On Saturday 4th June Middleton Harriers went on tour to participate in the famous Welsh Castle Relay. The WCR is a 2 day, 20 stage, 211 mile, staggered relay race mostly on road but with many hills and mountains on route from Caernarfon to Cardiff with an overnight stay in Newtown. It is organised by Les Croupiers Running Club Cardiff and involves 65 different teams in a cavalcade of runners and supporters winding their way down through Wales... think Tour de France on legs and open roads!

The gloriously hot sunshine was excellent for spectators but made the stages that bit tougher than usual for the participants. Despite the challenging conditions our runners were kept well hydrated and they all put in excellent performances.

It goes without saying that the organisation required to get 20 runners to and from their particular legs whilst as many as 3 stages take place simultaneously is no mean feat and a big thank goes to Kyrinda Carter for organising and keeping the wheels turning. Also a big thanks and all those who drove and supported our intrepid runners: Chris & John Brooks, Brian and Alyson Lamb, Steve & Pat Markham, van drivers Charlie Bowcock, Steve Granville and Steve Bassam.  This is a hard job in the best of circumstances and to keep everything going after losing the use of the van half way through the second day is truly awesome!

Also a massive thank you to Colin Carter and Steve Granville for organising the recovery of the van and possessions and arranging transport home from Cardiff whilst stuck on top of a remote mountain in Wales with intermittent phone signal.

Of course none of this would be possible without a massive commitment from our tremendous Green Team of runners, some of whom have stepped in at short notice and we give a big thank you to all of them as we look forward to next years event (expect a tap on the shoulder soon!).