By Owen Morgan
Welsh Athletics have selected strong and exciting senior and junior teams to take part in a prestigious cross country event in Spain this weekend.
Dewi Griffiths, Jake Heyward, Charlotte Arter and Jenny Nesbitt are among those representing Wales at the Cross de Atapuerca cross country meeting in Burgos on Sunday.
The international meeting, which attracts athletes from all over the continent, will provide the perfect preparation for the European Cross Country Championship trials being held in Liverpool on November 24.
Six-times Welsh cross country champion Griffiths will hope to continue his successful return from a hip injury, which last month saw him finish ninth at the Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff.
Joining Griffiths in the men’s senior ranks will be Cardiff AAC’s James Hunt, the man who took over the Swansea Harrier’s Welsh cross country crown at Singleton Park at the start of this year.
Joining them will be another Cardiff AAC athlete Dan Nash, who finished 10th in last month’s Cardiff Cross Challenge.
In the women’s senior field, Charlotte Arter continues her comeback trail after an ankle injury robbed her of a place at the European Athletics Championships in August.
The Cardiff AAC athlete is looking in good form after running the fastest women’s time of 16:10 across all of last weekend’s Parkruns.
Arter is joined in the senior women’s race by Worcester AC’s Jenny Nesbitt, who finished 17th at the Commonwealth Half Marathon and fourth at the Athletics Ireland Cross Country Open in Dublin.
The women’s senior team is completed by two athletes who performed solidly at the Cardiff Cross Challenge – Brighton Phoenix’s Beth Kidger, who was 14th and Eryri’s Bronwen Jenkinson, who finished 22nd.
Fresh from his hugely impressive win in his home city’s cross challenge, Cardiff AAC’s Jake Heyward will be leading the Welsh junior men’s team joined by two athletes who also made the top 10 that day – Swansea Harriers duo Elliot Lawrence (4th) and Dominic Smith (10th).
The junior women’s team will feature Cardiff AAC’s Kiara Frizelle, who finished 11th in the Junior Women’s race in Cardiff. She is joined by Deeside’s Mia Roberts, who was 13th and Ashleigh Willis (Swansea Harriers; Kevin Tobin) who finished one place behind Roberts.
It’s going to be a busy weekend of cross country action as Saturday sees Milton Keynes host the second fixture of the British Athletics Cross Challenge on Saturday.
The Welsh challenge will be led by Charlie Hulson, who won the senior men’s race at the challenge’s opening fixture in Cardiff.
The Liverpool AC man will be among the favourites to win again as he sets his sites on the European trials being held on Merseyside later this month.
Hulson’s main challengers on Saturday are likely to be last year’s Milton Keynes winner Muhamed Muhamed and current English Cross Country Champion Adam Hickey.
Hulson will be joined in the senior field by Bristol and West athlete Owain Jones, who finished seventh in the English National Relay Championships and 14th in Cardiff.
In the women’s race Swansea Harrier Verity Ockenden will be joined by Leeds City triathlete Bronwen Owen, who won the Welsh cross country title in Swansea back in February.
Another promising Welsh triathlete will be taking part in the men’s under-20 race.
Wrexham AC’s Matt Willis has this year tasted success at the English Schools Cross Country championships in Leeds, adding the senior title to those he won in the younger age groups in 2014 and 2016.
He was also the fastest European at the World Schools Cross Country Championships in Paris, finishing fifth.
The women’s under-20 race features Swansea Harrier Cari Hughes who led Loughborough Students to first place in the English National Cross Country under-20 section with a storming final leg.
Closer to home, Pembrey Country Park will host the second fixture of this year’s John H. Collins Gwent Cross Country League on Saturday.
Hundreds of athletes from all over Wales, aged from 11-years-old through to the masters age groups will descend on the coastal country park near Llanelli.
The timetable for the day’s action is:
11:30: under-11 girls (1.6km)
11:40: under-11 boys (1.6km)
11:50: under-13 girls (3km)
12:05: under-13 boys (3km)
12:20: under-15 girls (3.6km)
12:40: under-15 boys (3.6km)
13:00: senior women and masters (6.4km)
13:35: under-17/20 women (5.1km)
14:00 under-17/20 men (5.1km)
14:25: senior men (9.9km).