RUNNERS stayed local to race the Kymin Dash in Monmouth, as the testing seven-mile hill race returned for the first time since 2019.

THE sky was the limit for more than 220 runners on Sunday, with three MonRoss Trailblazers in the top 10.

Gavin Jones was fourth overall and second senior home in 43.29, with club mate Toby Dickens fifth and third senior another 23 seconds back.

Fellow Trailblazer Mark Killeen also came home 10th in 44.56 as they finished third overall in the 15-strong men’s team competition, with over-50 runner James Fletcher the fourth man home in 58th with 56.12.

Other Trailblazers in action were Grant White (57.35) and Tony Davies (57.43) who finished just eight seconds apart in 68th and 69th.

The event added up to a great day for Monmouth School for Boys maths teacher Huw Evans, who came home second overall to land the over-50 men’s title

The Spirit of Monmouth RC race was won by his Parc Bryn Bach club mate Sam Jones in 41 minutes seven seconds, who was also the ‘King of the Mountain’ reaching the Roundhouse high point in 9.40.

He had 20 seconds on Wales senior international Huw at the top of the Kymin, before racing downhill past the Suck Stone and Near Harkening Rock and back along Hadnock Road to the Monmouth School Sports Centre finish to finish 1.23 ahead.

Remarkably the first three women home were all over-50s, with Lliswerry’s Sandra Chipper fastest woman and ‘Queen of the Hill’ (11.43) in 13th overall in 47.22, with Chepstow Harriers’ Niki Morgan second placing 17th in 48.56, and club mate Cherry Fowler third in 50.12.

Forest of Dean AC’s Dan Sandford, a regular at the Ross-on-Wye weekly parkrun, took third in the over-40s men’s class in 19th overall with 49.25.

With the first three men home, it was no surprise that Tredegar-based Parc Bryn Bach landed the senior men’s team prize, followed by Chepstow Harriers and Trailblazers.

Harriers also took the women’s team prize in an 11-strong field, Morgan and Fowler joined on the top of the podium by Jan Morris (56.27) and Jane Roscoe (58.44) after beating Pont-y-Pwl into second by 12 places.

For full results and pictures, go to www.facebook.com/TheKyminDash/