THERE was friendship, teamwork and new challenges on a busy weekend for the Denbigh Harriers.

On Saturday, Roger Snaith and David Spencer made the journey over to Porthmadog to take part in the Trailffest 2018 Mountains-Sea.

The tough, enjoyable race should be a half-marathon and the route was cut short this year to 12 miles due to bad weather over the previous few days bringing down trees.

Seeing plenty of tumbles in the first few miles, Roger and David ran close to each other until mile nine, when the latter wasn't feeling very well.

So, in true Harrier spirit, Roger and David stuck together to make sure they both crossed that finishing line together in a time of two hours and 34 minutes for 114th place.

Sunday dawned bright and hot, or damp and drizzly depending on whether you were in Wales, England or South Africa.

Dan Jones got the best of the weather and the toughest of races.

Competing to celebrate 100 years of his company Sanlam, Dan was in South Africa for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

It was only confirmed a fortnight earlier that he would have a place in the marathon.

Now, it’s not advised to run a marathon without training, but Dan is a seasoned marathon runner and having last run one in April, he was confident he could do it.

Having completed the 5k Peace run on the Saturday to loosen his legs and acclimatise to the heat, Dan joined the start line at 6.40am just as the sun was coming up, with 11,500 runners singing the national anthem to get themselves underway.

There was a fantastic atmosphere, with a warm and generally flat course, with head or tail wind sections and unwavering support from the local crowd.

Dan finished 599th in 3-19.58 and he was understandably delighted with his run.

This race is now on the bucket list for other club members!

Not quite as far afield, Emma Collins made her way to the Peak District to compete in the Biggin Trail Race, part of the Peak’s autumn trail series.

On a beautiful day and with stunning surroundings, Biggin has 10 miles of scenic trails, with Emma finishing as the third lady and the first VF50 in 1-21.24.

She picked up a gold certificate, which is awarded to ladies who complete the course in under an hour-and-a-half.

Back at home where the day dawned drizzly, three Harriers were delighted that the weather cleared just as they were starting the Bespoke Llyn Alwen 11.5k trail race.

A clockwise circuit of Llyn Alwen, one of our greatest local runs, teamwork and friendship was out in full force.

Sali Powell put her own race aside to run with Hannah McDonnell, supporting her all the way round as she wasn’t feeling all that great.

They finished in great times of 69.28 and 69.30, to complete the course as the 21st and 22nd ladies respectively.

Dawn Marshall ran a solid race and remained strong all the way around.

She was delighted to finish as the 17th lady and the first Harrier in 68.54.

Mat Jones and Tony Benton took part in the National Trust 10k at Chirk Castle on Sunday morning.

Finding a gap in the rain, they set off with more than 30 other runners.

Mat finished third in 45.45 and Tony crossed the line in 50.15.

Also racing over weekend was Ceri Belshaw in the Elidir Fawr fell race on Saturday.

This 8k boasted 853 metres of ascent and Ceri finished in 1-18.42.

Taking on the Abersoch Half Marathon as a training run before the Cardiff Half next month, Hywel Roberts completed the course in 1-53.03.

Over in Macclesfield, Menai Baugh ran the 5k on Sunday in fresh autumnal weather.

She was second O-60 lady in a time of 25.55.

Lisa Dafydd took on the half marathon, finishing in 2-13.21.

Elsewhere, Rhian Pierce competed in the Sandman Classic Triathlon.

This comprised of a 1k open water swim, a 60k bike ride and a 10k run.

In her first triathlon - and first open water swim - Rhian brilliantly finished as the 30th lady in 3-43.39.

The long-awaited series results were published last week for the 2018 North Wales Fell Series.

Winning their categories were Emma Collins (VF50) and Menai Baugh (VF60), while Vic Belshaw was the third VM50.

Presentations to the prizewinners will be at Breidden Hills on Sunday, October 14.

There were three parkruns for four Harriers on Saturday.

Sian Pritchard was at Kingston.

Getting back to her best form, Sian was just nine seconds off her personal best as she finished as the 46th lady in 27.51.

At Conwy, there was another personal best for Phil Hayes after his 10k pb last weekend.

He took 17 seconds off his course personal best to finish 15th in 20.09.

At Wepre, Vic Belshaw was 10 seconds outside his personal best and age record, finishing seventh in 20.59.

In his first race of the weekend, Tony Benton was 18th in 24.29.