THERE were category wins aplenty as Denbigh Harriers' oldest and youngest men took medals over the course of the weekend.

It was a quiet racing week for members and given that the heat is back, that’s not a bad thing!

The Deestriders summer series continued on Thursday, with Emma Collins the only Harrier on the course.

Fellow series runner Tony Benton was unfortunately sidelined with his Achilles.

Emma continued her fantastic form by finishing as 29th overall, the fifth lady and the first VF55 in 32.55.

She took 40 seconds off her season personal best, which she had set in June.

There is one race left in the series, but three wins in three events pretty much seals the category win for Emma.

Parkruns always set the weekend up and at Conwy, Sarah Bayliss put in another fast run.

She completed her third fastest time on this course in 25.49 and she was clearly not holding anything back despite the fact she was racing the Vale of Clwyd the next day.

Over in the newly established Newborough Forest parkrun, Paul and Mari Jones ran this tough forest course.

It was great to see Paul back after injury and he completed the course in 28.31.

Also producing a great run was Mari, who completed the course in 37.55.

Sunday morning dawned bright and hot for the rescheduled Vale of Clwyd 5k and 10k races.

Conditions were a polar opposite to the snow which caused the original postponement.

A total of 14 Harriers took to the course, accounting for 15 per cent of the field and this was great testament to these cracking local races.

The 10k went to plan for all involved and it was fantastic for the Harriers to see youngest man Shaun Hughes and oldest man Ron Birch taking their place on the start line.

First home for the Denbigh Harriers was Shaun Hughes, who finished as the runner-up on the day in 36.08.

This was another fantastic achievement for Hughes, having raced comfortably to hold second position the whole way round and finishing over 90 seconds ahead of the third placed runner.

Fred Jones came in next for the Harriers.

Another good run saw him a lucky 13th overall and the second VM60 in a time of 47.24.

There was a cracking time at his first attempt on this undulating course for the third Harrier home.

Paul Goffey finished 20th in 50.03.

Meanwhile, the first lady Harrier home was Melina Morris following a great run.

She was the first VF40 and 24th overall in 50.28.

Although she continues to be surprised with her category wins and places, there’s more to come from Mel.

It was great to see Chris Baldwin back racing after his recent injury and he was rightly pleased with 27th position in 51.43.

He held off Bob Neale (29th in 52.38).

Following her fast parkrun, Sarah Bayliss was the first VF50 and 33rd overall in a time of 54.47.

It was fantastic to see such great performances from Sarah and it was such a well-deserved win after coming back from a long-standing injury. Anwen Brown (third VF40) also had a fantastic run, finishing in 36th in 55.31.

This shows that while she prefers the hills to the roads, she’s got plenty of ability for both.

Llyr Jones, another coming back from injury, showed the work he’s putting in on the hills is paying off as he finished 38th in 56.28.

Spring chicken Ron Birch, who turns 80 next month, once again showed age is just a number as he finished in 54th and the first VM70 in 78.07.

Over in the 5k, Craig Jones and Sioned Griffiths put in fantastic performances.

They would likely have taken second in the men's and women's races respectively, but a missed turn meant the 5k field ran most of the 10k instead, with the average finisher having run 9k.

Down the field, Dawn Marshall and Diane Roberts raced for 5k, and then used the rest of the course as a recovery.

Harriers' results: 2, Craig Jones 34.01; 9, Sioned Griffiths (2nd lady) 48.40; 24, Dawn Marshall (2nd VF40) 61.39; 30, Diane Roberts (3rd VF40) 73.58.

In a fantastic day out for the club, Denbigh Harriers took the biggest prize haul home, with four of the 13 medals on offer.