads around Llanelli closed (Adrian White / www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)

And this time round, the running gods were kind, with the rain falling beforehand making way as the race began. 

Emma Martin-Jewell, of organisers Front Runner Events, said: “Everything went off as planned, and we had some great times.

“Before the race it was raining, but as soon as the claxon sounded the sun came out, so we were lucky.

“We had two thousand runners, and no major health or medical issues, which was good”.

Winner of the men's race, Dewi Griffiths, comes in for the finish (Adrian White)
Winner of the women's race, Natasha Cockram (Adrian White)
Coming 3rd, 4th and 5th in the women's race, Swansea Harrier runners, Rachel Davies, Llinos Jones and Luticia Thomas. (Adrian White / www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)

This year the half marathon route was a different one to last year’s, with runners leaving Parc y Scarlets through to the Machynys Peninsula, along to Llanelli ’s North Dock and then onto the Millennium Coastal Path towards Pwll.

And they're off! Runners at the start of Llanelli Half Marathon (Adrian White)
The annual dash around Llanelli started and ended at Parc y Scarlets (Adrian White / www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)
(Adrian White / www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)

At Pwll, the route turns back towards Machynys and Penclacwydd, before hitting the home stretch back to Parc y Scarlets.

It meant some road closures for most of the morning, particularly around the stadium and Parc Trostre. 

The more serious competitors completed the course in some incredibly fast times, just over an hour.

But for hundreds more the run was just about making sure it was completed.

Well-wishers showed their support by cheering runners on (Adrian White)

They were cheered on by hundreds of well-wishers, who braved the early morning rain to take up positions along the route.

Every finisher received a medal on crossing the finishing line, as well as an event t-shirt.

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