THERE'S been a pre-Christmas cracker for a Denbighshire athlete.

Denbigh Harrier Menai Baugh travelled to Shropshire earlier this month to run the Cardington Cracker Fell Race - and what a cracking race it was!

This is a 9.4-mile / 15km off-road race boasted an epic 2,765 feet of elevation.

The race follows footpaths over farmland to the base of three steep hills with beautiful views from their summits of Church Stretton, the Long Mynd and the surrounding area.

The wind was un-relenting and bitingly chilly on the summits, but the fast descents on grassy paths more than made up for it.

Menai’s time was two hours, 25 minutes and 48 seconds, giving her the first F60 prize.

On the same day, there was a good turnout of Denbigh Harriers on the Clwydians for Out-fit’s Sea to Summit half marathon, marathon and ultra marathon distances.

These routes all had staggered starts, beginning in Prestatyn and they followed the Offa’s Dyke path to different finishing points along the Clwydian Hills.

The half marathon, with an elevation gain of over 3,500 feet, finished on Moel y Plas, while the marathon, with an elevation gain of over 6,500 feet, ended on Moel Gyw.

They were dwarfed by the ultra distance, with an elevation gain of over 8,500 feet and a total of 33 miles, which finished on Cyrn y Brain.

Conditions on the day were clear but cold, with an easterly wind that was thankfully behind the competitors!

Taking on the half-marathon were Iwan Evans (fourth) who just missed out on a podium finish in time of 2-28.16.

Jeni Richards was 23rd in 2-56.54, with Lee Evans finishing 42nd in a time of 3-12.36 and Rebekah Dumayne was 78th in 3-55.37.

In the full marathon, Sioned Griffiths finished seventh out of 40 finishers and she took the first female position in a time of 5-52.19, followed closely by Katy Baugh (eighth) who took the second female spot in 5-54.04.

Peter Lester-Owen (23rd) also had a strong run to finish in 6-26.00.

Braving the ultra event, Tony Wood took third overall and the second male position in an incredible 6-18.24, with Melina Morris (13th) just missing out on a podium finish after an amazingly strong run in 7-01.42.