Luker Storms to Mini-Marathon Victory

• Posted by Matthew Jones at 10:15 PM | add or read comments (0)

Welsh wheelchair racer Daniel Lucker stormed home to victory in the London Mini Wheelchair Marathon on Sunday – to the applause of racing greats Tanni Grey Thompson and Chris Hallum.
Now, the 15-year-old – who is mentored by Hallam – is aiming to build on his success and to echo his heroes:
“I’ve been given great advice by both Chris and Tanni and hope to one day be as successful. This is definitely my biggest achievement on the road to date.”
Lucker completed the three-mile route in an excellent 13min 10. Despite his young age, he demonstrated first-class tactical skills, out-manoeuvring arch-rival and race favourite Mickey Bushell – a GB international who is almost three years older than Lucker.
The teenager, who hopes to compete in London 2012, today looked back on his triumph:
“I was feeling slightly nervous but quietly confident after all the work I had put in. Chris was great and really kept me calm and motivated. Then, the adrenalin set in once I was in my racing chair and out on the road warming up.
“I started down the opposite end of the line to Mickey but could see him out of the corner of my eye. When the start gun went Mickey went off quite slow – he was probably expecting me to take off. I didn’t want to do this because he would easily have got into my draft which would
make it easier on him,” he adds.
“It turned into a tactical race with both me and Mickey still together until around the two mile mark. I was pushing well, over 20mph at times. It was on a really steep uphill when the speeds dropped dramatically to three mph that I could see Mickey dropping off. I took the opportunity and made the break!” Lucker is now in training for the Junior World Championships in New Jersey in July. He is supported by the Disability Sport Wales Academy which nurtures and cultivates young talent.

Welsh Athletics Hunts Down New Talent

• Posted by Matthew Jones at 11:48 AM | add or read comments (2)

Welsh Athletics today kicked off its head-hunting mission to find the next big talents in the Sport.
The governing body for athletics in Wales is aiming to seek out the javelin, discus, hammer and shot stars of tomorrow and today invited pupils from secondary schools in Wales to a throwing master class.
Led by former Olympic javelin star Nigel Bevan, the High Performance Coach at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC), schoolchildren were treated to coaching tips at the National Indoor Athletic Centre.
Bevan – who competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games - explains, “We want to develop a Welsh development throws squad and we need to seek out the best athletes we can get hold of. We’ve seen a few here today and we’ve put the X Factor against their name! We will be encouraging them to come along to weekly training.”
He added, “The main aim is to discover a new era of Welsh throwers but, who knows, we might even turn up a future Olympian or World Champion.”
Wales’ most promising hotshots - including discus thrower Brett Morse and javelin talent Lianne Clarke – were on hand to inspire and coach the apprentices:
“The throwing disciplines are in really good hands at Welsh Athletics. We’ve got some excellent coaches on board and we have a number of athletes who are excelling and who are also willing to chip in to nurture new talent,” explains Morse. “I’ve definitely seen a few people here today who have shown talent.”
Welsh Athletics Chief Executive Matt Newman is eager to discover the outcomes of the school search.
“We’re committed to discovering the next generation of talent and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of this coaching session. If it is a success, we will be keen to roll it out to the rest of Wales.”
This would be a major boost for North Wales Athletics, who also boast top class facilities, including the state of the art Indoor Arena in Deeside which would be an ideal setting for such events.

For All You Budding Road Runners...

• Posted by Matthew Jones at 8:59 PM | add or read comments (0)

For all you budding Road Runners...I have put together a fixture list
of some of the big Races around Wales coming up for anyone that might fancy having a go. Most races will consist of athletes of all ages and abilities so there is
no excuses for not having a go at some! If you look through the list below you will see many cracking races planned in the beautiful and scenic town of Caernarfon, North Wales. Let me tell you first hand that it is a spectacular part of the country to race.
In the coming weeks I will let you know of all the main Road Races just in the North Wales Area so keep your eyes peeled.

APRIL

Sun 13th Welsh Marathon Championships London

May

FRI 16th
Self-Transcendence
2 mile race
Bute Park, Cardiff
Roger Chamberlain
02920 232346

Sat 10th
Sirhowey Challenge
Ynysddu Hotel, X-Keys
Michael Heare
01495 245430

Sun 18th Ultra 100k (Welsh Champs) Cardiff

June

FRI 6th
Self-Transcendence
3 mile race
Bute Park, Cardiff
Roger Chamberlain
02920 232346

Sat 14th
Welsh Castles Relay
Caernarfon
Alan Thomas
01633 771650

Sun 15th
Welsh Castles Relay
Caernarfon
Alan Thomas
01633 771650

Fri 20th
Hare & Tortoise Race (Ladies Only)
Travellers Rest, Oakdale
Michael Heare
01495 245430

Sun 29th
Aberdare Park 5 Mile Road Race & Fun Run
Aberdare
Ann Crimmings
01685 876456

July
Fri 11th
Self-Transcendence 4 Mile race
Bute Park, Cardiff
Roger Chamberlain
02920 232346

Wed 21st
Scenic 7
Cwmcarn Forest Drive XKeys
Michael Heare
01495 245430

25th
Self-Transcendence 3 x 1 Mile race & Junior Relay
Bute Park, Cardiff
Roger Chamberlain
02920 232346

August

Sun 3rd
Brecon 10 Mile Road Race
Penlan, Brecon
Martin Gregory
01874 611731

Fri 8th
Murder Mile
Church Inn, Newbridge
Michael Heare
01495 245430

Sun 31st 10k (Welsh Championships) Caernarfon

September
Sun 7th Cardiff 10k Cardiff Original date 14th Sept
Sun 21st Masters Marathon (Welsh Ch) Anglesey